Waiting

Architectural photography

Last week I attended a great course at the V&A, run by renowned architectural photographer Dennis Gilbert. Not only did I pick up lots of tips on composition and Photoshop, and some knowledge about architectural commissions, but the really fun part for me was being able to try out some large format architectural cameras with Leaf digital backs, which were amazing (of course I want one now).  We were also shown the V&A's print room, where they hold lots of original prints by photographers like William Eggleston and Walker Evans. Definitely a recommended resource.

Faculty Building, Imperial College by Foster & Partners

Cast of Michaelangelo's David, V&A

Polaroid effect?

I just tried out the polaroid effect tutorial from an earlier post plus added a bit of gaussian blur to one of my Leigh on Sea images from last weekend - not sure I'm totally convinced!  

Enjoying the sun

What a great way to spend a sunny weekend - a photography trip to Southend and Leigh-on-Sea with a few of my cohort last Saturday, followed by a visit to Childwickbury Arts Fair and a nearby Stanley Kubrick exhibition on Sunday with my husband (I want that original Barry Lyndon poster now).  Loved it. 

Toy cameras and vintage aesthetic

I just came across this article on toy cameras and creating vintage effects in Photoshop.  I'd much rather try out the toy cameras but, as I need to improve my Photoshop skills, I'll give some of the tutorials a go over the next couple of weeks.

Alternative processes

I've always been drawn to traditional photographic techniques, and it was interesting to see last week at the St Martins Postgraduate Certificate in Photography show that one of the trends this year had been an increased interest by students in some of the more traditional analogue processes.  I loved Yoshimi Lee's work, who had used the 19th century wet plate collodion process - the same process Sally Mann has used in some of her current exhibits at The Photographer's Gallery.  I've not tried the wet plate collodion process (yet), but here are a couple of my cyanotype (blue) and Van Dyke (brown) attempts from a few years ago.

I see you've got curtains now

As a reminder of some of the work I did this year, here is my very first attempt at a montage...it was part of my submission for last terms digital photography module, from my series 'I see you've got curtains now'.
(Btw, the title comes from a nosey neighbour of mine who 3 months after I moved into my flat said to me 'I see you've got curtains now!').