Jessica, the designer at tinroofvintage.com, is one of the most talented local designers I've yet to meet, doing reconstructs of vintage clothing and designing 100% unique garments (she does not duplicate any of her pieces) which makes her clothes that much more desirable. She is creating and selling 30-40 unique garments every week. Amazing! The auctions at her eBay Store have built an incredibly successful business, with steady customers battling over her gorgeous pieces on a daily basis.... Trust me, I have yet to win something I've bid on! haha (dangit!) ;)
I recently had the opportunity of putting together the most lovely team of people to photograph her clothing. Thank you Jessica (designer), Paige (model), Pembe (model), and Austin Singleton (makeup artist) for making this such a wonderful experience!
Our Faves from the Tin Roof Vintage shoot:
Jessica @ Tin Roof Vintage, isn't she a doll?!
Really looking forward to working with Jessica again on shooting some of her fall/winter garments. In the meantime, keep an eye on her store for Spring / Summer items!
This year I decided to re-brand. I kept the same logo but changed the overall feel of my packaging and marketing materials, to better reflect myself as a person. With nature in my blood and having practically grown up in the woods (okay not really, but I was a major Tom Boy and spent a LOT of time outside, haha) I thought the change was only fitting, and I wish I'd started out with it from the beginning! With all eco-friendly, recyclable, and biodegradable materials, the new packaging just feels good, it gives off a good vibe. Less is more in my book, and keeping the packaging / materials simple, clean, and quietly sophisticated is something that now has a lot of importance to me. My first set of proofs went out the door wrapped in Earth yesterday and I wanted to share some photographs. I'll be getting the remainder of the products this month (Print Folders, Mailers, CD Cases). I'm also looking for a new Portfolio for my prints, does anyone have suggestions? I've searched far and wide and haven't really settled on anything yet.
*Ink on the bags and boxes is Acid-Free and Non-Toxic*
*Borders / Frames on the proof image shown above are available for purchase [ here ] *
Order Deadline cards were printed at home on natural, recycled paper
Recycled Tissue Paper from Nashville Wraps
Cards with rounded edges from GotPrint who is a Green company!
Beautiful soft Twine from Hobby Lobby.
Logo on Boxes and Bags is a stamp I had custom ordered. I purchased both brown and black inks, they both look beautiful!
Tags are made at home, printed on recycled paper
Tags are made at home, printed on recycled paper
*BAGS AND BOXES ARE RECYCLED KRAFT PRODUCTS*
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If you have not read my post from last week, "Breathe Life Into Your Work", you may want to do so before reading on. I would LOVE for you to share some of your own answers in response to this after reading my answers, shall we make it a friendly conversation among those of us who love to create? That would be nice. And so, here are my answers.....
"What is your motivation?"
*sigh* I’ve had to overcome a lot in order to answer this question with a new mindset. When I first started taking photographs, it just felt like a part of me. When the idea of starting a business came into play, a few negative things clouded my mind, even though my mindset at that time was allowing me to believe my desires were positively reinforcing that decision.
“I want to make money doing something that I’m passionate about” was first, and then came
“I want to become the BEST photographer in this area.” I was confident that I could do it, too.
“I want to inspire people” (seemingly a good starting point)
So what’s wrong with these things? Just reread the three sentences. “I want,” and again, “I want.” It’s good to know what you want, but wanting is not something I feel is enough when it comes to my work anymore. Everyone wants things. The other thing that’s wrong with sentence number one…is pretty much the remainder of the sentence. “make money doing something that I’m passionate about.”
RECENT NEWSFLASH TO SELF: That is what everyone wants. Everyone would love to be able to make money doing something they are passionate about, what could be better? But now, that answer to me seems flat out immature as well as selfish. Money should have nothing to do with your actual motivation. From a business standpoint, yes. From a survival standpoint, absolutely. From a philosophical standpoint, absolutely not. If I’m bringing in enough to pay the bills, that’s all that matters in my book these days. You are the only one who can separate the business end of things from the joy of creating. It’s a fine line, but if you’re truly an artist, the money is secondary.
What’s wrong with sentence number two then, you ask? What’s wrong with wanting to be the best? Ahem. YET ANOTHER NEWSFLASH TO SELF: What constitutes BEST exactly…. ? When I answered that question, I wanted to slap myself. What I was really riding on, was the fact that I hoped people would eventually admire my work, and breaking that down a notch further was saying I was so confident about my inherent abilities with a camera that I forgot what was even more important than being viewed as "one of the best": DOING MY BEST. STRIVING TO OFFER MY CLIENTS THE BEST.
