There is not long now until the deadline of 22nd February to get your submission in. It’s free to enter – you only need to press ‘like’ on Facebook – and they don’t grab your copyright. Superb on both counts!

I will be co-judging with Lucia O’Connor-McCarthy.

The top prizes include two chances to win a space for your work in the SoShowMe IV exhibition showing at theprintspace’s East London gallery in the Autumn. You can also win pro quality prints from theprintspace and a Flipside Sport AW 15L camera bag from Lowepro.

Pick your one most compelling image for entry. I will be helping judge the winner who will go on to have their image printed, and a space in their annual show. Below is the full list of prizes…

1st Prize

-Lowepro Flipside Sport AW 15L backpack
-A space in theprintspace’s annual SoShowMe exhibition held at theprintspace gallery
-20”x24” Acrylic Reverse Mount of the winning image delivered to your doorstep
-A dedicated feature on theprintspace’s blog

2nd Prize

-Three 20”x24” prints on any of the 11 papers offered at theprintspace
-A dedicated feature on theprintspace’s blog

3rd Prize

-One 20”x24”print on any of the 11 papers offered at theprintspace
-A dedicated feature on theprintspace’s blog

Editors’ Choice

-A space in theprintspace’s annual SoShowMe exhibition held at theprintspace gallery
-A dedicated feature on theprintspace’s blog

Additionally, the winners – and authors of ALL shortlisted images – will receive a free sample pack.

View the T&Cs on their website here.

Enter here.

My advice? Enter an image you feel is both one of your best and your own favourites. Enter the kind of image you feel you’d like to be known for. Get a word of advice/opinion from a second or third set of eyes. But use your own instinct to weigh up their suggestions. I’d also look carefully at which of your images are/were the most popular online. Use that as a barometer.

What am I looking for? I’m looking for technically-proficient images with strong use of lighting, styling and mood. But I am strongly inclined to choose something that stands out from the crowd, rather than plays it safe. I am looking for a bold confident language to come through the image. I particularly enjoy clever use of colour, and confident post-processing that might have creatively transformed the image – but which also gives the impression of having known when to stop. I certainly will be looking for images that have remixed several inspirations/references rather than emulated a singular one, and a sense of the photographer’s competence at selection from all the shots they might have taken to get that particular one. (Here’s an article I wrote called Method in Madness which might help you think about your selection and editing process.)

Remember the deadline is in 3 days: on 22nd Feb. Only open to photographers in the UK. I look forward to seeing all your entries!

Miss A x

I’m finally sharing the results of a very interesting art commission.

This is the Kai Face.

It is the biggest thing I’ve ever worked on, in terms of time I spent on it (indescribable), and also size – this is a piece not made for the internet. It’s going to be printed at least 2 metres tall.

At first glimpse at such a small size on a screen, it does not necessarily bear much impact. This is why I made a video. (I recommend switching settings to highest quality HD, fullscreen with volume up!)

The making of Kai Face

The commission was to create a large-scale piece, of a Chinese theme, to endlessly compel the eaters dining in the restaurant Kai Mayfair, London. This is an amazing award-winning Michelin star restaurant if you are ever lucky enough to eat there.

This was a very new thing for me to work on, and it was an exciting challenge upon which I embarked with Matthew at my right-hand side. It involved first shooting shedloads of beauty images of the model Alton, using a Phase One 645DF with IQ160 back. We used a specific macro lens (Phase One 120mm AF f/4.0 macro) to shoot extreme close ups of the eyes, nose and lips so I could add these into the image afterwards for maximum detail at large size. Shooting tethered into Capture One, we were able to zoom in and check details meticulously. This is very different to the way I usually work, and I enjoyed the slowed-down, perfectionist, tea-sipping pace.

Above and below – rough iPad shots of the shoot. Below are eyelashes!

I also shot a second model Jade Bianca, to be able to use parts of her face at will. What I would do in terms of surrealism was yet to discover. I shot many images of trinkets, patterns and textures on the day too.

Working out what to do on each part of the face was like embarking on twenty different pictures. Progress was made slowly but surely over 3 months in Photoshop. At least 17 large-format PSB files later, countless TIFFs, hundreds of ancient Chinese paintings and what seemed like ten million Photoshop-save tea breaks, it came together. For every tiny element that now sits in the image, there were at least 20 things that were rejected. I purposely wanted half of the image to remain like a beauty shot. I wanted the elements to appear sweeping in over the face, as if they were in the middle of movement. The most striking thing about the image is the blue eye – I wanted to incorporate a mystical sense of east meets west whilst keeping the image overall distinctly Chinese. However, I found that the less I thought rationally, the more creative I became. It was about the paintings slotting into the place they felt best.

I am used to making images primarily for the internet, so my habit is to zoom in and out constantly, checking how it looks small as well as medium size. But in order to really get a sense of this picture’s presence, I had to keep it zoomed in all the way as I worked on it, remembering how it will look at the end. There are lots and lots of tiny magical surreal details throughout the image, of animals, creatures, objects and people interacting with each other in a manner calling to mind my ‘Surreal Fashion’ series.

A few weeks before I finished it, I had a test print done at a metre wide to show to the client – at a Shoot Experience  no less, with a group of people watching as I nervously unrolled it. The reaction from them as we held it up in the sunlight at Lordship Park was amazing – it immediately put me at ease! Even though it was not finished, the ‘gist’ of it was there, and I felt re-motivated to keep working away at it. I wanted to make sure I was ‘in love’ with every part of it. I spent several more hours (spread over weeks) tweaking, refining, checking and double-checking every crevice of the image.

Towards its completion, I started to contemplate the idea of a series of these faces. Matthew suggested it and my ears pricked up. I like the idea of risky artistic adventures only that behold a power to produce something absolutely undeniably mega. They would be all humongous in size, brimming with the craft of months of toil, extremely limited edition. Time to completion unknown… but if there’s one thing I’m learning from life at the moment, it’s to take advantage of the unknowns, the uncertainties, the ugly things that this world faces – turn them on their head and use them as a reason to pursue wild ideas more than ever.

