Monday, 4 January 2010
Love at (almost) first sight - Canon Powershot S90
I was quite excited when Canoncamerabuzz asked whether I was interested in reviewing some gear for CanonUK. I said I was happy to either trial some pro gear at weddings and write about that over at MTP, or compacts privately and write about those over at this blog.
I must admit that when I received the Canon Powershot S90 for my trial, I was initially a little bit disappointed that it wasn't, say the 1Ds MkIII, and kind of cursed myself for saying that I'd be happy to trial compacts as well. But funnily enough, within 5 minutes of playing with the S90 on Christmas Eve when I (quite fittingly!) received it, I did a complete 180 and was absolutely blown over.
As it happens, only a little while back I purchased the Powershot G11. I really wanted a near enough compact sized camera, which I could carry around in my pocket and take to music gigs etc, which would have full manual control and the capability to shoot raw. To be perfectly honest, I didn't really know that there were other options out there than the G11 (and the previous models) for what I wanted, so I didn't really even look around for anything else. Well as it happens, the S90 has exactly the same sensor as the G11, only everything is packed into a smaller body (nearly as small as my Ixus), and the lens is faster at f2 compared to f2.8 on the G11. The question I'm asking myself now is: how did I not even know this camera existed?
Obviously being smaller in size, there are less controls on top of the S90 than the G11 (and lets be honest, it's these controls that are like a siren call to us photographers looking for a compact). But all that is forgotten once you discover the two click-stopped direct control rings on the S90, one of which is at the base of the lens and is SO very satisfying to use - from setting the aperture to any other functions you might want to assign to it. Now, after having used the S90, I feel a little bit at loss with the G11 without the nice ring around the lens, what a silly thing to omit from that particular camera.
There is really no difference in the quality that these two cameras produce. I like to shoot wide open where ever I can, and both of these cameras allow for me to do that, but the faster lens on the S90 does make a huge difference to me. It also means that it doesn't really matter that much that the ISO range isn't as wide as on the G11. The only 'negative' on the S90 I can think of is the shorter zoom at 3.8x as opposed to 5x on the G11.
Unfortunately I don't have very many 'proper' samples of photos from the S90, as for some reason the battery charger was omitted from my box - and the battery didn't fit any of my other gazillion canon battery chargers. I did have the camera with me in Finland, and the battery lasted approximately 2 minutes outside in -16C. (So it's safe to say the camera/battery is not really the best option for 'extreme' conditions).
I did manage to snap a few pictures on New Year's Eve though. The picture below was taken nearly at midnight. It was pitch black, apart from the street lights, but the S90 didn't really have a problem. These sort of conditions also show what a difference the ability to shoot raw on a compact makes.
In conclusion, and I REALLY hate to say this, I would recommend the sleek S90 over the bulky G11 any day (not to say that the G11 isn't a GREAT camera - it is, I just prefer the same greatness in a smaller package). If you are looking for a properly compact sized compact camera, with full manual control and raw ability, this camera is pretty perfect. I really wish I would have known about it before I bought the G11, and am now secretly kind of hoping I could exchange the G11 for the S90... :D
I must admit that when I received the Canon Powershot S90 for my trial, I was initially a little bit disappointed that it wasn't, say the 1Ds MkIII, and kind of cursed myself for saying that I'd be happy to trial compacts as well. But funnily enough, within 5 minutes of playing with the S90 on Christmas Eve when I (quite fittingly!) received it, I did a complete 180 and was absolutely blown over.
As it happens, only a little while back I purchased the Powershot G11. I really wanted a near enough compact sized camera, which I could carry around in my pocket and take to music gigs etc, which would have full manual control and the capability to shoot raw. To be perfectly honest, I didn't really know that there were other options out there than the G11 (and the previous models) for what I wanted, so I didn't really even look around for anything else. Well as it happens, the S90 has exactly the same sensor as the G11, only everything is packed into a smaller body (nearly as small as my Ixus), and the lens is faster at f2 compared to f2.8 on the G11. The question I'm asking myself now is: how did I not even know this camera existed?
Obviously being smaller in size, there are less controls on top of the S90 than the G11 (and lets be honest, it's these controls that are like a siren call to us photographers looking for a compact). But all that is forgotten once you discover the two click-stopped direct control rings on the S90, one of which is at the base of the lens and is SO very satisfying to use - from setting the aperture to any other functions you might want to assign to it. Now, after having used the S90, I feel a little bit at loss with the G11 without the nice ring around the lens, what a silly thing to omit from that particular camera.
There is really no difference in the quality that these two cameras produce. I like to shoot wide open where ever I can, and both of these cameras allow for me to do that, but the faster lens on the S90 does make a huge difference to me. It also means that it doesn't really matter that much that the ISO range isn't as wide as on the G11. The only 'negative' on the S90 I can think of is the shorter zoom at 3.8x as opposed to 5x on the G11.
Unfortunately I don't have very many 'proper' samples of photos from the S90, as for some reason the battery charger was omitted from my box - and the battery didn't fit any of my other gazillion canon battery chargers. I did have the camera with me in Finland, and the battery lasted approximately 2 minutes outside in -16C. (So it's safe to say the camera/battery is not really the best option for 'extreme' conditions).
I did manage to snap a few pictures on New Year's Eve though. The picture below was taken nearly at midnight. It was pitch black, apart from the street lights, but the S90 didn't really have a problem. These sort of conditions also show what a difference the ability to shoot raw on a compact makes.
In conclusion, and I REALLY hate to say this, I would recommend the sleek S90 over the bulky G11 any day (not to say that the G11 isn't a GREAT camera - it is, I just prefer the same greatness in a smaller package). If you are looking for a properly compact sized compact camera, with full manual control and raw ability, this camera is pretty perfect. I really wish I would have known about it before I bought the G11, and am now secretly kind of hoping I could exchange the G11 for the S90... :D
Labels: Canon, Canon Powershot G11, Canon Powershot S90, Canon UK, canoncamerabuzz, photography, technology
//posted by Marianne @ 11:33 2 comments
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
The forgotten ones
I just realised I've completely forgotten to do my monthly picture round-up! Shame on me. Good job I remembered now so I could just about squeeze in the shoots I've forgotten to tell you about before the year is over.
Autumn was pretty much all about the engagement shoots!
Starting with Anna & Chris...
... Erin & Ben...
... Sam & Adam...
... Katie & Sam...
... Fiona & Peter...
... Erika & Jon...
... Simona & Dan...
From early December it was back to weddings, starting with Emily & John.
And last weekend I did a family shoot with the Bennetts.
There's still one wedding to go until I wrap up 2009. My calendar for next year is looking crazy to say the least, which is a good, if slightly daunting, thing. There are so many lovely weddings ahead though that I can hardly wait to get stuck in!
Yes, yes, will do something about the Cornwall pictures at some point when I have a minute... :P
Autumn was pretty much all about the engagement shoots!
Starting with Anna & Chris...
... Erin & Ben...
... Sam & Adam...
... Katie & Sam...
... Fiona & Peter...
... Erika & Jon...
... Simona & Dan...
From early December it was back to weddings, starting with Emily & John.
And last weekend I did a family shoot with the Bennetts.
There's still one wedding to go until I wrap up 2009. My calendar for next year is looking crazy to say the least, which is a good, if slightly daunting, thing. There are so many lovely weddings ahead though that I can hardly wait to get stuck in!
Yes, yes, will do something about the Cornwall pictures at some point when I have a minute... :P
Labels: engagement photography, photoblog, photography, wedding photography
//posted by Marianne @ 15:29 0 comments
Saturday, 19 December 2009
It's a big world out there outside of full frame
I started writing this over at MTP, but then decided all this text looked kind of out of place in a photo blog, so thus I moved my ramblings over here. Maybe it's for the better anyways as God knows this place needs some livening up!
Recently I was invited to attend a round table discussion with Canon UK, which was organised by Canoncamerabuzz. It was an opportunity for me and a few other professional photographers to see the whole lineup of Canon's DSLRs (including the brand new 1D MrkIV, which started shipping this week) in the same room, and hear about some of the processes behind developing new bodies and lenses.
I didn't really have any expectations for the evening, apart from getting to fiddle with the 1Ds MrkIII (which was very satisfying indeed - I still definitely cavort over it more than the new 1D MrkIV). What I came away with was a clearer understanding behind Canon's decisions for their line-up and who the average end user actually is (i.e. not me). As professionals, we tend to have a bit of a skewed perspective on what the next camera models should do and what kind of features they should, or shouldn't, possess. Add to that the fact that for someone like me, coming from a film background, it's hard to get my head around the fact that the majority of dSLR consumers these days have never even used film, which was kind of clarified to me when I was questioning why the 1D MrkIV isn't full frame. As it goes, the market for full frame isn't as big as I would have though. For me, it's the only sensible thing to do but, as product specialist Mark Burnhill from Canon UK explained, the majority of dSLR users are of an age that have always shot with a crop sensor, and that's what they find 'normal'. To me, that seems completely perplexing! When I started my move to digital, via an EOS 350D and 20D, I felt restricted, not only in what I saw through the viewfinder, but in the fact that I couldn't use my lenses to their full effect. So when I finally got my hands on the 5D, and subsequently the 5D MkII which I now use, it literally felt like I could breathe normally again. Until I now heard Mark rationalise the issue for me, I couldn't for the life of me understand why someone wouldn't want a full frame camera.
