Darkroom

As I was searching through my old college books from last year I discovered some of my old darkroom work which really encouraged me even more so to continue shooting old school with film.

It's a totally different experience than shooting digitally and I recommend anyone who is into photography to try it especially if the opportunity to develop the photographs yourself arises rather than sending them to the local ASDA for somebody else to do.

I hope to one day have the chance to develop my own colour rolls as well as my black and white ones in a lab.

Here's some of my work:

The techniques I used for the first one: I burnt the negative with a lighter then used a scalpel to scratch into it then I created the print with a long exposure to create the high contrast.

Techniques used for the second:

I scratched the negative, A LOT. This photo is a silhouette of Jennii which I distressed by using a  scalpel and anything else I could find to scratch into it.

Techniques used for the third photo:

I didn't do anything to the negative in this case however after I had shot it and started to develop , I didn't put the photographic paper in the developer tray instead I put developer in a spray bottle and sprayed it on, concentrating on certain areas which created this bubble like appearance.

-Ella-

Why did I start photography?

I'll start with a brief 'history' of me and photography

So I realised I haven't really touched on this subject very much and thought it could possibly be interesting to talk about and it's a question sometimes asked. My earliest influence where photography is concerned is my dad. My dad has been taking photographs for years and he is great at it too. I guess you could say I inherited the photography bug. My earliest memories of taking photographs is with disposable cameras, I remember being a bridesmaid for a wedding when I was about 7 and I was given one to take photo's throughout the reception and I just thought it was the greatest thing ever running around trying to take quick photo's (which obviously were not very good however I loved it). I remember feeling the excitement afterwards wanting to get them processed to see how they turned out, it's the same feeling I get now when I develop my own black and white films or send my colour ones off to a photographic lab. It's a thrill of anticipation. 

When I was younger I also remember asking for a Bratz camera for Christmas (there is an awful existing photo of me holding it with a friend from my younger years both posing) I think it was a battery operated one and I also used disposable cameras taking wonky photo's around the house too from a young age. So when I say I've been taking pictures for a while, I have and I guess in a sense everyone else has too. Through my early teen's I always took photo's with my phone's despite the cameras on them being terrible , I just liked to take a lot of photo's. I remember often looking at the sun on the walk back from school and how it cast long dark shadows of the tree's and highlighting the autumnal leaves and thinking it would be a fantastic photograph. It was thoughts like that which triggered the idea that maybe I could potentially take photographs like that regularly but with a better camera.

2011 I asked for a compact camera for Christmas, a red Olympus camera. This was then my own first camera which I loved. I started having more of a creative approach to photography capturing things like Butterfly's and anything else I found. My fondness for taking photo's grew a lot and I started to realise it was something I could maybe do. Summer 2012 I bought myself my first Bridge camera which is quite a step up from a compact one. It was around this time that every Tom , Dick & Harry started to get bridge cameras too and went through a 'photography phase' but I didn't want what I was creating to just be a phase. So I was constantly taking pictures from alternative perspectives always challenging myself to improve my skills. 

2012 was also the year I had 2 of my images in the local chronicle which I was ecstatic about, it was the greatest feeling ever logging onto Facebook to have friends message me saying they've seen my photo's in the Crewe Chronicle newspaper. That's when I knew I was set in a potential career choice, photography was what I wanted to do.

Since then I have started a college course, BTEC Level 3 Photography which I am currently in my second year of. In my last 2 years of high school I attended an after school Photography class which prepared me a lot for College and also helped me create a portfolio which secured my place on the course. 

I started photography because I got enjoyment from it. I loved the excitement from seeing my images after I took them and being able to show people pictures of things they have seen so many times but not in the perspective I can show through my imagery. Photography also really opens your eyes to really see what is right in front of you, it helps you appreciate the most simplest yet most beautiful things we see every day. It's my way of connecting with people. For anyone who has read this far I'm going to be really cliché and finish up by saying;

It's far much more than just pressing the shutter.

-Ella-

Changing & Improving

My photography is constantly changing, I'm always working on new techniques and shooting in different ways, focusing on different genres and it's great, I love it. I love that one day I'll be working on portraits and the next I'll be working on still life or nature shots. The best way to figure out what you are good at is by trying different things so don't be afraid to reach out of your comfort zone!.

Also , I have recently created an account on 500px as I have started using Flickr less, so check it out here;

500px.com/ellamcquoid

-Ella-

New York State Of Mind

I've been so busy recently with projects in college and trying to meet deadlines that I've been neglecting my blog so I apologise !

Recently I've been experimenting more with double exposure images and I've also re discovered my love for black and white images. So you'll probably notice more and more black & white photograph's as I write & shoot more.

''When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls''- Ted Grant

One of my favourite photo related quotes.

Photograph of Danny layered with another one of my images, from New York City.

-Ella-

Light & Time

Light & Time , what a perfectly titled project now that it's Autumn!.

 My favourite thing about this time of the year is the light (especially when it's highlighting all of the beautiful coloured leaves that quickly surround us). It's my favourite time of year to photograph so here are some of my image's from this exciting new project.

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You might be thinking that these photograph's are all a bit 'mismatched' and you'd be right in thinking so. My first shoot for this project I decided to photograph various things that relate to both or either Light & Time and that may be the only link between the different photographs but that's the only link they really need. 

Photograph 1:

An image of my hand with a stroke of light. In this image my hand represents the element of time. With time my hand will age.

Photograph 2: 

Time being Autumn in this case, the leaf has fallen because its that 'time' of the year. Taken on the window shelf directly facing the light.

Photograph 3:

An image of an instant photograph capturing a moment of light 'in an instant'.

-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.

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-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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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. 

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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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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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