five and five photography blog repost :: click the link to see more from one of the best days of my life.
Author: natnat
flower power
no need for words – just petals. enjoy.
steller.co
hello hello!
my love of telling stories through photography has been fulfilled with an app I just discovered. it’s called steller — and it is S T E L L E R!
I’ve always felt my images do a good job of capturing the moment, the mood or feeling of a place and the thoughts I’m trying to convey – but with WORDS they could do so much more.
My website redesign is focused solely on this ability to combine words/thoughts with my images. More to come on the new website soon. I can’t wait to share it with you all. It’s been months of design, and discussion and rounds of changes. I hope that it will finally be the site I’ve always wanted and something I will be proud to share with people. Not that any of my former (or current) site doesn’t make me proud – they have all just been limited in some way or another.
Back to Steller….
What a fun app. I encourage you to make a mini #stellerstory out of your iPhone images (or whatever mobile device with a camera you are using – scoff). I’ve spent most of the day today creating stories! Paris, the #wallumchristmasroadtrip in 3 parts, Beijing, and most recently Joshua Tree. I’ve also created a few stories for some fine art portrait work from last year – Guarded, Women : Beauty 1, and 2.
Please follow me on the app – I have a feeling there will be a lot of my stories showing up there because my images can now be ordered in the way that I want and my internal monologue added to them. Oh yeah – Brooklyn (our dog) even got a story today.
While I’ve only been a part of the site for 24 hours – TWO of my stores have already been featured. Chosen by the Editor of Stellar and given front page viewing. So grateful.
Here is how to find me: http://steller.co/tallieimages. You can get to it from your computer as well. Let me know how to find you – I’d love to follow you and read your stories!
xo
– natalie
top row #4: Beijing is being featured as I post this blog! 
the process
every one of my photo shoots is carefully thought through. details planned out. clothing, makeup, hair for each set of images I’m working to create. there can be 3-4 looks that have to be built upon and choreographed so that we don’t start with dark heavy makeup and then ask for the next look to be neutral and fresh. everything is considered with this level of detail.
this shoot was a new approach on inBetween. I added a new challenge – a strobe light setup, and for “ease” I set up an additional backdrop on its own stand so that we could switch between it and the tent backdrop quickly. I invited a young photographer to assist us and shadow me while I photographed, and we had the regular cast with hair/makeup artist and my assistant. M recruited a few hands to help with set up and tear down of the all the gear, and I had 3 models scheduled. the day did not got as planned.
model one showed up on time, and excited to be a part of the concept. our assistants and extra hands all showed up ready to go and there was a cryptic text message about a car accident on M’s phone that we figured out later was model two. I’ve followed up with her to make sure she was ok – but no response. model three has never contacted me to say what happened to her. unreliable model mayhem strikes again! so, I had one excited model to get at least some of what I had planned accomplished.
we set up on the roof under cloudy skies. everyone came bundled up because San Francisco weather can be very unpredictable, and the element that proved to be the most challenging and unexpected was the wind. Mother Nature was in full swing and her gusts threatened to take the tent, the lights, the additional backdrop, earrings, dresses, everything and blow them off the roof.
it was all hands on deck! all hands that at first seemed extra, were needed and thankfully available. they planted themselves on the legs of the tent, and we used sandbags to weigh down lights and other stands. the reflectors I use became kites. the months of planning, the detailed shot lists, the ideas for multiple models all had to be adjusted on the fly to fit the situation I found myself in.
the process is what it is to get me to the day, and then it just acts as a flexible framework that I leverage when things I could not plan for become the reality. I got some shots I’m really proud of and wasn’t able to do all that I wanted with sculpting the light. the wind played a huge role positively and negatively and I think as with everything – take what you’re given, make it work for you and learn something!
follow my work on Instagram: @tallieimages
xo
the color of my skin
a shoot is coming and all I do is dream about it. literally my dreams are consumed with shot setups, makeup, lighting. oh yeah, I’m shooting with studio strobes for the first time. natural light augmented with studio light. eeek!
I can’t wait to shoot and share with you – the color of my skin.
xo
feedback + connection
the last four days have been so inspiring. we spent time in seminars, attended panel discussions and symposiums where some of the best portrait photographers in our lifetime shared and talked about their work.
my portfolio (still in progress), was reviewed by a very successful Los Angeles gallery owner and a group of my peers who were all highly talented with impressive education credentials. I am self taught. a baby in this game, but I’m happy to say my work continues to get great feedback. my concept overall was very well received. so now to find the time and resources to allow me to KEEP MAKING THE WORK.