The other interesting fact was how infinitely bigger the market is for the lower end models, the pro end of the line is practically a drop in the ocean when it comes to Canon's dSLR sales. Obviously that is going to have an affect on what the development efforts will be concentrated on. Interesting no? Perhaps this has always been obvious to everyone else, but I've never really even considered all of this when scratching my head about why there are so many crop sensor models, and a dizzying amount of different lower-end models with only marginal differences, about. A shocked shiver went through the room when Mark asked us what we thought of the possibility of coloured dSLR bodies, apparently that's the latest demand from the Japanese market. Uh huh. Give me a pink Ixus to slip into my pocket any time, but please leave that sort of gimmicks out of the 'proper' cameras I say!
After all these 'revelations', my position hasn't really changed. Ever since I started using SLR's in the early 90's Canon has, and always will be, the manufacturer for me, and in my opinion their lenses are head and shoulders above the rest. And the fact that even after looking at the realities of 'where the real money is', they keep on developing new and exciting pro gear for us to play with is a testament to Canon's dedication to quality picture-making.
How was that for sounding like a real Canon fan girl (which of course I am)? :D
I know, I know, I need to blog about what's been happening on the house-hunting front, about Cornwall and all the other stuff that I haven't had time to blog aboout. Soon, I promise. Well, perhaps not a firm promise, but at least a promise to attempt!
Recently I was invited to attend a round table discussion with Canon UK, which was organised by Canoncamerabuzz. It was an opportunity for me and a few other professional photographers to see the whole lineup of Canon's DSLRs (including the brand new 1D MrkIV, which started shipping this week) in the same room, and hear about some of the processes behind developing new bodies and lenses.
I didn't really have any expectations for the evening, apart from getting to fiddle with the 1Ds MrkIII (which was very satisfying indeed - I still definitely cavort over it more than the new 1D MrkIV). What I came away with was a clearer understanding behind Canon's decisions for their line-up and who the average end user actually is (i.e. not me). As professionals, we tend to have a bit of a skewed perspective on what the next camera models should do and what kind of features they should, or shouldn't, possess. Add to that the fact that for someone like me, coming from a film background, it's hard to get my head around the fact that the majority of dSLR consumers these days have never even used film, which was kind of clarified to me when I was questioning why the 1D MrkIV isn't full frame. As it goes, the market for full frame isn't as big as I would have though. For me, it's the only sensible thing to do but, as product specialist Mark Burnhill from Canon UK explained, the majority of dSLR users are of an age that have always shot with a crop sensor, and that's what they find 'normal'. To me, that seems completely perplexing! When I started my move to digital, via an EOS 350D and 20D, I felt restricted, not only in what I saw through the viewfinder, but in the fact that I couldn't use my lenses to their full effect. So when I finally got my hands on the 5D, and subsequently the 5D MkII which I now use, it literally felt like I could breathe normally again. Until I now heard Mark rationalise the issue for me, I couldn't for the life of me understand why someone wouldn't want a full frame camera.
The other interesting fact was how infinitely bigger the market is for the lower end models, the pro end of the line is practically a drop in the ocean when it comes to Canon's dSLR sales. Obviously that is going to have an affect on what the development efforts will be concentrated on. Interesting no? Perhaps this has always been obvious to everyone else, but I've never really even considered all of this when scratching my head about why there are so many crop sensor models, and a dizzying amount of different lower-end models with only marginal differences, about. A shocked shiver went through the room when Mark asked us what we thought of the possibility of coloured dSLR bodies, apparently that's the latest demand from the Japanese market. Uh huh. Give me a pink Ixus to slip into my pocket any time, but please leave that sort of gimmicks out of the 'proper' cameras I say!
After all these 'revelations', my position hasn't really changed. Ever since I started using SLR's in the early 90's Canon has, and always will be, the manufacturer for me, and in my opinion their lenses are head and shoulders above the rest. And the fact that even after looking at the realities of 'where the real money is', they keep on developing new and exciting pro gear for us to play with is a testament to Canon's dedication to quality picture-making.
How was that for sounding like a real Canon fan girl (which of course I am)? :D
I know, I know, I need to blog about what's been happening on the house-hunting front, about Cornwall and all the other stuff that I haven't had time to blog aboout. Soon, I promise. Well, perhaps not a firm promise, but at least a promise to attempt!
Labels: Canon, Canon UK, canoncamerabuzz, photography, social networking, technology
//posted by Marianne @ 18:45 0 comments
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Monthly round-up and a bit of a slump
The Autumn somehow creeped in from around the corner while I wasn't looking. Suddenly the days are getting shorter and the rain wetter. I've just realised that's it's now pretty much a year since I started my photography business. A year of 13 hour days and working all weekends. I think I've had about 5 days 'off' in the last year. If someone had come to me with this sort of proposition at the beginning of it all I would have laughed and ran away pretty promptly. But somehow, when you're in it, and you have to do it, you just get on with it. I'm glad I have a two month break from weddings now, even if my weekends are still filled with other kind of shoots and business-related work. It still feels a little less crushing than the pressure weddings, and editing them etc., puts on you. I do love shooting, no doubt, but unfortunately running a business is probably about 20% shooting and 80% of all the other gubbins.
I am pretty amazed and happy about what I have managed to accomplish in just a year, and how quickly I seem to have established my business. I have a healthy amount of weddings booked for next year, and currently get more inquiries than I am able to accommodate. People keep telling me how 'lucky' I've been, getting my business established and actually making some sort of profit so quickly (I did make a pretty big loss in the first financial year, mind). I do believe you make your own luck though, by trusting your gut feeling and your abilities, being honest about who you are, and by working bloody hard. Luck alone gets nothing done unless you put the hours in.
At the moment I find myself in a bit of a slump. I think it's because I've just realised that the summer just whizzed by without me even noticing. We've also started looking around for somewhere to buy, which is demoralising to say the least. Prices are astronomical, and no amount of working or saving seems to get us anywhere closer to a deposit for anything decent. I've just moved from searching for two bedroom sh*tholes onto searching for one bedroom sh*tholes. Cheery. I miss our flat in Finland.
I guess there's nothing else to do than to keep your head down and plough on, and hold on to the faith that it will all be worth it in the end.
And since it's become a bit of a routine, here are a few images from last month.
Magali & Jeff got married.
Had a blast shooting Sophie & Henry's engagement photos.
I made a bit of a departure by doing a jewellery shoot for Melanie Eddy.
Trinh & Alastair got married.
Had an engagement session with Heather & Mark.
Took baby portraits of Jodie...
...and Alice.
I am pretty amazed and happy about what I have managed to accomplish in just a year, and how quickly I seem to have established my business. I have a healthy amount of weddings booked for next year, and currently get more inquiries than I am able to accommodate. People keep telling me how 'lucky' I've been, getting my business established and actually making some sort of profit so quickly (I did make a pretty big loss in the first financial year, mind). I do believe you make your own luck though, by trusting your gut feeling and your abilities, being honest about who you are, and by working bloody hard. Luck alone gets nothing done unless you put the hours in.
At the moment I find myself in a bit of a slump. I think it's because I've just realised that the summer just whizzed by without me even noticing. We've also started looking around for somewhere to buy, which is demoralising to say the least. Prices are astronomical, and no amount of working or saving seems to get us anywhere closer to a deposit for anything decent. I've just moved from searching for two bedroom sh*tholes onto searching for one bedroom sh*tholes. Cheery. I miss our flat in Finland.
I guess there's nothing else to do than to keep your head down and plough on, and hold on to the faith that it will all be worth it in the end.
And since it's become a bit of a routine, here are a few images from last month.
Magali & Jeff got married.
Had a blast shooting Sophie & Henry's engagement photos.
I made a bit of a departure by doing a jewellery shoot for Melanie Eddy.
Trinh & Alastair got married.
Had an engagement session with Heather & Mark.
Took baby portraits of Jodie...
...and Alice.
Labels: my life, photoblog, photography, wedding photography
//posted by Marianne @ 17:07 4 comments
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Hello time, where do you go and hide?
How has another month slipped by again?? Perplexing... I don't mean to neglect this blog, honest. Somehow time just, disappears.
Right, what has happened in the last month then. Well, S and I celebrated 10 years together (I say celebrated, we got chinese take away :P), which is another perplexing time vacuum conundrum in itself. I think the rest of the month will be explained via the images below. Very sorry to re-hash content from the other blog, but have no time to take other photos at the moment. Hopefully I will get to do some personal projects again in the winter months.
Eleni & David got married on my birthday. (Oh and someone asked me what I do with my t/s lens, so here's one example.)
Baby Lucinda was born.
The first couple to ever officially book me (back what seems like a lifetime ago), Sarah & Dan, finally got married.
I did an engagement shoot with Ana & Alan for charity.
Carolyn & Marc had a kick-ass wedding at Leadenhall Market.
And finally, I got to return to The Garden Museum for Claire & Ben's wedding.
Oh completely forgot to add Georgina & Mark's engagement session on the last day of August! :D
So that's August pretty much wrapped up. It's been hectic to say the least, but has also included some real high points of the summer. Tonight Sooz is dragging me to Westfield for a 'mini makeover' of some sort. Let's see just how small they manage to make me (it was a bad joke the first time round and hasn't really improved, sorry).
Right, what has happened in the last month then. Well, S and I celebrated 10 years together (I say celebrated, we got chinese take away :P), which is another perplexing time vacuum conundrum in itself. I think the rest of the month will be explained via the images below. Very sorry to re-hash content from the other blog, but have no time to take other photos at the moment. Hopefully I will get to do some personal projects again in the winter months.
Eleni & David got married on my birthday. (Oh and someone asked me what I do with my t/s lens, so here's one example.)
Baby Lucinda was born.
The first couple to ever officially book me (back what seems like a lifetime ago), Sarah & Dan, finally got married.
