In the news... IGPOTY Portfolio finalist, CUPOTY results and Amateur photographer article.

  Happy news today, on my second year of entering the Portfolio section of the International garden photographer of the year ( IGPOTY), I have managed to get a finalist position. I am thrilled with this, even more so as it is judged by the esteemed Royal photographic society ( RPS). Totally over the moon. What is also lovely is that it is a still life portfolio, a subject which I put a lot of time and effort into trying to improve and learn this last couple of years and hours pondering which to enter. 

 I also managed to get an image placed in the new Fungi category, which is very pleasing as its yet another subject which I have endeavoured to improve upon recently

So here is my fungi image, a strange one as I added textures to it. The mushroom shapes in the background bokeh were created by a tiny mushroom between the lens and the main mushroom. I added my own textures and edited it using Exposure 5 software for a bit of a different feel. Lovely to see fellow photographers Tony North and Barry Webb ( Barry produces the most fascinating macro shots of slime moulds) doing so well in this category too, check them out here -Fungi results

So I can now finally share my still life portfolio with you all. It was a project I embarked on partially in a bid to focus on learning how to light still life images better and also on bringing the beauty of wild flowers indoors - quite a personal one for me as I find it too exhausting photographing outdoors due to having M.E., so adapted to creating something indoors where I can take my time and sit down as much as I need. This is another example for all those who say  that they cannot get out to take floral photos, all the flowers were obtained very near our home ( literally in our garden and our street for some)

I wanted to showcase the beauty of wildflowers in still life settings. These days it is more common to see vases full of flowers bought at florists, but I prefer to enjoy wildflowers in a style similar to the Old Masters’ paintings, with light cascading across them. So, I set out to produce a collection of still life floral photographs, using my own interpretation of the classic still life style.

All plants used were local to me, mostly growing in my garden, a nearby garden, or wasteland. They include; rosebay willowherb, purple loosestrife, salsify, chamomile, dill, and buttercups.

 

This first one is Rosebay willow herb which has fabulous shapes, like tentacles reaching out.

Purple Loosestrife from a wild garden at the end of our street provided a bright splash of purple spikes to contrast against the greens of the vegetables from our local farm shop in this image.

These incredible Salsify seed heads from our garden were screaming out to be photographed, I felt they complimented the wildness of a mini faux birds nest and look quite special adorning  this decorative pewter vase. With subtle colours and creative lighting they pop nicely.

This lovely bunch of Chamomile is a sight I will not see in the same spot again as it is now been used to build houses upon, so it is quite fitting that they have a special place in my local wild flower project.

Wild Carrot or Dill? I am still not sure -  reply with your answers :) Nice vibrant flowers with intricate shapes.

The much over looked humble Buttercups with more Salsify feature with a kind of farmhouse table look.

 I hope you all enjoy my still life portfolio as much as I enjoyed creating it. The lighting was quite tricky in a small room and mostly featured 3 or 4 lights, with reflectors and home made Gobos. Quite time consuming to get it all just how I wanted it as even a slight shift of an inch or two made massive differences to how the light fell.

Do check out the other truly jaw droppingly beautiful portfolios that were placed and the other wonderful images from so many talented photographers in the rest of the categories. I absolutely adore the 1st place image. IGPOTY winning portfolios

In more good news, this week saw the publication of an excellent article ( in Amateur Photographer magazine ) written by the very innovative photographer, Tracy Calder, about mindfulness and photography, an approach I whole heartedly believe can help many people. Tracy kindly put my name forward for inclusion in the subsequent article which was superbly written by the lovely Geoff Harris. Geoff rang me for a little chat about the part photography has taken in my life, my struggles to actually manage photography with the symptoms of M.E. and benefits of using photography as a coping strategy. Its a great read with eye opening interviews from others who have employed photography as a tool to help themselves, its a sensitive subject and handled so well with Geoff's thoughtful and compassionate writing. Worth a read.