Shot with Phase One 645DF and IQ160. Thanks to Eric Joakim from Phase One. Model is Alton Mashbayar. Blue eye is model Jade Bianca. Assistant Matt Lennard. Make-up by Cristina Iravedra.

Thanks to Bernard Yeoh of Kai Mayfair for this wonderful opportunity, and I look forward to seeing it hanging ‘in the flesh’, for which it was made.

At the end of 2011, my review began with saying it was a year of “making things happen in the face of not being able to get quite what I want”. Those words are just as appropriate a year later, in fact, I have the impression those words will be carried to the end of my days. Especially in this economic climate, where people are largely waking up to what is a faulted system rather than just a blip within it, you are forced to come to terms with your real purpose as an artist and as a human. Only those who are undubiously passionate about image-making could possibly want to persist in a saturated and often disheartening photography world. This applies to the purpose of life as well as just a ‘career’ – how you spend your working days is a declaration of what you believe to be life’s purpose. This year has been even better, only because I feel I’m growing in spiritual wealth all the time. I continue to learn that success follows happiness, not the other way round.

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The Fashion Shoot Experience

At the end of 2011, Matthew and I celebrated our first 6 Fashion Shoot Experiences in London. This year, we celebrate making it internationally, having done 2 big events in NY and LA, as well as more in London. Our client base has grown considerably, we have tons more experience in putting together large productions, dealing with obstacles and plenty more  – a really good dose of life experience – and so we head into 2013 with great confidence for the next adventures. Already underway are plans for shoots in new London locations, new countries and even filmic fame glimmering on the horizon for the spring…

Above: from our LA event in Oct!

Our event means the world to me. It brings us a form of consistency in the erratic creative world. But it’s also a way for us (my partner Matthew and I) to be truly authentic about our attitude to photography and avoid robotic repetition – through the diversity of new locations, models and styling. Each and every event is a new visual adventure, which keeps us passionate. The photographers who come want the space to think for themselves; experiencing the pleasure of a professionally structured social event, whilst having creative autonomy. Interesting characters from all different professions have become our friends. Of course, having the space to shoot for myself too allows me to build my own images. Yet I would never want the entire location and crew to myself even if I could. It reminds me repeatedly that my viewpoint is merely one, and that whilst I love to create my works independently, the greatest pleasure in life is sharing resources; clubbing together to make the amazing possible.

Above: montage from this year of Surreal Fashion. Migration Season (bottom left of the grid above) was this year published in Vogue Italia and exhibited at 101 Photographers in Milan. (See my making of video, From Pixels to Vogue.)

Above: Girl of prey, from a fantastic workshop we co-hosted with Trey Ratcliff in November in Paris. (View all on flickr.) This was a wonderful situation to show others my process whilst truly being engaged in the process artistically. The whole workshop was filmed and will soon be available to see. This was a highlight of the year for being such a memorable social occasion as well as stunning location opportunity.

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1: VALUE. Being your own brand

The key word from this year, that I will carry into 2013, is ‘value’. Value, as in quality. That notion is key to our Experience event, but everything we learn about being photographers we can apply to life too. Matthew and I practice value in our personal lives which follows through to the professional life. One of the best decisions I’ve made (going back a few years) was that we will eat like kings every day, with fresh healthy (organic) food, regardless of budget or perceived fears about it. There is no price to put on wellbeing, and food is so essential to everything we are mentally as well as physically. (Anyone who follows me on twitter will see these kind of topics seeping into my posts!) The same follows through to other aspects of life, and into photography: once we decided we would be our own ‘kings’ and make our own opportunities, the opportunities have come. ‘Value’ is the word: valuing ourselves, our bodies, our lives, our work – which are all interconnected. Don’t wait for money, don’t wait for permission, don’t wait for luck – just do it.

Something this year helped me learn this lesson:

‘Day of gardening, and meeting with one of the biggest ad agencies in the world! I preferred the gardening’

That was a tweet I wrote back in the spring. In channelling my professional direction into advertising, I got a meeting with a high-end agency. On the day that had been booked for months, the people in the meeting turned out to be embarrassingly unprofessional. We encountered at least three different types of ego within the space of half an hour. They admired my work but could not (or dared not) translate it commercially, and instead slapped someone else’s portfolio in my lap to look at. They then proceeded to spent the rest of the time making comments about my physical portfolio presentation. I left feeling unshaken confidence in my actual work, but disappointed in what I believed was a mistaken perceived incongruity. I wandered around Tesco afterwards deep in thought, reluctant at the time to make too many judgements from just one meeting, but months later I feel it played a poignant role in sparking my intuition, that I don’t wish to grovel to ‘higher-ups’ in this way. Life is just too short for voluntarily enduring tests of time to ‘get in’ with an agency that plays it safe when it comes to artistry, calling you in like a technician rather than a real creative. I realised the illusion of the situation –  that meeting was never the way into getting work with them anyway – at least with dignity and without spirit-sapping struggle. The way to get work is to go away and paddle your own canoe, and have them chase after you. So I decided, whether they chase me or not, I’ll paddle my own canoe!