I did an engagement shoot with Ana & Alan for charity.
Carolyn & Marc had a kick-ass wedding at Leadenhall Market.
And finally, I got to return to The Garden Museum for Claire & Ben's wedding.
Oh completely forgot to add Georgina & Mark's engagement session on the last day of August! :D
So that's August pretty much wrapped up. It's been hectic to say the least, but has also included some real high points of the summer. Tonight Sooz is dragging me to Westfield for a 'mini makeover' of some sort. Let's see just how small they manage to make me (it was a bad joke the first time round and hasn't really improved, sorry).
Labels: my life, photoblog, photography, wedding photography
//posted by Marianne @ 17:55 6 comments
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Out for count
Soo the cold I was trying to fight off developed into a full-on chest infection and really knocked me out for count. Annoyingly it meant that I had to reschedule consultations and a maternity shoot, which has now been moved a week further, which is making me feel a bit nervous and I'm really hoping that the baby doesn't decide to arrive a bit earlier than expected. Fingers crossed we're still good to go on the shoot next week!
Just to add insult to injury I (of course!) got ill on press week, and so I had to drag myself to the office on Friday, even though I lasted just for half a day. Still, that certainly wasn't fun. I did get antibiotics and they started kicking in by yesterday, and today I'm starting to feel like a different person already, so phew. Next week is going to be pretty hectic so I'm very relieved to be feeling better.
I did make it through Claire & Hywel's wedding last Saturday before the illness really hit me, and I'm glad I did as it was one of the nicest weddings I've ever had the pleasure to attend. Pictures are now up on the wedding photography blog.
Just to add insult to injury I (of course!) got ill on press week, and so I had to drag myself to the office on Friday, even though I lasted just for half a day. Still, that certainly wasn't fun. I did get antibiotics and they started kicking in by yesterday, and today I'm starting to feel like a different person already, so phew. Next week is going to be pretty hectic so I'm very relieved to be feeling better.
I did make it through Claire & Hywel's wedding last Saturday before the illness really hit me, and I'm glad I did as it was one of the nicest weddings I've ever had the pleasure to attend. Pictures are now up on the wedding photography blog.
Labels: my life, photography, wedding photography
//posted by Marianne @ 19:13 2 comments
Friday, 12 June 2009
Fighting colds and sipping cocktails
Oh my where does the time go.
I'm currently trying desperately to fight off a sore throat and a cold that's trying to sneak up on me. If I can hold it at bay at least long enough to get through tomorrow's wedding I'll be happy...
Last night I went out for some cocktails with a few fabulous ladies. Me, Sooz, Kat, Chanelle, Liz, Ly and Rhiannon, among others, headed to the Cellar Door and took full advantage of their happy hour. Lots of fun was had and useful contacts created. I'm feeling really good about getting a bit of a network of like-minded photographers/wedding people going. Who ever says Twitter is useless just has no idea. Of anything. End of.
After my painful computer meltdown I fell so behind in all sorts things that I decided to admit defeat with my 365 Bokeh project. No matter how much I love doing it, when something becomes a chore it's not really beneficial to try to desperately to fit it in... Perhaps I'll pick it up again in the autumn when my calendar calms down a bit.
Oh and Maesha & Pete's wedding is now up on the wedding photography blog. What a long, but fun, day that was!
I'm currently trying desperately to fight off a sore throat and a cold that's trying to sneak up on me. If I can hold it at bay at least long enough to get through tomorrow's wedding I'll be happy...
Last night I went out for some cocktails with a few fabulous ladies. Me, Sooz, Kat, Chanelle, Liz, Ly and Rhiannon, among others, headed to the Cellar Door and took full advantage of their happy hour. Lots of fun was had and useful contacts created. I'm feeling really good about getting a bit of a network of like-minded photographers/wedding people going. Who ever says Twitter is useless just has no idea. Of anything. End of.
After my painful computer meltdown I fell so behind in all sorts things that I decided to admit defeat with my 365 Bokeh project. No matter how much I love doing it, when something becomes a chore it's not really beneficial to try to desperately to fit it in... Perhaps I'll pick it up again in the autumn when my calendar calms down a bit.
Oh and Maesha & Pete's wedding is now up on the wedding photography blog. What a long, but fun, day that was!
Labels: my life, photography, wedding photography
//posted by Marianne @ 16:17 2 comments
Friday, 5 June 2009
A gentle reminder
//posted by Marianne @ 10:22 1 comments
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Duality project slowly moving on...
Yay finally a new addition to my Duality Project (see the rest in the gallery). This is Kat from Rock 'n Roll Bride, and she is number 14 in this series that I've been working on for what seems like forever now. My goal is to photograph 50 women in all... sooo at this rate I'll probably be about 60 years old by the time I finish it. :D Anyways, if you want to see some more photos I took of Kat on the day, head over to MTP blog.
Labels: photoblog, photography, rock n' roll bride
//posted by Marianne @ 09:45 2 comments
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Just roll with it
Days in the office are starting to feel almost like 'down time' to me, funny that. :D I shouldn't really complain though, as I do feel really fortunate to be as busy as I am. Sometimes the physical and metal exhaustion just gets the better of me and makes me turn into a little whiner. :P And sometimes dragging myself to a shoot after a full day at the day job feels like too much. But then when I get there, and when it's good, it's really good. I had a brilliant engagement session last night with a couple who's wedding I'm covering next month. They were just so nice and sweet that I know the wedding is going to absolutely kick ass. So today I'm feeling pretty excited.
I've got two sessions to edit by the end of this week, but tomorrow I'm having a night off to go see Lisa Hannigan at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Yay.
Here in the office it's not actually the worst time at the moment. After months of re-design work, we're finally working on the June issue, which will be the first new look magazine. And we have at last migrated to InDesign (hallelujah), which makes life so so much easier. So it's pretty much as 'exciting' right now as this job is ever likely to get.
Oh I don't think I ever mentioned anything about the Miles Aldridge exhibition I went to last week. It was pretty awesome and inspiring, even though the prints displayed could have been a bit bigger! But then the prices would have probably climbed out of reach for everyone. Personally, if I did have an extra £1800 lying around, I so would have bought a picture then and there. :D Now I'll just have to try to find the new, freshly published book from somewhere.
p.s. Sooz took this sneaky shot as my mobile was being too loud for any sort of espionage!
I've got two sessions to edit by the end of this week, but tomorrow I'm having a night off to go see Lisa Hannigan at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Yay.
Here in the office it's not actually the worst time at the moment. After months of re-design work, we're finally working on the June issue, which will be the first new look magazine. And we have at last migrated to InDesign (hallelujah), which makes life so so much easier. So it's pretty much as 'exciting' right now as this job is ever likely to get.
Oh I don't think I ever mentioned anything about the Miles Aldridge exhibition I went to last week. It was pretty awesome and inspiring, even though the prints displayed could have been a bit bigger! But then the prices would have probably climbed out of reach for everyone. Personally, if I did have an extra £1800 lying around, I so would have bought a picture then and there. :D Now I'll just have to try to find the new, freshly published book from somewhere.p.s. Sooz took this sneaky shot as my mobile was being too loud for any sort of espionage!
Labels: Lisa Hannigan, Miles Aldridge, my life, photography, wedding photography
//posted by Marianne @ 11:03 0 comments
Sunday, 3 May 2009
Welcome to the dark side
I think I'm starting to go a bit cross-eyed from all the editing I've done in the last two days. And I'm not even half way through yet! :D Oh well, I do enjoy it really. But it would be nice to one day be in a position where I wouldn't have to be doing it at weekends/annual leave days. But yes, so far I've gotten as far as the ceremony of Lucy & Richard's wedding.
You can see a few more pictures over at MTP.
I'm currently contemplating on carrying on further into the night, but my neck and head is giving me such grief that I might have to call it a day and start on the mammoth task of reception shots tomorrow.
Not doing anything else but sitting in a darkened room staring at the screen doesn't really give much material for any other exciting blogging I'm afraid. Oh, on Friday we did have a little May Day cocktail party with Sooz, which I suppose could count as exciting under normal circumstances. But, as yummy as the cocktails were and as enjoyable the company, I quite embarrassingly ran completely out of juice before 11pm. Me! I was quite shocked myself to find that I just couldn't keep my eyes open for any longer. But still, fun was had none the less.
While I've been working away S has been busy being a very exemplary husband. He has tidied the flat (and the car) from top to bottom, and we have more clean clothes than we have space to put them in! I am very impressed indeed. Finally the training is starting to pay off. :D
You can see a few more pictures over at MTP.
I'm currently contemplating on carrying on further into the night, but my neck and head is giving me such grief that I might have to call it a day and start on the mammoth task of reception shots tomorrow.
Not doing anything else but sitting in a darkened room staring at the screen doesn't really give much material for any other exciting blogging I'm afraid. Oh, on Friday we did have a little May Day cocktail party with Sooz, which I suppose could count as exciting under normal circumstances. But, as yummy as the cocktails were and as enjoyable the company, I quite embarrassingly ran completely out of juice before 11pm. Me! I was quite shocked myself to find that I just couldn't keep my eyes open for any longer. But still, fun was had none the less.
While I've been working away S has been busy being a very exemplary husband. He has tidied the flat (and the car) from top to bottom, and we have more clean clothes than we have space to put them in! I am very impressed indeed. Finally the training is starting to pay off. :D
Labels: London, my life, photography, wedding photography
//posted by Marianne @ 23:46 1 comments
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
This is me
I've been thinking about things like branding and online identity a lot lately. Or rather, they have been issues that have come up over and over again in various conversations in different contexts, with people such as Jonas and Cathie to name but a few. And for a while I was struggling over how I should brand myself/my business in order for all the different messages to be clear and not get muddled up by all the noise.
