I thought I would update you on the the thoughts Ive had around school and the hows and whys, pros n cons, and what you get and dont get - and where you might or might not get out of it afterwards.
First I want to warn you that this is little more of a rant than I would normally post, but I think there are some pretty serious flaws in the education system to start with so lets begin with that.

St Pauls - Bendigo

I quit school last month. For many reasons. I was pretty disappointed with the curriculum, speed, pace, timing, cost but in the end it came down to a few reasons:

1. They werent teaching me what I wanted to know, on my path how I need it to be delivered
2. The cost was very high and I was spending more time and energy self educating via web, blogs and workshops, than I was on school. And there is no way currently around this methodology and thier structured curriculum
3. They arent teaching REAL WORLD skills. like how to set up a business, terms and conditions, pricing, websites, SEO and marketing, contracts etc etc etc. Great. you can take pictures. Now go and let the corporate wolves or mommies DEVOUR you.

St Pauls - Bendigo

So. I'm out. and I'm in. AIPP, ACMP, NAPP...anywhere I can network, take workshops, learn more, have resources like competitions and critiqueing, and learning more on the professional level than I would eveer be provided by school. And this brings me to my last point. Schools dont WANT you to know that there are MANY alternative learning sources. I have done 5-6 workshops in the last few months, some online via www.creativelive.com, some locally with the AIPP as they offer monthly professional development courses. I attended the Google+Photographers COnference (as a biproduct of another tripI already had planned) in San Francisco and learned oodles in 2 day and got to see several mentors of mine such as Jeremy Cowart, Alex Kosolov, Guy Kawasaki, and RC Concepsione to name a few. Last week Joe McNally was here in Melbourne doing a full day lighting workshop for $1200 for the day. Pricey you say? Hell yes. AND. He is by far one of THE western worlds most successful photographers. I called a day after I got the email and it was already booked up. Ya. Next month is an underwater workshop here that costs $1600 for the day. Im going to sign up tomorrow. Yup. its pricey, but its worth it. August is THE EVENT AIPP and ACMP put on this year up in the Hunter Valley. 4 days of workshops and parties. Some people I REALLY want to see live speak like Vincent Laforet, workshops like Resort Commercial work, networking and more networking, and some fiiiinnnne wine country as an added bonus. Im going. Yup.

Ok...rant over...here I am in the real world. I billed out some serious cash last month. One client...and 3 other bits that paid nicely too...so...its out there and I can do it without the tangled tendrels of school pulling on me.

Next step...new website. Been using Wix.com. Its pretty blah, so Im sorting out 4Fotos.com, Wordpress options, zenfolio, and a few others...back to the drawing board, see what news there is on SEO marketing, Im going to go rewatch Lindsay Adler on cretivelive.com, and have one up, 4 yeards earlier than if I had been waiting for someone to teach me...

Lalalalalalalalalalaaaaaaa!

The places a photographer will go for their craft. Places, spaces, cubbies, nooks, cracks, underground, high up in that tree, out on the ledge literally and metaphorically...


This past weekend was filled with my first portfolio of the season. I was documenting the change from 'Dave' to his alter ego Lolita Latex for this most aucpicious 10th Anniversary show. Ooo what fun you say! Oh my goodness *redfaceintoyourhands* or WHAT? My inclination is towards the first option of course.


So my weekend was full of surprises and interesting captures of something that is very intimate,  and rarely  documented (kinda like that BLue Footed Boobie Bird) and at times very challenging. WHY you ask? Well - because you have to know dont you? Its kinda like watching a car crash. You cant peel your eyes away from it as much as your mother says you should be doing.  All in all there were some moments of hilarity, some of personal introspection challengin my beliefs, and in the end *crosses fingers* a damn fine PJ project and portfolio.


In other news, I attended a great workshop held at 1140 Gallery (Malvern) for complex estimate quoting. Learned quite a bit, saw the biggest cyclorama in Melbourne (fully equipped with a new Jeep being photographed) and got to learn a bit more on the front of complex quoting. biggest lesson. DONT hire the talent - let the client/agency do that...Rights can be an absolute nightmare to control in the end with the models.


This Friday being the *good* kinda for all ya'll Christian Right Wingers out there get the day off. Well...its a holiday of sorts for the Jews as well - and Happy Passover to you too. Not a reason to call off school for any of I think  for the amount we're paying you, but happy to have another week to work out my next assignment ' Stereotypes' ...

