ISOLATION.
It’s the only thing that concerns people at the moment. Well, I suppose maybe only half of the people, as the other half are out enjoying a fucking fish and chips.
I’m stuck in the parents house now for the past 5 days or so. I have been working from home, but I am off work now for the next two weeks. Not because I am out of a job or anything, but because i’m suppose to be sunning my fat ass in Valencia. It came as a massive defeat when I heard the flights where cancelled. I was sooooo optimistic that I was for sure going to be writing this from Valencia now with some daily images to share from the sunny city. But instead, here I am talking about the disaster that this wanker of a virus has spread across the world.
I was extremely excited to travel to Valencia again for the second time as this time I would have been traveling with my parents. I had plans laid out on my google maps for where we could go and what we could see. I really fell in love with this city last time I was there. So calm, peaceful and the architecture in The City of Arts and Sciences is just a mesmerising sight. Like something out of Star Wars.
When I had first taken these images, the idea of writing any sort of “blog” or paragraph on them was not even in the back of my mind. So I am happy that I get to share them here now with a few words to accompany.
Where I should be, but here I am.
All of us cooped up like this has led to some interesting things all the same. Instagram has become even more of a flourishing flower bed for artists and ideas. There has been a lot of love being spread around. Each different artist I am following have now began to share each others work in order to distract us from boredom and also to keep those who are self employed, in work. I have come across so many different Photographers this week because of it.
Safia Nadim being one of them AKA analog.ie
Her work has been keeping me going the past couple of days. Her images are so inspiring and beautiful.
The grain and the colours of her work capture a moment perfectly. The feel from each image creates an easy breathable relaxing world.
Just capturing daily life as it is seen on film.
A happy accident led me to Mukti Lazuardi AKA Masmktmoto. I have recently purchased the Ricoh KR 5. A beautiful black bodied analog 35mm camera. I was online looking around for info on this camera and looking at videos of sample images that have been shot with it, and so I stumbled upon this great photographer based in Jakarta, Indonesia, or so I gathered from his Instagram page and looking at the shops where he has his images developed.
My absolute love is to capture my city and her people, and to get that same feeling and sense of community from someone else’s images, especially in a city I had never even dreamt of going to or had any previous research done on is an amazing way to reach out to the other end of the world, which Mukti has done here in my case. He has reached out to me with his lens and pulled me straight into his city. I am pretty sure this is exactly what we all try to re create when we are photographing the streets. Fair play bro ! JOB DONE :).
You’re so vain.
But sure, we are all a little vain sometimes. I don’t feel this way when it comes to a great selfie on film. The art of burning some light onto plastic still baffles me. Its an amazing way of capturing life, and even an oul selfie or two. This next page I have been addicted to the past month, is a page called @selfieonfilm. I am unsure of who is in control of this page, but from their website you can see copy writes to Tomas-Robertson.
This page is very inspiring, and has led me to take a few selfies on film myself. Not only has this page got tons of great images with beautiful grains and colours and people, but it also links you to the great artists who have taken the images. Obviously once you check the artists page you can see even more amazing shots from their eye.
Here are some selfies on film from myself.
The challenge of isolation.
This week also provided us with some challenges. Photo challenges that is, and from some well respected photographers who dabble in Live event photography, Landscape and Wedding.
The first challenges I had noticed where from the Photographer Kevin Hennesy.
Kevins main interest seems to be event photography and live music. His Instagram introduces this with
“3 songs - No Flash”
This being the Moto for gig photogs. You are only aloud in the pit to capture the first 3 songs and you are sure as hell not aloud to use flash. The challenges in which I took part in where both “reflection” and “Portrait” people or animals. Being without my cameras whilst in my parents, self isolating, iPhone photography it is.
The next challenge was a very interesting one which was being held by landscape and wedding photographer Ronan Harding Downs. Ronan had provided a photo of his own for each challenge, and the challenge was best edit wins ! I love these types of challenges and I have never even taken part in them before. When I first discovered an interest in photography I used to watch a lot of videos by Jared Polin AKA FroKnowsPhotos. This guy would hold a weekly challenge for edits and I used to love watching the critiques of them.
Any ways… Ronan’s first image for editing was a lovely silky smooth long exposure of some waves bouncing over steps leading to the ocean.
Copyright of RonanHD Photos.
I recently started the subscription for Lightroom and Photoshop. Paying for photoshop for the purposes if wanting to be more creative with my own images and gathering some layered image skills. So this was a perfect time for me to try and remember those skills.
First thing I done was google “Dramatic sky” and the below image was revealed to me.
I then flipped this around and layered it on the top of Ronan’s image and at the same time I pulled out some more head room from the top of his image, leaving a white blank space for me to have more dramatic heavens above. I am a sucker for black and white so of course I converted. With some further contrast and exposer tweaks I was left with the below quick edit for Ronan’s first challenge.
Not amazing, But i’m happy and it was very fun to try get this done in a small space of time.
Uncertainty lies ahead.
Unsure of what the next couple of weeks, months, hopefully not years, holds for us, but I am 100% certain that it is going to involve the growth of creativity within all of us. Not just those who seek out for it on a daily basis like photographers, painters and creators, but for the mammy at home who’s bored of sitting around. I’m sure she will get up off her hole and paint the gaf or even design some sort of light fixture which dangles from the ceiling.
Whatever happens, Just stay home and be safe and always wash your hands!