We recently went on a walk around Watergrove reservoir and I took a few images while I was there.
The vast majority of them were simple texture images for use in my illustrations – which was the aim when we went and what I was looking for – but there were a couple of images that I thought had more merit than just being put into the texture pile.
I am still trying to find ‘my way of seeing’ again and I think these two images are a good start in that direction.
It’ll be fun giving myself the time to find my own voice again and while I have expressed different interests in various posts, I think I’d like to use my camera to explore my surroundings. I like textures and finding things that others might overlook as being mundane. I like broken things and discarded places.
There was an article in the latest issue of Practical Photographer about Urbex exploration which interested me and I am looking forward to my head clear enough from my cold to digest it properly.
Wow! Phew!
I finally got round to colouring these up!
The line arts were by Qwaychou, and I only just got round to finishing them up – some of them were commissions I brought about 6 months ago; I’ve just been really slow when it comes round to colouring them up!
I particularly enjoy the ‘Slave silk’ aesthetic, so it was great getting to do so much of that with some of my girls – I am going to design silk/slave outfits for all my girls, so be on the look out for that soon.
I’m slowly trying to introduce photography back in my life in one way or another – I am finding the juggling between being an Illustrator/Artist, Mummy and Photographer a bit tricky; finding places to go where I can take the camera and my son is a challenge in itself, so I am always looking for little exercises we can do at home together with the camera.
Being a member of Bury Photographic Society has helped me feel better about things, because even if I don’t manage to get out with the camera myself, I still feel connected. Last week there was a pile of DVD/CD’s from Practical Photographer being given away and I grabbed a few that looked like they might be good fun or have interesting tips in them.
This was one of the techniques
ƒ/8.0 Focal length: 55.0 mm Exposure: 1/100 ISO: 3600
Using droplets of water on a piece of glass (In our case plastic to make it toddler friendly) and photographing droplets in focus, keeping the backdrop blurred so the droplets show whats underneath (sweets!)
For a full, well explained tutorial on how to do this please go here
It was a fun little exercise and I’d like to go back over this image and do a few edits – take out some dirty spots that I have seen.
I think my son also enjoyed doing this, especially playing with the water and trying to steal the sweets! I’d like to give this another try with some stones/pebbles and see if the effect works just as well!
If anyone has any other tricks and exercises like this then please let me know? Things that can be made within a few minutes and with a youngster in tow!
I’ve a bit of a conundrum when it comes to photography and it’s not something that is related to kit or anything like that.
I’ve been wanting to get back into photography after about a 10 year break, I joined up to my local Photographic Society and every week I come away from it both inspired, but terrified (intimidated) it’s a bit of a conflicting feeling – I want to get into it all, wrap myself in it and really enjoy myself.
But, I feel that my confidence has taken a huge knock and I am not as outgoing as I used to be. I feel like I don’t know where I can go or even where to start anymore; I had a brief stint of taking photographs of Warhammer models, which was fun and pretty interesting, but at the same time I feel a bit… jaded to it.
What I would love to do is find run down warehouses and broken things and photograph them. I once got into an abandoned old folks home with a pair of dolls and had fun photographing them amongst all the cobwebs and ‘gross’
Actually, my dolls are something that I have thought about a fair bit since starting going to the Photography Society and I regret selling them – such is the way of things – and I’d really like to replace some of them, not for anything as pretty as the one I had, just a plain, resin doll would be interesting to take around with me and photograph all ‘creepily’
Drawing on the wonderful and creepy inspiration of Hans Belmer and Joel Peter Witkin; two photographers I discovered while studying Photography at University.
It’s something that I will certainly hold onto and keep in mind, but there is still that underlaying concern for my lack of confidence – where does it come from? Is it because I have had so many people ‘cancel’ on me. Leaving me with an overwhelming feeling of abandonment and that I am not really worth being around; which has made it more difficult to reach out to people who might be interested in photographic pursuits. Some of my fondest memories of photography are in a small bedroom with a hastily thrown together ‘studio.’
