Immenstaad am Bodensee, Southern Germany

Another image from this beautiful part of the world is in the Life Support Japan online sale - click here to contribute to the relief efforts in Japan by purchasing a limited edition print.

New Portrait for Sirens

Tanya is a tandem surfer I photographed back in January. I'm hoping to meet up with her and her tandem partner one of these days to do some portraits of them together. I think this could be an interesting area to explore because it's so rare to find tandem surfers and it explores the idea of women in surfing in such a different way than the solo surfers I've been focusing on...stay tuned.

 

P.S. See yesterday's post to win one of my prints!

100 Followers - Print Giveaway!

I am really honored that 100 people in the world care enough about my photography to follow my blog!  I started this blog as a way to get feedback on my work from friends and family, without ever really thinking people I've never met would take an interest...and now 100 followers!

random celebratory lo-fi surf shot

Thank you so much for your interest and the time you spend here :)

To show my appreciation, I'm going to have a

PRINT GIVEAWAY!!!!

I'm so excited that I haven't thought through every single detail yet.  For now, my plan is to let one lucky winner pick an image from my blog or website, and choose between something like this or an unframed 8.5" x 11" print.  Let's talk details when you win :)

Anyone who publicly follows my blog can be entered to win by leaving a comment on this post before 12:00am PST on April 16th with the following info:

• Your name and email address
• Which print you would love to win (description or jpg name will do)

The winner will be chosen at random.  If you want extra chances to win you can also:

• Get someone else to follow my blog! Leave their follower name in the comments on this post so I know who you spread the word to.
• Leave a "critique comment" on any post on this blog with an image. Give me something to work with!  Lately I've been really hungry for feedback/photo interactions that will challenge me to make stronger work and push me intellectually.

 Thanks again to all of you for following this blog and keeping me motivated and inspired :)

With lots of joy and affection,
Liz

Life Support Japan - Donate today and get a print

Prints are still available from my Life Support Japan edition, but they won't be for long! Here's the scoop:

• Images on the site are available in editions of 10 (meaning there will only be 10 copies of this print in existence)
• Prints are archival pigment prints, printed on 8.5" x 11" paper - hand-signed by the artist.
• Each print costs only $50 and all proceeds go directly to the relief efforts.

This is a really cool way to make a charitable donation and add to your art collection.  You could gift a  print from Life Support Japan and give something with extra special meaning!

Click here to support the relief efforts in Japan.

What's Next?

Foam Amsterdam is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year and using this opportunity to reflect on the future of photography - asking you, me, and of course industry experts, What's Next?   I  like this piece  from the About section:

"In fact the question 'What's Next?' is about far more than 'just' the future of photography. It is also about the future of a society dictated by visual media, of a society in which people primarily communicate with technological tools that have been developed and made into consumer products with incredible speed. It is about the future of a society in which every layman can and will be a photographer, sharing his experiences with newly made online communities, a society in which the experience of time and space have drastically changed.


In short, 'What's Next?' is about the future of a medium and of a society in transition."

Needless to say, the digital age has revolutionized photography; it is both exciting and challenging to think about how it will continue to shape our visual language in the coming years.  There are lots of interesting conversations taking place on the site, so check it out and participate when you have a minute.

 © Alec Soth/Magnum Photos for the NY Times

I'll leave you with an image from a What's Next contributor,  Alec Soth (who happens to be one of my favorite photographers).  He recently spent some time in my home state making portraits in Rockford, Illinois; this image from that series resonated with me.  The photos and accompanying article can be found here.

the writing on the wall

Coustellet, France

Does anyone know what it says? I'm going to try to update this post later with a translation...just curious to know.  

the dreamy mediterranean, nice

Skeletons

Something about little kids and skeletons makes me laugh.  And no, I did not tell the boy on the bottom to show me his skele-teeth. I asked him to show me his sand castle hands, and told him "please, don't smile".

Happy Friday :)

Fantastical Friday: A Mermaid and Her Unicorn

I had to capture this awesomely ridiculous mural for plain old memories sake, but I'm pleasantly surprised it turned out to be more than a snapshot. 

I've been trying out some new films recently and this is from a roll of Kodak Ektar 100.  I was kinda ho-hum about it until I scanned this image...the film is totally suited for these bright colors and light! It is also incredibly fine-grained film and scanned really well. I prefer very natural colors for my portrait work but I may through this into my repertoire more regularly.

A couple from Provence

I've been thinking about how I can organize these and the random photos I've been taking over the last year and realized they all relate to my seemingly unquenchable desire to travel and explore the world.  Not all are far away places, but they're still explorations of my world.  So, be on the lookout for a new gallery on my website soon: Wanderlust.  I feel very hopeful that this will come together as a nice cohesive body of work.

Life Support Photo: Fundraiser for Japan

If you're thinking of making a charitable donation to help the victims of the tragic earthquake/tsunami in Japan, consider doing so through Life Support Photo.   Organized by Wall Space Gallery in Santa Barbara and Aline Smithson of Lenscratch,  Life Support Photo is offering limited edition prints for purchase.  All proceeds will be donated to Direct Relief for medical aid and Habitat for Humanity for rebuilding

Each 8.5" x 11" image is available in an edition of 10 for $50.  This is a great way to donate to charity while adding to your art collection.  Please take a look by clicking here.  Editions have already sold out, so don't wait!

Below is my contribution, Blooms on Bodensee; I shot it while traveling in Germany this past fall. Bodensee is an incredible mountain lake we stumbled on en route to Freiberg from Munich. 

I can't even begin to imagine what its like to have your world shaken to the ground and washed away.  I'm grateful for the amazing photo community that put this together so we can contribute through our craft.

Click here to view the online sale.

Please pass this along to anyone you think might be interested.