(Above: Skywatcher)

It was a moment when I simply had to look at my work and see the answer there; I shouldn’t tell it what direction to take. Art and business can, and do meet, but I don’t want to devote my life to mediocre work, or difficult/heavily compromised situations, just to ‘get by.’ A quote that stays in mind: “Adventure might hurt you, but monotony will kill you”. Another one that’s stuck with me: ‘Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who matter don’t mind, and those who mind don’t matter”. If you live a life of boring and unsatisfying work, the truth is, how much of a life are you really living? If we can’t take anything with us at the end of this life, surely what is left is only our contribution. I’ll harangue you with a third quote that comes up repeatedly in my head whilst I drive, sleep, write, eat: “Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive… then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

It was a little while later that I started working on a big commission for a Mayfair restaurant, the most adventurous piece of work I’ve ever embarked on. It is a large-scale, surreal face, which is going to be printed and hung at least 2 metres tall. I have not yet shared the image online but will ‘unveil’ it in the New Year. It was an exciting challenge to create something to a brief and purpose, and yet to be respectfully trusted to deliver my own artistry. Those are the kind of opportunities my figurative teeth were made to bite into!

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2: VOICE. “The free-range artist”

Another year of sharing images online has confirmed my love for this liberating medium of sharing. I wrote an article called The free range artist which if you haven’t seen, please do. It is important to me to carry on sharing work online, as much as making and taking more physical opportunities (and I mean using the internet to release ‘new’ work, not just having an online presence), because I always want to be in number one control of who I am. It’s taken me a while to reach this realisation, because the allure of progression beyond the internet and handing yourself over to ‘bigger fish’ seems to promise more status or profit, but actually, the status I desire is just to be myself without a mask. It’s obvious we all want to be in the driving seat when it comes to creativity, but it’s also about wanting to navigate the plane too; not be directed by someone sitting beside you. I love the freedom of choosing to share images on my own terms, not always for direct material gains, but also for spiritual gains.

Above: Monochrome montage from this year.

At the end of 2011 I said I was anticipating creating radical and probing images in 2012. I made a start, but they’re merely the peering tip of a desired iceberg. In some of them I’ve felt a certain ‘shift’ in when posting, so I was a little nervous of how they’d be received. Their World (below) was accompanied on flickr with a particularly long text discussing GMOs. I also referred to geoengineering. That’s a topic that is still surrounded by controversy but is gaining awareness and discussion.

These images were all a bit different in tone, but they did something new and potentially risky: touching in various degrees upon the environmental, humanitarian and even political. I told myself that negative reactions didn’t matter anyway, because I had to do what I felt so strongly about. For that reason I was pleased that they became my most shared images on Facebook. I also made more subtle geoengineering references in nudes shot in California: Stratasurf, Sun block, and Skyfall. I’m not one to force an image to fit a message in my head – the visuals always have to lead, like the man in a dance – and I have to always be completely honest about what the image outcome ’says to me’ conceptually.

Above: Passing of an Eclipse. Together with Nature’s Guests (further below) they are two surrealist non-portraits – a new thing for me this year.

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3: VOCATION. Thinking about life purpose?

I posted recently on my Facebook page asking people what springs to mind when asked about their purpose or even ‘mission’ of their life. It’s nice to take a rain check to evaluate why we do what we do, especially with such a large and engaging community of photographers online. The more time we spend looking at other people’s stuff, sometimes we lose sight of what the point of our own stuff really is. I was fortunate to meet Kirsty Mitchell a couple of times this year (also a contributor in my book) and what particularly inspires me about her is the impression that her work is literally the air she breathes. To me, the obstacles she faces are all but speed bumps on a road to gargantuan success because I can see her heart is so transfixed in what she is creating, not what others are creating. Rather than self-absorption though, it’s more like tight focus and body-shattering dedication. The time and money she puts into her creations is clear evidence of the high value she places on it. That is what makes a successful artist to me – whatever you aim to do with your end results – whether that’s to sell in a gallery for lots of money, or purely distribute over the net.

We are all but nature’s guests.

And the more I create images, particularly of the Ecology set, the more I realise what my ultimate goals are. I feel that material successes are not the end goal in itself, they are only pleasant side dishes to the deeper picture you subscribe your life to. For most people the purpose of simply emboldening the artist’s name and ego is the unquestioned goal, but surely there is more to it than that? I am feeling increasingly that part of my real, core, ‘dying’ purpose is to help open other people’s minds; not to tell them what to think, but to inspire them to think. I realise that my life in general has been lacking in these kind of role models. Through the people whose minds I touch, and the minds they go on to touch, I want to help shape a world where people are not scared to stand alone to question things and to speak out about truths. For that is the road to real salvation and liberation – our world is suffering on levels deeper and more corrupt than than most of us know. But I want to achieve all this by simply being a normal human being, with a life full of the things you have too – not some kind of hippie/anarchist stereotype. I want to use a new yet common language, to make mistakes, to enjoy humour, to be human – because my purpose will always be simply to engage with others.

‘Don’t try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human’. (Tony Robbins)

People say that it’s rare for artists to discuss politics or environmental/social issues. But instead of accepting it’s odd, I wonder whether I can challenge it. Aim to be an artist who plays with both beautiful fantasies and cruel realities; both whimsical images and political ponderings? Just because something is seldom done, does not make it impossible, only something new to try! On the whole, as artists, we all need to fear criticism less. Because, surely, any friction is surely a sign that change is being made? Nothing moves without it.

Below, Parasite: where I invited the comments of my audience to use their thoughts on humanity, to chart the anatomy of ‘the human parasite’.

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Plans for 2013…?

The Fashion Shoot Experience will become better, slicker, and more developed as a business with a VIP members’ list to come, collaborations and other opportunities. I’ll keep adding to Surreal Fashion with a dedicated book to emerge at the right time, other book projects are also in the pipeline. I’ll also be getting married at some point

With regards to my more ‘personal’ (or rather, environmental) work, I have instincts rather than goals. Instincts to create more thought-provoking images that might take some time to emerge (as I don’t usually pre-plan compositions specifically). My bones are aching daily to do something meaningful for our world through a particular angle or ‘cause’ for no other profit than that of the immeasurable raising of consciousness in the people who see it. I have an idea in the pipeline which will merge these urges with participation from others, in what could be a masterplan concept. I am in the process of doing some research and will be sharing this in the New Year!

