Today has been a pretty great day. I have to thank the fine folks at Capture Magazine for being such incredible folk… no really… this happened…

Yep! Thats my photo on the cover, right there, Pretty stoked! I’m so proud of this shot you have no idea. It’s really truly an honour to be on the cover of Capture, the same magazine that I used to thumb through back when I was at Uni wishing I could be as cool as those guys. So thank-you to Marc Gafen and the team! You guys are amazing. So look out for it on shelves this month in all good newsagents.

As well as that people have been asking if Better Photoshop Techniques is still on shelves. The answer is yes! I have been spotting it in stores everywhere and you can buy it from the Better Photoshop Techniques  website.

In other news I won Runner Up in the Capture Emerging Portrait Photographers awards and I’m totally looking forward to calling my mum today and telling her all about it. I’m sure she will be as stoked as I am (If not more, shes my biggest fangirl)
Shameless ego stroking aside (Look its been a good day okay?) I am a self confessed TED Talk addict. No really its out of hand… on bad days you can take one educated guess that I will be in bed hunched over like a 100 year old woman around a cup of tea and a glowing screen like they are the last thing I will ever love in my life. I may even be hiding under the bed covers squeezing as many ted talks into the day as my eyes physically can take in.

This one made me pretty excited today. Its all about those wierd people… and I love the hell out of how this man talks

Finally I want to say a big thankyou to all my friends who have been sending me well wishes and congratulations this week. It’s wonderful! Thanks guys!!!

I believe… its one of the scariest statements to make. To proclaim out loud to the world what you actively truly believe in and then suffer through the backlash of whatever it is you have said. In the world of business especially. I once sat around a table of people so scared to express their beliefs about anything that they actively hid their lives from their clients. In business apparently we have to remain neutral, we have to be the epitome of “adaptation”.

I have never followed the grain. So instead…

I believe…

It feels like in this day and age, there are four things not to talk about around a civilised dinner table.

Religion, Sex, Politics and Homophobia.

Whilst some may believe Homophobia falls under all three categories, I believe its  become one on its own. The fact that it alone falls under all three categories makes it more reason for us to talk about it. Its this huge big elephant in the room that needs to be discussed and re humanised.

I believe that in 50 years we will be laughing so hard at ourselves for ever believing that gay marriage was wrong. I believe our children will be studying us, laughing at us in much the same way we laugh at how women used to be treated or how blacks used to be treated (actually our society still suffers from the residue of the past… but we have at least moved forward) – with absolute knowledge of their ignorance

You know what? It makes me sad (and angry at times)  that matters of homosexuality are a even a debate… or even a problem to some people. It bothers me even more that religion (not just Christian here people…) is used as an excuse for a lack of love and acceptance.

During Feast Festival this year (Feast is Adelaides wonderful festival for celebrating our homosexual community) I was sitting in a taxi when the taxi driver asked me what all the tents and festivities were about. I explained what it was and he told me “don’t look! its a sin! its disgusting how can people celebrate what is not gods will!”

I wish I had socked the guy in the mouth. Instead I sat there, dumbstruck, unable to believe my ears and promptly asked the guy to pull over. I paid him, got out of the taxi and I called the cab company and complained. Whilst I know in this case it was ignorance on his behalf I was glad for his safety that it was a small girl in his cab and not… well anyone else with less of a tolerance for ignorance. I think this is where belief is flawed… scary, alienating to others. This is where religion gets its bad name. That taxi driver could have sought to find out more, do to more research. Instead he made a girl in a taxi feel so overwhelmingly angry and sad for her friends that she potentially could have lost that man his job.

I know some pretty amazing Christians as well. In fact religion is not all bad, in some cases its a beautiful thing.  In fact I was proud to sit around a dinner table with one pastor in particular who wholeheartedly stood up for gays, telling the story of his pastor friend who outwardly apologised to some jaded gay kids for how they had been treated by the church. “Don’t judge him by his followers” – something I myself have done before and am slowly learning not to. Those kinds of stories warm my heart and fill me with hope for my friends and family.

There was a time that the blacks weren’t allowed to marry because we believed that god made them coloured for a reason. There was also a time when we believed that your common house-slave wasn’t allowed to marry either because to do that we would have to acknowledge that they are human with human rights.
Preposterous? Yes.

