It always scares the crap out of me how far around the world my work has travelled, how many people are willing to support it and just how cool it is to have a job like this one.

It was 2010 when I wrote for the Capture Emerging competition “Gees dream is to get published in magazines, or at least local street press” – not thinking that line itself would be published. Well it was and two years on and since those first baby steps into the professional photography world I am really proud to announce some news I have been holding onto since December last year when I was interviewed by the one and only Phillip Andrews from Better Photoshop Magazine.

It somehow managed to be a pretty candid little article filled with the hows and whys everything came to be and a few of my favourite photoshop techniques.

So on March 2nd, swing past your local newsagent and pick yourself up a copy of Better Photoshop Techniques. It has some rad tips from artists all over the world as well as great tips and equipment reviews. Alternatively you can grab it from here http://www.betterphotoshoptechniques.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=79

Exciting!

A little known fact, I write lots, if I’m not making pictures I’m writing down thoughts. One day I want to write my own book. For now I’ll just stick to short unpublished little stories. I wrote this a year ago… and thought it was a piece of writing worth sharing. I don’t share this stuff too often. But to hell with it… On the anniversary of it being written…

 

The Connections…

We found ways to compose lists,

Collections of connections,

Constructed of ones and zeros, appearing on rectangle glowing things scattered all over the world

 

We collected the connections like trophies.

We loved the connections

In a click of a button, a finger on a screen we would openly cry to our web of connection
“Hey look I know this person! Or at least I would like to!”

 

For some there was a race for the number of connections

While others shunned this notion, choosing only to connect on an exclusive basis.

 

 

Now everyone was a connection.

A picture with the word “like” in little blue letters below it

Who were you if you weren’t a connection?

 

These connections were a breeding ground for all planes of thinking. A personal notebook shared between millions of hands. Words were used, abused and wasted

words were also crafted with love and bravery

 

words became useless.

Good words became gold.

 

Other words were lost, re formed, shortened. Other words became mere symbols.

 

<3

 

The world was built around this place, an invisible, intangible list of connections, of ones and zeros, words and thought existed only for fleeting moments upon glowing rectangles.

Words were used as hard evidence. Words were flung around like undergarments at an orgy.

We gave up connecting outwardly,

 

physically,

 

instead opting to press “Like” when the mood struck.

 

Our connections became a lifestyle.

 

But every few months, something felt wrong. A cold shiver?

An itch?

A brain ache? (we got those a lot)

A strange gut feeling?

 

Something would be misplaced but we couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

 

Until the endless news feeds told you…

 

Another connection had severed. The picture still there, the little blue “like” still press-able, the words and text still present. But the hands that created them were not.

 

The hands had gone.

 

“RIP Dear friend”

 

The messages called out to our departed connection hoping they could catch these threads of sadness, composed of ones and zeros.

 

“We will miss u mate”

“I cant believe it”

 

“My only regret is that I wasnt there to help u in ur time of need”

“why?!!!111!!!!???”

“<3”

 

The same messages, the same feelings of sadness, loss and regret

 

The same thoughts directed at different departing connections

 

The loss of the connection to one would ricochet and bounce from connection to connection like a primitive call… a warning sign “sadness will spill out on you soon”

 

The call spread out till every connection who’s hand had ever once touched “like” would compose their own versions of the same messages. The same tales of love. The same “I miss you” the same “I cant believe it”

 

“I remember when you were…”

“I remember that time when…”

“I didnt know you so well but…”

 

“RIP”

 

You wonder…

 

Can the dead read facebook?

 

I hope so.

 

Because its the only way I know how to connect to you again

 

 

Holy moley its February already. It still feels like Christmas just finished.

This year has started out pretty epically. The Atkins skin workshop was such a whole load of fun, I met some rad people and got to share all the little fun nitty gritty bits of working with people and skin.

It’s funny how when teaching photoshop and photography in general I learn a whole lot just from having to describe a process that to me is generally just second nature. I don’t even think half the time when I do what I do but, going back over my work I realise that there is good hard cold reasoning for all the decisions and choices I make. All this stuff that goes through my head when I first have a photo infront of me, its fun to sit and document that procesand take a look at what I do under the magnifying glass. I realise that all those years sitting behind a computer photoshopping things in dark rooms while the big shot photographers were out there doing the photography side paid off. I learned from fixing their mistakes or sharing their victories. I’m really proud of that background and I’m even more proud to be able to take all that information and put not only into my craft, but to help others out too.

I covered alot about working with subcultures of people. How varying social groups will ask for different things out of their images depending on what kinds of media they are exposed to. Heres a shot of me talking about the 16-25 year old age group and how I might choose to work within each group of people. This was snapped by Paul Atkins on his iphone at the beginning of the talk. o0o0! Fun!

 

It was also really interesting to watch an entire room full of people ghasp when I mentioned that I never use light meters. Oh my… that was a bit funny. Art brains vs photographers I guess. We all have diferent ways of practising our art.

 

Speaking of wich I talked a bit about this photo of Annie in that workshop about the choices Annie and I made based on the sort of person she was, the challenges we faced in that shoot and how in general I loved taking this photo because of how rad Annie was to work with and how much fun it was to be challenged by lighting situations.

However Annie is a rad cabaret singer/writer/conqueror of oddspot facts and I love this show to pieces. So here is the poster for that show with that shot on it, because I believe ya’all should go and take a look at her work!

In other news, I talk allot about having rad friends who share this road with me. Well last night was a tribute to how much photographers stick together and look out for each other. We share equipment, advice and ideas. Julia is one of those people who is always around when needed. So, Congratulations to Julia Thomas for launching her business The Dream Weaver! I went to the opening last night, she looked incredible and it was rad to see so many people there to share it with her. We love you Julia. Your a great friend and an important key player in how well this business of mine has been going these past few months. I was thrilled to be awarded a trophy for “best Broads” shared with Harmony Nicholas. It now its on my trophy shelf up there with my pony club trophies and my photography awards. In fact its right in the middle, pride of place.

I had other stuff to talk about I’m sure of it.

But right now I’m desperately craving the dip that my boyfriend made (Pumpkin and lentil! what a dude!) so I’m going to chow down on that and work on one of my new projects (o0o0o what project? Wait and see!)

 

Love Gee

xxx