The thing is, I am interested in a lot of things. I am what could be called an enthusiast in a lot of different fields, and often those areas don't necessarily relate to each other. So what do you do if you don't want to alienate anyone? Is it possible to relate to everyone? While this really wasn't such an issue before, it was something I had to get my head around when setting up my wedding photography business. It was quite clear that the business needed to be a separate entity from everything else - it makes no sense for a bride to be reading about gadgets or trips to the hairdressers. But then again, I had quite a widely spread online identity as mnoo (from dA to pretty much every other service there is), and mnoo.com was pretty established at that point in terms of showcasing my personal photography, so it would have been a waste not to use that presence to drive traffic, and more importantly, to allow for a more in-depth picture of me. And why is that important? Well, because in any business, which is built around you and your skill, and where you deal with the end customer directly, you are effectively selling yourself. You want to attract clients who can relate to you and your personality, and your clients need to feel like they 'know you', and thus, can trust you.
There are people out there who are very suspicious of laying it all out online. I think, in this day and age, there is really no place to hide. If you want to make the most of your opportunities, you just have to be out there. As transparently as possible. And wouldn't you want to be the one in charge of how your identity is perceived in any case?
Right, did I have a point in my head somewhere when I started. I guess what I was thinking about today, was how my wedding customers reading my Twitter might get confused about what I get up to. And how those people coming to this blog for pretty pictures of flowers might get bored by the gadgetry things, and the gadgetry people by the wardrobe silliness. But the thing is, this blog, and especially Twitter, is just purely all the things I am about. And it's not thought-out or aimed at any specific reader, it's just about me putting it out there - regardless of whether it's 'of value' to anyone. I am interested in a variety of things and get excited over different non-related events. And I couldn't for the life of me edit myself down to just one clearly branded - soberly positioned - identity, with one specific interest. It's all me, and if that's confusing to some, then so be it.
This is me: photographer, wife, magazine designer, Finn, internet addict, cinema lover, gig goer, technology enthusiast, fashion fun (for everyone) advocate, gadget twiddler, social networking fiend, traveller, lover of words.... who loves colours, pretty things, reading books in one go, weddings, open mindedness, meeting new people and chocolate.
The thing is, I am interested in a lot of things. I am what could be called an enthusiast in a lot of different fields, and often those areas don't necessarily relate to each other. So what do you do if you don't want to alienate anyone? Is it possible to relate to everyone? While this really wasn't such an issue before, it was something I had to get my head around when setting up my wedding photography business. It was quite clear that the business needed to be a separate entity from everything else - it makes no sense for a bride to be reading about gadgets or trips to the hairdressers. But then again, I had quite a widely spread online identity as mnoo (from dA to pretty much every other service there is), and mnoo.com was pretty established at that point in terms of showcasing my personal photography, so it would have been a waste not to use that presence to drive traffic, and more importantly, to allow for a more in-depth picture of me. And why is that important? Well, because in any business, which is built around you and your skill, and where you deal with the end customer directly, you are effectively selling yourself. You want to attract clients who can relate to you and your personality, and your clients need to feel like they 'know you', and thus, can trust you.
There are people out there who are very suspicious of laying it all out online. I think, in this day and age, there is really no place to hide. If you want to make the most of your opportunities, you just have to be out there. As transparently as possible. And wouldn't you want to be the one in charge of how your identity is perceived in any case?
Right, did I have a point in my head somewhere when I started. I guess what I was thinking about today, was how my wedding customers reading my Twitter might get confused about what I get up to. And how those people coming to this blog for pretty pictures of flowers might get bored by the gadgetry things, and the gadgetry people by the wardrobe silliness. But the thing is, this blog, and especially Twitter, is just purely all the things I am about. And it's not thought-out or aimed at any specific reader, it's just about me putting it out there - regardless of whether it's 'of value' to anyone. I am interested in a variety of things and get excited over different non-related events. And I couldn't for the life of me edit myself down to just one clearly branded - soberly positioned - identity, with one specific interest. It's all me, and if that's confusing to some, then so be it.
This is me: photographer, wife, magazine designer, Finn, internet addict, cinema lover, gig goer, technology enthusiast, fashion fun (for everyone) advocate, gadget twiddler, social networking fiend, traveller, lover of words.... who loves colours, pretty things, reading books in one go, weddings, open mindedness, meeting new people and chocolate.
Labels: branding, my life, photography, social networking, twitter, wedding photography
//posted by Marianne @ 11:44 5 comments
Friday, 17 April 2009
Hitting the ground running
As nice and relaxing as my mini-break was, getting back to the normal rhythm has required hitting the ground running. Catching up with work in the office, and gearing up for getting the issue to press, has made these couple of days feel like a lot longer time, with the amount of work I've packed in. In other ways I do like being busy though. There's no rest for the wicked at the weekend either. Tomorrow I'm off to The Gadget Show Live in Birmingham with 3, which should be fun. But also means I have to get up before 6am. On a Saturday. Surely there's a law against such inhumanity. After surviving tomorrow I have two shoots on Sunday. Which is all nice and the stuff I love doing, but then just around the corner comes Monday and press week... And I haven't even unpacked my suitcase yet.
Bookings for my wedding photography are rolling in at a nice pace. I'm now at a point where I have turn people away as there's only so many weddings I can do while still being in full time employment as well. In fact, I've just about booked all my annual leave until the end of the year, just for wedding work. No holidays for moi this year... Oh how I yearn for the time when it will be possible to ditch the day job and concentrate just on the photography. It still seems such a long way off though, with us being nowhere near qualifying for a mortgage big enough to buy even a cave in the area we live in (out of commuting necessity). Oh well, just trying to keep my head down and push through it, as hard as it is. Fingers crossed it will be worth all the hard work in the end.
Hmm, I think I'm gonna head out to grab some lunch while there seems to be a break in the rain.
Bookings for my wedding photography are rolling in at a nice pace. I'm now at a point where I have turn people away as there's only so many weddings I can do while still being in full time employment as well. In fact, I've just about booked all my annual leave until the end of the year, just for wedding work. No holidays for moi this year... Oh how I yearn for the time when it will be possible to ditch the day job and concentrate just on the photography. It still seems such a long way off though, with us being nowhere near qualifying for a mortgage big enough to buy even a cave in the area we live in (out of commuting necessity). Oh well, just trying to keep my head down and push through it, as hard as it is. Fingers crossed it will be worth all the hard work in the end.
Hmm, I think I'm gonna head out to grab some lunch while there seems to be a break in the rain.
Labels: my life, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 12:56 0 comments
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Here comes the Bride...
//posted by Marianne @ 21:50 1 comments
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Inspiration
Remember this.
Zack Arias guest blogging for Scott Kelby.
Labels: photography, scott kelby, video, zach arias
//posted by Marianne @ 22:11 0 comments
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Love Overdose
Suvi challenged me to present the fourth picture of the fourth folder in my picture archives.
Since I archive my digital files by year/date, it wasn't exactly an adventurous task for me. The archives on my HD's start from 2004, everything before that is archived on discs. So, this is how I landed on this picture, titled 'Love Overdose'. It was taken on 21.12.2004.
This was taken at a time when I was starting to experiment with studio flashes. The fact that I could produce high key images made me quite delirious, up to the point where most of the shots from then now look over-exposed to me. Seeing this again, the original tone seemed very blue. So this task prompted me to correct it a bit.
Since I archive my digital files by year/date, it wasn't exactly an adventurous task for me. The archives on my HD's start from 2004, everything before that is archived on discs. So, this is how I landed on this picture, titled 'Love Overdose'. It was taken on 21.12.2004.
This was taken at a time when I was starting to experiment with studio flashes. The fact that I could produce high key images made me quite delirious, up to the point where most of the shots from then now look over-exposed to me. Seeing this again, the original tone seemed very blue. So this task prompted me to correct it a bit.
Labels: photography, surveys etc.
//posted by Marianne @ 13:22 2 comments
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Bright Lights, Big City
More from Anna & Andrew's engagement shoot over at MTP blog.
Labels: engagement photography, London, photoblog, photography, South Bank, wedding photography
//posted by Marianne @ 09:53 4 comments
Monday, 19 January 2009
Still standing, just about...
Phew. It is done. Head over to MTP blog for more.
Labels: engagement photography, London, photoblog, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 22:12 7 comments
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Achy breaky everything
Sorry for the silence, I've had a bit of a manic week and weekend. Every bit of my body aches and I could do with a complete re-boot, but still, I'm happy to be doing what I'm doing.
Today I had a pre-wedding shoot with Magali and Jeff. We spent the day traipsing around in the mud on Hampstead Heath, braving the bitter wind. At least the sun made an appearance, which was nice!
I'm still in the middle of editing those pics (and should probably sleep at some point), so I'll show you some later on.
After the shoot we went to check out their wedding venue, Burgh
House, which is also the home to a little restaurant - and possibly the cutest place you could ever find. Warm tea and soup was just what we needed.
Now I really gotta go rest my achy bones...
Today I had a pre-wedding shoot with Magali and Jeff. We spent the day traipsing around in the mud on Hampstead Heath, braving the bitter wind. At least the sun made an appearance, which was nice!
I'm still in the middle of editing those pics (and should probably sleep at some point), so I'll show you some later on.
After the shoot we went to check out their wedding venue, Burgh
House, which is also the home to a little restaurant - and possibly the cutest place you could ever find. Warm tea and soup was just what we needed.
Now I really gotta go rest my achy bones...
