Aug
29
2013I started out with a really long blog post about this, but really I don’t think there’s any need to ramble on.. so here is the abridged version of my blog post on my experience speaking at the Pechakucha night earlier in the month.
Public speaking is hard and lots of people avoid it like the plague. I’m lucky in that I’ve had some experience in this area, so I at least know that I can do it if I need to. That doesn’t mean I don’t get super nervous, or filled with doubt and worries that try to talk me out of it. One thing I have learnt from my experiences in doing things that really push me out of my comfort zone is that just because you don’t feel ready/good about it/it doesn’t feel easy, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.
I came across this awesome blog post from a dancing blog I subscribe to and number 15 is a real doozy (highly recommend the rest too!)..
“15. You will never feel 100% ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Dancers have to be willing to take risks. From letting go of the ballet barre to balance, to moving around the world to dance with a new company, from trusting a new partner to trying a new form of dance, dancers must have a flexible mind and attitude as well as body. The greatest opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means you won’t feel totally comfortable or ready for it.”
Of course, this applies to anything. Even if you put in all the work and preparation that you can, when it comes to the moment of truth, you will still feel like you are not ready, like you need more time, like you haven’t done enough.. the list goes on. All excuses- which ultimately stem from a fear of the unknown. You will never know how something is going to turn out, ever. All you can do is all the work and preparation you can beforehand, and then take the plunge and just do it. I encountered this lesson with my Banksy project as well.. I remember thinking the exact same things before the first day of shoots (and even as we went through the days of shooting), but even if I had spent a whole year in pre production getting things ready (instead of 5 weeks!) I know I would still have not felt ready. The moral of the story is that you do all the work + preparation you can, and then you just have get on with it.
Thank you to everyone who came out to show your support on the night, it really meant a lot to me- and we even made it into the Sunday Star Times! 
Aug
27
2013
A couple of weeks ago I was approached by a local newspaper who wanted to write a piece on my involvement in the PechaKucha night earlier in the month. I sent them the answers to their questions but when it came time to actually print the article they said they ‘ran out of room’….. SO, rather than let all the time I spent on this go to waste, I decided I would post the full interview here on my blog for you all to read. So here it is..
1) How old are you?
28
2) Where are you based?
Hamilton
3) What is your profession? Are you a student or are you working?
I have a Bachelor of Management Studies from Waikato, and I am a fine art portrait photographer.
4) Are you a freelance photographer? What kind of photography do you do?
Yes. I shoot fine art beauty portraits, which are all about celebrating and empowering women. They involve a full makeover with a professional hair and make up artist, followed by a photo shoot, which is a lot of fun and a very glamorous experience. My personal work does vary from project to project, but would generally still fit in the fine art portrait genre.
5) How long have you been doing photography and how did you get into it?
I first got into photography in 2010, after being given a Canon SLR as a Christmas gift from my partner.
6) Did you take any classes for that?
No, not exactly- what I know is the result of self-study: watching a lot of tutorials online, reading articles, books and lots of practise.
7) You are a musician too. Do you sing or play an instrument?
Yes, I sing and play guitar.
8) How long have you been doing this and how did you get into it?
When I was in my last year at high school, I took handful of lessons and taught myself the rest.
9) You are one of the guest speakers at the Pechakucha Night. What made you interested to take part in this event?
I wanted to speak at Pechakucha primarily because I wanted to share my Banksy project, ‘Exit Through the Thrift Shop’. It was a very important project for me, and I got quite a lot of exposure internationally but I didn’t really have a platform to share the work on a local level (aside from the exhibition I put on myself).
10) What will be your aim, when you speak at the event?
To share the ‘Exit’ project, talk about my work, and hopefully to gain some interest and support for future projects. I am going to take the opportunity to network with people who may be able to support or collaborate with me in the future.
11) What are you going to share with the audience?
A personal photography project called ‘Exit Through the Thrift Shop’ which I released last year.
12) Have you done this or anything similar before?
No, I haven’t spoken at a PK event before, but I would like to do more of this sort of thing in the future.
