women

So I'm at the start of writing a major essay (8000 words) for university. My title is 'Self and Gender: Feminism, the Self-Portrait and its Importance within Contemporary Art and Photography'.

I got many books from the library all full of wonderful female photographers.

I wanted to post what I think are some of the most interesting women photographers, for you to see and hopefully be inspired by!

Alice Austen 'Trude & I Masked, Short Skirts' (1891)

Ana Casas Broda 'Self Portrait' - From 'Album' (1989-91)

Berenice Abbott 'Self Portrait with Beret' (1948)

Imogen Cunningham 'Self Portrait' (1958)

Toni Fressell 'Weeki Wachi Spring, Florida' (1947)

Vivian Maier 'Self Portrait' (1956)

Anne W.Brigman 'The Spirit of Photography' (1905)

Francesca Woodman 'Space², Providence, Rhode Island' (1975-1978)

There are hundreds more inspirational women photographers that would take me years to get through...

Warhol - Late Selfs

Today I had to go to Sheffield to go to the hospital (nothing to worry about), but before I went there I took a quick detour to the Graves Gallery to visit the Andy Warhol - Late Self Portraits exhibition which is hosted by Artists Rooms.

I could only grab a couple of photos while no one was looking...

This one is my favourite, there were around 14 polaroid self portraits, along with a giant canvas, several screen prints and a graphite sketch.

If you're at all interested in Warhol or the self portrait then get to Sheffield Graves Gallery and take a look!

In the next room where several different pieces of art, most in the form of self-portraiture including;

Sam Taylor-Wood

Helen Chadwick

book!

I have made a book of polaroids that anyone can buy if they wish.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1540099

distorted tazzy

My attempt at taking a self portrait with my cat. There was no chance this was gonna happen, but to be honest I like the outcome anyway. Dreamy.

sisters house

This past week I've been house and cat-sitting for my sister while she was in Egypt. It's been fun, I love having a house to myself, even though I dont act much differently, its nice.

Plus her house is kind of like a hotel, clean, crisp and glossy.

I finally got hold of some more Spectra, its seriously been too long.

Hopefully this weekend I will be taking lots of photo's and will be on here more often,

I promise.

...........

I recently got some more Fuji colour film but realised I had 2 shots of black and white Polaroid left in my 450 land camera so I used them up.

I've really been slacking lately and I hate myself for it, I've let other things get in the way that just really arent inportant to me at all.

I'm going to sort myself out as I start uni in just over a months time, I really cant wait!

This is my new favourite corner, it has most things I need (minus all my cameras).

Scanner, sewing machine, polaroids, Francesca Woodman & Nan Goldin books :)

cold feet

she's dead, wrapped in plastic

When I was at college I feel like I was maybe a bit more creative and probably enjoyed more creepy and sinister shoots. Like these few images I've posted. Some were for projects but most just for fun/for myself.

I miss it, and look forward to a lot more creative shoots in the future, I just need some willing models :)

(The first 3 are self-portraits)

i'm all out, pt 2

i'm also out of spectra film! last 3 shots for the time being :(

i'm all out

i'm all out of polaroid 600, these are my last 2 shots for the time being

selfs

ilford pan f / iso 50, taken on yashica mat tlr

frankie photo album

I should've done this a while ago, when the book first come out. But here it is, my contribution to The Frankie Photo Album made by Australia's Frankie Magazine.

I'm still really pleased about being chosen to show my work in this book, it's a pretty big deal for me. Knowing that people all over the world (hopefully) will have a book with MY photograph printed in it.

I'm hoping I get a lot more of this in the near future, everything thats happened with my photography being published is usually from being seen on Flickr, so I'm thankful for that.

And it's such a lovely book, featuring a lot of amazing photographers which I follow on flickr like Emily Hunt, Annette Pehrsson and, Shelbie Dimond.

Buy the book here!

This is the photo that Frankie featured.

it's coming back to me

My motivation, that is.

I got slightly worried the other week because I just wasnt taking photo's anymore, even though I sit and do nothing all day I wasnt making time to take photo's. So I made an effort and am pissed off at myself that I stopped for a couple of weeks.

Hopefully it will come to me naturally like it used to, from now on.

border or no border?

Today I got out my Polaroid 450 which has been sitting in a box under my bed for months! Still had some black and white 667 film in it. It's expired and it smells so bad!!!

I've never scanned any of my peel-aparts with the paper border still on, so I thought I'd give it a go and see if I liked the outcome. I think it works for some and not for others...

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Diane Arbus

I had never really explored Diane Arbus' work in the past, I briefly looked at her work when I was studying but never in detail. I have recently visited Edinburgh in which at their Scottish National Gallery they are holding a major exhibiton of her work. So I had to go and have a look while I was there because nowhere close to home would hold such a big exhibition of a great Photographer like Diane Arbus. I was quite blown away by the amount of work they had of hers and the sheer amazing quality of images.

I am a big fan of black and white film, especially medium format, hence my obsession with Francesca Woodman. So I was pleased to see that most of the images on display were her medium format ones.

In some rooms every photo had an explanation, which was nice but sometimes it took your attention away from the actual photograph. All of the photographs on display were portraits, mostly of 'freaks' as people call them, and normal people she had met on the street, got to know and been invited back to their homes to photograph them in a more personal surrounding. In the lobby of the gallery they had some clippings of local newspapers reviews of the exhibition, and I kept seeing the words; disturbing and unnerving, when describing some of her portraits, I didnt think this at all, and I cant really see how other people can think it. They're not disturbing, they're pretty fascinating.

Most of the photographs I saw were stunning, the most perfect prints you could think of. The subject matter was also always interesting.

Although Arbus was from a 'rich' background she thought of it more as a hindrance or an embaressing thing, and rarely took photographs of people in high society, but when she did it was almost as if she was mocking them or showing their true colours as being miserable underneath the facade of wealth and fortune.

My favourite of the lot is the image of twin sisters, I could stare at it for hours. Also, there was a rare self-portrait of Diane Arbus when she was pregnant with her first child in 1945, she had started documenting her pregnancy in photographs to send to her husband. It was a really beautiful shot. It really opened my eyes to what an amazing and inspiring photographer Diane Arbus was. And once again I find myself confused and annoyed that like Francesca Woodman, she commited suicide.

I think from now on I will probably use Diane Arbus' work as more of an inspiration than I would in the past. There really should be more exhibitions like this that are more accessible to people all over the UK. This exhibition was a part of the 'Artist Rooms Tour' which is in association with Tate Modern and I think this is what they are trying to achieve by putting on major exhibitions in smaller cities in the UK.

Here are just a few of Diane Arbus' inspiring portraits;