Labels: my life, photoblog, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 23:09 0 comments
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Local tourism
We had a lovely time yesterday. It's fun to be a tourist in your own town, it makes you take a step back and really take notice of the hustle and bustle around you. Our hotel room was pretty fancy pants as well, it was weird having huge windows looking straight out onto Shaftesbury Avenue. We spent quite a lot of time just people watching.
And of course, Bill Bailey was so much fun, I can't remember the last time I've laughed so much.
And of course, Bill Bailey was so much fun, I can't remember the last time I've laughed so much.
Labels: Bill Bailey, London, my life, photoblog, photography, theatre
//posted by Marianne @ 21:13 2 comments
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Best Christmas present
Cat's Christmas parcel. :D More photos from this maternity shoot over at Marianne Taylor Photography.
Labels: London, maternity photography, photoblog, photography, Twickenham
//posted by Marianne @ 23:04 3 comments
Moodscapes for next year
If you want to own a piece of me, and keep up to date next year, the Moodscapes Calendar 2009 is out now. :)
Labels: calendar 2009, moodscapes, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 10:38 1 comments
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Facebook fans and mystery launch suspence
I feel like I ought to let you know that MTP now has a facebook page, just in case you feel a strong urge to become a fan! :DIn other news, I've sent a strongly worded letter to London Underground today, as this morning I'd just had enough! I've had to walk from Waterloo every morning this week because of disruption on the Jubilee line. What exactly is the point of paying for a season ticket if you can never get on the train?? But yes, I expect they will jump into action any minute now, after receiving my letter. I can only wonder how many zeros there will be on my compensation cheque. :P
Tonight's the night of the mysterious driedonpaper launch party. Sooz is coming with me, and we've been pulling our hair out trying to figure out what it might be for - with no success. Is exciting! I hope it's something good after all this suspence... will let you know tomorrow.
Labels: 3, 3 network, 3mobilebuzz, 3Network, driedonpaper, facebook, INQ, INQ1, London Underground, my life, photography, social networking, technology
//posted by Marianne @ 14:11 1 comments
Saturday, 25 October 2008
On the road - literally
Well, there's a first time for everything. I'm sitting in the car on the M25 (not driving I might point out), updating my blog on my laptop. Now that is proper geekage. Or just brilliant time management! :D Yeah, it feels like ages since I've actually written a blog entry, I just tend to chuck a few photos this way when ever I have a minute. Life's been a bit full on lately. Admittedly, it's all my own doing what with effectively having two jobs, two websites and three blogs to try to keep up with.
Talking about two jobs, what's kept me most busy is doing the groundwork in setting up a little part-time business. The website took quite a few nights to put together, but is mostly finished now (Paul, I could seriously not function without you!), and I'm moving onto a marketing phase. What I want to do this year is get some bookings for next year, and then start properly working from the start of 2009. Weekends will never be the same again I'm afraid... But something needed to be done. That is if we ever want to get out of renting in this country. It'll take a lifetime to try to save up the deposit banks are demanding in these mad times. But yeah, hopefully I'll get enough work to get at least a little bit closer to home ownership once again. Oh and by the way, there's also a new blog, which will eventually be for sharing shots from client shoots mostly, but for now there's some overlap with this blog for obvious reasons.
Eugh, starting to feel a bit sick now what with looking at the screen instead of the road.
We're on our way to spend a night at Nikki & Ian's, it's been too long since the last time again! The sun is trying to shine and it'll be nice to see Southend again, I do miss the place at times.
Have a nice weekend everyone!
Talking about two jobs, what's kept me most busy is doing the groundwork in setting up a little part-time business. The website took quite a few nights to put together, but is mostly finished now (Paul, I could seriously not function without you!), and I'm moving onto a marketing phase. What I want to do this year is get some bookings for next year, and then start properly working from the start of 2009. Weekends will never be the same again I'm afraid... But something needed to be done. That is if we ever want to get out of renting in this country. It'll take a lifetime to try to save up the deposit banks are demanding in these mad times. But yeah, hopefully I'll get enough work to get at least a little bit closer to home ownership once again. Oh and by the way, there's also a new blog, which will eventually be for sharing shots from client shoots mostly, but for now there's some overlap with this blog for obvious reasons.
Eugh, starting to feel a bit sick now what with looking at the screen instead of the road.
We're on our way to spend a night at Nikki & Ian's, it's been too long since the last time again! The sun is trying to shine and it'll be nice to see Southend again, I do miss the place at times.
Have a nice weekend everyone!
Labels: my life, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 14:36 2 comments
Monday, 13 October 2008
The Beast critiqued
My picture got published in the Expert Critique section of November's edition of Digital SLR Photography. The review was pretty much 50/50. I was quite stoked about what Daniel Lezano had to say though. And this is gonna make me sound like a mentalist, but I was so pleased it was on page 50... as 5 is my favourite number. Umm.And hey, fame for Miikka (again). :P I still find this the funniest thing ever. Art is traumatising!
Right. Off to see Heather Nova now! Woo.
Labels: photography
//posted by Marianne @ 18:44 4 comments
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Books, gigs and inspirational homes
I finally finished laying out Nikki's wedding book today. It ended up being 84 pages, and looks pretty good to me. Am very pleased with it. I think the fact that I'm a designer in my day job helps me automatically think about the layout when I'm taking the shots, which makes laying out quite easy (if still laborious). I'm thinking maybe photo shoots delivered as a book could be my little 'niche', if I was to start taking photography a bit more seriously... Hmm.
As a side note, one thing I've been meaning to mention is this wonderful website called The Selby, which showcases real homes of interesting people. It's really inspirational, not to mention addictive, snooping around in people's homes!
Fanny Bostrom, artist and Bill Gentle, photographer, at home - Brooklyn - August 18 2008
But yeah, I've been quite busy today so far. I've done the dishes, hoovered, put summer shoes and clothes into storage... Oh yeah and sent Stu to Rayleigh to do some washing as our washing machine is broken. :( Sooz is on her way over and I think we're gonna head out to try to make the most of the super nice weather (strange to pack summer stuff away when it's bright sunshine and +20C, but I know it won't last!).
Today's productivity made up for yesterday when I didn't get anything done, thanks to Marjut. She pointed me towards Fabchannel, which is where you can watch full concerts from many (of my favourite) artists. I even had to send Stu out to get a cable so I could hook my laptop to the telly and watch them full screen. :D What a great resource!
As a side note, one thing I've been meaning to mention is this wonderful website called The Selby, which showcases real homes of interesting people. It's really inspirational, not to mention addictive, snooping around in people's homes!
Fanny Bostrom, artist and Bill Gentle, photographer, at home - Brooklyn - August 18 2008
But yeah, I've been quite busy today so far. I've done the dishes, hoovered, put summer shoes and clothes into storage... Oh yeah and sent Stu to Rayleigh to do some washing as our washing machine is broken. :( Sooz is on her way over and I think we're gonna head out to try to make the most of the super nice weather (strange to pack summer stuff away when it's bright sunshine and +20C, but I know it won't last!).
Today's productivity made up for yesterday when I didn't get anything done, thanks to Marjut. She pointed me towards Fabchannel, which is where you can watch full concerts from many (of my favourite) artists. I even had to send Stu out to get a cable so I could hook my laptop to the telly and watch them full screen. :D What a great resource!
Labels: home, music, my life, photography, video
//posted by Marianne @ 12:19 4 comments
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Vote Yeah!
Hey since you seem to be in the mood for voting (:P), could you pleeease go and give a Yeah! vote to my shot Catch, as it looks like it might have a chance to make it into JPG magazine. Suddenly the photo has been seeing a lot of action, and maybe with your help it would get enough Yeahs to actually be published!Thanks for all the votes on the wedding outfits! I think I'm swinging by Monsoon after work today just to see if there was something perfect there, will let you know later on which outfit I'll choose to go with. A lot of people commented how black the selections were, which made me think about why. I think it's because I wear quite bright colours in my every day life, so black to me seems more 'festive'. All my going out stuff is black, I somehow don't feel very dressy if it's not... Having said that, one of the black outfits here was a bit of a red herring, I don't think I would ever wear it to a wedding. And guess which one S chose... :P
Labels: photography
//posted by Marianne @ 14:31 3 comments
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Cover girl
While I was on holiday my copies of Francesca Lia Block's book Echo, which has my picture on the cover, had arrived. It was nice seeing the finished article, even if the sight of my own fizzog makes me cringe a little bit...
Labels: photography
//posted by Marianne @ 18:53 2 comments
Sunday, 29 June 2008
We are nowhere and it's now
Finally a photo shoot which didn't get cancelled! Even my tummy bug co-operated by curing itself yesterday. Ayse was stunning, and a great model, despite her lack of experience. Funnily enough I've been really enjoying the editing as well, it's just sooo nice being able to go through some new shots, it's been a while! Having said that, I can't decide which shots to put together for the Duality pair. I'll put the finished piece up on my website once I've made my mind up. There are some more of these extra shots on Flickr as well.