13) Will you be focussing on photography, music or both?
Photography.
14) What is your main focus? Photography or music and why?
They are both very important to me and complement each other. Working on one gives me a break and some headspace to consider the other from a different mindset. I also think it’s important to have a couple of different things you spend your time on so if you become overwhelmed, discouraged, bored or frustrated with one, you can shift your focus to the other without losing too much momentum.
15) Have you had any albums or songs released?
I played in an Auckland band (now defunct) that released an EP. Hopefully I will be able to release some new music soon.
16) What made you interested in the media arts field?
I’m quite a visual person, and have been involved in miscellaneous artistic endeavors all my life, so it was just a natural progression I think.
17) Did it start off as a hobby?
I suppose it did. Most things tend to, for me at least.
18) How do you manage photography and being a musician above everything else?- in other words how do you find time to do these?
It is difficult. Not only with regards to time but it can also be a huge strain financially and emotionally. I find that breaking work up into project form is a good way of managing multiple pursuits. I guess if there is something you really want to do, you have to make a decision to really commit to it, but also be willing to make the necessary personal sacrifices (time, money etc) to make it happen. Choosing what to commit to on that sort of level is a challenge in itself, but once you have the specifics of what you want to do, it’s important to be really organized and set goals for yourself so you can prioritise and remained focused and efficient enough to actually achieve something worthwhile in the time you have to spend on your project. Having a supportive partner and family also plays a significant role in the ultimate success of whatever you set out to achieve.
19) Do you know about the lineup for the night’s event. Are you excited to meet different people in the same field such as artists etc?
Yes, definitely. I think that being surrounded and inspired by so many unique topics and interesting people is one of the many fantastic aspects of the PK nights.
20) Will you do a similar event in future?
Yes, definitely.
21) Also, what are your future plans?
The beauty portrait sessions are my main focus at the moment because I feel that they are a really important thing to be able to offer people. Being photographed like this is a real confidence booster for women and because I shoot with great respect and empathy, their images reveal to them how beautiful they really are. I have lots of new services I will be introducing shortly, including special couture shoots for clients etc which is really exciting. In a few months time I will start applying for funding grants, fundraising and building relationships with businesses that I would like support from. After this I can begin work on my next big personal project which is going to be released in book form alongside another exhibition. I have a lot of personal projects I want to shoot, the biggest challenge is finding the funds to produce it all.
Aug
22
2013Last year I attended a writing workshop run by the Waikato Children’s Literature Association inc in Hamilton. I came home super inspired and even went to the trouble of writing a whole blog post about my experience- which I never got around to posting.. until now!! Better late than never I suppose, so here it is..
Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a workshop set up by the Waikato Children’s Literature Assocition Inc in Hamilton. It was a day-long event where 3 prominent New Zealand ‘picture book’ writers spoke for an hour or so each about their backgrounds, creative processes and how they get a book from inspiration to publication.
Because the Alejandra project involves a writing component, I thought it would be beneficial to head along to soak up their thoughts and wisdom so that I could apply it to my own writing for this project. I often get asked where I find my inspiration for my photography work, and the truth is, I find it absolutely everywhere (the more unexpected the source, the better) which is why I think it’s really important to look for encouragement, inspiration and creative strategies in cross-disciplinary waters. I like to soak up as much as I can from everything around me, but I try to spend as little time as possible looking at the work of other photographers. Unless I am researching different techniques and how to use/do them, I steer clear of the work of other photographers because I think it inevitably leads to direct comparison (often) resulting in discouragement and self doubt. I like to be inspired by films, people, music, books, poems, art work and nature, and although viewing photographs does move me, it is seldom to create more work of my own.