This was M’s first full immersion into this part of my world – and I think he is even more inspired to support my work from an operational standpoint. the people we met shared not only their work, but their resources. they offered and introduced us to people we need to know. we talked a lot about how to continue to fund this work in a way that allows me to fully embrace my vision. more on this soon.
my next shoot is mid May. I’m tackling the subject of race in way I think is pretty artistic, and I’m excited to get started. my mentorship with Jennifer Thoreson continues, and she has become an amazing resource and pillar of strength.
our goal was to understand more about galleries. how they work, how to approach them, how to own/operate one someday. we learned that gallery exhibitions are in our future. that art fair and becoming published are also options. we also learned that there are other ways to get my work into the world that we will explore as the year continues.
I’m grateful to have you ALL as readers of my words, and followers of my journey! please share this blog with others you think may be interested in following along.
Palm Springs Photo Festival 2016 — yes please. sign me up!!
opening night reception
David Fahey – gallery owner, portfolio reviewer and man of much wisdom.
Hyatt hotel – Palm Springs
observing beauty in small places
our final night. Palm Springs at dusk
don’t forget to follow me on Instagram. [@tallieimages]
xo
holding on while letting go
you can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles (or lifetimes) between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach because you do not just live in a world, but a world lives within you. – Frederick Buechner
I’m holding on to the smile, the laughter, the wisdom that could sting but is so valued, and all the love I’ve received while letting go, finding peace, hoping to continue to take you on my travels and make you proud. you’ll always live within me auntie. I love you.
no words
there is a hole in my heart tonight.
– your niece
how do you see the world?
when you look out of your window in the morning do you see light playing in shadows, do you see vibrant color or do you see, varying shades of grey?
through my lens I see the world in a small square. I see lights and darks and compose for conversion to black and white. I see the contrast of the land and the sea, the colors of nature in concert with each other. repeating patterns from grass blowing in the breeze, or long crooked fingers of tree branches against the cloudless sky.
this weekend I shot my first roll of color film on the old mechanical Hasselblad. Kodak Portra – 220 mm medium format film. I got 24 exposures instead of my normal 12 I get with black and white film. the colors are unlike anything I’ve seen come from my digital camera. so strong, vibrant and true. so beautiful
below are some of my favorites – color and black and white from the most recent rolls developed.
enjoy!!
xo
encaustics
I learned a new form of creating art today among amazing women from as far away as Mexico.
encaustic is a a process of applying hot wax (beeswax, resin and pigment if you want color) to an absorbent surface. we worked with wood blocks that were primed with a gesso paint to be made ready for our imaginations to go wild.
the process is pretty simple – apply wax, fuse the wax (or reheat it to adhere – or fuse it – to the layer below), apply more wax, fuse again. you can do this until you’re satisfied. between the layers of wax you can add things to your piece – organic items, pages from a favorite book, charms, whatever you can think of! wax colored with pigment is awesome to add dimension to your work.
the women I worked with created the most incredible pieces. tissue paper printed with delicate pears and when encaused with wax the tissue disappeared and the pear was left floating in wax. there were pattens created in the wax by some and color blocking creations finished.
I, of course brought some of my favorite images to work with. I tested my understanding with two images from Paris. I didn’t get creative, I just wanted to make sure I understood all the steps correctly.
next I expanded to a few images from the water tank. I played with color and began to use the fusing process to push the wax around to mimic waves in the water.
my final stretch of creativity came with an image transfer into the wax while it’s still a bit warm. I made a photocopy of my image, prepped my board with paint and 3 layers of base wax. I even added some black marbling to the clear wax because I knew my image had that watery feeling to it. to transfer the image i burnished it face down into the warm wax (15 mins of rubbing) and then applied water to the paper to remove it. the process was long and a bit tiring and while going through it I had no idea if it was going to work. to my happy surprise, I ended up with a beautiful impression of the image in the wax. pretty cool!!
today I made art! in a new way, without my camera. it was a great experience and a great way to add a layer of difference to all of my favorite images!
xo
she said, saw and ate 