Plan B

Today I was inspired to write a blog post after reading an article in a magazine about the famous redhead musician, Ed Sheeran.

'I just made sure I didn't have a plan B'

- Ed Sheeran

I was surprised at how such a simple sentence could have such an effect on me. In school's and sometimes even in college we are constantly taught to always have a plan B , how important it is to have a back up plan and that's exactly what Sheeran made sure he didn't have. 

When I was in high school it took me a while to decide what I wanted to be, what I wanted to do. most of the time I was struggling to decide what to have for dinner let alone how I wanted the rest of my life to pan out. However back in 2012 when I discovered that photography could be something I might actually be good at I didn't once think about a back up plan, I put all my effort into extending my skills and knowledge where photography is concerned and I'm still like that to this day and I think that when you find what you are really passionate about then nothing can really stop you from achieving that goal. 

Yes I am only 17 at the moment and you might be thinking all this is rather bold coming from someone who is only in their second year at college nevertheless I have spent most of my education being told my grades were never good enough and previous teachers would probably be knocked off their feet if they found out I'm studying Level 3 due to their lack of belief in me and I'm saying that you don't need their belief. You need to believe in yourself. It doesn't matter what anyone else categorises you as, everyone has their own individual unique way of learning and sometimes it takes longer for others but that's OK too.

I have big dreams where my photography is concerned , I've excepted the fact I wont ever be able to get good maths results or be the next Einstein but that's OK too. I've learnt that I don't need other people to tell me what I can and can't do, that I need to have a back up plan because I know what I'm capable of and I know that if I have enough incentive & passion to fuel my dreams then I can make it.

'Whatever you are, be a good one'

-abraham lincoln

-Ella-

My favourite

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty certain today if the first day of Autumn 2014!

How exciting. Autumn is by far my favourite time of year, I love the fact it's getting closer to Christmas (eeek) and what a beautiful time of year that is but I'm going to be quite cliché and say I love it so much because of the Autumn colours. I adore capturing the leaves falling and the gradual change of yellow, red and orange tones that seem to quickly surround us as the weeks pass by. 

I suppose this is my first official autumn photo of the year then, I really like the simplicity of it and the contrast in textures, the crisp red leaf against the hard stoned path, the central composition and the creases in the paving slabs used to create a leading line effect.

ƒ/8.0

1/200

ISO:100

-Ella-

Product Photography

Recently I've been increasing my knowledge about Product Photography! something I have never really spent too much time thinking about until recently and now I quite like the concept of it. I spent some time photographing a Tiffany & Co bracelet with packaging and here are my results:

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ƒ/5.6

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ISO:800

I experimented with lighting and placing the bracelet in different positions until I decided where I thought was best to showcase both the packaging and bracelet. I really enjoyed taking these photographs and playing around with different backgrounds, I tried both a white backdrop and a black one and for me the back background was a winner, I think it enhanced the soft tones within the packaging and make it more appealing. 

-Ella-

An inspiration of mine

I was told last week that whilst my instax (polaroid) work was up on exhibition earlier this year in college that it had inspired someone to go out and buy the same camera I used! It made me super happy hearing that my work had inspired someone to do that! It reminded me of when the exhibition was on and I stood a little away from my work (but close enough to hear what people were saying about it) and the feeling you get from compliments is such a boost!. A relative of mine once showed someone one of my photographs to somebody and they were inspired to compose a piece of music about it too. 

Note to all those reading: if you ever like a piece of artwork which someone you know has created whether it be a photograph , a painting , a drawing anything! even a doodle! then TELL THEM because they won't forget it and you might make that persons day. Heck , even if you just like what they're wearing, tell them.

Anyway.

My blog post today is dedicated towards Linda McCartney, who was an amazing photographer and one of my favourites. It was in 2012 that I really started to recognise that I wanted to be a photographer and from that I started to research other photographers, my mum (being a Beatles fanatic) introduced me to Linda McCartney's work, she brought out her book 'Linda McCartney's Sixties' from the shelf and I took my time admiring all of the flawless work on every page.

Linda first began her photography career by being the only unofficial photographer on the SS sea panther Yacht on the Hudson River who was allowed to photograph The Rolling Stones during a record promo party. Previous to that she studied only the photography of horses and after became the house photographer at the Fillmore East Concert Hall. So she quite quickly became more and more familiar with photographing musicians. 

Some of my personal favourite photographs taken by McCartney are of Paul McCartney and their daughter Stella. 

.

More of my favourites: 

What I admire most about her work is that the subjects always look so relaxed, almost like they don't even notice the camera. They always look at ease and nothing looks overly posed and for me that's what it takes to be a fantastic photographer, someone who can capture a moment in such a way that it isn't overly thought about, it just happens in that one moment.

None of these photographs are mine.

Deadly Delicate

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ISO:160

I thought I would share with you one of my favourite images of mine. I took this back in July and I also have it in black and white which too is very lovely. I'm not quite sure if its a moth or not however I found it in the house by the door and before laying it to rest in a plant pot I decided to take a quick close up shot, I was amazed at the detailing in its tiny body. How can something so small be so wonderfully detailed and beautiful? we see these creatures and many like it so often that we usually don't pay attention to its real beauty but when you stop to admire little things like this the world around suddenly becomes so much more interesting. 

-Ella-

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Same subject, different mood

Hey! so this is my second post on this blog. I'm totally up for people leaving comments or messaging me about what they would like to see on this blog? I could do an equipment review of my cameras or maybe talk about some of my polaroid/instax photographs from one of my favourite projects I did before summer? just anything you'd like to see really.


I'm conscious about writing too much in these posts obviously because I want to avoid boredom! So i'll keep them as short and sweet as possible without leaving too much out.

Here are two recent photograph's of mine, both of which taken of the same flower in the same location however one is clearly black and white and the other with colour. I decided to post these to show the difference editing , composition and props can have even when using the same subject matter.

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ISO: 800

ƒ/5.0

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ISO:800

So as you can see, both images are of the same flower which is the main focus point however the editing was different as well as the camera angle which in itself can completely change an image. 

I'm a big fan of black and white photography so I thought to incorporate it more into my own images, I think black and white enhances the mood within the photo where as colour can sometimes be distracting from the message or emotion you may be trying to put across with your imagery. Often I think black and white can show more detail in the image too, which I believe is the case above.

-Ella-

“The most colorful thing in the world is black and white, it contains all colors and at the same time excludes all.”- Vikram

My First Post

Hey! my name is Ella-Ruth, I am a seventeen year old college student currently studying BTEC Level 3 Photography. On this blog which I have decided to set up I will be posting some of my photographs, from both college projects and also any personal projects I may decide to do. The reason behind me starting this blog is to get my work 'out there' a little bit more and also to encourage feedback.

I'll start by sharing some images from a current college assignment.

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ISO: 800

ƒ/5.0

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ISO: 800

Both of the above are still life images inspired by Daniel Spoerri's work. They are two of my favourite photograph's that I have taken for this part of the task.

Do not copy images. Copyright. ©

Equipment used ; 

Canon 600D

18-55mm

-Ella-