The next in my little series of “12 City Videos”. Apparently the reason it is so difficult to take smooth videos on a little hand held camera is that we insist on breathing while we are doing it. Maybe using a monopod would have helped – but too late for that now, for this set. Again, this is another of those view points where I took some Polaroids, I’ve done a triptych from here that worked pretty well.
Hard at work on the book stage of this project now. Still deciding on the balance of images versus text. Comments would be welcome – would you prefer to see the full set of images or less images with some background information on the project, the cities and some ideas about carrying out your own “Big Project” ?
* You can sign up for my “soon-to-launch” Ezine from the link on the right or from here – and receive two downloadable postcards* )
Thanks for participating in my Twitter contest and sticking with it over so many days ! Anyway, without further ado..we have a winner – @ali991 . If you give me a mailing address ( you can use the comments as they are moderated and not published straight away ) then I will get your calendar off in the post to you .
As a thank you to everyone else who joined in, if you would like to buy a copy of the calendar for yourself you may also choose two 5×5 prints from those listed in my Etsy shop. Just state “Twitter contest” in the “Note to seller” and your choice of prints. Something for you to keep and something to give as a present – you can choose which way round you do it.
And because I’m nice like that, if you would prefer the other calendar then the offer applies to that too . This bonus is valid until midnight on Tuesday 17th November 2009.
( * You can sign up for my “soon-to-launch” Ezine from the link on the right or from here – and receive two downloadable postcards* )
Have been enjoying experimenting with the Holga + Polaroid back – commonly referred to as a Holgaroid. It lends itself to a very dreamy style of image and has given me an idea for a series that I plan to execute very quickly over the next couple of weeks. Maybe I was influenced a little by seeing a performance yesterday at the Arches by Derevo in collaboration with another Russian company and a Scottish theatre group. The Arches is an underground space below Central Station in Glasgow and provided a suitably grimy mysterious backdrop for an equally mysterious show. The audience congregated in a central area for the start and finish and in between had to select 3 doors, out of a possible 7 to watch 20 minute performances in each. Dreamlike and confusing with reality and fantasy blurred.
( * You can sign up for my “soon-to-launch” Ezine from the link on the right or from here – and receive two downloadable postcards* )
Friday Freebie for today – With any calendar purchase choose a complimentary 5 x 5 print and just let me know in the “note to seller” which one you would like,
Enjoyable meeting yesterday at Beyond Words ( the wonderful independant photography bookshop on Cockburn Street, Edinburgh). Has spurred me on to take the “Holgaroid” out of the drawer and shoot with that today. As luck would have it, I received an unexpected stash of Polaroid film yesterday afternoon . I didn’t know in advance what kind of film it would be, but it is exactly what the Holgaroid needs. It is a very random style of photography, without even the help of a viewfinder – this really is point and shoot ! But double exposures work very well and I think the film will also be usable for transfer prints and emulsion lifts. That should tide me over now until the Impossible Project have finished their work.
( * You can sign up for my “soon-to-launch” Ezine from the link on the right or from here – and receive two downloadable postcards* )
I have received a few compliments on my packaging of late and a couple of people asked if I would share what I’ve been doing. The way I parcel up my photos is something that is always evolving in some way or other , but there are a few basic themes.
My starting point is always “my” colour - a turquoise shade. But that means anything I’ve done could be easily translated to your own colours .. (What do you mean you don’t have your own colours ? )
Sending photos and other paper products through the mail , first consideration is always to make sure they arrive in perfect condition, so some sturdy protection is in order , but after that I do like to try and make sure the parcel looks fun as well.
Thinking of the world and all those landfills I try to be as eco friendly as I can. So my gift wrap of choice is plain brown paper - a roll of recycled if I can find it.
I stacked the bundle of cards and drew round the outline ( 1 & 2). Then folded the paper up over the cards on each side to guage the right size. (3) Finally cutting my initial template (4).
I trimmed the two narrow sections straight to overlap in the middle and the two wider ones I cut to create an envelope shape. Once I have this template I lay out a few layers of brown paper and cut out a number at a time. Ideally I’d cut a template out of cardboard and cut the paper in even thicker layers.