Today also saw the results of Close up photographer of the year's Two of a kind challenge. I was lucky enough to have two images make the stunning shortlist. Very chuffed to say that my image of the two Cyclamen made it to the gorgeous finalist selection. CUPOTY TWO OF A KIND WINNERS

This is one of my favourite images taken last year, sadly I can no longer reach this spot on my mobility scooter as it has been devastated by two storms within 2 months, with trees uprooted and hanging precariously. The paths are blocked for the second time in 2 months and I am told that the park is in a much worse state now. So this image is even more special to me, capturing a treasured spot where I practiced mindfulness for the last 2 years during the pandemic. Its a happy image, but tinged with loss of a much cherished woodland habitat.

Above "The Kiss" exquisite, delicate form and shape mixed with romantic pink ethereal haze in this portrait of winter Cyclamen.

A selection of images and tips from winners is to be published in Amateur photographer magazine next week, which could be interesting for those who enjoy a bit of close up imagery. ( I think I should get a commission for plugging a certain magazine this week! :D )

Now I have a question to ask you all, what would you like me to blog about on here?

This years projects and Mindfulness again

 I've been getting out to do photography a bit less lately with M.E.  affecting my ability a bit more in the last couple of months. So I have been spending less time doing photography at home too, just trying to conserve energy and get myself feeling a bit better. Instead I have been spending time planning photography projects for this year and doing a little water colour painting which I have loved. Two of my first water colour paintings is below.

 As usual I have planned some photography projects for this year and I am finally going to try hard to get a portrait project off the ground that I have been slowly planning and creating accessories for, over the last few years. Its a personal venture incorporating interests close to my heart - nature and pagan beliefs. I am not religious but do follow the pagan wheel of the year which has 8 celebrations throughout the year, based on seasonal changes. Each occasion involves various significant elements and occurs at specific times, for instance the next one is Imbolc  - where the Green man chases off Jack Frost, we celebrate growth, hope and the changing of light. Spring cleaning  possibly comes from this, where we clean out and let go of the past and make way for new beginnings. The Goddess Brigid is honoured, as she brings healing and fertility. My project involves creating my own visual interpretation of various characters that are associated with these celebrations, starting with Brigid, Jack Frost and the Green man in his Oak guise. Each character will be thoroughly researched and I hope to involve many elements that are important to the particular character or celebration. I'm sure many of you may be fascinated with the stories and how they are connected to modern day culture, or other religions.

I have already attempted to create two of these characters in the past few years, but my progress has been slow due to many factors - but mostly M.E. So I am excited to get started and with careful planning, even a very short photo shoot can produce what I am after, although I have decided to involve other photographers to allow me to take my time and  just shoot for brief spells with rests. Below is my first attempt at one character from Ostara the 2nd celebration in our calendar. This was taken a couple of years ago, in a short shoot in my bedroom.

Model Courtney Lorraine
Make up b #Annsmakeupchair
Headwear by  me 

Based on Goddess Ostara ( Eostre - Goddess of Spring/Balance/fertility/rebirth) - the hare gave the Goddess an egg - hence the the hare and eggs in the head wear, daffodils, birds nest and butterflies incorporated into it as signs of spring

One popular story you might know of involves the origin of the Easter Bunny. Essentially, the tale is that Ostara, the Goddess of the spring, transformed a bird into a hare, and the hare responded by laying coloured eggs for her festival.

Another of my characters is a Tree spirit based on beliefs of trees being chopped down and brought inside to warm the tree spirit at the end of the year. Although I did not produce all the elements I intended in my two attempts - I'm getting closer each time. Here are two attempts at my ideas of Tree spirits. 

Trees have traditionally been used to celebrate christmas and winter festivals throughout time. Pagans would bring in evergreen trees or branches to celebrate the festive season around the winter solstice. Legend has it that a long time ago a tree would be brought in during the cold months to invite the wood spirits inside homes to share and relish the warmth of the fire inside ( slightly ironic considering they were most likely burning wood/trees). The use of evergreens would symbolise everlasting life and the coming spring, Pine and holly would be used in decoration as it was thought to offer protection, Ivy was used for immortality, the use of mistletoe and its white berries would symbolise fertility.

A few of these elements, but not all are represented in some of these images.
Whilst I have used a Lensbaby to produce the ethereal, effect that I felt helped make the character more spirit like, blending into he surroundings. The studio images deliberately have fiery orange in the background as the warmth of the fire, or green for the everlasting greens and promise of the coming spring.

