From the mind of Ember

This is just a post for myself, mostly because it’s been a while since I posted anything.  I figured I”d go away from the photography for a moment.  This is a bit more personal of a post, an update of me, if you will.

Love

Duncan and I are doing great together.  We’ve been living together for easily over a year, and we’ve got a few months before it’s 2 years of dating.  We’re both planning on moving to NJ, NY, Connecticut, area when I graduate.  Closer to the bigger cities and closer to his family, who can help us if we get in a jam.  Plus it’s fairly close to a beach that I can go diving at.  Granted it’ll be colder, but it’s a compromise I am willing to make.  I would love to move to CA and be warm all the time, but that probably wont happen.

School

School is going well.  I”m in my 11th quarter, which easily makes me a senior at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.  I just got past midterms and am working on final projects, which is taking a bit of a toll on me.  Especially since I’m a fairly social person, not as much often as before, but still social.  This is eating into my sleep time, which is fine, just the more challanging classes are pushing me to succeed and try even harder plus putting much more time into homework.  I’m struggling this quarter to get my grades up and keep them up, but at this point, passing is all that matters to me.

Work

As many of you know, I’m working at the cage/Cave in the basement of AiP.  I’m the Media Center Lead Tech soon to be senior lead tech once Erika graduates.  Luke is going to be the new junior lead tech, which I think is an amazing fit.  I’m working on helping all the new hires get settled into the cage and learn what they need to learn to succeed in this job.  All the time trying to make new friends with the ones there already outside of the cage.  I really have a lot in common with a lot of them that they don’t realize it sometimes.  It seems like I’m always working, even when I’m not on the clock, I’m going in off the clock to finish something I want to finish or going to just hang out at the cage because I’m bored.

Life

Life has been good.  I’ve been working out connsecutively with Ben from work.  I’m finally starting to see results, 5 weeks in.  The working out and walking up the mountain with Luke on an almost daily basis has improved my cardio impecably.  My muscles are becoming toned which is amazing.  Especially since summer is right around the corner.  I’m planning on taking my sister to NYC this summer, working around her band schedule, when dad’s goign to see her, and my volunteer schedule for the Three Rivers Arts Festival.  I’m planning my trip to Imaging USA this next year in Nashville, TN.  I’m very excited about this.

That’s all I have for right now,

Thanks for reading.

~Emberdragon

While I was in Phoenix for the Imaging USA photography convention, I went to see Anne Geddes give a speech about her photography and give all of us photographers a peak into her mind.  I took notes while I was there.  I mean, come on, when am I going to meet Anne Geddes again?

Anyway, if you don’t know who Anne Geddes is here is a link to her works http://www.annegeddes.com/Modules/Anne/Galleries/index.aspx

You’ve probably seen her photography on gift/credit cards as well as online and even in magazines.  Now that you know who she is, maybe you’ll take this knowledge that I have gathered and study it as I have quite a bit.

She mentioned some facts about the photography industry.  For example, she mentioned that Nokia is currently the most camera producing company.

She also brought what she learned in her own adventures in photography.  She showed us that change is the only certainty that we can depend on in times of fruitfulness and times of hardship.  She asks the question, How do we build a career in an ever changing world? (which I will discuss in a later post).

-Originality is a visual signature and inherent secret.

-If something is considered art, it should have caused the viewer to have some sort of emotional impact.

-Don’t be afraid to bend the rules a bit.  Only when you know the rules can you begin to break and bend them for your photography.  They’re more like guidelines anyway.

-Photograph what you love, and love what you photograph.  Don’t just do it for the money, it will begin to show in your work.  Do something you love, if only for yourself.

-Have your own style.  This refers to the originality aspect that she mentioned earlier.  Make sure you are putting your own thoughts into photographs, and don’t forget to photograph from the heart.  After all, that is why you are a photographer right?

-Find your own creativity.  What is you muse?  It may be that special flower, or a beautiful sunset.  Or maybe it’s that girl at the supermarket.  Use that muse and make it your own.    Make sure you nurture your creativity.  When you make work to order, it tends to drain your will.  If you don’t dream, you don’t have the spine necessary to let your photography stand on it’s own.

-This one is for the faint of heart when it comes to pricing.  Practice telling yourself how much money you will charge for a job.  If you aren’t comfortable with your price, you will loose confidence, and diminish the value of your artwork.

-Make sure you place your purpose first.  Why are you doing this?  The big picture is what you should be looking at here.  Make sure you never loose sight to what you do.

-There can be no courage unless you can get scared.  If you aren’t afraid of something, then you can’t gain courage to face it.  Let yourself be intimidated and afraid, just a little.  This will give you the courage to face your fears.

-Maintain control-this includes both the camera and the contract.  Don’t hand over your business to your client.

*-Working for free undermines the value of your work.  Make sure you never become casual, always be positive and always, ALWAYS ask permission before doing something.  This goes with the saying don’t assume!

Copyright- be viligant, report ANY infringement, even the small ones.  If you don’t defend your copyright, who else will?

-Become a psychologist, break the self-barrier.  Put to your subject or client that you are trustworthy.  Show them that they are in great hands.

Why do we take photographs?

-To hold a moment and to relive that moment

-To reach for the future, photographer are always aiming for the future.  Predicting that one moment before it arrives.  Think of it this way, a photographer pushes the shutter the moment before the moment he or she want’s to capture.

Digital vs. Film

-this all depends on the person pressing the shutter.  With digital there is a great lack of thoughtfulness.  This type of person should be reverted to film until they are comfortable with it then introduced to digital again.

Photoshop

-everything in today’s society has been photoshopped even a tiny bit.  She coins the phrase “it is no more a photography competition than a photo’shop’ competition”.

And the last bit of advice she gives us;

Emotion is constant!

I hope you learned a bit from this.  It is a bit scattered but it’s copied almost ver-batim from my notes when I was there.  Such a great photographer with such great insights.  Be sure to visit her website http://www.annegeddes.com/

~Jessica

I think about how the world has evolved through photography.  Mostly because of the digital age.  We now create photos for memory of that moment in time.  We also have a bit of proof that we were there in that point in time and that place.  Though sometimes you can see it as using the camera to shield themselves from the people and places they are at.  It may just be because I’m a photographer that when I have the camera (anything other than a simple point and shoot) that I am a photographer, I concentrate on getting the shot and for the most part, forget to enjoy the situation in which I find myself.  The general public does this to an extent as well, but some other the others are always wanting to take photographs of themselves, they love being in front of the camera instead of behind it.  I’m not saying that  photographer can’t like getting his or her photograph taken either, but we mostly stay behind the camera.

In the digital age, which we are finding ourselves.  We are not as sensitive to photographs and pictures.  Imagine the world without photographs for 30 seconds.  You can’t really see it.  No images, no photograph, no paintings, no drawings.  The world would pretty much get close to crashing.  Images are everywhere.  With the consumer’s cameras everywhere, even in the phone’s nowadays, everyone thinks they are a photographer.  Which causes more competition for those of us who are making it a career, not a hobby.  Though another thing that comes to mind about it, is that a good photographer is always mindful of everything around him or her, no matter what format they are using.

So is this whole thing scientific or artistic?  I want your feedback and opinions on this controversial topic.

~Jessie