Every single one of us would find that to be abuse and racial slander in our times.
The thing that bothers me more is that Christianity in particular is used as a reason for us not to legalise the right for same sex couples to marry. The debate goes “My bible said…” – however firstly the bible isn’t huge on really mentioning it. When it does, think of why it would have been spoken about in that time? Contextualise your text within the time that it was created, research the world that it was and you will find most likely, that this would have been created to prevent rape of young boys and spread of sexually transmitted infection. At that time, men had their wives… but then playthings on the side which happened to be slave boys. Society was different. Homosexuality looks allot different these days (and probably in many cases it didnt nearly have that brutality to it. Im sure there were plenty of loving stable homosexual partnerships) . However we all agree, abuse of children is sickening. Any wonder the bible  had something (if hardly anything) to say about it.
Even still, if you are using your bible to actively create laws then you would have grounds to dismiss heterosexual marriages straight out due to their religious affiliation. Oh hey look… your not getting married in the eyes of god? Welllllll lets not recognise your marriage. Sucks to be atheist or agnostic or even Muslim, pagan or anything else for that matter. Until the day our society is completely Christian… (which I really don’t see happening… hell I would love for the world to be vegan but that wont happen ever wither) we have to accept that different groups of people with differing beliefs can and will marry.
In fact a good Christian would find it horrendous to go to a Muslims house and deny them of their wedding vows… we would consider that racist. So why are we doing that to people every day?
The homosexual community… they stand to save this institution of marriage. Here are all us straight people hanging about getting divorced, screwing up marriages and blundering through their commitments to another person because they actively don’t even think about what marriage means to them. We throw it around willy nilly, we fall in lust and go “lets walk the isle! Why that is a splendid idea!”
Hey… we have divorce lawyers for that reason…
Frankly because of the nature of the beast itself the only tradition of marriage is change… so none of us really get it any way. It changes, warps, re defines itself and adds little pieces along the way… just like the human race.

Its never been the same… ever.
There was once a time you could say “Yep im married…” and you were.
Chinese women could marry dead men so that they could do away with all the fall backs of having a living man, but have all power that that union would give to her
People in higher society used to marry for power, property, money… it was important for a woman to marry a rich man, in that kind of world where women had no rights, she had to do this to secure her future.
Were all sort of missing the point here. Marrage is about EMBRACING change, beliefs and ideas. Were getting it all wrong… were lying, cheating, falling in and out of love…
Whereas here is the G/L/B/T community knocking down our doors saying “Hey people give us a try!!!”

So why dont we? If its all changing consistently and were botching it all up, who is it hurting to give someone else a try? Why not give this change thing another burl. What have we got to lose? Its already a mess any way. And if it doesnt work out? Well hey a few more layers stand to make an extra buck and the wedding industry gets a boost in profits to go towards feeding their families. Big deal.
And yet were ass-holes enough… through all our blundering and fucking up our own marriages to tell them they cant give it a go. That this “tradition” we have that changes every 100 years or so will not change for them. Oh hello history repeating itself. We might as well be cavemen. When as discussed earlier, the western world changed our minds once we decided denying blacks of a wedding is inhumane.
I come from a pretty hardcore catholic background, I have sat in church numerous times and during that time I’m deadly sure that Jesus only ever preached love, understanding and acceptance of others. He was the first radical… In a world where people were happily wrongdoing against each other he had the guts to stand up and say “Guys… no wait a minute this isn’t good enough” – and he got nailed to a cross for demanding that we be nice to each-other for a change. He was the king of the underdogs. Check it out… he hung with Mary Magdalene… that biatch got nasty…
If you want to be like Jesus? Stand up, go against the grain of your community and preach love and understanding for every man woman and child of any orientation, religious belief and race. Its only fair… the man you worship would have done the same. Hell if your like me and find the whole Jesus dealio a bit much… have the guts to stand up for your friends…
And finally… here is an idea… Don’t dig men or women of the same sex? Thats totally cool, I wouldn’t date a girl nor would I marry one in the same way I might choose not to have sausages for breakfast or I might choose not be a Christian or a Hindu or have any other religious affiliation either… How about just don’t marry someone of the same sex? I know I wont be, but I will bawl my eyes out the day my gay cousin gets married. How about we grow up and say “Hey everyone… we may not have ever met, or we may not get along but I will give you the respect enough to tell you that you know about something that I dont and possibly will never know. You there, you have lived it, you know whats best for you…”

So to my friends, my family and to the people I havent met before who feel the way I do… fight with me yeah? And if you don’t agree, maybe do some research on marriage, look outside your belief systems and what it has meant to us over the years. Then make your final verdict.