Labels: photoblog, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 19:50 2 comments
Friday, 7 March 2008
...and exhale
So yes, this period of job hunting has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride emotionally. Originally I was really looking forward to having some 'time off', but it's a funny thing, unemployment. It certainly doesn't feel like a holiday in any shape or form. I wasn't really prepared for the emotional impact that not having a job has, at all. It was a bit of a shock to be honest, the feeling of absolute redundancy, quite literally. Having a job affects your self worth in ways that you can't really appreciate until it is taken away. I certainly went through a lot of soul-searching and re-evaluating my life and trying to figure out what would make me feel most whole and happy within myself.When I was originally given the choice between taking on a role with diminished creative freedom and redundancy, I saw it as a way out. Out and upwards. Seven and a half years is a long time when it comes to a job. I felt like I wanted something... different. At the time I thought that different meant something more, something bigger, which would consequently equal better. Throughout the process of applying for jobs and going to interviews I had to seriously re-adjust my thinking. There were opportunities that on paper got me excited about the prospect of going further, making more money, gaining more status... and yet when I went to these places I couldn't help but feeling that it wasn't right. Bigger and better it might have been, but also faster and more time consuming. I had thought I wanted to move on to the commercial side of design, but the reality of killing yourself over the sole goal of making more money for the company or creating only to try to sell a product just felt... wrong. In a way, during these past months, I've come full circle. I remembered once again that my photography is what truly gives my life fulfilment, and that a job that pays the bills but doesn't take over my life is the only way to go in order to have enough time to devote to taking pictures.
So yes, on Wednesday I accepted a job offer for a position which is practically identical to my old job. I'll be working as a magazine designer for a charity, in an environment that is spookily similar to my previous workplace. Even down to the people! My salary didn't really go up, but other benefits more than make up for it. My pride tries to make me feel like I'm moving backwards, but in my heart I know that it was probably the right decision, for now.
The good thing that came out of going to interviews at big and scary places was that I gained a really good contact at a big publishing house, a creative director who loved my photography. He's already been in touch to see if there was a possibility that I could sometimes shoot for their various magazines.
Now that all the stress is behind me, I'm going to empty my head. Then I'm going to pick up my camera and start shooting properly again. Can't wait.
On Tuesday Susanna and I went to check out the finalists of The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2008, which was quite inspiring. The next day it was announced that Esko Männikkö was the winner. I'm very happy about that. :) Today we were supposed to go to the ARTfutures exhibition, but since we're both suffering from TEH PAIN we're just going to have a girly night in since Stu is in Rayleigh until tomorrow.
P.S. Up there is a picture of the gorgeous flowers Stu brought me after I'd accepted the job offer. Best. Husband. Ever. :D
Labels: my life, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 15:53 0 comments
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Something good
It has been a very stressful couple of weeks. The less said about it the better really. But despite the, by now all too familiar, bad start to the day, something did shift today. The scales started dipping towards the positive.
The highlight of today was by far the completely unplanned time spent with one of my photographic inspirations, Sally Mann. Johanna and I were at the gallery purely to see her exhibition (a treat in itself!) when we found out that the artist herself was in Finland at the moment and would be giving a speech/lecture later on in the day. The session was fully booked but we managed to get our names on a waiting list, in case any spaces became available. And wouldn't you believe it, we got in! Not only that, but we got to sit in the front row, only a half a meter away from Sally. Of course, since I was completely unprepared for such a treat, I didn't have a camera of any description with me. Not even my 'better' mobile phone. So these craptastic shots from my rickety old mobile are all the pictures I got of her.
But that's OK as I'll probably remember the event for the rest of my life whether I have pictures of it or not. Even though Sally did say that since memory - be it personal or collective - is never reliable, it's the artist's job to document what is important.
Sally was a tiny little thing (for some reason I always thought she was very tall!) and yet her presence was undeniable. She was insightful, opinionated and inspiring, and yet somehow also very human. Through slides and stories she took us on a journey into her work and explained to us how and why it has evolved over the last 30-some years into what it is today.
The whole thing went on for about an hour and a half, with the last 20 minutes dedicated to Sally answering people's questions. At the end of the session I got my copy of Immediate Family signed by her - I'm sure I will cherish this copy forever!
The highlight of today was by far the completely unplanned time spent with one of my photographic inspirations, Sally Mann. Johanna and I were at the gallery purely to see her exhibition (a treat in itself!) when we found out that the artist herself was in Finland at the moment and would be giving a speech/lecture later on in the day. The session was fully booked but we managed to get our names on a waiting list, in case any spaces became available. And wouldn't you believe it, we got in! Not only that, but we got to sit in the front row, only a half a meter away from Sally. Of course, since I was completely unprepared for such a treat, I didn't have a camera of any description with me. Not even my 'better' mobile phone. So these craptastic shots from my rickety old mobile are all the pictures I got of her.
But that's OK as I'll probably remember the event for the rest of my life whether I have pictures of it or not. Even though Sally did say that since memory - be it personal or collective - is never reliable, it's the artist's job to document what is important.
Sally was a tiny little thing (for some reason I always thought she was very tall!) and yet her presence was undeniable. She was insightful, opinionated and inspiring, and yet somehow also very human. Through slides and stories she took us on a journey into her work and explained to us how and why it has evolved over the last 30-some years into what it is today.
The whole thing went on for about an hour and a half, with the last 20 minutes dedicated to Sally answering people's questions. At the end of the session I got my copy of Immediate Family signed by her - I'm sure I will cherish this copy forever!
Labels: photography
//posted by Marianne @ 21:52 0 comments
Wednesday, 8 August 2007
Well if everyone else has one...
I suppose I had to make my own meez character since everyone else seems to have one... I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of it is. Or why mine is photographing the pavement. Hmm. Oh well, at least it was much fun picking virtual clothes. Paper dolls sure weren't quite this fancy when I was a kid! :D
The other day I sent a short message to Derek Ridgers through his website in an attempt to thank him for choosing my image for the Tate shortlist (mine was his personal choice). I never really expected for him to answer, but he did! He wrote a really sweet mail back saying that my picture 'will bring a smile to a lot of the people who view it'. Isn't that decent of him. You know what though, it was quite a surreal feeling to open your inbox and have a mail from Derek Ridgers sitting in there...
Labels: photography
//posted by Marianne @ 21:45 0 comments
Monday, 6 August 2007
Kinda cool
My photograph is in Tate Britain. The exhibition was also featured on BBC Radio 4's Today program this morning. Kinda cool huh. :D
Also, I now seem to have what ever sickness Stu's been suffering from. We shall both probably die. Like Romeo & Juliet. But in the loo.
Also, I now seem to have what ever sickness Stu's been suffering from. We shall both probably die. Like Romeo & Juliet. But in the loo.
Labels: photography
//posted by Marianne @ 09:52 0 comments
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
All good things come to an end
So Eurovision is finally behind us. The final went pretty smoothly. Without Father Christmas and Krisse there wouldn't have been anything to be ashamed of, but I guess it's compulsory to have at least something to cringe about in these sort of situations. :P
Another thing that has come to an end is my 365 days project. Yesterday was day 365. In some ways a year went by soooo fast, but sometimes it did feel like I would never see the back of this project. It did become a bit of a chore eventually, and I think the quality of the pictures dropped quite drastically towards the end of it... it felt like an effort to even produce a picture every day, never mind trying to make it good. I feel a little bit lighter now and hopefully the freedom will give me space to have some new ideas. I think I'll start some new projects soon, but with a lot less rigid schedule.
We changed our minds about some things regarding the wedding (again!) and I should prolly update the wedding blog to reflect that when I have a minute...
I finally shot Johanna (and Olli & Aleksi) for my Duality series yesterday. We've been meaning to do that since Olli was born! :D Better late than never huh. Anyways, it was a lot of fun. Here are some outtakes. :)
Another thing that has come to an end is my 365 days project. Yesterday was day 365. In some ways a year went by soooo fast, but sometimes it did feel like I would never see the back of this project. It did become a bit of a chore eventually, and I think the quality of the pictures dropped quite drastically towards the end of it... it felt like an effort to even produce a picture every day, never mind trying to make it good. I feel a little bit lighter now and hopefully the freedom will give me space to have some new ideas. I think I'll start some new projects soon, but with a lot less rigid schedule.
We changed our minds about some things regarding the wedding (again!) and I should prolly update the wedding blog to reflect that when I have a minute...
I finally shot Johanna (and Olli & Aleksi) for my Duality series yesterday. We've been meaning to do that since Olli was born! :D Better late than never huh. Anyways, it was a lot of fun. Here are some outtakes. :)
Labels: my life, people, photoblog, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 14:07 0 comments
Sunday, 11 March 2007
The sunny side of life
Greetings from gloriously sunny London. It was a lovely lovely day, so warm and light and springy. <3 We went to the Face of Fashion exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery with Sooz. It was cool, inspiring and intimidating all at once. I think it could have been a bit more extensive however, we sort of ran into a dead end just when we were really getting into it. Oh well. The catalogue has a lot more pictures from each photographer for some reason, don't quite understand why all of them couldn't have been included in the show.
Here's some sunny shots from Trafalgar Square for you to enjoy.
Here's some sunny shots from Trafalgar Square for you to enjoy.
Labels: my life, photoblog, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 21:16 0 comments
Thursday, 8 February 2007
Life as we know it
Hey, anyone else on jaiku? It's the new twitter you know... :P You can see my updates when you look to the left right now. See. Even when I'm not here I'm everywhere! :D
I keep forgetting to write. Or actually, I think it's probably a case of not having the time to write. Or at least, not having the time to think about what to write. Work has been a bitch, which I suppose is the case around this time every month. So, what's been happening? We got the winter I was longing for. Well, we got the snow I was longing for, it's just a bit unfortunate that it came attached with 20 degrees to the wrong direction on the thermometer. Gosh, it's been cold! I don't think I'll ever get used to cold like this… Yesterday, waiting for a train in -21C (yes, the trains still run fyi :P) with added wind, I was seriously wondering what sane person would choose to live in this sort of environment. Then again, it is only a week or two out of a year… I suppose it's short enough time to be able to forget until the next time. Still, getting along with life as normal here makes me smile about the chaos that 5cm of snow seems to have caused in England. :D I'm going over on Saturday. I don't think the snow over there is going to stay around for me.