I’m sure there will be other surprises that emerge in 2013 as I grow another year older, and feel more and more alive all the time.

Above: Corkscrew and below, The Fourth Soil, equally my two favourite self-portraits this year.

As this blog has been a sparse sales patch most of this year, please be sure to check out articles I’ve written this year on other blogs: Camera Obscura, Pixiq and Phlearn, and I also had an interesting long interview with Aline Smithson on Lenscratch.

If you’ve got down here – well done! Thanks for reading, and your comments on any aspects of it are very welcome below. You can also comment on Facebook.

The event is a 2-day experience made up of the Fashion Shoot Experience and a full Miss Aniela workshop. You are now invited to individually join the workshop, the Fashion Shoot Experience, or both – to tailor the experience to exactly what you want.

The first day will be the Fashion Shoot Experience with six fully-styled models and all-day shooting. The second day will be a Miss Aniela workshop with editing, demos, portfolio reviews, networking and more.

We run our Fashion Shoot Experience, sponsored by Photoflex, regularly in London and launched it this year in New York. The event is a bridge between a workshop and a real fashion shoot, and an amazing opportunity for photographers of different levels to test your mettle and develop your skills.

Above: spectacular imagery by Brent McCombs/Alter Ego, shot at our New York Fashion Shoot Experience!

Both workshop and shoot will be based in an amazing oceanside mansion Chateau Del Mar (10 miles from LAX, and 10 miles by train from Long Beach).

(Pictures from Flaney/ SoCal MLS)

Matthew and I designed the Fashion Shoot Experience as a shooting paradise of intensive creativity. Shooting with a set of professionally styled models and only the most amazing locations, the LA Fashion Shoot Experience is a one-stop portfolio overhaul, an experience-building opportunity and a photographer’s dream. By the end of the day, you’ll be artistically spent, with potentially a whole new portfolio of images! This may just be the most rewarding non-workshop ‘workshop’ you attend. We pay attention to the finest details to lay on a top-notch, well-organised and creatively stimulating time for everyone.

(VRBO)

(NY shoot)

There are a total of max 12 photographers on this event, who divide into pairs. The day runs to a carefully planned schedule to make a total of 6 shooting slots, each an hour for each pair of photographers with a different model and area. Full rights release is granted to all photographers with a written release. Photographers on previous Fashion Shoot Experiences have won competitions, been published in books, magazines  – and some have had a complete creative overhaul in their direction and confidence in shooting portraiture.

For a fraction of the cost, every photographer takes away their own creative slice of a multi-thousand dollar production in a mansion of dreams.

Above two images: more by Brent McCombs from our NY event.

Itinerary for the LA Fashion Shoot Experience & Workshop

The first day is the shooting day, 9am – 7pm. The day starts with a welcome chat, breakfast and meeting the other photographers. The models will be in styling from the early morning, ready to start shooting at approx 10am. Working in pairs, three shoots happen in the morning, and three in the afternoon. The day is strategically scheduled so you can just relax and let us take care of all the logistics whilst you concentrate on being creative! Breakfast and light lunch are provided, ending with evening dinner and time for chat and wind-down.

The second day is a full Miss Aniela workshop. This is for editing, sharing, and learning, beginning with a presentation from me. I will demo images from my portfolio as well as from the shoot the day before. There will be portfolio reviews, professional advice on photography direction in both fine-art and fashion/commercial photography, and help offer guidance and answer questions in detail. There will be model(s) on hand for demo shooting.

Catering is provided throughout the events. Everyone will receive a signed copy of my book, Creative Portrait Photography. We do our utmost to make your time an unforgettable experience.

DATES (2012)

Thurs 18th Oct (Shoot Experience) & Fri 19th Oct (Workshop)

Sat 20th Oct (Shoot Experience) & Sun 21st Oct (Workshop)

$950 (USD)  for the Shoot Experience

$650 (USD) for the Workshop

$1500 (USD) for Shoot Experience and Workshop

The price includes all food, but not accommodation. Spaces are available at a low price for photographers to stay at the house overnight between the two days, at rate of $125 per person (shared room), or $250 own room. As there is limited availability on rooms, it is advisable to book early. Alternatively, we can suggest alternate accommodation and transport in the nearby area. We can also advise on travel logistics for those coming from overseas.

To apply please email contact@fashionshootexperience.com. Full payment terms will be sent on application.

More pictures of the stunning venue (courtesy of the Chateau, from VRBO & Flaney):

Bedrooms for those staying over:

View out onto the beach:

Here is a testimonial from Diana, an attendee of our 2012 New York Fashion Shoot Experience:

“This was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I felt it was well organised and the creative team chosen was perfect. Miss Aniela and Matthew really created something unique, intimate and memorable. Knowing that it was their first international event was surprising. It was wonderful to meet so many new people from all over the world and build my portfolio with images that are much different from my current work. Also, really appreciated the warmth and hospitality. I would definitely do it all over again!”- Diana Lemieux

For more testimonials, frequently-asked questions about the Fashion Shoot Experience, videos and pictures, check out the dedicated event website:

www.fashionshootexperience.com

For all enquiries please email Natalie/Matt direct on contact@fashionshootexperience.com

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Thanks to Brent McCombs/Alter Ego Photography for the three credited photos in this post.

After a careful hunt for a new location, we can now confirm our next LONDON Fashion Shoot Experience for 8th & 9th September!

Our next shoot is taking place at Lordship Park, a large Victorian house in North London with four distinctively-styled floors. We went for a visit to check it’s right for our event, and snapped lots of images from floor to floor so you can see the diversity you will get on the day. The house boasts a beautiful Victorian style ground floor, a bedroom area with dolls’ house quaintness; a minimalist-style large white basement with quirky props, and at the top of the house, a wonderfully retro 70s-themed bedroom. In addition to that is the bonus of a picturesque garden bustling with hydrangeas and ripe for an editorial shoot.

