Time to move on - Dubai here I come!

If you follow my other photography blog http://shippeyphotography.blogspot.com/ you already know by now that I am moving house and to be more specific all the way to Dubai from Taba Heights. I am very excited about the move, so many potential working projects that are opening up its doors for me. I just need to grab the ones I want!

Happy New Year to you! I hope that 2011 have great prospects for you. Me I am certain that it holds loads of good opportunities and good changes for me!

Hope to see you in Dubai next week or later on somewhere around the world.

Another day in the life of me.

Hi,
The other day I got a facebook message from a friend where her mother in-law to be was asking for the images that I took of a wedding that we all attended back in August this year... oh dear did I promise something that I have not delivered on yet? I know a lot of people attending wanted to see my images but I did actually never promise to put them out somewhere for them to see... So technically I haven't but anyway I have since yesterday been trying to figure out how to put the images all 300 of them on my website but without them really being linked to my official website, since these images will have no interest to most people out there unless you attended this wedding of course. I had an epiphany the other night it was actually thanks to my sister she just had her family photographs taken in the states (me being located a bit too far away) and they were uploaded on the photographers website but not through her official one so I thought if she can do it why can't I and to be honest once I figured it out it was dead easy. Well saying that it is still uploading and it is taking ages... but in theory very easy. What took most of my time is not only the uploading but the creating of the web gallery. I am making it in Aperture also easy you click and choose which images etc. and then press create, now my computer have virtually no memory space left so everything and anything that I am doing on my computer is taking ages right now so annoying. I am on my third upload attempt to my website I think it will work now once it is all there. The first two times I had the wrong folder names on some of the html pages which means that the links wont work because they cant find each other etc. you get the picture I was not happy when I realized it and after trying to change manually again realizing that it is so many pages and places that need changing it will be a lot quicker to make a whole new gallery. Do I have to tell you that it takes just as long to delete a folder on my website as it did creating it? Well it does. While my computer was thinking this afternoon I went over to a friends house for a chat. I hope I am almost done now Yey!
This morning before I started on my web gallery adventure I was out capturing some great images of the golden hour which here is between 07.00 - 08.00 anytime after that unless it is afternoon is not a great time to take photographs the sun is just too high in the sky. I got some great images of the mountains looking all golden very nice. I wanted to do some more shots but the sun went too hight too quickly so need to make anohter early photo shoot to get everything in my plan done. I also saw a few shots that would look great in afternoon light due to where the sun is in the morning so will have to plan that in later on. What I did not like this morning was that my camera gear got so dusty it did not feel like it was very windy but I had to keep on taking the sand dust off the lens several times. Not ideal.

Happy 1st of Advent everyone!

Hope you have gotten into the Christmas feel now, I decorated our house yesterday so it is now looking as Christmasy as it ever will. I also made homemade mulled wine (glögg) that I have had brewing over night so I have had some of that and some ginger bread cookies today together with listening to Christmas songs trying to get into the Christmas feel. It is otherwise a bit hard for me to get into the Christmas feeling when it is 26C outside and sunny. How is the weather where you live?
Have you celebrated 1st of advent today? If you have how did you celebrate? In Sweden its traditional to light the first candle on the advent candle holder. I unfortunately could not find any candles at home yesterday only the advent candle holder its always something missing isn't it?
My photo shoots last friday that I  told you about both went well I have not had time to go through all the images from the latest shoot but the one I had during the afternoon are all done and delivered to the client it is always nice when you have finished a job so that you can concentrate on a new one.
I have now started a personal project that I will have going beside my regular work that will be of producing more Abstract Photo Art I really enjoy doing it. I will also produce a few different kinds of calendars for 2011 it is after all time to buy a new calendar very soon if you are in the market for one. I will have all mine ready for purchase at Red Bubble.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/hshippey 

Well I better go and get ready I am invited to a party at the Hyatt Regency Taba Heights this afternoon.
Catch you all later.
Helen

Dance show Photography.

