Photography Studio Equipment: Studio Safety: Studio Equipment for Photography | eHow.com

I just thought I would post this video relating to studio health and safety as it was really educational. Safety in the workplace is very important :) CLICK THE LINK! Photography Studio Equipment: Studio Safety: Studio Equipment for Photography | eHow.com

Gideon Mendel

                            

Gideon Mendel was a visiting photographer that we had come in on the 27th January (this is a late post!) 

Gideon Mendel is widely regarded as one of the world's leading contemporary photojournalists.  Born in Johannesburg in 1959, he studied psychology and African history at the University of Cape Town. Following his studies he became a freelance photographer, documenting social change and conflict in South Africa in the lead-up to Nelson Mandela's release from prison.

In 1990 he moved to London, from where he has documented social issues in Africa and globally.

He has been documenting the impact of HIV/Aids in Africa for more than 12 years, working in 10 different countries to show the many ways the disease has devastated the lives of millions of ordinary people.

He continues, in his current working practice, to work for some of the world's major magazines while also developing new advocacy projects. He has recently begun a major new body of work on the impact of climate change on the world's poorest people. 

From listening to Gideon I found him really inspiring, some of his work was really emotional and clearly trod a fine line between invasive and educational. I learnt a lot from his work but more regarding the subject of HIV than of his photographic technique! I did however find out that a lot of his work is shot of 120 film of a Roliflex.

Interview Replies

It is definitely too late to achieve a face to face interview and a portrait, which I'm really gutted about! I've finally got e-mail replies from some Midlands photographers, Paul Beard and Edward Moss. Sammy Southall was to busy to help me via e-mail but she said I could of visited the studio and done it in person (I wish I could of looked but it was just to far away). The Plymouth photographers weren't so helpful ...
Several of the wedding photographers I e-mailed didn't e-mail back so I've been waiting around. I've decided to e-mail John Miles & Nina Therese today as they work together as wedding photographers but separately they have totally different specialisms. I just thought their dynamic was original and so the work is a little more creative! They probably won't e-mail me back in time to be able to submit the interview but to be honest I'm just curious to what they have to say :)

Stressing over WBL

Today I've checked my inbox to find NOTHING! I've e-mailed 5 photographers now and I've had nothing back. The face to face interview is apparently not an option as the photographers at the "You Look Gorgeous" studio aren't available for interview and Dawson Strange haven't got back to me yet. It is all looking pretty hopeless! Despite the pitfalls my WBL is going ok. I'm now e-mailing more photographers to see if I can get web-based interviews via e-mail, skype or phone. At such short notice, any of these is better than nothing! 


I've found some job opportunities as well which I found really interesting, especially this advert which I found on a studio website "Eileen Mason Photography" which is based in Warsall. I got particularly excited by this add because it is one of the areas of photography I am really keen to explore and it is in commuting distance of my home town.  

TRAINEE PHOTOGRAPHER

The Role

As a Trainee Photographer you will be trained in creating high quality, highly individualistic portraits to a demanding clientele. You will be encouraged by our team of award winning creative Photographers to develop your skills and to deliver a high degree of customer satisfaction.

Skills / Experience / Qualifications

A varied portfolio of current photographs which show evidence of a strong natural eye for design, creativity and composition. Professional qualifications i.e. HND, National Diploma or a Degree in Photography / Art / or design would be an advantage. Experience with clients in a sales or retail capacity would also help.

Personal Attributes

Confidence, talent, ambition, drive and enthusiasm. A people person capable of creating a warm and exciting atmosphere for clients and fellow team members alike.

To Apply

Please forward your CV with an up to date photograph of yourself to careers@eileenmason.co.uk or post to Recruitment at our address below.

After looking at assistant photographer jobs, I think this would be another great way to break into the studio industry. I love portraiture, glamour and fashion shoots and think this is definitely something I would of considered if I weren't already studying photography.  I've e-mailed anyway to ask for possible work experience in the summer. Even if it isn't necessary for  WBL, I would still love to learn all about the running of the business, day to day tasks and of course their tricks for taking such beautiful imagery!

WBL...

Still trying to sort a website out... eugh!

Competition Entry: PicStop

After a week hunting for photography competitions, I finally entered one! The task was to enter a photograph that captured "winter". Image must be in JPG format and not exceed 300k in size, must include a title and a short description. Competition ends, 30th March 2011. The winner will be announced shortly afterwards. 

I chose this picture - titled "Hidden Truth"

Calm winter seascape of the twilight sun, deceitfully hiding its icy presents

I enjoyed entering the competition, simply so people could see my work. I also like the thought of my imagery being acknowledged and actually winning something but how fun! I will definitely be looking out for more competitions to enter!

For any of you that want to enter this particular competition, here is the link! http://www.picstop.co.uk/photocomp-upload/

  

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” – Sven Goran Eriksson

Today I'm feeling really negative about my skills as a photographer, I've hit several problems regarding my projects and I'm struggling to be positive about overcoming them or finding the enjoyment to carry on. Firstly I messed up the times for my client brief which left me letting down the dancers at the barbican theatre at ridiculously short notice. It caused them no distress but I just feel bad because as a professional I can't make mistakes like that! Secondly I remembered that one of my friends interviewed Louise Sumner, which is why she is probably ignoring my e-mail. It didn't really concern me that I don't get to interview her, because I think a future lecture from her is very likely, so I still get to enjoy what she has to say. I was thinking more on the lines that I tried to arrange a interview with an award winning photographer, yet I don't feel confident to actually 'talk' to people! The interview process is lingering and I just need to suck it up and deal with it... I've made myself a promise that I won't let it get the better of me and I'm just going to e-mail every wedding photographer in the area and just TALK. As long as its planned out what can go wrong? FEAR won't make me FAIL at what I truly love in life!  

- RANT OVER