C H L O E L E E P H O T O

Hair/Make-up inspiration

2012-02-20T16:39:00.000Z

Credit: (found on Tumblr, please let me know whose this is)

Credit: http://www.materialgirl-mag.com/

Credit: (found on Tumblr, please let me know whose this is)

Just some ideas for hair/make up for a future shoot - quite pastel/pale coloured eyes, big lashes, and doll like lips. Curly candyfloss like hair.

My boy lollipop

2012-02-15T09:26:00.000Z

Been a bit quiet on the old blogging front, but I HAVE been doing something in the meantime... I've spent the past week papier macheing some giant balloons, which are actually going to be painted and turned into lollipops for one shoot, and lemon bon bons for another.

Ta-da! I've also added a layer or cellophane on to the lollipop to make it look like the real thing. I've also been making some pom poms but these are taking forever so today I'm going to go invest in a pom pom maker so it doesn't take me hours to make one!
And I'm also spending the day papier macheing more balloons!

I also did a small shoot last Friday, I was meant to be photographing a mother and baby but unfortunately the baby is ill so we had to cancel that but the model I was arranging it through kindly offered to come to the studio and do a shoot so when those are edited I'll blog them!

Has anyone else been making anything cool lately?

Chloe!

A quote to remember...

2012-02-07T12:45:00.000Z

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to" - Jim Jarmusch

NEW PROJECT: Inspiration...

2012-01-24T17:36:00.001Z

I'm not going to post my proposal until after my tutor approves it, in case they feel it's not substantial enough and I completely change it! But it will hopefully be playing with fun fashion elements, lots of pastel colours, and large scale props!

(images courtesy of Google, Claes Oldenburg & Tim Walker)

Watch this space!

Also if any MUA's, models, clothing/accessory companies or stylists want to get involved please leave me a comment with your email and I'll get back to you! Or if any bloggers with lots of clothes want to get involved with styling send me your emails or tweet me!

Chloe !

Barrow Gurney

2012-01-22T15:50:00.002Z

So last Saturday I headed off to Barrow Gurney Hopsital with Luke and two of his friends to take some photos of the disused hospital.

Barrow hospital was Bristol's second purpose built hospital for the treatment of the mentally ill. In 1959 changing attitudes to mental health lead to a subtle change in the hospitals name, the word mental was dropped from then on it was just Barrow Hospital. The following year 1960 the hospitals population reached a peek of 453 thou it was predicted that new community based care initiatives would lead to a decrease in patient numbers to 200 by 1975. By 2004 only three residential wards remained open at Barrow.

In 2003 Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust announced their intention to close Barrow Hospital and transfer its services to new purpose built units in a £ 60 million project, the initial plan was a phased closure to take place by 2008 but in a national survey of hospital cleanliness conducted in 2005 Barrow Hospital was found to be the dirtiest hospital in the country inspectors stated the hospital had "an unacceptably dirty environment". Two of the hospitals three remaining wards were immediately closed and their patients were transfered to other hospitals. The entire hospital closure plan was brought forward, With the final ward emptyed during the summer of 2006.

Just a few of the photos I got from the day! I stuck to my 50mm for most of the day which gave me the beautiful bokeh in some of the photos. The spider web photo isn't edited at all apart from a small crop which I'm very pleased with as I think the colours are beautiful!

And a token self-portrait ;D

My boyfriend used film on the day so doesn't have those developed yet, but he has lots of urbex stuff on Flickr if you're interested in checking them out! :)

Have you done any urbex stuff? I'd love to hear of your adventures and photos!

Chloe !

Wishlist...

2012-01-17T09:40:00.000Z

So currently these are the things I am lusting over...

Canon 5d MK2 - I got a large sum of money a few years ago for my 18th birthday that I haven't touched which almost covers the cost of the body so hopefully this will be mine in a month or so's time! Still deciding whether to get just the body and save up for an 85mm prime lens, or get the body and 24-105mm package, decisions decisions...

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens: Ideally I would LOVE this, the glass is beautiful, amazing for portraits, especially in low light conditions, great for depth of field and bokeh (<3) I'm looking to get into wedding photography at some point and read this is a good lens for it, however given that price tag I don't think this will be in my kit at any point soon, a girl can wish though!

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Lens: Pretty similar to the lens above however a little higher f stop, however as I'll probably be using it in the studio or on location in good light conditions it shouldn't make too much of a difference. From what I've heard from people and pictures I've seen the bokeh is beautiful and it's a very good lens, definitely can see myself investing in this pretty soon!