</rant>

I have something special going on that I can’t tell you about yet. However I’m so excited, greatful and scared all at once I could burst with all this pent up OMG THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!!11121!!!!!@

I have mentioned how beautiful my friends are time and time again. However this goes above and beyond what the people you love should do and can do. I asked them for a birthday present of any worth and they reciprocated with absolute abundance.

It took six people, under a month and so much generosity. I seriously thought it would take ten times longer, I thought there may be the off chance that this crazy assed plan wouldnt work. I thought maybe… just mayyyyybe you all might think I was being a twat. But no… you all embraced it, understood it and gave me the push through the door that this bruised broken little ego needed. You all will find out later this year whats happening!!!

In the meantime Thankyou from the absolute bottom of my heart to those people. We have made it!  I sat infront of my computer the other day staring at my screen going “holly crap… this is really happening…”

Love is in the air. Excitement is brewing.

Wow.

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

It occurs to me, that even if there was so much sadness in 2011, it was one incredible year. So many amazing clients to meet and work with. So many rad images made, so much time spent on personal projects and way too much fun was had. I’m amazed at what happened last year, how far this buisness came and how lucky I really am as an artist.

I have too many people to thank. I really really do. These are the few important ones…

To “The Posse” who know exactly who they are. Knowing you lot is a total pleasure and having you all there to tell me to “calm the fuck down” whenever things get crazy has been a lifesaver.

To Mark Trumble… there needs to be more of you in the world so willing to lend a hand to a young face.

The AIPP who have given me so much freindship and confidence as a buisness person. Thankyou

To Anne for taking me back and being a totally fun friend to have.

To the clients who made it all worth it

To Jack. I talk to you every day, even if you are no longer with us. Its habit. I cant help it.

To Nathan. Who made hundreds of hot choclates, morning coffees, vegan chocolates, vegan cakes. Who drove to me when I locked myself out on numerous occasions, who was the boy who I wasn’t meant to fall head over heels for because last years new years resolution was to stay undoubtedly single. But fuckit… that was a new years resolution worth breaking. I wont regret that for one second.

And finally to friends… I have the worlds coolest friends.

So the new year brings so much excitement to me it makes my belly flutter… already amazing things are happening and I’m bursting at the seams to tell you all about it. But a girl must have her secrets.

I know its lame and ye’olde fashioned to make new years resolutions. But hey… why not…

1. Cook alot more. I love cooking.

2. See Friends more often

3. To photograph alot more personal projects

4. Never to ever work in retail again.

5. To only ever go with plan A. Its my first plan, my only plan and I have no backup. This is the thing I can’t imagine my life being void of… I love it more than you can imagine. And hell It’s keeping me busy

6. This is the important one… PHOTOGRAPH THE PEOPLE I LOVE. Make time for this project. Its worth more to me than anything else I can possibly do. This last year taught me one massive lesson. The ones you love you never have enough photos of when they finally leave your life. And to hell with it, they leave your life way quicker than you ever thought they would. So do it NOW.

7. Buy more post it notes and socks. One can never have too many post it notes or socks.

So heres to 2012 and all the interesting scarey and fun stuff its bringing into my life. It’s off to an amazing start…

Hows your 2012 been? (totally post it…)

WAIT WAIT WAIT… Christmas is here already?

Holy bejeebers… it still feels like January. Sort of. Wow! I hope you all are finished with your Christmas shopping and all that jazz… I’m so not even started on gift buying. How slack am I?

Today my friends is fantastical. I have been working on some new pieces, new ideas and more importantly kicking back at some of my favoutire studios working with them to create some wicked cool photos. After a one month holiday to an entirely different planet (retail is so not my thing, jus sayen. I missed my clone tool) I’m back with a digital retouching vengeance and there is not a thing to stop me right now…

I promise not to complain about Macs again. PINKY promise.