I went to the dentist yesterday to get my stitches out. That was cool and all. But for some reason my jaw has started aching like a bastard in the last couple of days. The dentist said it's prolly just the stitches aggravating it, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference having them out. I've had two nights of not being able to sleep properly from someone sticking hot knives into my jawbone. Frozen peas are a godsend I tell you. But they're struggling, even combined with the most heavy duty painkillers. If tonight is as bad as the previous ones I think I'll have to phone the dentist and get him to prescribe more antibiotics or something. I'm not looking forward to flying with the pain on Saturday… Oh how I wait for the time when all this tooth hassle will be behind me.
Helmi was over at the weekend, which was nice. We've certainly been very good in the last year or so in keeping in contact and seeing each other. We used to have this once in 1 to 2 years thing going on for the longest time. I guess everything in life goes in cycles of some sort. Anyways, it was nice to see her and we managed not to leave the house at all for two days. And we even watched one of the shittiest films ever. Cold Creek Manor. I don't know, there's just something really aggravating about films that sort of look good on paper but turn out to be a complete waste of time. At least films that are honest about being crap are more entertaining on a certain level.
Oh yeah, and Eve came over for a little shoot as well. I guess my initial idea was to shoot something for a Valentine's Day theme. And I did get one shot that I'll probably put up on dA on the day… See, it's good to have traditions. :P It was nice to shoot, even though I felt a bit rusty and even though it's bloody difficult for me to concentrate on two models at the same time. Luckily both my models were real troopers. :D
I keep forgetting to write. Or actually, I think it's probably a case of not having the time to write. Or at least, not having the time to think about what to write. Work has been a bitch, which I suppose is the case around this time every month. So, what's been happening? We got the winter I was longing for. Well, we got the snow I was longing for, it's just a bit unfortunate that it came attached with 20 degrees to the wrong direction on the thermometer. Gosh, it's been cold! I don't think I'll ever get used to cold like this… Yesterday, waiting for a train in -21C (yes, the trains still run fyi :P) with added wind, I was seriously wondering what sane person would choose to live in this sort of environment. Then again, it is only a week or two out of a year… I suppose it's short enough time to be able to forget until the next time. Still, getting along with life as normal here makes me smile about the chaos that 5cm of snow seems to have caused in England. :D I'm going over on Saturday. I don't think the snow over there is going to stay around for me.
I went to the dentist yesterday to get my stitches out. That was cool and all. But for some reason my jaw has started aching like a bastard in the last couple of days. The dentist said it's prolly just the stitches aggravating it, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference having them out. I've had two nights of not being able to sleep properly from someone sticking hot knives into my jawbone. Frozen peas are a godsend I tell you. But they're struggling, even combined with the most heavy duty painkillers. If tonight is as bad as the previous ones I think I'll have to phone the dentist and get him to prescribe more antibiotics or something. I'm not looking forward to flying with the pain on Saturday… Oh how I wait for the time when all this tooth hassle will be behind me.
Helmi was over at the weekend, which was nice. We've certainly been very good in the last year or so in keeping in contact and seeing each other. We used to have this once in 1 to 2 years thing going on for the longest time. I guess everything in life goes in cycles of some sort. Anyways, it was nice to see her and we managed not to leave the house at all for two days. And we even watched one of the shittiest films ever. Cold Creek Manor. I don't know, there's just something really aggravating about films that sort of look good on paper but turn out to be a complete waste of time. At least films that are honest about being crap are more entertaining on a certain level.
Oh yeah, and Eve came over for a little shoot as well. I guess my initial idea was to shoot something for a Valentine's Day theme. And I did get one shot that I'll probably put up on dA on the day… See, it's good to have traditions. :P It was nice to shoot, even though I felt a bit rusty and even though it's bloody difficult for me to concentrate on two models at the same time. Luckily both my models were real troopers. :D
Labels: movies, my life, people, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 19:23 0 comments
Wednesday, 17 May 2006
How organised of me
In an attempt to make my online time even more efficient than before I decided to try and collect all the places I usually visit on one handy page. Admittedly, a bit easier said than done, but it sort of works... So far, I've been trying out Pageflakes to do it with. And this is what my browser home page looks like at the moment. I'm most pleased with the flickr feeds (atm I've got latest pics from contacts + comments received on there), but very annoyed that nothing on DA, apart from journals, has an RSS feed available... having messages as a webpage is a bit awkward, but at least you can sort of see what's happening. Ideally I would have liked to have had a few more forums that I visit regularly on there as well, but alas, no feeds. Can't really think of what else to put on there at the moment.
I started a project called 365 days on Flickr and the aim is for me to take one picture each day for it. I got (well, stole) the idea from Hanna who has done a beautiful job with her set. In theory it should help with keeping your style fresh while forcing you to think of new ideas and to actually pick up the camera on a daily basis. Here's hoping I'll be able to keep up with it.
I started a project called 365 days on Flickr and the aim is for me to take one picture each day for it. I got (well, stole) the idea from Hanna who has done a beautiful job with her set. In theory it should help with keeping your style fresh while forcing you to think of new ideas and to actually pick up the camera on a daily basis. Here's hoping I'll be able to keep up with it.
Labels: photography, social networking
//posted by Marianne @ 23:27 0 comments
I'm in control
Is it ironic that I'm doing an internet addiction test while online at 2:42. :P Well, not according to the result: 39. You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage.
God I hate the phrase 'surf the web'. :/
I joined flickr recently. Since I took all my street and nature shots off of my main site I thought I ought to have a place where to put pictures that I don't think fit the style of my site nor DA. Especially since I'm planning on doing some Holga/lomo experimentations in the future I felt I needed to have different platforms for different forms of expression. I'm still sorting out what goes where most naturally though, that's why my flickr sets keep changing around a bit.
My nose is all blocked up and I can't sleep because I can't breathe while laying down. :| I'm still trying to figure out if this is a cold or allergies or wtf ever. Sucks in any case.
God I hate the phrase 'surf the web'. :/
I joined flickr recently. Since I took all my street and nature shots off of my main site I thought I ought to have a place where to put pictures that I don't think fit the style of my site nor DA. Especially since I'm planning on doing some Holga/lomo experimentations in the future I felt I needed to have different platforms for different forms of expression. I'm still sorting out what goes where most naturally though, that's why my flickr sets keep changing around a bit.
My nose is all blocked up and I can't sleep because I can't breathe while laying down. :| I'm still trying to figure out if this is a cold or allergies or wtf ever. Sucks in any case.
Labels: photography, social networking
//posted by Marianne @ 00:44 0 comments
Sunday, 2 April 2006
Spring cleaning
Lots of entries lately. :D
The spring cleaning relates mostly to my website. Yes, mnoo.com has been revamped slightly ( thanks Paul <3) and it now has a bit of a lighter, fresher look and logo. Also, the store section has been completely redone and there is now official mnoo.com duckie merchandise available. :D How cool is that. I just couldn't resist providing pink duckie t-shirts. :P
Woo. I got ID'd buying Bacardi today (happens like once a year now it seems, good going!). I thanked the bloke obviously and told him he might have prevented my turning-thirty crisis. Although that might have been a bit of an exaggeration to be honest... but still, it certainly made my day. :D
Mum brought me this photography magazine called photoArt from Prague, which is kinda cool. Can't understand a word of it but there are some very nice pictures in there, like quite a few brilliant portraits by Andzej Dragan. I don't think I'll be enrolling on the dubious sounding 'Photo Camp' though, which seems to consist mainly of taking strange pictures of scared-looking nekkid ladies... :| Anyways, it's very interesting to see photography magazines you wouldn't normally come across at your local newsagent.
The spring cleaning relates mostly to my website. Yes, mnoo.com has been revamped slightly ( thanks Paul <3) and it now has a bit of a lighter, fresher look and logo. Also, the store section has been completely redone and there is now official mnoo.com duckie merchandise available. :D How cool is that. I just couldn't resist providing pink duckie t-shirts. :P
Woo. I got ID'd buying Bacardi today (happens like once a year now it seems, good going!). I thanked the bloke obviously and told him he might have prevented my turning-thirty crisis. Although that might have been a bit of an exaggeration to be honest... but still, it certainly made my day. :D
Mum brought me this photography magazine called photoArt from Prague, which is kinda cool. Can't understand a word of it but there are some very nice pictures in there, like quite a few brilliant portraits by Andzej Dragan. I don't think I'll be enrolling on the dubious sounding 'Photo Camp' though, which seems to consist mainly of taking strange pictures of scared-looking nekkid ladies... :| Anyways, it's very interesting to see photography magazines you wouldn't normally come across at your local newsagent.
Labels: my life, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 00:29 0 comments
Thursday, 30 March 2006
Oh yeah
This cool online magazine, c-heads, did a little feature on me. They just wanted my silly lips pictures, which was a bit weird but hey... Although it's a bit annoying that all the other pictures in the issue are just gorgeous, and then there are my most vapid pictures by their side. :| Oh well, I suppose I should be glad that they even wanted me. :D
Anyways, if you want to have a look, click on the 'issues' and then Issue 02.
Anyways, if you want to have a look, click on the 'issues' and then Issue 02.
Labels: my life, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 19:49 0 comments
Wednesday, 8 February 2006
There's more
An interview I did for an italian portal jumper.it and their magazine D-Jump is out now as well. You can go to the download area where you'll have to just subscribe quickly to receive a link to the new Issue 6 of D-Jump. You can also download a cute little video/promo directly from the banner on the homepage at jumper.it. How cute is that! :D It can be viewed on both iTunes and iPod. The magazine should be viewed using the latest version of Acrobat Reader (7.0.5) to enjoy the multimedia content. :)
If your italian is a bit so-so, you can get the english transcript from here.