This marks my journey. First journey to a third world country. I mean, I've traveled in quiet a few anglacised countries, in the Caribbean, been to Hawaii, and furthest afield was Costa Rica, but this is the first REAL adventure.
Ive been contemplating Egypt for a few years now, and a good friend of mine and I had been thinking about the spring of 2012 to go together. Our first jaunt of traveling other than to Burning Man and some other fun fun FUN weekends together. I guess it wasn't meant to be because, after a date with my husband ( we have to plan these things months in advance) and attending the King Tut show in Melbourne, the pressure was on to go. You just get that BUG in your ear and it doesn't stop until you are on the plane to Qatar (ugliest airport ever). So my husband has passed on an email some friends had passed on about a guided trip to Egypt with some Modern Mystery School guides Theresa Bullard and quite a few MMS people going. well...after reviewing the itinerary I was sold. It was quick. 2 months from start to finish really. Jump in up to your neck if you dare.
I had never been on a group tour, nor had I traveled so far to such a different country, lifestyle, smells and sounds..well...you know, if you have done any traveling what I'm talking about. Its like a full on assault after 36 hours of traveling.
The most notable point of interest on the 'getting there' was the new fabulously empty planes between Melbourne to Qatar to Cairo. virtually empty. And even if it weren't, I would have loved the long haul due to the newly 5 star ranked airline. Too bad the Qatar airport  was a major disappointment in comparison to their airlines. And 10 hours is ALOT to waste if you cant find power outlets to plug into, that aren't being fought over by long passerbys as well.
Anywho...onto Cairo.
I traveled with Spirit Quest travel based of LA headed by the illustrious, and infamous Halle Eavelyn and Greg Roach. Halle upon first glance is the red haired lioness with a sense of humour and expressions to match. Greg is the sarcastic sidecar, diffuser and puveyor of dirty jokes.  They have arranged for y pick up at the airport and thank goodness because I have pulled the mother of all stupid pet tricks and left my passport somewhere on the plane after entering customs in Cairo. Talk about a smack to the forehead - while trying to talk to the security agent who are conveying my stupidity to the airline staff Im sure in a language so foreign, I feel like I'm wearing a pair of diapers and I still just peed my pants in front of them. Like a white knight, my driver meets me, and has my passport in hand and is so polite I cant even imagine that he is regaling this ridiculous story to the cab driver.
I am whisked around the ring highway past massive Mcmansion filled half built  houses in the 'burbs' and mall after high end mall, all unfinished, all collecting the  piles of dust that Egypt is known for. That and the CRAZY drivers. Next its onto downtown New and Old Cairo with thousands of tenement building once again half finished. Later on in the trip I ask why, and apparently its due to the lack of permits required as the revolution has fostered all this new growth, and the fact that no taxes are required on finished buildings. So in short, if you dont have a top floor and your building is unfinished, you don't pay taxes.
As we drive over the Nile - right down the middle of the city, I see thousands of people gathering all along at so many points...just sitting, and for what? Ugh...the city is so dirty and diesel hazed, but I come to find that the mess is mostly in part of the last night of Ramadan - the feast night. And apparently its a PARTY in Cairo. Everywhere!
Finally we arrive at my home for the next few days. The Mena House Oberoi. 5 Star, with a killer view of the Pyramids over breakfast, gilded ceilings, and opulence everywhere. It was a nice flow into Egypt. Nicer than it could have been to be sure! My room mate has yet to arrive (apparently had some issues with her Air Lufthansa flight out of Germany), so I settle in for a nap and a shower. I plan on sleeping until I am called and summoned by the powers that be. That happens a little faster than planned with a call from Halle asking me where I am and why haven't I shown up for dinner yet. Right. First plan, check check and double check the non existent itinerary. Part of the fun I will comment on later (and it is fun if you can trust in the flow)...At dinner, in our lovely private dining function room, I discover that we are to be up and dressed and (AWAKE?)ready on the bus for 4 AM. Ya, that's right 4AM. About 8 hours after we get to leave from dinner and already I have a tingly feeling in my tummy that scares the hell out of me that this is setting some sort of precedent for the rest of the trip...
Off to the Sphinx we go I'm told...