Now the more fun part – to decorate the basic wrapping. I use a little “Moo” sticker to seal the package. I also used Moo to have a batch of mini cards printed with just “Thank You” in shades of blue on one side and my website info on the reverse. This also creates a little band that can hold any note that I include with the order. For variety I also had a go using the same technique with a heavy turqouise paper. And the beauty is you can adapt it to any size you might need. If I have to package more than one item then I use a coloured tissue paper for the other item.
This site has to be the best friend of small business. You can get small runs of normal size business cards ( some people use those as thank you notes ). The mini cards that I’ve used here. And the little stickers.
http://www.paperchase.co.uk/ - Also a good resource in the UK for coloured tissue paper and other decorative elements.
( * You can sign up for my “soon-to-launch” Ezine from the link on the right or from here – and receive two downloadable postcards* )
One of the ways to get a slightly more unusual shot is to look for a high or low angle on something. So a regular approach in each city was to find a high view point and shoot some Polaroids from there. I couldn’t resist also trying out the film function on my little point and shoot . I still need quite a lot of practice at filming ! But I like the fact that it captures a little of the sense of place despite that. This video was shot at a roof top cafe with a fabulous view over Florence .
( * You can sign up for my “soon-to-launch” Ezine from the link on the right or from here – and receive two downloadable postcards* )
I’ve decided to rest the “Five on a Friday” for a little while and ring the changes with “Friday Freebie” instead. This is part of my contribution to brightening up the winter months which need all the help they can get to be a bit more cheerful. Kicking things off is a little competition I’m running over on twitter. If you look for me over there ( @starrybluesky) you’ll see how it works. When it has finished I’ll announce the winner on the blog ( and have a little extra bonus for all participants).
The image with this post is of the Haga area in Gothenburg. This time last year I was just about to head off to Gothenburg. November is a cold and blustery month , but the perfect season for sitting in cafes and eating cinnamon buns.
I am not keen on winter. Or rather , I used to not be keen on winter. I don’t want to throw a whole chunk of the year into the bin anymore though. So I am determined to really like winter ! For the last few years I have deliberately peppered the winter months with different ways of getting through the darkest days.
Strangely enough, I like to kickstart winter by going along to the Edinburgh Samhuinn festivities. Even though it is “pretend celtic” I like the symbolism of the green man of spring being defeated and replaced by the old woman of winter. It is a real spectacle with ranks of different costumed characters, drumming, music and dancing , lanterns and a magical atmosphere.
Hot chocolate. Truly one of the best things about winter. I don’t have a current favourite for this in Edinburgh – so will need to do some research. If I was in Paris I would probably still head for Angelina and in Venice, though expensive , the lovely Florian Cafe. Yes, I would happily eat dry bread and water for the rest of the day to have the best hot chocolate.
Celtic Connections in Glasgow. Clearly set up by people with the same mindset. January in Scotland needs something cheerful. And that is exactly what we get. Special bonus for people of my own musical persuasion this year ( Balkan/Gypsy/Jazz/Fusion – esque) The Gypys Kings and Queens are performing !
Hibernation – We have got so far away from the natural cycles of things. We push and propel our dreams and plans forward all year round. We never pause for breath. I am giving myself a present this year – of allowing the winter to be a time for ideas to germinate and start to grow , even if it is under the surface and the results won’t start to emerge until spring.
Beach walks. Lovely as they are in summer there is something especially cheering about bundling up in warm woollies and going for a walk along the beach. The nearest one for me is Portobello – with a little video of it for you here.
How do you make autumn or winter more cheerful ?
( * You can sign up for my “soon-to-launch” Ezine from the link on the right or from here – and receive two downloadable postcards* )
Rather than working through each city one at a time I’ve been dipping in and out of different cities and processing whichever image appeals to me that day. Some images take a lot longer to colour correct than others. I’m still waging the battle against “creeping green” and now and again also against phantom dots. ( I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, if you’re working in Artistic TZ film scan as soon as possible).
This image was shot in Sibiu from inside a watch tower – great views in all four directions and not too steep a climb.
( * You can sign up for my “soon-to-launch” Ezine from the link on the right or from here – and receive two downloadable postcards* )
Misty morning inspired today’s Flickr Favourites for me – clicking on any of the links above will take you to the original photograph. Make your own here and play along and add your mosaic at Artmind’s blog.
( * You can sign up for my “soon-to-launch” Ezine from the link on the right or from here – and receive two downloadable postcards* )