Kyle Mewburn was the first author to speak. He had a less than supportive creative environment that he grew up in, but had the good fortune of having a great teacher at school who gifted him a pivotal paperback on his last day before heading off to high school. His story was one of the most inspiring accounts of rejection, perseverance and self belief that I have ever heard. He studied advertising and journalism before deciding to become a writer. His first book only sold 50 copies, and his second took a year of full time writing to complete. His third book took a year and a half, followed by his fourth book which was a historial novel which took 2 years of full time writing to finish. He then wrote 20-30 stories over 18 months, all of which were rejected by publishers, but instead of throwing in the towel and giving up because he did not meet any publishing success, he considers the time between 1998 and 2008 a ‘full time apprenticeship’. I wonder how many people would have the tenacity to hang on after such a long hard slog with no guarantee of success on the other side…
I left the workshop with my very own signed copy of ‘Melu’, one of Kyle’s awesome books- to serve as a reminder of how important it is to hang on and keep going even if you don’t achieve any great successes with your early efforts. Check out Kyle’s website here.
Dawn McMillan was the second author to speak, and had the following advice for aspiring writers:
- You need to have lots of discipline to do it
- It’s essential to make the time to write- write at night if necessary, and create a good space for you to do so.
- Personal experiences make great stories
- Keep all your work- put it away and save it, even if you don’t like it right now
- Never give up
- Thoroughly research the publishers you’d like to work with and their guidelines
Check out Dawn’s website here.
Mark Sommerset was the last speaker. He and his wife Rowan work as a creative duo (Mark writes, and Rowan illustrates) on Waiheke Island (NZ), self publishing their absolutely beautiful books through their publishing company Dream Boat Publishers.
Mark and Rowan walked away from a lucrative graphic design business to begin their publishing careers and having published 6 books in the 8 or so years they have been operating, they are about to begin production on the very first children’s story Mark ever wrote, a truly profound story called The Cherry Tree. I was incredibly moved by the short description of the story and am dying to see the finished version- I am sure it is going to be a huge success for them both. Just to give you an idea of how much work goes into writing a children’s picture book- Mark mentioned that he spent approximately 1000 hours at the computer working on their book ‘Cork in the Bottle’!! Be sure to also check out the visual feast that is their blog!
All in all, it was such a worthwhile workshop, full of wonderful stories, inspiring people and their amazing work. Special thanks to Anne Southall for inviting me to come along and for my awesome souvenir!
Aug
15
2013
These two images were taken in 2010. It was my very first shoot using off camera lighting, and I was photographing a model named Shana who I had found online and was also just starting out and building her portfolio. I had been watching some tutorials online about how to use off camera flash, and since I was just wanting to try it out, I decided not to buy any new gear and just hire a location lighting kit from Wintec.
We met up in town that night and just walked around to a few locations I had picked out earlier in the day and even though I didn’t really know what I was doing, and most of it was just trial and error (probably more error than trial!) I look back so fondly on this shoot and some of these images are still my favourites.
If you’re wanting to try something out, you can find alternatives to all the easiest ways of doing things if you just use your imagination a little bit. If you need to learn something new, the internet is full of information. If you need some assistance, there are always people out there who are also starting out and are willing to give you their time. If you don’t have the money to buy the equipment you need, you can always borrow it.
If I hadn’t pushed myself to work through my doubt and organise the shoot in spite of not feeling like I knew what I was doing, who knows how long it would have taken me to get to the point where I could shoot the Banksy project. If you want to do something, just get on with it.
Aug
13
2013
Lorraine came to the studio without having any idea of what was about to take place because her amazing daughter Emma had arranged for her lovely Mum to come in for a portrait session as part of whole day of awesome stuff she had planned for her. Considering the fact that it was a complete surprise, and she had no time to prepare herself for being photographed, Lorraine was a fantastic person to photograph and she looked absolutely amazing!!
Aug
08
2013I am super excited to announce that I will be speaking at the next PechaKucha event as part of the Spark International Festival of Media, Arts and Design. PechaKucha is a really cool concept which originates from Japan- it basically means to ‘chit-chat’. So at a PK evening, there are a variety of speakers, who each give a short talk on whatever topic they choose. It’s always nice and snappy as each presenter is only allowed 20 seconds per slide, and each presentation is only allowed 20 slides. All in all, it’s always a great night full of entertaining talks and inspiring stories from awesome people. If you’d like to come along this August to hear me and a whole lot of other people talking about a whole host of topics, you’ll find all the information you need in the posters above.