This weekend I spent my creative energy focused on my computer. Actually...GLUED would be more accurate.
Creative Live based out of Seattle (I wish I could have had time with them before I moved away) started a few years ago with online computer classes. Enroll and watch for free, or buy the workshop, download and watch later.
Ive watched several of their workshops, various characterize photographers such as Bambi Cantrell, Zach Arias, Jasmine Star, Vincent LaForet and a few others. A few Ive paid for  too...
But I was just blown out of the water this weekend. Exploded. Havent been more geared in up (well) months really. And as a photographer, what a statue, a whirlwind and a force of nature. Her business acumen is top notch, and she is LOVES what she does. It speaks volumes.
She took the 4 women in the studio, hair make-up and then the Before and Afters. EVERYONE in the audience was balling. As women we have such a hard time identifying with the magazines and advertising. But thats what she does. Takes the meek, plain, average woman and brings out the mose amazing features, and the the most beautiful images....and its just...us!? We all have it...posess it, and she gets it.
So I ran out and purchased for $99 and I think that she just might have changed my life. Maybe I wont do glamour - maybe I will.

What I can say is that this woman is ready to conquer the world. Manifest, produce, market. Be your own force of nature, whatever it that you chose. Move forward. Know what you want and what you love. How can you be successful if your not doing what you want.

BAM. DONE. The Universe says its so.

  ...There was this thing called a DSLR  camera. My first real camera. Actually OUR (my husbands and mine) first camera. Plunged into the firely hells of our old 1982 camper on the side of the road on our way to Oregon Country fair. Yes. 40+ ft flames on the side of the I5 with pregnant momma (me), husband and my brother with his 2 kids, 10 and 12 at the time. Needless to say we all escaped, with nothing more than our socks, one wallet and a great story to recollect from time to time.
 
Given that I was 6 month pregnant at the time, we had opted for a decent Craigslist buy of a Nikon D60. Decent enough with all manual so we could learn a little bit. We decided it might be time for an upgrade with some video, so opted for a great starter package of a D90 with 2 (didnt know the different) kit lenses. It was great. In fact, until I decided that photogrpahy is the end all and be all - it was perfect. But lo and behold the gear monkey kicked in this year and in order move onward and upward I decided the final plunge was into the Canon 5D Mark II. Yup Shes a beast. The 70-200 lens weights more than the body, and of course now there are all the upgrades into new L series lenses, filters, flash, straps, bags, readers, cards, batteries and on and on.

  I decided that if we had a reasonable camera, that it deserved a reasonable education, and in order to get out of the house with a wee one, I justified it by taking an intro DSLR course at PCNW in Seattle. I had a great experience that left me hungering for more and went back and did the full intro course. Voila. Within 2 classes I was ramped up and running. Fortunately the second course fell mostly summer time otherwise the rain would have beat the photography life right out of me...not much to see after 3 straight weeks of rain (although it down make it fun to go find abstracts in your house for assigments).

Lo and behold we are here in Melbourne after a job transfer. The weather is great most of the time, oodles new to shoot, being so close to town, fabulous art and architecture and an amazing country to explore as a first timer. I took the final leap this year into a PT 4 year course in Digital Photography at PSC and although its a major stress on my being, I am learning and stretching and growing and creating and things are really starting to flow. More people in my immediate community mean more contacts, more sujects, more ideas..and now for the final leap - into travel photography, writing and more importantly DSLR movies...Mmmmmm... I have started by doing some small pieces learning ADobe Premiere and am wanting to move futher up with some workshops, writing courses and doco additives.

Its an adventure to be sure. Nowhere to go but up. Will be putting my images out to as many sources as I can over the next few months, building contacts and making it happen as best I can. Mix a Jack-of-all-trades with a creative tonic and you get hellfiregirl and the unstoppable forces!

Next stop...FAME AND FORTUNE!

Well,
It is here that I announce the grand intention of moving towards travel writing and photography. This blog was intended in its infancy to be a roaving inspirational blog as I started down my scholastic trail, but I see that it will be moving and changing, keeping up all the fun tales that m images will lead me to...SO I do say...
JOIN ME! WARTS AND ALL!