Oh yeah and I gotta leave for the airport in an hour or so. Dum de dum.
If your italian is a bit so-so, you can get the english transcript from here.
Oh yeah and I gotta leave for the airport in an hour or so. Dum de dum.
Labels: my life, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 02:24 0 comments
Friday, 3 February 2006
Mission accomplished
As it happens, I managed to get a half naked picture of Miikka printed in a magazine. I'd call that an achievement. :P
Also, it's kind of cool to be a 'published artist' or wtf ever. :D Hehe. See! It's actually quite a flattering layout.
Oh and of course I had to take a picture of the magazines in the rack. :P And look, isn't that the girl on the cover! What a coincidence.
She did manage to make the sales person bloke blush by asking if any of the covers of the magazines she bought reminded him of her. :/
Also, it's kind of cool to be a 'published artist' or wtf ever. :D Hehe. See! It's actually quite a flattering layout.
Oh and of course I had to take a picture of the magazines in the rack. :P And look, isn't that the girl on the cover! What a coincidence.
She did manage to make the sales person bloke blush by asking if any of the covers of the magazines she bought reminded him of her. :/
Labels: my life, people, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 20:15 0 comments
Tuesday, 25 October 2005
Yummy huh
//posted by Marianne @ 15:44 0 comments
Monday, 7 March 2005
No shoes for months
Yay! I've got a new lens. :D Jenni was selling her sigma 28mm EX DG macro f1.8 and even though it pretty much fitted my lens 'need' I didn't think I could afford it (well I can't :|). But then I raided my loose change jar, which I have been collecting coins into for about two years (from the floor, from Stu's pockets, from underneath the bed etc.). And they added up to almost exactly the amount she was asking for it! Talk about destiny... Now, all the smart alecs back there who wonder why I didn't just put that money towards paying off my camera... erm... well hush. Don't mess with fate k.
It's so lovely. It is.
Labels: my life, photography, shopping
//posted by Marianne @ 22:47 0 comments
Friday, 4 March 2005
Hey ya
Yay, finally a friday blog. :D It's been a stupid day. Been waiting for this huge load of work to turn up and because of the incompetence of some people it is now nearly a week behind schedule. So I've been twiddling my thumbs knowing that I will probably get it all on my desk at the latest possible, most inconvenient, moment. Argh. Also, my toes have been freezing all day. Nevertheless, it is friday and my mood can only go up eh.
Some of my pictures got featured in Rib Magazine, which is kinda cool. Even though I didn't particularly like the way they've presented them... oh well, still a nice thing to be asked. :)
It's been such a stupidly expensive start of the year so far. I just had to (yes had to :P) buy the 20D (mostly on credit :/), which I do love. It's such a lovely camera. But on top of that my monitor decided to die and I then bought this one to replace it. It's my first lcd and I'm currently a bit paranoid about colours and contrast etc. displaying properly. I should get the first batch of prints that I've processed on this monitor back soon and then I'll know for sure if it displays everything good enough. It's soooo nice to have the desk space though, I'd forgotten what my desk looked like. =P Mind you, it's slowly filling up with junk as we speak...
In other news, on wednesday Miikka and I went and bought another dance matt, so now we can have proper battles with two matts. =P Is my life really sad if I get excited about such a thing. I personally think that life is too short to deny anything, that brings fun, from yourself. :D Well apart from maybe heroin. :|
Need badly to shoot some pregnancy pictures with Eve before she pops. Time, slow down a bit k.
Oh and I'm planning on doing something silly, if I don't run out of time, just to see if I can do it. I'm not gonna say what it is though as then I'd put too much pressure on myself, which I definitely don't want as I'm doing it just for fun. Which makes writing this down completely futile doesn't it. Umm. :| Sorry
Some of my pictures got featured in Rib Magazine, which is kinda cool. Even though I didn't particularly like the way they've presented them... oh well, still a nice thing to be asked. :)
It's been such a stupidly expensive start of the year so far. I just had to (yes had to :P) buy the 20D (mostly on credit :/), which I do love. It's such a lovely camera. But on top of that my monitor decided to die and I then bought this one to replace it. It's my first lcd and I'm currently a bit paranoid about colours and contrast etc. displaying properly. I should get the first batch of prints that I've processed on this monitor back soon and then I'll know for sure if it displays everything good enough. It's soooo nice to have the desk space though, I'd forgotten what my desk looked like. =P Mind you, it's slowly filling up with junk as we speak...
In other news, on wednesday Miikka and I went and bought another dance matt, so now we can have proper battles with two matts. =P Is my life really sad if I get excited about such a thing. I personally think that life is too short to deny anything, that brings fun, from yourself. :D Well apart from maybe heroin. :|
Need badly to shoot some pregnancy pictures with Eve before she pops. Time, slow down a bit k.
Oh and I'm planning on doing something silly, if I don't run out of time, just to see if I can do it. I'm not gonna say what it is though as then I'd put too much pressure on myself, which I definitely don't want as I'm doing it just for fun. Which makes writing this down completely futile doesn't it. Umm. :| Sorry
Labels: my life, photography
//posted by Marianne @ 15:37 0 comments
Thursday, 23 September 2004
I just watched a documentary on the late Henri Cartier-Bresson. It was quite fascinating and moving. The vast body of his work is so humbling and inspiring. And it was so interesting to watch the man himself go through piles and piles of his own photographs, each of them bringing back a memory that had been forgotten. Each of them a story, a piece of personal and also popular history.
I have this thing about movie quotes (if you haven't noticed =P), sometimes lines just stick in my head. One line that's always somewhere at the back of my mind is from Blade Runner, which is one of my favourite movies (if you don't mind). It's where a replicant Roy Batty (played by Rutger Hauer) comes across the man who made his eyes and says: 'If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes.' That simple thought, so powerful in its absoluteness, moves me. The fact that you are the only person inside yourself, and you are the only person who sees things exactly the way you do... To me, the attempt - or ability - to show life through your own eyes has always defined what photography, or any visual artform, is about.
Anyways, I got to thinking about this after all the places and thoughts and feelings Cartier-Bressons pictures made me visit. The man had been everywhere. And usually just at the right moment from a photographers point of view - be it visually, politically or emotionally. To think that what if he hadn't been a photographer... all these precious moments, jewels in time, would have only been embedded into his memories, slowly fading away even from there until evaporating from existence.
I must say watching that didn't really ease my itchy feet... it made me yearn for travel and exploring even more. But it also made me want to dig out all my (many many many) photo albums and visit some fading memories. By the way, if you ever want to travel through someone elses eyes, be sure to check out the wonderful photos and stories of skiphunt, if you haven't already. There's a vast colourful world waiting for you.
Oh and there were also interviews of people Cartier-Bresson has taken portraits of. I loved it when Isabelle Huppert told about the way they were chatting and how suddenly she saw that, right at that moment, he saw something in her... and took a picture. And how by looking at that picture she realised that he'd been able to see some part of her purest self, she wasn't even aware of, even though you'd think she'd know herself the best.
And what did Cartier-Bresson consider the most important aspect of taking photograps? Geometry. Everything has to be at their right place, at the right time. So there you go.
I have this thing about movie quotes (if you haven't noticed =P), sometimes lines just stick in my head. One line that's always somewhere at the back of my mind is from Blade Runner, which is one of my favourite movies (if you don't mind). It's where a replicant Roy Batty (played by Rutger Hauer) comes across the man who made his eyes and says: 'If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes.' That simple thought, so powerful in its absoluteness, moves me. The fact that you are the only person inside yourself, and you are the only person who sees things exactly the way you do... To me, the attempt - or ability - to show life through your own eyes has always defined what photography, or any visual artform, is about.
Anyways, I got to thinking about this after all the places and thoughts and feelings Cartier-Bressons pictures made me visit. The man had been everywhere. And usually just at the right moment from a photographers point of view - be it visually, politically or emotionally. To think that what if he hadn't been a photographer... all these precious moments, jewels in time, would have only been embedded into his memories, slowly fading away even from there until evaporating from existence.
I must say watching that didn't really ease my itchy feet... it made me yearn for travel and exploring even more. But it also made me want to dig out all my (many many many) photo albums and visit some fading memories. By the way, if you ever want to travel through someone elses eyes, be sure to check out the wonderful photos and stories of skiphunt, if you haven't already. There's a vast colourful world waiting for you.
Oh and there were also interviews of people Cartier-Bresson has taken portraits of. I loved it when Isabelle Huppert told about the way they were chatting and how suddenly she saw that, right at that moment, he saw something in her... and took a picture. And how by looking at that picture she realised that he'd been able to see some part of her purest self, she wasn't even aware of, even though you'd think she'd know herself the best.
And what did Cartier-Bresson consider the most important aspect of taking photograps? Geometry. Everything has to be at their right place, at the right time. So there you go.
Labels: photography
//posted by Marianne @ 23:44 0 comments
Saturday, 19 June 2004
Whee. Kinda Excited. :D I've been asked if I would be interested in a group exhibition with six amazingly talented photographers. Don't know how what when where yet, but we'd be looking at New York or London. I better start taking some proper pictures then huh. Check the others out, they are simply wonderful.
Ryan
Kristen
Lorraine
Marcy
Colin
Craig
Oh yeah and... Happy Birthday Miikka!
Ryan
Kristen
Lorraine
Marcy
Colin
Craig
Oh yeah and... Happy Birthday Miikka!
Labels: my life, photography