Photographer Interview Request

I have just sent an email to Caroline Pilling, she is a wedding and portrait photographer from Bristol. I have a big interest in wedding photography and after seeing her work i thought i would see if i could conduct an interview with her for my work based learning project. I'll keep you posted as to her response.

istockphoto.com application update

I have just received an email from istockphoto.com stating that my images are not suitable for their stock library at this time, and wish me to change my subject matter according to their specification at the moment.

I shall be attempting to enter more images into their catalogue however i may consider other libraries who would be more suited to my style of photography.

First Uploads onto istockphoto.com

I have just submitted my first images to the website and am waiting approval via email.

Shall keep you posted as to the response.

Entrance exam to istockphoto.com update

I HAVE PASSED, finally passed the entrance exam after two attempts now to try and upload my images.

Application to istockphoto.com

I have decided to apply to istockphoto.com as a way of creating a small income. however as of yet my application has been declined due to me not getting all the answers right on their entrance exam. i will however try again.

i'll keep you posted as to my success.

Why Did i Chose Photography-500 Word Essay???

As part of our project we have been asked to write a five hundred word essay on why we chose photography as out chosen subject and i think the essay i have written sums it up quite nicely.

I first came about photography when I was twelve years old, when me and my father, who was already a keen amateur photographer having done many weddings and portraits, went to our local photography shop and bought me a very basic 35mm compact camera. From that moment I fell in love with photography taking my little camera everywhere with me, documenting my life as I lived it shooting probably hundreds of films in its time of use. As I was progressing in my photographic knowledge and experience, my dad one day out of the blue gave me his 35mm Nikon SLR which he used to take with him and shoot just as I used to take my camera.

With this camera my experience and passion grew as I became more confident in my own ability. However, unfortunately the Nikon F-401s was replaced in 2007 with my Nikon D80 when the film catch broke, in my naivety I didn’t replace the catch and opted for the new flashy digital era camera, which, as it happened came in rather handy when it came to my A-Levels as the course was entirely based on the digital medium. I found the process cold and meaningless and to start with felt almost lost with why I was doing photography as the passion had almost faded.

However, the more I used the medium and the more I experimented within the camera, I found that you could do much more with it that wouldn’t ever be possible on film, when something seemed to reignite inside me as I seemed to find my passion that I had and felt when I first picked up my 35mm at the age of 12. By the end of my second year of A-Levels I had found my purpose within photography and was produced in my opinion my best and most exciting work ever, I guess you could say that the final year of A-Levels was a turning point in my life in making my decision to take my practice further, into education but also into the world of photographic practice as in my second year I had been commissioned to photograph a wedding, which went outstandingly well and so well in fact that subsequent portrait work has also come about, when you’re 16 it’s a very exciting experience having people ring you up and asking to give you money for doing something that you love doing.

However I felt that taking myself to higher education to learn more and more about the new mediums, the legal side of the practice and analysis of other images to inform my own image making; but also going back to my grass roots with film, and to find the character that is missing in this new digital era of photography, was the best route to becoming a better photographer.

In terms of work I haven’t managed to narrow down my style or preference enough to make a decision on where I would like to go with regards to my work based learning and obviously after that my life in general, this was one of the reason as well in coming to a higher educational establishment, to help me decide on a path for my photographic life.

By James Dowding

Exhibition Update

Update on my last entry... I have decided that i will also look into possible free options as the cost of printing images will be very high and i will need a lot to fill a gallery space to make full use of my £275 or so. I'm going to look into hanging my images in cafe's and other public places as my exhibition. i will conduct research into possible places and contact them to see what if anything they might like to display and if i could do it for free. I have also been in contact with my girlfriend and discussed a possible collaboration between our works as she is a fine artist herself. This would lead to a halved cost in space rental, of we were to rent a space; and it would also lead to some interesting works which incorporate both photographic practices with fine art and possibly sculpture work as well as it's something we are both interested in as practitioners. This week i will be conducting more research on free spaces and continuing communications between my self and my girlfriend about the possible project and hopefully come up with a collaborate theme we can start working on.

To Start.....

After having a chat with Jane last week, i've decided to begin preparations for my work based learning; and come up with a gallery exhibition as my final outcome. So far i've begun to research into the cost of physically renting the gallery space which varies wildly in price from the cheapest i've found at £275 a week to way over £1000 a week. needless to say the £275 option is more appealing at this point however i will be researching more into locations and price and how many people come through the doors in an average day and all the logistics even down to lighting etc.