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safe harbor

For the past year I have been taking self-portraits almost exclusively. It has been a goal of mine to start shooting other people because I think at some point doing self-portraits can be rather limiting. Although I have to admit, that being both the photographer and the model has its advantages too. When Theodora asked me to take her picture of course I accepted, but right away I started feeling very nervous about it. I had no location in mind, no concept and no idea what kind of image would suit her the most. She didn’t have anything specific in mind either, so it was all on me.

I started to think about what kind of concept would be more suitable for her, because I wanted to create an image that would be somewhat representative of her as a person. I decided to shoot a more “romantic” concept, nothing too dark or creepy. Also, I had to think of something that would let her face be seen, so a bunch of ideas were rejected right away, since I usually don’t care about showing faces. Then I thought that summer is the best time to do a seaside shooting and why not use paperboats as a prop? I had a couple of different ideas about exactly what I would have her do and in the end I decided to have her stand on the shore with a boat in her hands and more boats laying on the shore close to her. Initially I had also imagined a couple boats floating in the waters but, well that did not really work out.

safe harbor

safe harbor

Theodora told me she had this fishnet dress and I thought it would be very fitting for this theme, so I asked her to wear that. My first thought about the boats was to make them out of newspapers, but they would not stand a chance near the water, so I tried making some from a magazine. I didn’t like how they looked though, so I decided to go for plain white paper and Theodora made the coloured ones. I am ashamed to admit it, but this is the first time in my life that I actually learned how to make a paperboat! It’s embarassing, I know!

As for the location, this is a small beach just outside Thessaloniki, in a place called Aggelochori (which means “the village of angels”) and as you can see, there is a lighthouse there. The thing is, when I was thinking of a location for the photoshoot, I decided to go visit the lightouse area and the beaches that are close by. I read about this lighthouse online and saw some pictures and decided that I definately wanted to check the place out because I was sure it would be a great location. You see, not only is there an old lighthouse on that cliff, but there is also an old fortress and a really great view. So on the day of the shoot, we decided to start early, so we woud have enough time to scout the area before sunset. As soon as we got there, I asked for directions to the lighthouse and the answer I got was: ” Oh, you can’t go there, because it’s a navy base and it’s close to the public. Maybe it will open next year!”. Talk about a huge disappointment! Nowhere online did it say anything like this! We headed there anyway, secretly hoping it was all a lie, only to be greeted by a huge sign reading “no entry, all photographs are prohibited”. Well, thanks a lot! It seems that a huge area around the cliff has been closed off by the navy, so there was absolutely no way we could get anywhere near the lighthouse or the fortress. Sadly we returned to the beach, where at least we could see the lighthouse from a distance.

Theodora’s photoshoot was going to be on the beach anyway, so there was no problem there. Having the lighthouse in the backgound was actually not planned, but very welcome! Luckily the sky was cloudy enough to give me the light I wanted, otherwise we would have to wait a couple of hours for the sun to set. I set up my camera, I positioned my model, and I started putting all the boats around her. I think this was the most crowded photoshoot I ever did. There was me, Theodora, a friend of hers and my boyfriend and although they were all really helpful, I was stressed. I almost forgot my ISO setting at 3200 and my focus on auto. Luckily I realised that early enough, otherwise the pictures would have been really destroyed! All in all, it was a good test for me, because I have to learn how to stay focused even when there are more people around than usual. After I had taken all the shots of Theodora that I wanted, I told everyone to throw the boats in the water so I could shoot them. It was a total disaster. Most of the boats sank right away and it just seemed like someone threw their paperwork in the sea. I think it’s better this way, because there would be too many boats everywhere and it might have been confusing.

I wasn’t sure at first about the the beam of light coming from the lighthouse, but come on! What is a lighthouse with no light, right?

nocturnal

Tonight there is a full moon up in the sky, so I thought it’s perfect time for me to share an image I have been working on lately!