See you there!
Aug
06
2013
Just thought I’d better let you know that there is a bit of a giveaway happening over on my Facebook page which you can find by clicking here or just click on the image and another window will open up. Check out the image above to see how you can enter and what you can win!!
23-08-13 Update:
Congratulations to Rebecca & Lorna on getting 114 votes and winning the competition!!
Aug
04
2013Hey Guys,
Super stoked to have my good friend Mallory from Mallory Xavier doing a guest blog post for you all today. In it she explains a bit more about what goes into creating her awesome designs and has some great thoughts on compromise and advice for anyone wanting to achieve their goals. You can see all her fantastic designs here and like her on Facebook here.
Take it away Mallory..
I am Mallory and I am the designer of Mallory Xavier – New Zealand Made Toddler Couture. I am currently in the process of sewing the pieces for my Spring/Summer 2013 collection ‘honeysuckle,’ which will be released early September. This week I am on a strict deadline to get everything complete for Saturday’s photo shoot with Linda. So between jobs on my ‘to do’ list I am going to do a little writing on my design process, and how it has changed between my first collection and this one.
My collections have always started with a fabric. The first Spring/Summer collections fabric was shell pink rayon that was not actually used in the final collection. This collection the fabric that sparked the design process is pink and white gingham that has been used to make the girls skirts and headbands. That initial fabric sets the tone. From there I draw and edit and look at images online, in books and in the world. The first Mallory Xavier collection was called ‘Berry.’ The name was decided due to the tones of the fabrics used. This years Spring/Summer collection is called ‘Honeysuckle’ and is based on the colour and shapes of the honeysuckle flowers. After designing I will begin sewing and after a few weeks will have a collection ready to have photographed.
The design process I used for this collection was quite different to that of my last. I have included a full boys range in this collection which was scary for me. I found that boys wear took a lot longer to design, because they needed to be special – something that couldn’t be purchased in any old store. I began thinking that there was not a lot of scope for boys wear but I have changed my mind. I just don’t think that boys are given many options and so boyswear is an exciting new venture for me.
A challenge that I have met is that my designs tend to naturally be architectural, and this time I wanted to embrace a softness that I’d never used before. It is hard for me to step out of my comfort zone with design, but I think it is extremely important. Gail Sheehy said “Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.” I think that’s true. A temporary surrender of security and a hell-of-a-lot-of work! Back when I was studying at Wintec I was extremely hesitant to accept critique, and to adapt designs for anyone else. While studying I could do that – I was making one off pieces for specific briefs, and being marked and judged on my personal interpretation of that brief. Now I am designing and sewing for a living, all critiques are important. When designing for others, the important thing that sticks out is ‘saleability.’ My first line was a demonstration of my taste. I didn’t design for saleability – I was still being stubborn. And though the garments did sell, the ones that sold quickly were not the ones I expected to. This year saleability has been in my mind throughout my entire design process. It is why I made my boys shirts white and not pink (like I was initially intending on doing), and why the garments this year are softer in design and much more easy and comfortable to wear.
Starting any business is a challenge. The last two years have been an emotional roller coaster. Because my new collection has not been seen yet I am both terrified and excited. I think that a willingness to adapt, learn and ask for help are the things that have kept me going. My design process will continue to adapt and refresh and I think that it is a good thing. I believe that so long as I am being challenged in the creation of my work, then my work can remain fresh.
Aug
01
2013I am so excited to announce the new promotion I am running for the month of August. Basically the idea behind it is that everything is a bit more fun and exciting when you can share it with someone- so if you book yourself in for a beauty portrait session in August (to be shot August, or September 2013) you can bring along one other person (maybe your best friend, daughter, sister or mother) and they get to have a full make over and portrait session on the house! You can even bring your husband along if you’d like to do a couples shoot, but they don’t have to take us up on the make over offer! Please email me if you have any questions and checkout the pricelist to see what goodies are available to purchase once your images are ready!
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