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features, contests and other stories

I thought I’d make a seperate post to talk about my latest news and progress. Ever since I started this blog and conceptual photography, I feel like I’ve found my place in photography and to put it rather simply, I really love what I have been doing! It has been hard, mainly due to lack of time for shooting, but I am really proud of what I was able to create so far and of what I’ve learned in the process. I only have a few pictures to show, but my notebook is full of ideas for the future!

In the past few months I had a couple of features on sites like photofocus and phlearn which gave me the confidence to carry on. What was more surprising for me, was that my latest picture, “narcissus“, was selected and featured by 500px in a collection called “50 Creative Self-Portrait Ideas To Trump All Selfies“. I had nothing to do with the feature, which means someone chose it among others, and also I was not notified about the selection. Imagine the look on my face when I clicked on the link out of curiosity, only to scroll down and discover one of my own pictures in there! I saw that the collection had been posted two days before and the views count on my 500px account had gone way up!  Today “narcissus” alone has over 10.000 views! That number is surreal to me and it makes me so proud of myself!

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Sometimes I worry that sharing these little successes over and over on facebook or wherever, could be considered bragging. I hate to do that, I actually always avoid talking about myself and what I have accomplished. I prefer it when people discover that on their own, without me having to constantly self-advertise. But on the other hand, if I am proud of myself, why should I hide it?

I have also decided to take part in photography contests, both in Greece and abroad, mainly because I want to see where I really stand as a photographer. I am currently awaiting results from two greek contests and I am preparing my entries for others. It is an exciting, yet frightening time! I’d like to approach some galleries too, but I honestly don’t have the slightest idea how I would do that.

If I have to change one thing, that is the amount of time I dedicate to photography. It has not been easy for me to balance the dozen things I do everyday in a way that makes me satisfied. As a result I have been uploading one picture per month, which is not good enough for me. Now summer is here, so theoretically I will have more time at my disposal. I’ll give it my best!

My website is almost ready, so when I launch it, I will tranfer my blog there. Also I will start selling prints on my website, so I have to think about all kinds of stuff about that! Stay tuned for my next upload, which will be soon!

the frustration of self-challenge

I had hoped that I would have another photo ready for upload this weekend, but I didn’t. I thought I should do something simpler than my previous photo, but I didn’t. Instead I chose to do another composite based on a concept that has been on my mind for years. I shot the pictures, then I shot them again and then a third time, since I could not get it right. Note that I had already began editing before I realized I had to do a third shot. Argh!  Lesson learned. I should be more careful and prepared next time. The thing is I get carried away the moment I set to do anything that is exciting to me, so I just forget to think things through.

So after I got the right shots I started editing, trying to combine the different elements together. Right now I am at a point where I have already done much work and I still have much left to do. And of course I have to implement new tecnhiques in photoshop to get the result I want. This process is exciting, yet frustrating. I have the image in  my head. How hard can it be to get it out? Well, it is. Very.

I am starting to feel disappointed. Maybe I am not as skilled as I thought I was. Maybe I am moving too fast. I am very close to abandoning this particular picture and moving on to something else. But then again I don’t like quitting. Maybe this is what you get for editing for five hours straight.

Pffff…. I am usually a very patient person. I guess what’s bugging me is that I can’t show you all those pictures that are in my head. Not yet.

Well a fresh start tomorrow might do the trick. After all, I set out to challenge myself. Well this is a challenge alright!

I really hope I have a new picture for you soon!

First post

Hello all! This is my very first post in my brand new photograpy blog. I thought I should write some things about why I decided to make a blog.

Over the past few years I have been trying to grow as a photographer, always trying to learn and improve myself. But I reached a point where it was clear to me, that what was missing was my own personal style in phtography. I have decided I want to find that style by pushing myself to try new things and stepping out of my comfort zone.

This blog is my way to challenge myself to create new kinds of images, the kind that is more meaningful to me. I want to experiment, learn new things and try and show you all those images that are inside my head. I am not sure yet where this will take me, but I am really anxious to find out and share it with you.

I know I am bound to make many mistakes, but I hope that along the way I will find what I am looking for.

 

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