I just like the idea of being able to pick up this side-passion again and get myself a doll to explore the local market with (when it is closed) and take creepy photographs again.
“I wondered when you would come crawling back.” The Hell-Priest sneered, looking down his nose to the wretch he’d once been on a date with; somewhat bitter that she hadn’t come back to him sooner.
“I need you,” she whispered, almost ashamed to admit it; that he had been on her mind all the while she had been flitting off with others. Passed all level of simple desires for the Cenobite.
“Need?” The Hell-Priest questioned with a slightly raised brow, it wasn’t usually need that brought lost souls to his door. Perversion, desires and a gross misjudgement certainly; but not often need.
“Somewhere to belong,” Jenn elaborated further, sinking to her knees before him, wrapping herself in his radiant shadows. “When we were on our date,” she continued, “You told me of your order and I could feel your pride, your companions, your family,” she looked to him wistfully; ever the dreamer. “I’ve never felt that. Like I’ve someone looking out for me, protecting me.”
There wasn’t much that took the Cenobite breath away, but the sincerity in her fleeting words rendered him speechless for a moment. “You, do know what this entails?” He asked her – thinking her innocent reasonings for needing to be by his side might have fallen short of her day-dream nature.
She nodded her accord.
“I need your protection,” she sighed looking up to him with absolute reverence.
The Hell-Priest spread his arms behind her, “Then we shall begin,” he smiled smugly, bringing someone into Leviathans fold had never been so easy and she had all the potential in the world to be so beautiful.
This is a bit of a follow-up to this post, something that I wrote back in the middle of 2016, expressing my disappointment that Rambo V appeared to have been stomped on and no longer in production.
I can happily say that this isn’t the case any longer and Rambo V has not only been confirmed, but filming has begun – the source for this. Stallones personal instagram account!
I am somewhat confused about the whole Cowboy aesthetic that Rambo has chosen to go for, but still excited about what the next instalment will involve for the Vietnam War-Vet.
Not sure I’d recognise him in a line up.
The name ‘Rambo V: Last Blood’ suggest that this is going to be Rambos last bad-ass outing; pitching him up against a Mexican Sex Trafficking Cartel.
I am a big fan of the older films (And more-so the book that First Blood was based on) and that flavour of Rambo is the one that I like, so I am really hesitant to say that I am excited to see Rambo V; but the Cowboy look does make a lot of sense, seeing as where Rambo IV finished the story – with him returning home. I am intrigued by the storyline and to see the character development (And possibly deconstruction)
I said in my previous post that I enjoyed how Rambo IV left the series and that’s still the case. Rambo V does feel a bit like picking at a healing scab; I’m not sure it’s a good idea. Unless Rambo V can give such a good conclusion as its previous instalment did. Maybe it is time for the films to conclude in a similar way that the novel did? Although, that wouldn’t be a very fulfilling viewing.
Which, leaves me to think a little more about the plot – I don’t think it’ll be anything ground breaking. Rambo rescues a girl. I think this is the tried and tested plot for Rambo since Rambo: First Blood Part II. Find and extract someone in trouble; vietname war-vets, old friends (Trautman) and Aid workers. It’s just a new dose of trouble for Rambo to get himself involved with.
Why does it always rain on me?
And how does John get himself involved in this trouble?
A woman that is an old family friend – described as someone who it ‘like a sister’ to Rambo; I do find this a little mind-boggling. How could Rambo have found some to fill such a vital role in his life while he was off capturing snakes for a living in Thailand? That’s something I am looking forward to seeing too.
My thoughts on it all are very mixed; I am both excited and hesitant.
I wanted to make a quick portrait of my Dark Heresy Psyker – it’s been a while since we played any Dark Heresy, but it’s the one resource on my blog that keeps the punters coming back, so I thought I should do a little something for it.
That and the whiff on the air for our weekly RP group is that we’ll be picking it up again soon.
That and Witch Hunter, so I’ll have to draw my character for that sometime soon.
