Tron

This was an idea that came to mind one evening, just for a bit of fun and something different. It morphed a bit from the original idea, which was to have the eye with the pattern peeping out between some hair. I messed my hair up to give the image more texture, and decided I liked it better this way :) View it larger over at Flickr!

Planning page is here -

Behold, my rushed handwriting.

So, as you can see, quite different! Natural lighting also morphed into studio lighting using just one light. I used my favourite modifier - the huge beauty dish. It gives a wonderful quality of light. It was positioned about 30 - 45º from me, almost right next to the camera. I played around with the settings until I got a brightness I liked (I forgot the exact settings, sorry!).

The pattern that I used in the eye can be found here and is by Patrick Hoesly.

The Jabberwocky

The Jabberwocky
Originally uploaded by Emma Brabrook
Stylist: Matthew Walker
Model: Lauren Elizabeth
Photography and Post Production: Me

Here's Matt's final piece for his project, which he said took inspiration from alice in wonderland. I'd love to shoot an even crazier version of this on location at some point :D

Behind the scenes from this post is coming soon, stay tuned :)

Focus on Imaging 2011

It's been a couple of weeks since I went to this year's Focus on Imaging, and I had such a great time there. It was absolutely exhausting, but I learnt a decent amount of stuff, met people I'd met the year before and got some great new equipment! It was non-stop laughter, and we had lovely weather too as an added bonus.

Taken at the Bowens stand at Focus on Imaging

I was shocked when I heard that Canon had pulled out at the last minute, their only reason being "reconsidering marketing strategy", but thankfully Nikon were still there and I was able to play with two of their lenses. The first one I took a few snaps with was the 70-200mm f2.8. I've been considering getting it in future to compliment my 24-70mm f2.8. It was a really fun lens to play with and very quick, sharp and zoomed a fair distance!

Taken with Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8

I was quite happy with it until I got to the second lens on my list - the 85mm f1.4.

Oh. My. Word.

It was love at first click, basically. I fell in love with it and never wanted to take it off my camera. The way it separated the subject from the background was mind-blowing and the quality, colours and sharpness left me speechless. I liked it so much in fact, I started to almost wish I'd gotten this one instead of my 24-70mm, and I love that lens. My dilemma now however is wondering which to get - a D700, or the 85mm!

Taken with Nikkor 85mm f1.4

Sadly I can't afford either right now, but I did get two things while I was at FOI. I'd been considering a graphics tablet for a few months, and was debating which kind to get. Everything seemed to be pointing towards an Intuos4, and I eventually bit the bullet and bought one. So far, everything is great! I really enjoy using it and I think I even prefer using that to my multi-touch trackpad on the MacBook Pro. I kinda miss the gestures, but ease of use compensates for that. The nibs seem to wear down quickly though, which is a problem I'm trying to resolve. I knew it when I bought it, but after I'd heard friends say they had no trouble, I figured I wouldn't either. Thankfully, the nibs are cheap enough to replace.

The second thing I got was some software called Perfect Photo Suite by OnOne Software. I watched a demonstration of its abilities by chance as I was leaving on the first day, and was blown away at what it could do. I also found out I could get an education discount - more than half price! So after sleeping on it, I decided to get it. I'm incredibly glad I did, as it's so useful, works brilliantly alongside Photoshop and makes everything a lot easier. It makes the bridge between your creative vision and using technology to show it a lot smaller, and just speeds up your entire workflow. It's very powerful (you can remove the background behind things such as veils for example, and then put a new one in) and just a joy to use. I recommend it to anybody who's considering getting it.

PhotoTools v2.6, part of Perfect Photo Suite

As some of you may be aware, I'm now also writing for a great website called Light Stalking. I'll still write posts like this in this blog every now and then until I get my website up (where I'll have a different blog carrying on from this one) but check them out, they have a load of inspiring posts and useful hints and tips for beginners, all the way to professionals!

Something new to fill the gap :)

If you've been following me on Twitter, you'll know I've had an eventful couple of days in the studio. So eventful in fact, I managed to really strain my legs, abs and pretty much everything else and spent most of Thursday walking around like an extremely ungraceful extra from Thriller. It's all because of my jumping around the studio (almost) tirelessly in a floaty white dress, all while potential students were herded around the college being told how awesome it is (to my ignorance).

They were being shown the sights, till they get to the studios, and then there's me in the nearly-but-not-quite-opaque dress, jumping around in the studio, alone, with music blaring. I heard a knock on the door at first (as I'd locked both) and after cautiously opening the door and peering out into the darkness of the second studio I see not only the tutor, but a gaggle of people I don't recognise wanting to come in and join me. This happened again ten minutes later, from the other door, but this time I was poking my head around the door frame and telling them all they can't come in, the tutor asking me "Why, are you a bit naked?"

Of course I wasn't, so I ended up letting them in and explaining that I didn't always look like this.

Slightly embarrassing at the time, but funny now!

Anyway, this is one of the photos I took on Wednesday. I quite liked all the white space. I find it interesting how so little can say so much.

Curled Up

As I've also mentioned before, I'm heading up to Focus on Imaging on Sunday! I'm really looking forwards to it and can't wait to go. I'm heading up there with a friend, and I'll take some pictures and tell you all about it after I get back on the following Monday. It should be a blast :D