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[link]Updates:19th of JuneI had the honor of assisting

and

with their fantastic shoot on Wednesday, and I can honestly say it was a TOTAL blast. The concept was: "Bring your one favorite item of clothing" , and I strongly believe you should check the up-and-coming results at

. Here is one of their first images:
17th of JuneSo I tried to start writing a journal before and went seriously blank. I guess the last few weeks have really taken their toll on me. Coincidently, every major assessment at University was also due... and if that was not enough, encountering problems such as not actually being able to afford train fares to Uni definitely did me in. After all, I am human.
Now, you should know very well that I barely ever write serious journals... and I generally despise people who feel the need to share every... insignificant... detail... of their totally uninteresting lives. Not to say that mine is in any way interesting, but I tend to keep things to myself.
Some of you may not have heard from me for a while, and this is the time I am taking to let you know what has been happening and what will happen.
I am halfway through my first year at Photography Studies College
[link] . I pretty much owe half of the improvement in my work to this course, especially in terms of retouching. No longer do I chuck the butcher's apron on before heading into Photoshop. It's all adjustment layers, dodge and burn layers, tasteful and minimalistic retouching. Which reminds me... god damn Curves Adjustment Layers are possibly the best way to start on an image. Other than that... my conceptual development has increased, causing orgies of ideas in my already cluttered brain. In terms of how to use a camera... I cannot say I have learned anything new. I had the basics down pat a while ago anyway. Image Design was also a most interesting subject, and totally useful, considering the composition of my images in the past has been less than exciting.
Jesus... Now I'm looking at my older work and I feel like stabbing myself in the kneecap with a screwdriver. The amount of mistakes... the poor retouching... it really surprises me that ANYONE liked my work. All the same, I received encouragement and... here I am now. Hey... I'm not saying I've gotten MUCH better, but an improvement is definitely obvious. Which brings me to one relevant bit of news: Across the next few weeks I will be re-editing and re-releasing(in some cases just releasing) images from some of my first attempts at photography. It could get interesting... or not.
Do not expect a lot of NEW work in the next 6 weeks... because there will not be much at all. Why? Because I have honestly had enough. It's hard for people to understand how hard I push myself... and the standards I set for myself(totally unachievable). I can recall many moments of utter frustration looking at more experienced(not more talented) photographers than myself. All of that was pointless, really. It comes with time, I've started telling myself. I think that... for 1.5 years of experience as an amateur photographer I have done quite ok. Of course, there is ALWAYS room for improvement... but if I keep telling myself that I will never stop shooting, never stop spending money and eventually dry myself out(which would be convenient for some people).
So... overall... you could say I am going to take it easier for a little while. I need to recuperate.