Canon 580EX II Speedlite Flash - I could do with getting a proper good quality flashgun, I want to get into wedding photography and I think a flash is quite vital for that with low light conditions etc... This is quite pricey at just over £300 but I going by reviews I've read it is a worth while investment and it will work with my 400D and 5D when I get it!

So that's my current wishlist, although hopefully I can get two of those soon, I just need to save save save!

I'm also thinking about selling my prints? Would anyone be interested in any?

Chloe !

2/52 - Batman

2012-01-16T15:47:00.000Z

A day late but I'm sure you don't mind!

Week 2's theme was Batman, I figured most people would go for the joker's face, white make up, red lips etc, so I decided to play around a bit with shadows and lighting.

This was the image I uploaded... I'm quite happy with how the shadow came out, however the bat edit was a bit rushed and I couldn't get it to go how I wanted so in the end I gave up! (bad I know!) But other than that I like it!

It was hilarious to capture though, I had to wait until it was dark, then I set up a kind of fort, attaching a duvet from one wall to the other between the door so there was enough room to get behind, I then had to put a lamp behind me. Next I set up my camera on a tripod with a reasonably long exposure and set the self timer, I then had to dash across the room, take position behind the curtain and hold my pose for a couple of seconds! Then run back to the tripod and see the result and change the camera settings accordingly... this went on for about half an hour running/diving to and from the tripod/fort!

I think I might try this again at a later date for another theme and refine the edit a little more!

52 week project!

2012-01-10T21:26:00.000Z

So as I mentioned before I was contemplating taking part in a 52 week project... however I completly forgot/had a severe lack of inspiration and had no idea what to take photos of!

Anyway to cut a long story short I got a comment on Flickr about a 52 week project inspired by movies that some people were taking part in... Well when I saw that the first theme was Harry Potter I couldn't say no! (I am a massive HP geek!) So a few days late but ohwell not too late to catch up!

Ideally I'd like to experiment more with self-portraiture bus as I decided on doing this pretty late in the day the light had faded and I hate relying on artificial light as it has such a horrible orange hue to it and isn't nice at all, but hopefully I'll take some earlier on in the day next time and the next uploads will be a bit more conceptual!

Please feel free to check out my Flickr stream and add me as a friend if you have it! And if you'd like to join in to the link is here. The next theme to be posted on Sunday is Batman so I need to get my thinking hat on!

Horrah

2012-01-10T15:50:00.001Z

So I got my feedback for the last two modules today, professional practice (website, CV design etc..) and vantage point (project 99 to you and me) and I got a 2.1 on both projects! I am VERY proud of myself, I put a lot of effort into both. Last year I was terrible and got a third, I didn't put any effort in at all really, I hated my projects, therefore wouldn't really get stuck into things, however I made a promise to myself that this year I would do what I wanted to do, and even if things weren't going my way I would persevere and make it right. I think it shows with a massive improvement in grades so hopefully I can continue doing this well and get a 2.1 or higher on my next projects!

Hope everyones having a good week,

Chloe !

Camera bags can be a girls best friend!

2012-01-06T20:35:00.000Z

London Camera Exchange £4.99

I already have this as my main camera bag that was a gift from my boyfriend the year before last, but went into the London Camera Exchange yesterday with Luke (boyfriend) on the hunt for a Canon 35mm SLR, as we were browsing I spotted this absolute bargain and couldn't possibly say no!

Firstly I love the print of this bag, it's so kitsch and cute and fun! It's also a good size for daily use, as much as I love my Timbuk 2 and it's great for jobs and carrying all my equipment, when I just want to wander around the city with just my camera and no added extras it feels a bit empty and pointless to carry, my camera fits perfectly in here and space for one extra lens!

Although my main camera is a Canon, I'm not to bothered it's an Olympus bag. I will probably ~~steal~~ borrow Lukes OM-10 anyway as it's a brilliant camera.

I'd definitely give this bag a 10/10 for aesthetics, practicality and value!

The Childrens Hospital, St Michaels Hill

2012-01-01T20:02:00.003Z

What better way to start the new year than to take a trip to the old childrens hospital on St Michaels hill. They're currently in the process of stripping it and the whole place is a bit of a mess/mass building site! The door that was previously used by other people had been bolted shut, I guess they've realised a lot of people have been taking pictures! But Luke managed to find another way in thankfully so we could take some cool photos.

All photos can be found on my Flickr : http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixielee/

I'm contemplating doing a 52 week project but I'm undecided yet, although I should probably decide soon as I've only got 6 days left now!

Have you done a 52 weeks project? Are you thinking of doing one? Let me know :)!

Chloe !

Christmas

2011-12-24T18:49:00.000Z

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just a quick thank you for comments and such and for supporting what I do!