Imagine 5 beautifully-styled models in both classical and quirky fashion designs, meeting 9 other eager photographers for a day like no other, and ample opportunity to make the most of every part of a wonderful location. This is seriously a Christmas morning for any photographer!

Click any image on this post to view larger.

Dates:

-Sat 8th September 2012

-Sun 9th September 2012

The price per place is £395.

Don’t forget what that price covers when you break it down:

- each pair of photographers gets to shoot freely for one hour with each of five high-standard models preened by a professional five-strong styling team

- shooting in all available parts of the location

- on-hand assistance guidance where needed, a range of lighting gear all supplied (flash, constant, HMI, plus reflectors etc)… some people profess to learn more from this experience than from workshops!

- full rights release for all of the images you take

- supplied breakfast, lunch and refreshments

-  quality editing movies from me afterwards.

These are not workshops. These are events aimed at confident/experienced amateurs, semi-pro and pro photographers who want to bridge the gap between an assisted environment and a real fashion shoot, and produce their own art and fashion stories with what we provide. You get to shoot in locations that would be double or even triple the cost of just hiring the venue itself! This is literally photography heaven on a plate. Each Fashion Shoot Experience is a unique event with new models and clothing – which is exactly why we get so many repeat ‘customers’. We’ve also had assistants who come back to join us for real! Join us for an intensive day of creativity and discover for yourself what makes our events so addictive.

See all the images below, and email contact@fashionshootexperience.com to sign up.

We’re taking bookings now – we anticipate these will sell quick, so email early to avoid disappointment.

See www.fashionshootexperience.com for all the info; FAQs, videos and testimonials.

Here’s a testimonial from a photographer on our most recent London shoot experience:

“Just to say thank you so much for such a rich day. Like most people I came home full to the brim of good things, went to sleep late after looking at the feast of pictures, so much to look at, so much to think about. The models were amazing and location superb. It did everything it says on the tin… and more…”

-Claire Ward

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If you want to see some incredible images from the last shoot we held in London, see the Flickr group or Facebook group.

More pictures of Lordship Park…

See more images and info on Lordship Park’s website:

http://www.lordshippark.com

My new book is here! It is now available to buy on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. And will be in your local bookshop soon, if not already. Above is the UK cover, below is the US cover:

I am thrilled for the new book. Of course, along the way was hard work, a bit of deadline stress and self-doubt. But now the book is finished, it is a complete product done and dusted, it is what it is: imperfect perfection. My books have been the best part of my career so far.

Front and back:

It meant a great deal to me for Ilex Press to express interest in me doing a second book, back when I was signing the contract for the first one, Self-Portrait. The suggestion of having a longevity beyond the first book cast out fears that I was a self-portraitist gimmick. That was two years ago, when I wondered to the future, and thought how would I do a book on general portraiture? I considered that I had a long way to go to garner the necessary material.  But now I sit here with the finished second book in my hands, a book’s worth of new stuff shot with a multitude of new models, confident and happy with every word and picture within it.

I have had more confidence in writing this book. Because instead of wondering how my take on ‘portraiture’ will fit onto the conventional bookstore shelf (as I first thought back when the suggestion was made) I have believed in my own work’s aesthetic and written about my process from my own heart. Of course, part of writing a book that will go out into the mainstream world is to think about which of one’s work is the most saleable, and not to fill the book simply with pictures you love. But what you love comes to be what you are best talking about. I think there is a nice balance between pleasing myself (enough to be genuine) and pleasing the readers (enough to be of interest to others).

So what’s in this book?

Self-portraits, nudes, fashion portraits, commissions/projects, collaborations; a collection of ’stories’ going from urban space, to nature, to interiors, over three hearty chapters. There is an initial chapter looking at aspects of portraiture, from lighting to depth to shape. There is also a special contributor chapter, followed by a final chapter with advice and tips on career progression, continuing on from the last book with new material on working with teams and models, through to putting together an exhibition and portfolio.

This book doesn’t patronise you or tell you the obvious things. This book talks to you as an equal, as an artist. If you’re looking for ’step by step’ recipes to cook your own clone of a generic pie, this is not your book. But if you want a book that treats you as an autonomous artist, and wants you to act on real inspiration and not imitation, this deserves a place on your shelf.

I love the value that contributors bring my two books. I love sharing the work of people whose work I admire and fills me with that ‘yes, that’s why I love photography’ feeling. All 5 contributors have said something in their text that makes me empathise with them.

And here they are:

KIRSTY MITCHELL

“I never want to be a photographer of other people’s ideas.”

Kirsty Mitchell is a wizard making legendary pictures, and yet doesn’t even think she knows much about photography. I am honoured to feature her some of her incredible Wonderland series in my book along with her stimulating earlier work, portraits and self-portraits. Kirsty is like no other artist I have seen. She could have the fashion world on its knees for her but that is not her main goal or vocation; her work is beyond fashion or any definitive label. Her work is beautiful fashionable art with remarkable set and prop design – and behind it, a inspiring and heartfelt story to tell. Sheer hard work and preparation is behind her work, reaping her well-deserved recognition, on the exciting cusp of stardom. It’s fascinating to see where she will go.

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SUSANNAH BENJAMIN

“The feeling I get when I capture something I am proud of is indescribable. I am filled with a happiness so intense that I know the reason I am here is for this.”

Susannah is a spring chicken and a dark horse. I first came across her work when Matthew sent me a link. I knew at once that I wanted her in my book, but didn’t expect a reply. So I was surprised when she said yes. Her work is such quietly top quality. I love her b/w portraits in particular, so subtle and powerful. Her written text is beyond her years… smart, devoted, insightful. She shoots fashion but wants to move it in a fine-art direction. Her devotion to applying concept to her work is admirable, because it’s not easy to take compelling popular images that also have some profundity. I also like that fact that she is wracked with confusion about the world with every picture she puts up on flickr. Because that’s how I have always felt too!