Once I realized I was off track in my own motivations, I had to reevaluate what things were causing me to think that way. The MAIN cause was comparing my own work to others’ and feeling inferior, and being motivated by jealousy is just ROTTEN. I don’t want to be jealous of those I admire! I want to encourage, uplift, let the beauty of their interpretations direct me in my own work!
My answer to the question “what is your motivation?” – its simple. It doesn’t start with my camera, it starts with life itself. Enlightenment. People, the world, and everything in between are the reason I am who I am – even the most horrible situations motivate me. Existence is a gift and it baffles me that we are perceptive creatures. This has nothing to do with “photography” per se, but it has everything to do with MY WORK. I am so happy to have let go of the need for recognition; it was distracting me from myself and my purpose. More than just “wanting to inspire people”, I realize more importantly that PEOPLE NEED ONE ANOTHER. You can’t inspire someone if you have a negative outlook on humanity. This is especially important to me when I think about the impact that will have on my son and his own desires to achieve.
"Why do you create photographs?"
A lot has happened in my life, a lot of which was downright horrific and ugly, a lot of which I am still overcoming. I’ve seen and come to know MANY different types of people. Some who were absolutely rude sending bursts of bad karma into the atmosphere, some who were so kind and generous it was contagious, some became my heroes, some hurt me badly and I had to let them go. Perhaps I’m beating around the bush with my answer but there’s a reason why I needed to explain that first.
I create photographs for three reasons.
1.There is much to be learned when you take the time to understand another person even if it is just for a few moments. For me, using my camera reminds me that each and every individual IS A STORY WAITING TO BE TOLD. That is amazing to me, what has lead a person to be who they are, why they do and say things, how they react to my camera when they’re under the spotlight. Turn a camera onto someone unexpectedly and you’ll learn very quickly about their character. I love that. I love any opportunity to make a connection with someone else, it’s a beautiful thing.
2.Photography is something I can invest my entire being into. Often times after a photosession I will literally feel exhausted, like I’ve been running for hours. For a long time I wondered about this, but it makes sense to me now. Its like staying up late studying; when you use your brain to focus, to totally zone into something, you’re exercising parts of your brain that you don’t on a normal day. Or when you run for 5 miles, you feel incredibly tired afterward, even though it will most likely have a positive effect on your body. Exercising my creativity takes a lot out of me, but it is a feeling of exhaustion that is relieved by a sense of accomplishment. Life presents so many distractions. When I’m working, nothing distracts me. When I’m out using my camera, that is the ONE and ONLY avenue where communicating with people doesn’t seem invasive to me. In fact, taking portraits feels more sincere even not knowing the person than if we’d sat and engaged in conversation for hours. Sometimes not speaking, and just connecting, lets you walk away with more. You’ve got to let go of your ego in order to make a magical photograph happen.
3.I like to be challenged, and photographing people and/or situations presents the ultimate challenge: to overcome my need for self restraint, to trust myself 100%, and to illustrate my TRUE perceptions. I could stare at situations to the point people may think I’m a total creep. The good ole saying “Why don’t you take a picture, it’ll last longer” – yea, that’s why I have a camera with me most of the time, I’m aware of this, haha. Having a camera not only gives me confidence, but it makes me feel vulnerable at the same time. You have one chance to create a photograph out of a situation. If you sit there for 20 seconds thinking about the picture you’re going to take, chances are you’ve already missed the best shot you could have taken.
"What makes you feel happy?"
Sunshine. Grey skies. Country drives. The smell of food cooking. The sound of my son’s laughter. Afternoon naps. The sound of a piano. The feeling you get when someone you love touches you. Simple little things. I could go on and on. The point of this question is to act as a reminder that all of the things I take an interest in, the things that brighten my spirits, no matter how large, or how small, these are the things I need to be thankful for. Nothing more than that. I realize that when I am thankful for what brings joy into my life, I am doing myself and the rest of the world a favor. In showing appreciation for the things we love, we are humbling ourselves to the possibility of loss. We are able to treasure those things and not expect gold to fall from the sky and into our laps. THINGS AND SITUATIONS do not offer happiness; happiness is a learned state of being. That is where I am with happiness. I realize that I have the power to be “happy” whenever I want! This is so freeing to me. It has improved my work tremendously, it has improved the quality of my life. If something is bringing me down on a given day, I remember that photography is one of the things that brings out positive emotions. I can set aside my feelings and say – OH YEA I don’t HAVE to feel miserable. I am allowed to be happy! How wonderful. When you are happy, other people have a chance to feel happy, so why not do the things that bring (genuine) happiness to you so that your optimism can spread out through the lives of others! This brings me to my final thought on happiness…. When I am around other people who are cheerful and positive, it makes me feel the same! Doing this for other people is important to me! I no longer allow myself to be burdened by people who are pessimistic and negative about every little thing under the sun. That is a poison. So once again, my answer is PEOPLE. Positive people make me feel joyful inside :)
"What makes you feel sad?"