The headwear, neckwear and top were created by me, with a tiny faux fur waistcoat over the top.
Modelling was the amazing Hell DBella who was very expressive, emotive and full of a million poses.
Make up and body paint was provided by the lovely, talented Viki Lloyd and funky hair carefully styled by the lovely Solitaire Weber. Again this was produced a few years ago.

Below - MUA Jayde Louise from Glass house glamour and Natalie Mckee modelling
Headwear, and top by me Created two years ago.

So I look forward to getting further with this project this year and sharing the stories with you. Even if I only manage the first 3 characters this year then I am still moving forward with my project.

 I am also going to continue trying to improve on and enjoy photographing plants, fungi and still life as time, life and my body allow, probably mostly from home but hopefully outdoors too.

Mindfulness

 You may recall my blog about mindfulness last year, well I have continued to practice this ever since, finding it even more important when my body is not functioning well or when stressful events occur. I have extended my mindfulness strategies to include art and crafts, on top of the meditation, appropriate yoga, deep breathing exercises and photography. 

 Recently I was honoured to be involved with an article in Amateur photography magazine about how photography has helped people with various illnesses. Do look out for this issue mid February, its a great read by Geoff Harris and Tracey Calder has apparently produced a fab piece on mindfulness too. I'm looking forward to reading it all. Amateur photographer

Some images from my most recent mindfulness photography below, losing myself in the beauty of nature. All taken within a few ft of a car park. I went out feeling quite unwell, but needing to get out of the house and spent my time right next to the car, to avoid using too much energy and making myself feel worse. I had no photography ideas in mind, but just captured the beauty of nature around me, and it was a gorgeous day. As usual this helped me by distracting me from all of my symptoms, reducing their impact. The next day I paid for it with worsening symptoms but that is the nature of M.E. and at least I had a lovely time and some nice photos.

 It was an interesting experience as its a well frequented spot by photographers and this particular car park had around 16 photographers passing through and waiting around to photographer an infrequent bird visitor. They all stood for hours not getting the shots they wanted and I thought that it cant be very fullfilling stood for hours not getting any photos. I over heard two of them saying they wanted to go and look to see what I had been photographing whilst lying on the ground ( did you see that photographer lying on the ground!!!). I had a good giggle. Im sure I enjoyed myself more than they did and I certainly had a more productive time, with no set ideas. Im sure it would benefit other photographers if they challenged themselves to photograph what was around them, they  could find new joys in capturing the very obvious details right in front of their noses.

Some good news on the photography competition front for January. Firstly I have had 2 images shortlisted in CUPOTY's Two of a kind challenge, I look forward to seeing the results in February. There are so many incredible images shortlisted - do pop and take a look - CUPOTY Two of a kind shortlist

Pic above is Derwentwater, near Pow hill in Northumberland

I am also looking forward to hearing results from IGPOTY 2021 in February and to see if I am nominated in the SWPP POTY 2021in one of the categories where I received a gold award (Macro, In camera artistry and Plants, forests and fungi) - apparently nominated photographers find out next week, with the prize giving in March at their convention. Then there are the results of the NPS POTY 2021. So its an exciting time with competition results.

Plant and Fungi POTY, SWPP

 Tonight I was awarded Plant and Fungi photographer of the year 2020, from the SWPP, with this being the winning image. Im over the moon.

It was actually a lot of work getting this shot, travelling into woods on a mobility scooter, it was a nightmare getting to the spot. I took a mat to lie down on and LED light panels which I had to prop up using various sticks due to the lay of the land surrounding it. It was a battle to stop glare on the cap, being a slimy mushroom ( a Blue roundhead) , despite using a polarising filter to help. I ad to clean the mushroom stem with a tiny soft brush to remove specks of dirt, and remove distracting leaves and vegetation from surrounding area. I set up using a mini tripod with ballhead, but it was still difficult getting in the right position due to a .slope and the fact that the tripod is fixed size. I used my Sony A7ii plus a Sigma 150 macro lens and adapter. I had to manually focus using peak focusing as it was dark in the woods. I used ISO 50 to keep noise to a minimum, F10 to get the whole mushroom in focus yet still get bokeh from trees and shutter of 1/13 sec - utilising a shutter release cable to avoid any movement. I had one LED balanced but had to hold a second in place due to awkward location.

Here are other images taken at the same session.