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PETER KEMP

“My ideal picture is in my mind long before my camera clicks, but seldom does the picture come out as it is in my mind.”

I stumbled across Peter’s work at the same time that I was looking for a fifth, male contributor. Ideally I wanted someone who shot portraits indoors. And here was my answer! Not to mention the relief that I was representing someone outside of UK/US! Peter’s work is quite astonishing. I describe Peter’s work as a  ‘more fashion-based Gregory Crewdson’ and a ‘darker Tim Walker’. His subjects look like possessed waxworks. Like any great artist he is addicted to making art for art’s sake, whatever the means. He has a great ability to turn a blank wall setting into a warped scene of beauty and bizarreness.

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BROOKE SHADEN

“In everything that I do I want to question what it means to be alive.”

Brooke Shaden’s earliest images fits this ethos of this book perfectly: creative portrait photography. Brooke has managed to hit the spot between conceptual and visually arresting, making ‘dark art’ popular – not easy! And yet her work is not necessarily ‘dark’ in aesthetics but a tapestry of colour and form. She has a huge cult following and a style which, through the internet, mass-inspires people of all ages and countries to learn how to make images like hers. She’s also been asked on occasion to shoot fashion but listens to her gut instinct to steer her one-woman ship the way she wants. Brooke is inspiring in the sense of working harder and never stopping pursuing the creation of amazing images. She believes that magic can be made with modest means and simplistic approaches.

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ALEX STODDARD

“Saying that my initial start with photography was anything but narcissistic would be an awful lie.”

Having learned of Alex’s work through Flickr, Alex’s work is diverse yet also strong. I empathise with so much he writes in the book about starting out with the ‘heavily contrasted’ vanity self portraits! Alex’s smartness is both funny and stimulating to read. His section includes some of my very favourites of his, as well as favourites of his flickr audience. He is an embryonic talent that will definitely shine the further he pursues photography.

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You get EIGHT pages of each contributor, and you get to learn a lot about them you may not have known before.

And please, please, please post your reviews! On Amazon, on your blogs, or wherever – but if you post it on Amazon also, I’d be truly grateful. I really want to hear what you think of the book. Thank you!

Amazon links again (but available from plenty other retailers):

Amazon UK

Amazon US

We pulled off our first stateside Fashion Shoot Experience!

When Matthew first suggested taking our event to New York I was highly sceptical at the scale of such a task! But with the experience of a year of London Shoot Experiences, the prospect became decreasingly daunting. Once we had the right location nailed for such an event (which took months to find) we sold out the places quite quickly, and with demand had to add a third day. We then spent several weeks putting the creative team into place, the most work needed to pinpoint the right stylist and costumes, and we were off!

The event took place at a glorious brownstone Brooklyn mansion which we hired for 5 nights; 3 of those being Shoot Experience days. The days were a sell-out, with some photographers joining to shoot on a double day. We followed the typical structure of our London events: 5 models, full styling team of stylist, 2 x MUA and 2 x hairstylists, with 10 photographer slots, all split into pairs to work with each model for an hour in a different room of the house. Stylist Jay Johnson pulled in designer dresses from Jovani, Tony Bowls and Faviana. Hairstylist Yasutake made hair pieces for the models to offer a diversity of wilder looks amongst the more classical ball gown looks.

The lighting set-ups were flash (TritonFlashes, from Photoflex our sponsor),  and we also had some LED constant lights available at times from the videographer, which added a diversity to the range. However, we were also blessed with beautiful natural light in a lot of the rooms most of the time. The spots around the house included a sunlit front lounge which looked like it was straight from the pages of Vanity Fair; a dark saloon area for moodier shots with flash; a beautiful bedroom archetypal of an interiors magazine, and a quirkier bedroom – the ’swoon room’, vibrant in blue decor and its own inhabitant, mannequin ‘Lola’.

We had a superb videographer shooting footage of the whole event, Josh Beadle shooting on RED, who also shot stills in a photographer slot. We’re much looking forward to what comes from the stunning creative footage we saw him creating of the models. Amongst the other photographers there was a great range of technology at hand, from your typical Canon and Nikon; compact Leicas through to Phase One IQ180s. Below is a superb image from Brent MCCombs shooting on Phase One.

Helpfully, the styling room was designated in the lower basement area, which kept numbers round the house low as needed, and so we could have some assistants on hand. These included some of the photographers who had joined the shoot – Ian Mears who came over with us from the UK, Diana Lemieux (whom I ‘met’ through Flickr, and was great to finally meet for real!) with her  husband Rick, who all stayed at the house with us.

The mansion itself was the perfect location for us, as the core team, to shoot and stay in. Luckily we had the owner as excited as we were, and even though so much goes on in this house (shoots, weddings, performances), she was particularly interested to see what we were creating, with the diversity involved. The food made for us by the house was delicious and it was a bonus to spend some social time with them in the evenings (well, just down the road in Clinton Hill – as far as we got in the whole trip, with being so exhausted!).

Here’s a group shot from each day:

I shot as a participant on the first and third days, but on the second, I nipped over the road with a couple of dresses to shoot with a 6th model Kate, who we recruited for the afternoon for a special shoot in a lady’s prop-laden house, full of peculiar and fascinating objects – like numerous mini museums brought together. It was a great little bonus to an already frantically-busy trip. Pictures from that, and the mansion shooting itself, will come later from me. I’ve been editing both Surreal Fashion but also enjoying putting together collections of completely different, ‘untouched’ images.

You can check out other photographers’ images being posted to the flickr group and to the Facebook group page.

