I'm afraid I fell apart....... mum died one year ago on November the 9th, and I just couldn't keep up with the blog. Luckily I have written about the more emotional stories behind the photos first, and as the shoots progressed I began to find things easier - confidence wise, although the amount of work was still really exhausting. So i'm catching up... mainly with the behind the scenes photos as they are the most important memories for me.
One of the most magical shoots of the whole series was when we went into the woods with Katie and she performed for us using her aerial hoop - she is a circus performer as well as many other things, and so this was just a dream come true for me. I made her entire outfit, and Elbie spent hours making a huge complicated plait that became the focus for her hair design. We started the day with Katie completely white, and as the day progressed we painted her eyes with black paint, added feather moth wings to her eyes, and finally I painted her white outfit with black paint to match the moth wings and metamorphosize her character into a darker creature. This character was an idea I have had of almost two years now, and has been in my head ever since I saw Massive Attack's video 'butterfly caught'. Katies naturally white eyelashes, and pale blue eyes made this whole look become so mysterious and unconventional, that for me it was really special to finally see it come to life and look so beautifully surreal.
The other behind the scenes pictures which I have been promising to show on flickr were for picture 12.... the girl with 4 legs :) I can't even describe how funny it was taking this photo, I'm amazed any of the shots were in focus as I was laughing so much. It was the end of a long cold days shooting, it was the worst weather I have ever taken pictures in - dull, drizzle, rain, cold.... miserable.... and typically it happened on a day when I had managed to get us into a very special location (which I will write about later). At first I had felt really disheartened about the weather, but actually, as with all the different weather we experienced during the project, it seemed to be just right for the character we had planned.
The main reason behind 4 legs - was simply that I wanted to throw in some really strange characters to balance out the more 'fashiony' / pretty characters - basically to remind people that this is still 'Wonderland' and nothing is as it seems :)
So... we dressed Katie and Jessica in matching outfits, and as Katie is extremely flexible, she ended up bending over the books whilst Jess sat on top of her! I couldn't believe it when the girls where in position, it just looked so real!! Everyone was squealing with laughter, and Jess was just fantastic, she starting ripping pages out the book and rolling her eyes in the back of her head... it was truly like standing in front of monster !! so here you go, as promised.... the funnies ........ :) !
Finally.....
Here are the first pictures of one of our hardest props - the hydrnagea wig. This character (the hydrangea fairy) was probably one of the most difficult characters to create, and came from a conversation down the pub between me and Elbie! It was taken really early on in the project and probably before we really started to get a grip on what we were doing. All we knew was that we wanted to create a fairy - a sort of flower fairy, with an enormous wig made of fresh flowers. I drew a few sketches and we agreed we wanted something on a huge scale, and in an unconventional shape. Once we had agreed on the rough design we were then faced with how on earth we could make such a thing....... and thats were ebay came in ! First of all we bought an old horse riding hat from ebay for £11, then Elbie bought 8 meters of chicken wire, and reel of garden wire and we made the rest up using old rubbish from my garage !
The main issue though was how on earth we were going to afford so many expensive flowers. i wrote to 3 florists, and to a neighbor who had a large hydrangea bush in their garden .... no one helped :(
Finally, after looking for fake flowers, contemplating stealing them from peoples gardens and then being wracked with gulit, out of desperation I placed an advert in 'freecycle' begging for hydrangeas. We half wrote the advert as a joke, but then a few days later to my amazement I got an email from a wonderful lady offering to let us come and cut down her entire hydrangea bush ! So I found myself turning up at a complete strangers house, and walked away with 4 enormous sacks of fresh flowers in the most incredible soft colours !! So here are the pictures, me and Elbie didn't have a clue what we were doing, and made things up as we went along. At one point the frame wasnt strong enough so we ended up stuffing half an old cushion and a paint roller inside for added structure !!!!! But we were thrilled with the results. I'll write more about this character and show further pictures of the set we made after i have edited the other full length shot.... the wig smelt amazing!!!!!