I had this idea about making an image of someone being up on a ladder that reached to the moon. I didn’t put any more thought to it, until back in April when I visited my family for Easter and I saw this wooden ladder my dad uses mostly for painting. I thought it would fit perfectly for what I had in mind, so I decided to go for it. The only problem was, that there was no one available to go out shooting with me and I could not carry the ladder around on my own. So, I decided to shoot a picture of myself climbing the ladder and later composite it in another picture. The only place with enough light where I could do this was the front balcony. I placed the ladder, put on an old robe that my mother has, and started climbing and shooting. I have to tell you that my house is on a very busy road, overlooking a park, so once again, it must have been a delight for the neighbours and all the innocent bystanders to watch me act like a crazy person. Luckily it didn’t take that much time.

I already had a picture of the moon from last year, which I thought was quite ok, so all I needed was the right landscape shot. While going through my archives, I discovered this landscape that I had shot while going for a late evening ride with my boyfriend on New Year’s day. I thought it was perfect for what I had in time, so then it was Photoshop time. This is the first time I was doing something like this and I wanted to make it look as good as possible, so I took it rather slow. All in all, it was quite challenging, but I am quite pleased with the result. Although I must admit, I would choose shooting on location anytime!

Special thanks goes to my boyfriend for helping me improve the ladder position. I actually duplicated the ladder layer to make it look as if I were on a double ladder, so it wasn’t very easy creating the right angle and such.

I’d love your feedback on this and if you have any tips on this kind of compositing, feel free to share!

I wish you a lovely evening under the moonlight!

sleeping suns

Last week I dragged my boyfriend to some fields to do a photoshoot for the “foundation” series, that I had in mind for some time now. Since we had the time, I wanted to do a second shoot in a sunflower field. This time of year you can see sunflower fields everywhere, so I thought it would be a shame if I didn’t shoot in one. They are just so beautiful and so…yellow! They say that sunflowers always turn towards the sun, so when the sun goes down, they look down too, like they are going to sleep. So, the idea was that I would stand among them, as if I were sleeping too.

A rather simple concept, but I really really adore those sunflowers and it felt really good to just stand inside a field and take pictures of myself like a crazy person. Having my boyfriend around made things much easier in terms of safety, although there was not a soul around. Still, I feel better when he is with me! I enjoyed this experience so much that I would love to do this every single day if I could!

While trying to think of a title, I did some research on sunflowers and found out that they don’t actually turn towards the sun, rather they are always pointed to the east, which makes them very useful for navigation purposes. Who knew?

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publications and prints

This last week has been all about prints for me. I took three of my pictures to the printer to make some test prints so I could keep them at my home. At first I wanted to frame them, but then I decided to mount them and hang them as they were for the moment. I suppose a simple black frame around them would look really nice, but the paper’s texture would be lost behind the glass. Well, since they were made for my own pleasure, I decided to leave framing for another time. I hung them on my living room wall and I have to confess that I can’t stop staring at them! It’s so amazingly surreal to actually hold your creations in your hands! If you are interested in your own prints, limited editions are available! Just send me a message!

nicki-upstairs-prints1

one 50x50cm print and two 25x25cm, all with a 2cm white border, printed on archival quality fine art paper

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my prints hanging on my living room wall

A couple days ago, my picture “misidentified” was published in the greek photography magazine “Fotografos“! The issue focused on self-portraits, so naturally I submitted mine too and this one was selected for publication. This is my first printed publication and again, the feeling is surreal! I am so happy and proud and so motivated to go on!

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a close up of my picture and the short description I sent in

nicki-upstairs-fotografos2

the whole page

I am very determined to continue buiding my portfolio, which at the moment is quite small. I have a couple pictures that I am currently editing and I am planning to shoot as much as I can during the summer, despite of the really hot greek summer. People have started to ask me to take their picture, which is really flattering but also quite stressful. I am up for the challenge though!