I have just finished cleaning my camera sensor and charged all my batteries so I am totally ready for this afternoon and evenings photo shoot.
First I will take some tournament presentation photographs then after dinner the fun begins with photographing a dance show hope I can get into the rhythm. :-)
I hope it will not be too windy either tonight it has a tendency to be more windy during the afternoon/evening here than it is during the day. I will use my Canon 5D together with my Canon 70-200mm 2.8f  L IS USM lens to get those lovely close up shots in low light.

Keep your fingers crossed for some great photography tonight. Its all about the performance and the dance costumes don't you think? I am hoping for something colourful. Like these.

I have been feeling very patriotic today wearing my Sweden T-shirt, but I guess I better go and change before my photo assignments.
Ta ta.
Have a lovely weekend I certain will. I do know what I will be doing on Sunday... at least where my hubby will be for most of the day and that is watching The Dubai World Championship Golf Tournament I will of course sneak some peeks here and there as well but I can seldom sit for a whole tournament part from the Ryder Cup I was totally hooked then day and night. That was some great golf on display!
Ps. I played on the Earth Course where the tournament is on now in July and it was a great course to play on I must admit, it also looks very well manicured from what I saw on TV yesterday.
Cheers,
Helen

Swedish Wedding!

Back from a few weeks break.

Well it wasn’t only a break I was of course busy using my camera as well! You can’t really go far without it if you are an avid photographer as I am.

I have now started to blog for a Swedish newspaper in Swedish so for all my fans that can read Swedish please take a look at this link. I am posting almost everyday. If you don’t know how to read Swedish maybe you can try Google’s free language translator will probably be a bit hilarious at times ;-) the translation that is maybe not my writing… ha ha. Hopefully my writing will be  a bit more witty as well. It’s a different kind of blog from this one so don’t be shy take a peek.

http://bblat.se/bloggar/fotobloggen

Whilst in Sweden I was assisting at a Swedish Wedding in Västerås, which was great fun. I was helping out Photographer Henrik Sunvisson that does loads of weddings in the Västerås area of Sweden. You can see his work through this link he does some remarkable portraits. http://www.henkasfoto.blogg.se/ and http://www.uppdragmedia.se/

I recommend that even if you are an established photographer to go out and help/assist or be the second shooter with another photographer once in a while you will have great fun for one thing and you always learn something, you will both act differently for the same shot for sure.

Photo Shoot

Hi there,

Those of you that follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter (@hshippey) already knows that yesterday afternoon/evening I was busy doing a photo shoot for a client.

It always seems like no matter how much you plan ahead for the unforeseen you still need to be ready for it. Yesterday I arrived in good time to scout the location and plan where to take the images check the light etc. I took a few images in different areas of the room to check where was the best. I decided it was best by the window so that I got the people back lit and then use my Speedlite 580EXII Flash to light their faces. Due to some of unforeseen obstacles from the clients we could not start the shoot until very late and of course by the time we could start the sun was long gone and therefore one of my light sources with it. So in the end I only had my flash.

What to learn from this experience…. Always plan what you want to do and achieve thoroughly and be ready to do something totally different to save the day!

I better get busy sending the images to the client so that they can send out their press releases.

Till next time Happy Shooting.

New Website Design on its way!

I have for a while now been thinking of changing the design of my webpage and I have now decided that I will do it. I must stay that it is a bit daunting a lot to sink my teeth into. Both in regards to choosing images for the galleries, deciding gallery categories, writing the text and the actual design, Think User Friendly. I myself do not stay long on a website that is difficult to understand and navigate.

I have decided I will make it very different from what is up and running at the moment and that is a big step in itself because I have made that design from scratch and I actually like it but I still feel that my clients that is You will get more out of a webpage with more images on so that you can see more of what I have done in the past and get a proper feel for my capabilities behind the lens. I will also be adding my design side to the website as well since I also do a lot of copywriting/press releases, proof reading and designing advertisements for companies. I have so far not advertised that side of my work and have therefore only gotten work through word of mouth which is the best way to get work to be honest also the easiest and most cost effective since you do not have to spend a penny on advertising it.

Well that is a bit of what I will be working on in the foreseen future. I know I have also promised to upload more of my images that I have recently taken. I will I promise. I believe a clever person once said: “Patience is a virtue”.

I have loads to do so I better get started…. So Over and out for now.

-Helen