In-fact speaking of digital retouching… Atkins Technicolour have been so lovely as to ask me to come along and hang out with them for their Summer school and talk all about skin!

Skin you say?

Why yes sir. I’ll be talking for three whole hours on retouching skin. It should be super fun. Melissa Neumann is taking the class before me on basic photoshop for photographers so its going to be one superbly nerdy day of photoshop happy madness. Classes are $65 each and during that time I’ll be handing you my secrets on one bit fat shiney silver platter… o0o0! Exciting…

Whos joining me?

I did mention that I had some new work that I was doing right?

Yes yes yes, so this piece I guess is pretty readable. It’s called “The Spark” and honestly… thats what its all about.

OH BACK TO SKIN RETOUCHING…  I cant wait to share all my little secrets. So come along. have some fun and join other like minded cool kids…

http://www.atkins.com.au/education/summer-school-2012/

EEEEP!

Gee

xx

Well well… Gee Greenslade here, reporting from the new headquarters (or office wich is also my house… whatever one wishes to call it) in Glenelg North.

Exciting! The new office is coming along really well. The desk fits in here perfectly and it already feels as if I belong here. It’s the first time I have ever had my own little place all on my lonesome and whilst thats meant to be scarey I am so blissed out and relaxed its amazing.

Breakfast at the new place...

I treated myself to a wonderful breakfast of olive, spinach, sundried tomatos and mushroom with cashews and pine nuts on Turkish bread this morning on my new balcony. Nathans coffee machine named Jeeves graces the new kitchen and I gleefully bought myself a new purple kettle!

Its quite literally the perfect place to call home. I love it here!

Last week I had an incredible time wandering around with fellow photographer Mark Trumble (http://www.photographyroom.com.au) and photographers best friend Doug Young (Doug dude if you read this please post your website. I think so many photographers could use a studio expert like you!)  at this years Nikon event held here in Adelaide! It was amazing to see speakers like Glen Gibson, Sue Bryce, David Burnett, Juliet Taylor and my favourite Jesh de Rox. Woah! So much inspiration, so many amazing people. I tried out a whole stack of new gear to fill my little studio office with and my head is filled with so many tips from the best of the industry’s best. Please google these people, find out about them and go see them when they next speak!!!

Waiting to hear David Burnett talk at the 2011 Nikon Event... excuse the awful phone picture.

This event really put into perspective why it is I take photos. I think time and time again I question why the hell I do this. But people like David Burnett, Sue Bryce and Jesh de Rox really shifted my doubts about my motivations. I got a chance to remember how it felt when I first picked up an SLR, how it felt when I took those first successful shots. It reminded me of the beauty of a story. I think this year has been all about re-igniting my sense of loving a good story.

I always loved stories.

In other exciting news one of my images of The Jane Austen Argument was on the cover of Melbournes Weekly magazine as well as up on the big screen on the side of The Age building in Melbourne. I’m so excited to see Tom Dickins and Jen Kingwell do so damned fantastically in their chosen careers.

So tonight, in spirit of the wonderful efforts of the Jane Austen Arguments success, I leave you with this incredible song. It’s the very first song I played in this house.

http://music.thejaneaustenargument.net/track/bad-wine-and-lemon-cake

It occurs to me recently that as a so called “Professional Photographer” (I still laugh whenever anyone calls me that…) the people you love the most are often the ones you have hardly any photos of. Hell I don’t even have family photos! After allot of death surrounding me in my life its re hashed the importance of photographing the people I love. So I thought I would post this tonight.

A couple of days ago I have to admit I was pretty frustrated with my portfolio. Trying to update a website with your best work is always a little challenging when the work you do is so close to home. Photography and photoshop is this life long passion of mine. So I always get so emotionally attached to my images!

So I called up my boyfriend Nathan to hop on around and pose for my camera so I could get out of the office, clear my head and get back to basics. Photography! It surprisingly is the first time I have ever photographed him, despite us being together for a fair while now. This shot in particular was one of the first four images taken taken in the dwindling afternoon light of my office. I had allot of fun making that nacklace. I have to admit, photographing loved ones for a change was way too much fun.

So here it is, Nathan…

Feel free to leave a reply and tell me what you think!