After the success of our first international Fashion Shoot Experience, we’re already planning the next two for this year  – Italy in September and California in October, the latter which will coincide with an opportunity I will reveal later. More on all that to come. Meanwhile if you want to be sure to hear the dates first, email us at contact@fashionshootexperience.com or join the big mailing list.

We’ve also got our London events for April, May and June lined up, which includes a brand new Thameside location (see all London details on the website:

www.fashionshootexperience.com

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NB: B/w pictures in this post are by Simon Ghahary, taken on a Leica D-Lux 5, a camera I fell in love with during the trip…

Fresh back from our first ever stateside Fashion Shoot Experience in Brooklyn (so much to come later from that!) we’re adding a new London location to our Fashion Shoot Experience event for the spring and early summer.

The location is the Master Shipwright’s House in South London, a humongous and beautiful location with 5 centuries of history. This location is immensely popular with TV, fashion and celebrities: Jude Law shot here, Florence and the Machine has been only shortly after we visited, and it is where Mario Testino shot his infamous images of Kate Moss (like this one!) The house has various rooms with stripped-down walls, quirky props, and huge windows allowing excellent natural light as we enter the brighter months of the year. It is a house with a real character and vibe, nestled peacefully in its own cosmos by the Thames riverside, only seven minutes from London Bridge.

It has parts built as far back as 1500s by King Henry VIII to house one of the country’s then most important figures – the king’s master shipwright, and the offices of the then Deptford Naval Docksyards. Below is a close-up of the house from the painting above.

Here are some images from our recce. Fur rugs, piano, winding staircases, paintings, and old suitcases typify the kind of props found inside the restored house, and there is the added bonus of free unlimited parking.

Unlike the other locations we’ve used, this location has lots of outdoors space around the building, with a quirky ‘lookout hut’ (above) by the riverside which will be one of our shooting spots on the day of the event. Around the hut is the potential for shooting with the views of the dockyard and cityscape.

…and cosy kitchen for breakfast and lunch!:

Finding big, amazing locations that can also accommodate the numbers, needs and budget for the Fashion Shoot Experience is no mean feat. And this one took some hunting down, thanks to Matt’s ineffable work – but ironically, it’s one of the longest-standing locations on the celebrity and fashion circuit, so you’ll be shooting at a place loved by the best!

We have two dates set for the Master Shipwright’s House:

Saturday 19th May 2012 (sold out)

Saturday 23rd June 2012 (sold out)

Sunday 24th June 2012 (spaces left)

Both are 9am – 6pm. The price for this venue is £395 GBP per place (one-day event). We are taking bookings now. Owing to recent demand we anticipate these places to sell quickly, so email us early.

If you’re unfamiliar with what a Fashion Shoot Experience is, check out the website! You can see videos of previous events, see a showcase of photographers’ work, and read glowing reports.

Don’t forget what that price covers when you break it down: each pair of photographers gets to shoot freely for one hour with each of 5 fully-styled models, in every area of the location, with on-hand assistance guidance where needed, a range of lighting gear all supplied (flash, constant, HMI, plus reflectors etc), and full rights release for all of the images you take. Plus breakfast, lunch and refreshments, and editing movies from me afterwards. These are not workshops. These are events aimed at confident/experienced amateurs, semi-pro and pro photographers who want to bridge the gap between an assisted environment and a real fashion shoot, and produce their own art and fashion stories with what we provide. You get to shoot in locations that would be double or even triple the cost of just hiring the venue itself! This is literally photography heaven on a plate. Each Fashion Shoot Experience is a unique event with new models and clothing – which is exactly why we get so many repeat ‘customers’.

To book a place, please email us at contact@fashionshootexperience.com

New image Parasite (click here to view larger).

It can be considered a flipped, flea-shaped freakier follow-up to The fourth soil, another recent image of mine:

(View The fourth soil large, with description, here)

Parasite evolved from experimentation in Photoshop, following on from the same love of the shiny saplings rendered illustrative-looking after converting to monochrome, ‘timeless’ perhaps, or at least arcane. But here I was strangely inspired by the anatomy of the flea, and in merging the body with the branches, I called to mind a collage-like look reminiscent of Ellen Rogers. The result: the beautiful and broken human parasite. I have loved to see the comments so far on Flickr which have cited Dali and H.R. Giger, as well as taken on other interpretations of the creature as a seed of new life, the germination of a better humanity, life-making as well as life-taking.

Recently I’ve been writing more with my images. With this one however, having been inspired and stimulated by the comments on my images on Flickr recently, I had a better idea. I asked for your words. I wanted to place the words of my viewers directly onto the image, making it into an anatomical chart, as in the mock-up below.

I wanted to know your articulated thoughts on how humans are parasites on the world, feeding from its resources – that is: in both good and bad, and natural/inevitable ways. I wanted to hear what you truly feel in response to the conceptual subtext of this image – even if it involves digressing, or taking on a different reading.

Update: and here is the result. Click to view large.

By no means has it been an easy year, or a year where I’ve got everything I want.

This year has been more about making things happen in the face of not being able to get quite what I want, and learning slowly about what my goals actually are.

Above: my favourites of my images from 2011 whittled down to 9 – click to view larger (or to see them uncropped and whole, you can go to my newly designed website).

I’ve shot a large volume of work compared to other years (including over 30 models, thanks to the events), gained experience in new situations, engineered a new kind of exciting event, co-hosted a workshop production in a dream location, released a book and written my second, but most importantly, I have gained a clearer sense of direction than ever regarding where I want to go.

This year I’ve been working in two main series: Ecology and Surreal Fashion. Between them, I can cover most of what I currently want to express. They are quite different: Ecology uses stark nudes and landscapes, dystopian moods and ambiguous, environmentally-linked messages. It’s where my self-portraiture work has led to, though it’s not all self-portraiture. Surreal Fashion is my first substantial series featuring other (fashion) models, that has grown around an aesthetic that combines photos with other media, with more of an attempt at a conceptual core than most typical ‘fashion’ photography.