Oh and on a final note.......... something very exciting is happening regarding Wonderland.... It looks like we are going to be published. I'll write more when I know for sure what is going on... gulp :) !!!
This is from an email forward that someone shared with me a while back and I truly enjoyed it. There are so very many people who are out there in this country that are hurting from lost jobs, lost homes, health problems, broken families, or having lost a loved one or friend recently. This is for you......enjoy
Because of trial or pain
Continue in thanks giving
Do not begin to blame
Even when the times are hard
Fierce winds are bound to blow
God is forever able
Hold on to what you know
Imagine life without His love
Joy would cease to be
Keep thanking Him for all the things
Love imparts to thee
Move out of "Camp Complaining"
No weapon that is known
On earth can yield the power
Praise can do alone
Quit looking at the future
Redeem the time at hand
Start every day with worship
To "thank" is a command
Until we see Him coming
Victorious in the sky
We'll run the race with gratitude
X alting God most high
Y es, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but...
Z ion waits in glory....where none are ever sad!
Soldier's goodbye & Bobbie the cat, ca. 1939-ca. 1945 / by Sam Hood
from the State Library of New South Wales collection on flickr
It is really time to ditch the canned food! Visit the healthy librarian to find out why.
My friend Mickey at Nicholas Landon Jewelery in Texas is having a Thanks-Give- Away
Her work is really lovely!
Another friend, Mark Brennen shared this link to a really interesting 1941 film produced by the National Film Board of Canada about the famous painter A.Y. Jackson following him on his painting journeys into the bush.
Still trying to raise $1000 for a digital mammogram machine and getting ready for those 6 hours of fitness classes on January 30th for Bust a Move! If you could help me please I'd be very grateful. It says Canadian $ but will convert US to Cdn.
Delicious Butternut Squash and Pear soup. I use an immersion blender and you don't have to add the cream at all or you can use evaporated skim milk for creamy no fat flavour.
Also, don't forget to enter my bloggy 1st Anniversary draw:)
Have a fun weekend:)
I like the new building of Cologne's Wallraf-Richartz-Museum very much.
Well, it's relatively "new". Until 2001, the Wallraf-Richartz was in the same building as Museum Ludwig, the latter housing 20th century's and contemporary art.
I tend to find modern architecture aloof and not very inviting, but the building's vast space and bold color choices for the exhibition rooms with paintings of the old masters are very appealing.
One of the two current special exhibitions shows just one painting.
Van Gogh's "Shoes".
You can read a little about the backround of the exhibition here.
I have to admit, I was too lazy to follow through all the art theory and philosophical theses circling around this picture.
After taking three photos an attendant told me, photographing was allowed only for the permanent exhibition. As she didn't ask me to delete the photos I had already taken, I may as well share them with you.
Some 15th century flat screens:
They say, wherever in Cologne you scratch off 10cm of surface, you'll find an ancient site.
Out of Museum Wallraf-Richartz you have a wonderful view onto the excavation of the ancient synagogue.
On this very site there had been standing four synagogues over the centuries. The first documentation of Jewish life in Cologne dates back to 321 (I didn't forget a "1" at the beginning of this date - it's a long time ago).
The museum shop is also worth visiting, as well as the reading room.
Of course, I also had to stop by at the botanic garden, as we were having sunshine for the first time in quite a while.
名所に行かずとも
名も無い（無いこたーないけど(^^;)）近所で、これぐらいは遊べる。
京都か兼六園のライトアップでも行こうかと思ったけれど・・・行かないだろうな、今年は（；^ω^）・・・『も』かｗ
・・・。
うははは
今年、他のカメラマンと仕事っていうのはあったけれど、
プライベートでカメラ持っている人と遭遇したことって一回も無かったんではなかろーかｗｗｗｗｗｗ
あ、いや、あったな、「臥龍桜」（；^ω^）＜んっとにカメラマンウゼーｗ（自分のことは棚に上げるｗｗｗ）
まあ、あれは大きい樹の記録だからなー。
そういや先月、紅葉した薄墨の親分に会いに行ってきたんだけれども（でもって嫌がらせにそれで桜写真コンテストに応募してやろうとしてたんだけどｗ）、紅葉・落葉はとっくに終わってた(^^;) (・д・)ﾁｯ
I'm taking this week's topic from Darren Rowe's weekly newsletter. My rules are a little different. Since we are getting into the busy time of the year...Holiday Season...you can use old photos or take new ones. Take some photos of your pets, your neighbor's pets, your parent's pets, the school pets, or neighborhood pets. Here is a link to Dareen's article on taking photos of pets http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-pets.
