Just my random musings...
99 designs...and then some!
Logo by 99 designs - V.ZdeSIGN
I recently decided that it was about time that I replaced my slightly clunky logo with something a little bit better...ok a lot better. Having seen what various design services can do I thought it was worth looking at a crowdsourcing option. The advantage with this approach is that a lot of designers come up with options in order to win a cash prize giving the buyer plenty of choice. As the name of the site suggests you can expect a fair number to sift through and choose from. By the end of the competition I had over 300 from more than 60 designers. Choosing is fun, but challenging, as many approaches have there own particular attractions, some quite different from each other. Having given a brief that I wanted something fresh and appealing meant that certain designs jumped out and so choosing finalists was relatively easy. Choosing a winner, was however, more interesting, and in the end, a design that caught my eye early on won the day. The winning designer, V.ZdeSIGN from Romania, provided me with plenty of options for colours to use for different applications so that I can apply the logo to cards, clothes, flyers and so on. I am really pleased with the new look and think it has completely achieved the objective I had set out. Thanks to V.ZdeSIGN and 99 designs for a fun few days and a great new look!
Ring Round The Moon
Joshua the butler(C)Ian Leaver 6WV106TL 07957563108
I spent Sunday with some friends shooting the cast of Dudley Little Theatre's production of Ring Round The Moon. They were a great bunch of people who were tremendously accommodating during one of their final rehearsals before their production opens on Wednesday this week. The performance is already looking very good indeed and I certainly hope to see it performed during its run.
We shot a mixture of staged portraits and scenes from the play and tried not to get too much in everyone's way. Shooting with uncertain lighting is a little challenging, it was also difficult to catch the expressions just right. I often seemed to find myself on the wrong side of the stage. That said I think I got some interesting shots which made it all worthwhile.
Good luck to the cast and crew for this week, break a leg.
No greater than
Greater Than Gatsby! I love the photoshop actions that are produced by the people at Greater Than Gatsby. They make the task of post processing an even more fascinating thing to engage in. It is easy to assume that everything gets done in the camera but for most photographers there is almost always something that can be improved on even the finest shot. The Greater Than Gatsby actions are a fantastic way to enhance images and bring out the very best of what the camera captures. The image below was taken on an incredibly dull and disappointing day but with a little work you would never have known that that was the case.
See their details at www.greaterthangatsby.com
Never stop learning...
I am a firm believer in continuous learning and photography is something that changes as fast as anything these days. Change is not only driven by technology but also by artistic taste; nothing sits still and that is what makes it such a challenge and such a lot of fun. I subscribe to The Photographer Academy as a means to keep learning and challenging my knowledge level. The owner Mark Cleghorn is an internationally renowned photographer and fantastic coach who shares his immense knowledge in a highly engaging way through his online material and webinars.
Every couple of weeks Mark runs a critique of members' images which is incredibly informative. As a trained and highly experienced judge his comments are very valuable indeed. At the end of each Critique session he selects his top 5 images and I was pleased to see one of mine selected on the 9th May - shown below at bottom right. The Photographer Academy is a fabulous resource and anyone interested in joining can click on the logo below for more details.
Scallywag
Baby Aurelia, taken for a successful portfolio submission to the modelling agency Scallywags. Taking a little inspiration from the title of the agency the shots included some a little less angelic, one with a face covered in chocolate brownie and another with rather more wild hair. I was pleased to hear that the response from the Agency was an immediate yes to putting Aurelia on their books which was great news as they work with some very big clients including Vogue Bambino, Harrods and a host of other well known names. Good luck to Aurelia in securing their interest, with a happy smile like this how could they resist?