Overall, what makes me feel sad is usually when people I love are going through a difficult time. I feel sad when I feel forgotten. Again, I could go on here, but the point of THIS question is to remind you that a) you are not alone, and b) other people generally have it way worse than you. Bring this mindset to your shoots if you’ve had a bad day, a bad week, a bad month. It happens. TERRIBLE things happen and we have to overcome a lot of obstacles. But when you allow the sadness to dominate you are only hurting others around you as well. You are allowed to feel sad, it is a part of life – and a part of life that needs to be portrayed. Pain is an avenue for growth and spiritual nourishment, once we overcome it. Without the struggle to rise above pain, we cannot feel nor appreciate joy, nor can we strengthen our ability to handle negative situations with a more fluid, patient outlook.
When you see others succeeding, are you happy for them?
As aforementioned in my opening statements, I used to see others succeeding and feel jealous. How terrible! I would think “I can’t wait to be where they are someday” etc etc. NO.
” I can’t wait until I find my place!” – THIS is where my mind’s eye has settled now. Despite all of the so-called “competition” in this digital age, I realize this is MY journey and no one else’s! I now can say this with an ambitious and enthusiastic tone. You cannot achieve success unless you make things happen for yourself. THIS is true success. When you are honest with yourself about WHAT you are capable of, you are leaving more room for productivity, more space in your mind for positive thinking, planning, and action! It is good to dream, YES. It is better to PLAN, ACT, AND EXPERIENCE than to sit thinking about what you could do, only to look back and realize all the time you’ve wasted! It is good to admire others’ work, YES. It is better to COMPLIMENT someone and let them know how they have inspired you!
Do you allow this to become a part of your motivation?
ABSOLUTELY 100%. Rather than trying to keep up with people who are gaining popularity, I STUDY the work of those I TRULY admire, those that strike an emotional chord within me. Tabu on Flickr is someone who struck such an emotional chord in my spirit, I haven’t forgotten his flickr url once, out of the thousands of contacts I’ve made over the years. He isn’t rich or famous or necessarily “popular”, but his work is a constant reminder to me about humanity and about who I am. He may not know I still follow his work since I am no longer active on Flickr, so what better time to let him know how he has motivated me as an artist. After posting this I am going to send him a message to thank him. :D
If you set aside the need for recognition, how would that affect your productivity?
My grandmother, as many of you know, died last year. She WAS a mother to me, and that was a loss I can’t begin to tell you the things I’ve learned from having experienced. I was spending a lot of time with her in her last days to the point I wasn’t working much; I even had to let friends help me run The Hideout Forum because I got so caught up in being with her, being there for her and the rest of the family. Admittedly, I lost my motivation to create for awhile. But the past few months I’ve become VERY inspired again and I realize it is due to others who have kept pushing, kept creating, kept living. Recognition is the LAST of my worries. I just want to make things happen now. So to answer the question, setting aside my own need for recognition is the best thing I could have done. I’m more concerned about producing photographs than I am concerned about whether or not people like them. That is the truth. Only when you are creating like this, out of the pure desire to make things happen, to experience life and people, to learn someone else’s story…. THIS is what being productive means to me now. Recognition and status have nothing to do with my success. Letting go of the need for those things has, in itself, outlined what needs to be done ORDER to remain consistently productive, and for that I am grateful. When you are striving for recognition, it is more like a roller coaster. There are extreme highs where you think: “This is it, I’m going to make it” and then extreme lows where you think “His or her work is so much better and I’ll never be that good”. When you’re striving to create, well THEN you’ve got the ball rolling. That is a straight and narrow path where you can see light at the end of the tunnel. Where you set goals and stop comparing. It is a new freedom. As artists we all fall into this trap at some point or another, but wouldn’t you rather just do what you love, do it well, to the best of your ability, then look back upon your life and say – I MADE THAT HAPPEN?
Would you still love to do what you do if you knew for certain that you would never achieve some sort of status?
If I had to go back to working in a Salon, waiting tables, whatever the case may be… I would still LOVE my photo work. I would still do everything I do now and more, put my heart and soul into it; that has not been clearer to me than now.