11.11.11 - St. Catherine's Monestary, Sinai, Egypt

First initiative will be to recover all the stories from the most recent sojourn to Egypt with Spirit Quest travel. Next will be some of the adventures Australia has led me into and down the line will be some fun back in the USA, BC, Canada and then finally to India next January for the Maha Kumba Mela...maybe you've heard some of the stories, maybe not, but I do promise there will be some funny, rib-crushing fun of you manage to stick it out with me...
and now....onto...THE FUN!!!

Round 2 with the self portraits...fun? serious?....

Creating/Portraying an emotional state via light.


Heres what I came up with...

Happy Mothers day and moving on! Took the plunge this week on Ebay and bought a Canon D5 Mark II with a 70-200mm USDM II lens. Now to find all the other stuff...tripods, flashes, cards, some more primes. Hope it gets here SOON! Im so excited!

		Carli Hermes- High Key Tones, Subject is beauty touched. A blank slate created by all the hands. White, Purity. Innocence

 Diego Kuffer _ Chronos Cubism. I like the subject matter, color tone, blur and sharpness
 Herb Ritts - Supermodels of the 90's. Stephanie Seymour, Christina Crawfor, Naomie Campbell etc.
Strong Lines and form in commercial photography.
 Jeremy Cowart. I love the eyes and the reflection. SHe makes contact with the viewer. Details in hair, freckles and skin, lips and the middle tones.
 Martin Krijtenberg. I like the frame within, color, light, high drama sky.
 Panoramas usually bore me. This is very intricate, colorful, interesting subject material, architecture.
Tim Heatherington, Vanity Fair photojournalist-filmmaker of Oscar nominated documentary Restrepo.  Killed in Libya while covering the political uprising in the country. 

Homes have roots that we allow to grow. Emotions, memories, all very naturally occuring, connected, as one.


Amazing use of natural elements together mirror similar aspects. Nature reflecting nature is pretty unatural way. Reminds me of some images that were used in the Outer Limits tv series.

Vivian Maier (February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) was an American amateur street photographer who was born in New York but grew up in France, and after returning to the U.S., worked for about forty years as a nanny in Chicago. During those years she took about 100,000 photographs, primarily of people and cityscapes most often in Chicago, although she traveled and photographed worldwide.
Her photographs remained unknown and mostly undeveloped until they were discovered by a local historian, John Maloof, in 2007. Following Maier's death her work began to receive critical acclaim.^[1][2] Her photographs have appeared in newspapers in Italy, Argentina, and England, and have been exhibited alongside other artists' work in Denmark and Norway; her first solo exhibition ran at the Chicago Cultural Center from January 8 until April 3, 2011.^[3][4]
I love the juxtaposion of the horse, african american kid and city scape. Asks  more questions than it answers.
Great angle catch for the bike. I wonder where she was to capture this.
The blur. The glamour, high contrast, down lighting and shadows underneath her and mystique of the woman.
The self portrait. Somewhat ghostly. Great daytime reflection. IS this what SHE thought she looked like?
Scratch scratch scratch...sneaky, seems a little illicit. I feel empathy for this woman.

Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park.
With Fred Archer, Adams developed the Zone System as a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print. The resulting clarity and depth characterized his photographs and the work of those to whom he taught the system. Adams primarily used large-format cameras despite their size, weight, setup time, and film cost, because their high resolution helped ensure sharpness in his images.
Adams founded the Group f/64 along with fellow photographers Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham, which in turn created the Museum of Modern Art's department of photography. Adams's photographs are reproduced on calendars, posters, and in books, making his photographs widely distributed.




Incredible capture of light. High contrast is used in pretty much all of his photos for dramatic effect.

Beautiful mists rolling in on the valley. I also love the foreground, midground and horizon.

Incredible reflections - almost a perfect mirror image. Like HDR for black and white with the gradient tone in the sky.

Once again amazing use of foregraound to background, light contrast, hazing.

Alfred Steiglitz:

"Alfred Stieglitz (January 1, 1864 – July 13, 1946) was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his fifty-year career in making photography an accepted art form. In addition to his photography, Stieglitz is known for the New York art galleries that he ran in the early part of the 20th century, where he introduced many avant-garde European artists to the U.S. He was married to painter Georgia O'Keeffe."
Wikipedia

I love the posture, depth of field, and downright avante garde nature of this photograph styling fashion photography give the era.

incredibly picturesque venice. The reflections and texture seem to imitate a painting. Fabulous tones and washed out feeling to this. I feel like Im looking at one of the old masters.