Have some fun and dress up your pet or take a photo of a pet in an unusual place. You can use photoshop to change the photo background or change the shape or position of the pet. You can clone your pet or pets....anything goes this week...show me your creativity!
Boy we had a great turnout for the #78 Photo Quest on Diagonal Lines. Thanks to Cap'n Stephel, Darcy, Yancunyong, Trailblazer, anthrogrrl, Maju and Spike for some really amazing photos! I'm not sure the Trailblazer wanted in but I'm including her.
For each person that posts to the quest I pick the one photo that I liked the best and that fit the Photo Quest the best. Just because I pick one photo does not mean I dislike the others! It isn't easy to pick one from each participant as the photos are so good!
I'm going to start with Spike as she was the first to post for this week's quest. My favorite was the "Steve at the Reaper Miniatures factory looking like the kid in a candy store", photo. Look at how all the toys on the wall form long, multiple lines drawing your eye right to Steve. I also like the texture created by the toys and the fun way she used diagonal lines in the photo great job Spike!
Maju just took my breath away with her photo of Regent's Canal 02! This is a BIG WOW photo! Notice how the walkway, the trees, the reflection in the water pulls your eye right to the bridge. The composition on this photo is wonderful with the bridge right at the ROT point! In this photo even the light areas with no details, water without reflections and the sky pull your eye to the bridge. Wonderful work Maju!!
Next was Antrogrrl and what a nice surprise that we get to see some of her "old archaeology photos for this challenge." You made it hard for me to choose one photo as you had so many great ones this week. I have to say I liked 2 snow tracks the best. The tracks in the snow, the diagonal line of the plants, the mountains and the sky push your eye right to the furtherest point. The angle of the photo and the diagonal lines give the photo a feeling of a never ending landscape. The tracks in the snow tell the viewer the snow is fresh and the people in the vehicle where the first to see this landscape. This photo tells a great story, super photo Antrogrrl!
Trailblazer posted two interesting photos to the Photo Quest Group. My favorite was the first photo Ink-and-surf-jpg. There are several diagonal lines in this photo. The surfers arms, legs, the surf board and the surf all provide great diagonal lines. I really liked the way we have two diagonal lines coming together with the surfer in the forground arms, forming one diagonal line and the surf board forming the opposite diagonal line. The intersection of these lines draw your eye right to that point. Nice capture Trailblazer!
Yan's many wonderful photo all with great examples of diagonal lines really caused me to stop and consider all the photos before I made my selection. I really have to pick Photographers @Mt. Gomadan as I loved all the photographers lined up with their tripods to take photos of the fall colors. This is a very fun photo full of color and lots of interest in what the photographers are doing and thinking about how each one is taking their photos. Great photo Yan!
I pick Darcy's photo of her son playing the in water sprinkler as my favorite. What a fun photo. It makes me want to run in a sprinker too. Here Darcy has framed her son with the diagonal lines of the sprinkler on either side. This was a hard shot to get as she has the camera shutter slow enough to capture the sprinkler water in drops and the camera set fast enough to get a very clear shot of her son. This is another photo that tells a story of Darcy's son enjoying his summer. Love this one Darcy!
Last but not least are the photos from Cap'n Stephel. Her photos are always full of personality. You got to look at the snowman in the pumpkin patch! The photo I liked best from her post is the first one of the trail. The fence and the shadow of the fence give the photo a great sense of depth, distance and mystery. She didn't tell us the whole story here as we can't see the end of the trail...we keep looking be we can't see that far as the trees cover our view. Very nice photo Cap'n!
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