On the events side

This year I’ve done some teaching-based workshops in London, Scotland – and LA, right at the start of the year. I’ve also co-hosted a workshop for Phase One (further below). But what has epitomised this year has been our new event, what ‘we’ (that is, myself and Matthew my husband-to-be) have come to entitle the Fashion Shoot Experience.

It was a conception of two desires: 1) to transcend the typical ‘workshop’ and the limitations and contradictions it poses, as to what a photog/aspiring photog can truly take away other than some force-fed techniques and an illusion that the ‘art’ in photography can at all be ‘taught’. Maybe that is because I’m overall valuing being an ‘artist’ more than just a ‘photographer’. And 2) I wanted to put together a fashion shoot, instead of waiting around for a commission, but to make it happen myself. But the sentiment is not just “the only way to learn is to do it”, but “images get made whilst you are ‘learning’ – whilst you just do it“. Both myself, and all the participating photographers (who are everyone from students to seasoned pros) are on a ‘learning’, ‘doing’, and just ‘being’ experience together, making greater use of a great location that the typical workshop could.

The positive feedback from other photographers on the events has really made me proud of the event we have put out there. I really feel like I been able to facilitate a meaningful and fruitful experience for other people. And its growth is marked by going stateside: in 2012, one year after its launch in London, we’re taking it to New York.

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Books

Feels to me like it was ages ago, but it was only this year my book Self-Portrait Photography came out in the UK in Feb (Ilex) and in the US in March (Pixiq), which has sold 24,000 copies worldwide to date and is going into second print run. I’ve also been writing my second book this year, which comes out in the spring, Creative Portrait Photography. Writing these books is one of the best, if not the best, work I’ve enjoyed so far in my photography. There’s an inevitable commercialisation and level of compromise involved in the final product, but I love the freedom I get in putting them together, and I value the growth I gain in every book I write.

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Shooting at Weston Park

The PODAS Phase One workshop has got to be one of the best things for me about 2011 (see blog post with video). Getting to sleep over and shoot a workshop and eat great food – and even play dress up before the models arrived – in the most wonderful stately home, and be paid for it – wow – I was very lucky. There, I made what I think is my favourite image of the year overall, Storm Door (below).

And the important ‘OTHER’

This has also been a strong year for self-development. Particularly in the last couple of months, I have really solidified my sense of self and direction in life. Prioritising healthy eating and fitness above absolutely everything else, including photography. I’ve drastically addressed stress: the importance of getting headspace from perpetual computer use and the constant ‘I could be doing more’ mentality. I am so happy to be doing what I do for a living, but now I realise, for one reason much bigger than any other: the fact that I can organise my life around the priority of health, in body and spirit, which includes regular exercise, rest and rebuilding a connection with nature, in antagonism to much of the modern lifestyle that befalls most of us. Moreover, my intended direction(s) with my art have been in mental tumult over the last few months, finally landing on the one thing I want to do with my art: to question, and to seek truth.

Where 2011 has brought me

It was only a short while ago that this end-of-year post would have said something along the lines of: in 2012 I want to break into commercial work, grow my name, expand, in essence just get bigger, better, richer, greater, work and whip myself harder than ever, blah & etcetera. I’m questioning everything about that outlook. I still crave ways to use my work in other (commercial) avenues, but the right ones. This year, I have already felt this change coming, manifested in my Ecology series which has been somewhat a test run for me, for how matters of environmental concern meet ‘art for art’s sake’. I wrote a blog post about it earlier in the year where I professed to the series’ softcore quality and that “it’s not the place of my art here to tell people how to make the world a better place.” However, although I still crave subtlety, I now want to invoke deeper thinking, to actively engage my audience. I do want to make the world a better place, because it is possible.

I realise more about who I am as an ‘artist’. I’ve battled with feelings of dissatisfaction about my direction, feeling that a lack of commercial work meant I am less of a photographer. Maybe in a way, but not less of an artist. I now see what my work is: it is my dog by my heel, whom I want to stay true to me, close to my side. I see that my dream is to always be able to be myself, to channel every profound thing I feel, but not just for me. In that respect, as I grow in knowledge and awareness all the time (as well as passion and altruism) the art does too! I want to turn up the volume button, by increasing my work’s power and also its channels of expression; by using words, and by sharing more than just pictures that compel one to simply look and enjoy. There are too many issues around us to ignore, and too many layers to those problems than is typically regarded by the mainstream media. The kind of ‘issues’ I am referring to will become clearer later.

It is quite astounding to consider the potential power of a photographer who chooses to value truth over money, message over self-lording. What if my pictures can help expose truth, shift attitudes in one person and then another, and bit by bit make a difference to this world? That notion is just too exciting. I’m starting to even wonder, what is the point of art if it does not make a statement, to try make a difference? I want my art to have other purposes beyond our typical notions of ’success’, and I realise I’m going against some people’s advice when I say that. I’m interested in how this new perspective will change things. I know for a fact it will make me happier.

Above: Heatstroke (my favourite from Ecology this year)

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Some inspirations this year…

Here’s some references of things I’ve noted inspiration from in 2011: this picture ‘Mr Vet’ by Milosz Wozaczynski, pictures like this by Susannah Benjamin, and pictures like this by Chiara Fersini, and even illustrational Biblical stuff like this off Google Images, and weird animal hair pieces of Nagi Noda… also in a more general way by the following, in a random order: Tim Walker, Federico Erra, Rutger ten Broeke, Yulia Gorodinski, Martin Parr, Gregory Crewdson, Guy Bourdin, Noah Kalina, and Peter Kemp – as well as the other 4 contributors of my new book.

I also highly recommend this inspirational book Art & Fear, which has really helped me this year.

Cheers to a stimulating, enlightening 2012!