I hope everyone has a good Christmas, and a happy new year!

I'm currently in the beginning stages of planning some very exciting shoots for next year so hopefully everything will come together and I'll have some new images shortly! For now I'll leave you with a picture I took a few weeks ago in Arnos Vale cemetery!

Chloe !

Xmas Blogger Party

2011-12-18T17:59:00.001Z

I was invited by the lovely Gina @ MyStreetChic to take some photos at the first, but hopefully not last, Xmas blogger meet, sponsored by Boohoo.com. It took place on Friday at Java on Park Street, which was a lovely venue! The disco room was AMAZING and the ceiling was out of this world, although it didn't give the best light for photos :( But I persevered and got some good enough shots of the event!

The actual evening started at 7, guests were given a goodie bag filled with lovely treats ( I got one too!) and a free drink on arrival and had an hour to mingle and say hello before the fashion show started. I took this opportunity to photograph some of the lovely people there:

Betty

Joe

Kim (who had amazing DIY shorts!)

After that everyone made there way into the other room to watch the fashion show that was kindly put on by Boohoo.com. The models were smiling as were the guests and it was wonderful to photograph so many happy faces! I was having a bit of a tough time with the lighting, I desperately need better flash equipment (hopefully I win the lottery soon!) But like I said I tried my best and as it was my first time photographing an event of this nature I'm pleased with the outcomes!

I had an awesome time and spoke to some really lovely people, I would definitely love to go to another event, and hopefully get to talk to some more people. I've only had this blog for a couple of weeks but it was nice to meet some more bloggers!

It also helped me gain more confidence speaking to new groups of people and asking to take their photo, and hopefully next time I photograph something like this I'll have updated my equipment better to suit this kind of environment.

I hope you all had fun too, and thanks again to Gina for organising a wonderful event!

Chloe !

P.S Lots more photos added on my Facebook page! Please feel free to 'like' it and share with your friends :)

Deadlines...

2011-12-13T17:02:00.001Z

Today was the first deadline for the professional practice module, we had to make a website, write an artist CV and do a group presentation amongst many other things, finally handed that all in today, such a RELIEF to not have to worry about it anymore! Only got the photographic project with discourse (or 99 to you and me!) to hand in on Thursday and I am officially done with uni for the year! (yay!)
We have to produce a final piece for our project so I decided to get my pictures printed in a little book as I think it's very personal and has a strong nostalgic feel to it. I also got the three pictures in my other post printed and framed, I'll post a photo of them soon!

This is my book which arrived this morning, I love it!

Chloe !

*side note, if you're interested in buying any of my prints framed/unframed let me know and I'll work a reasonable price out

99

2011-12-08T10:48:00.003Z

I've decided to put all the images from my project into a book so when it arrives (which I so hope is before the 15th!) I'll take some snaps and put them on here!

But I'm also going to get these printed to go on the wall :

Let me know what you think!
Chloe !

Weather

2011-12-05T11:34:00.001Z

I hate the weather... I planned to go out Sunday and take some final images for my 99 project, however as soon as I was stood in front of the first van the heavens opened and the rain poured... now I know I shouldn't let that get in the way and I should be persistent... but this is the third time it's happened on this project and with ice cream vans and nostalgia being my theme I kinda need the sun on my side. But bleh ohwell :(

Now I have to finish of my essay and my presentation, write an artist CV, analyse it and many other things!

Chloe !

Future...

2011-12-02T09:32:00.001Z

So I had a tutorial with one of my tutors yesterday and he asked me what direction I wanted to go with photography, and I replied fashion and told him who I admired (Tim Walker, Nick Knight, Rankin etc) and I then said "but I haven't actually done any fashion based work since being on the course (for a year and a half)" And he was like :| DO IT! (in a nice way!) Which was a big reality check! I've been planning my own stuff on the side, which I'll blog about soon, but I just need to get my bum in gear! The project next term outlines that we have to use another medium as well as photography- ie: Screen printing, set design, prop making, sewing etc.. So that kinda allows me the freedom to make some awesome props and costume and do some awesome fashion stuff! I'm going to spend the whole of the Christmas holidays just planning shoots so as soon as we start back and get the brief I can book the studio literally once a week and do lots of shoots and make tonnes of props and start building a fashion portfolio and do what I want to do!

The Beginning...

2011-11-27T16:48:00.000Z

I already have what feels like a million online blogs, but hey I like social networking so I'm joining blogspot (again) and this time I PROMISE to keep it up to date and post at least once a week! Because who knows at some point in the next few years I might get a little more recognition and people might want to learn from me which would be very cool! So I'll start documenting what I'm up to properly in the hope that it will actually happen!

Chloe x