Assumption: To be successful as a photographer means to have recognition and status. The Truth: Being successful as a photographer means being honest with yourself and/or your subjects every time you pick up your camera.
HUH?
Yes, you read it correctly. May I ask you, "What is your motivation?"
Please take a moment to think about that question thoroughly. Write down your answers in the most detail you possibly can. Apply this answer not only to your craft, but to your life. What motivates you to get things done, to keep striving?
Now I'd like to break that question down a bit further. "Why do you create photographs?" (or if you aren't a photographer, "why do you do whatever it is that you love to do") Again write down your answers, use great detail. If it is as simple as "because its fun" that's fine too.
Next I'd like to throw you off a bit by asking, "What makes you feel happy?" and conversely, "What makes you feel sad?" You're thinking.. what does this have to do with anything? Well.... everything actually. Please write down your answers.
Now if you could, read back through everything. Read it aloud to yourself. Is it you? Is it really you speaking?
Let me restate "The Truth" from the opening of this post. "Being successful as a photographer means being honest with yourself and/or your subjects every time you pick up your camera." Or even more simply....
Being successful means being honest with yourself. Which leads us to our next set of questions! Please write down your answers and then read everything aloud to yourself again afterward.
When you see others succeeding, are you happy for them? Do you allow this to become a part of your motivation? If you set aside the need for recognition, how would that affect your productivity? Would you still love to do what you do if you knew for certain that you would never achieve some sort of status?
I'm not going to throw out any advice whatsoever.Your own answers should direct you fervently. Next week I'm going to blog my answers to these questions, discuss my own motivation and perspectives.
In the meantime I'll leave you with a recent self portrait which I will be doing more of this year. Got out of the habit a bit last year but it is truly a means of growth and reflection for me :)
Lens flare is real and was created using a 24mm lens with the following camera settings:
ISO 400, 1/80 sec, f/8
A recent session with Columbus, Ohio model Jeremy Finkel has left me feeling inspired and ready to run full speed into any assignment. Jeremy has been busy working and was advised to get some new shots, so this particular session was a step outside of his usual work. We pulled together some interesting looks that are trend-worthy in my opinion (although I'm not sure walking down the street with electrical cords wrapped around you is exactly trend-worthy). You know you're working with a great model when you can put together 3 looks and finish the entire session in under 45 minutes. After snapping the very first test shot I said jokingly, "Well.. you're finished, you can go home". Seriously, he gets into character quickly and is very professional to work with.
If you're in need of a male model I can put you in direct contact with Jeremy.
Photographer and director Laurence Ellis has taken an interesting perspective on Lou Dalton's 2010-11 Men's Fall/Winter collection in this rather emotional presentation of her designs. The film premiered at London Fashion Week.
Lou is an emerging designer to keep your eye on :)
Two years ago, a friend's mother asked me if I was a collector of any kind, because she wanted to buy me a Christmas gift that I would enjoy. At the time, I could think of nothing, other than shoes, music, and photography gear of course, so I assured her that a card would be more than appreciated. At that point in time, I'd gone to a couple of toy exhibitions at Rivet Gallery in Columbus, Ohio and was intrigued by the artistic qualities in some of the toys featured there. Since then I've developed quite the obsession with plastic, ceramic, and plush toys.
My first purchase was actually back in the Fall of 2007, before I knew I was going to fall in love with toy shopping. Alfred is one of the most interesting little ceramic boy dolls I've ever seen... I found him at an antique store on High Street in Columbus out browsing around for old chairs to use as photoprops. And then, I saw him. He was sitting among a little display of handmade dolls, all created by the same artist. It was like he practically begged me to take him off of the shelf and give him a home, so I did just that, haha. "Melissa '01" is signed on the back of his neck, so I have no way of knowing how to find more of her work, unfortunately.
Alfred.
Growing up I had a major phobia of porcelain dolls and ironically my Grandmother would buy them for me at birthdays, Christmas, and otherwise. I'm thankful she did that however because these days I have a huge appreciation for dolls in general, and its a rather fun adventure when you're browsing the web to seek obscure toy creations. Not only that, but it keeps me feeling young :P
My most recent purchase was from the lovely Wooldebeast store on Etsy; her plushies are made from recycled Wool sweaters which I find just admirably savvy.
Mousebeast.
Here is an interesting short film by Rodrigo Blaas of Pixar, a tad on the creepy side but entertaining nonetheless. Truth be told, I'm completely in love with it! Have a look :)
So now that I've confessed one of my little obsessions, what are some of yours? Are you a collector?
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Tags are made at home, printed on recycled paper
