Join up for announcements, plus – are you looking for a new website?
I wanted to post a quick follow-up to my last post to announce the new missaniela.com, thanks to my sponsor liveBooks. Check it out if you haven’t already.
I am very happy with this new start: the new site, its new tools and features and feel I can truly get stuck into 2010. 2009 was a great year for me, the best so far, in fact; with several big things happening, after I began full-time self-employed at the beginning of the year. Highlights include being on the cover of a magazine (American Photo); being featured in two of the UKs biggest papers (Sun and Metro); I also produced two Blurb books, went to the USA twice, shot a model live, collaborated with two different artists, did numerous presentations from Palm Springs to Focus on Imaging to the Brighton & Hove Camera Club, had two season-long exhibitions – one in central London; and I made, on average, one new complete image per week (which is very good I realise, considering how quickly a week goes by…) I also learnt to swim – which, if you own my book ‘Self-gazing’, may be interesting news to you, considering that I wished ‘one day’ to conquer this. I managed to do it in a week on holiday in December, and this year, my rather ambitious goal is to do some underwater shooting!
2010 has some exciting things in the pipeline. In order to be able to communicate with my viewers I have started a members’ sign-up where you will receive announcements and news: of new work, prints, books and exhibitions, as well as events at which I will be speaking, and sneak previews of new work. You’ll also be in with a chance of winning a print/book every month when I start my promotions at the end of February. Sign up here! (or sign up via my Contact page on my website any time). Btw, I won’t be spamming you, I’ll be emailing max every month when there’s something of interest to communicate. You can opt out at any time.
Fellow photographers: do your work justice…
The other thing I wanted to mention will be of particular interest to you if you’re looking to make a website. Maybe you have been using sites like Flickr and wish to take your work to your own platform for the first time, or, you need a new website from the one you have already. I have a 10% promocode for you to try a liveBooks site, which are simple, clean, effective Flash sites which you edit yourself, and have complete design control over. The likes of Chase Jarvis, Christopher Griffith and the Richard Avedon Foundation have a site with liveBooks. You can instantly build your own using the choice of designs available, and trial it free for 14 days to see if it’s your thing. If you like it, you can then claim 10% off the the $39/month rate of a pre-designed site. The code to use is ‘MISSANIELA’.
Ok, now I’m off to (attempt to) make some amazing images, based on loads of ideas I have been having recently. Whether or not I can implement the ideas will be another story… I will be updating my blog much more regularly with items of interest, more ‘how tos’, and, very soon, interviews.
Next blog post:I want to show you how I turned THIS image (below) into the image you see at the top of this blog post! It will come with a disclaimer however, not so much ‘don’t try this at home’, but ‘try not to end up doing this at home’….:
Stay tuned! 
Posted in Website and members' list-related on January 28th, 2010 | 10 Comments | Tweet This!
7:52 pm on January 28th, 2010
The bloomers are a nice touch.
2:46 am on January 29th, 2010
Love your work! Can’t wait to see how you did that picture!!
Em
8:18 am on January 29th, 2010
There’s something about the top pic, maybe it’s the shadows, that makes it look, at this resolution, like a photo-realistic illustration rather than a photo.
No matter, it’s still got that mix of sexy, beautiful, clever and crafted that I enjoy in your work.
9:11 am on January 29th, 2010
I’m going to gloss over all the seedy sponsorship and advertising stuff and just say please don’t go into detail about how you made the image. Anyone with eyes in their head should be able to work out you removed one leg and added one from another shot, put in a skirting board, and did all sorts of clever things with the shadow/highlight tool, but you don’t want everyone to know all your tricks, do you?
Actually, it probably wouldn’t matter if you told everyone about the processing. The important thing (which can’t be taught or learned) is how to come up with the idea in the first place. Keep thinking out of the box!
9:32 am on January 29th, 2010
Dear Natalie
Your usual high standard (both images) but A.F.S. is right, the best magicians keep their secrets and so should you, and is also correct in that you should keep thinking out of the box.
Think I suggested to you before that your take on “The Judgement of Paris” would be well worth seeing. Any thoughts?
On the basis of these images I’m reminded somewhat of The Folies Bergere (not convinced I’ve spelt that right), though I suspect you might not be keen on presenting yourself as an entire row of high kicking dancers…
Every Good Wish!
6:29 pm on January 29th, 2010
Brilliant.
11:11 pm on January 30th, 2010
Lovely picture!
I think if you want to share how you processed the picture with us, then it’s totally up to you and I’m sure we would all love to hear how it was accomplished. And yes of course, it’s coming up with the idea in the first place that makes the photo magical (which is hard to replicate).
Much respect and love
D.
11:33 pm on January 30th, 2010
Very interesting. I almost wish you hadn’t showed the original like that. I actually thought that was a real pose
)
2:13 pm on February 2nd, 2010
Lovely site! Can’t wait to find out about that image…
1:23 am on February 10th, 2010
I always wished that I had a girlfriend who loved photography as you do. Your creativity blows me away.