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August 2, 2017

Share Six Blog Circle – Artificial Light | July 2017

Massachusetts Photographer | Share Six Artificial Light | ©CeriHerdPhotography

This month’s Share Six theme, {Artificial Light}, was my choice! OOohhhh….! Does that surprise you? I’m certainly not known for using artificial light in my images and it’s probably the area of photography where I feel least confident. I use studio lighting for my newborn work but that is always the same, a predictable, reliable and simple set up. That said, I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t pushing myself to learn something new or to broaden my horizons. So here I am stepping outside my comfort zone, sharing images I wouldn’t normally pull from my files and dragging the rest of you along for the ride!

There are a few other reasons I chose {artificial light} for our latest theme. It might seem contrary to normal documentary shooting of the summer months, but I was living with the prospect of 120°F heat and being confined to the house during daylight hours for the summer months. That is perhaps fairly superficial reasoning, but in truth {artificial light} gives us so many options: to document in our homes, in places we visit, on the street after dark, in studio, on camera flash, off camera flash…the possibilities are endless!

This is the image that sparked the idea for the theme. I adore him:

And then I found that I had a similar image of his brother! There are hi-tech kids, that’s for sure!

This image was taken at the Reunion Tower in Dallas, TX. He could’ve played with the light show and “About Dallas” touch screens all night!

These next two images were taken at the same place on the same night: ‘the Dallas Skyline with the reflection of sunset’ and ‘light painting’ (which uses a slow shutter speed and intentional camera movement).

For my last two images for this month’s theme I chose a couple of recent unshared favourites. There is something haunting about each of these for me. I wonder if you see it too?

I hope you have taken this theme as a chance to learn or experiment, to try something new or step outside your comfort zone. I’m posting this blog almost a month late, right at the end of the theme’s cycle, because personal life things got in the way. There are just a couple of days to post your {artificial light} images to the Share Six facebook wall or use #sharesix_artificiallight on Instagram. I’m really impressed with all the submissions I’ve seen so far. You have until August 5th, 2017. Keep them coming!

~Ceri

March 21, 2017March 21, 2017

White Sands National Monument | Documentary Photography

White Sands Photography | Scottsdale Photographer | ©CeriHerdPhotography

Spring Break has a wonderful habit of coinciding with my birthday, so lucky me has a habit of making celebratory road trip plans. This year, somewhat selfishly, I decided we should visit Texas. I’d be lying if I didn’t say the entire purpose of the trip was to go to Waco, the home of Chip and Joanna Gaines of Magnolia Market and of Fixer Upper fame. BUT that also meant I searched out all the places to visit on along the route that we might never have otherwise seen. I’d also be lying if I didn’t say that many of our destinations, regardless of the trip, are chosen on their photographic merits. Oh boy, did I have had high hopes for our first port of call!

The first day of our Texas Road Trip 2017 didn’t actually get us to Texas however; it was nonetheless a long day of driving, from Arizona to White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. When I mentioned this plan to my dad he said, “oh, they test missiles there!” (yes, White Sands Missile Range is nearby) but there is more to it than that! Here’s how the National Park Service website describes White Sands:

“Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world’s great natural wonders – the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world’s largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this unique dunefield, along with the plants and animals that live here.”

We arrived shortly before sunset, just in time to play on the dunes and watch the sun dip below the distant Organ Mountains.

Taekwondo on the dunes

We spent the night in Alamogordo and returned the following morning to do some sledging. The Park Service sell used sledges and buy them back from you once you’re done; you have no time restriction and can keep them if you have so much fun you can’t bear to part with it. There is no restrictions about where you can go on the dunes so we had plenty of space and our choice of dune despite the other visitors in the park. Although there is no photographic evidence that I joined in, I assure you I did! Despite my reservations about the height and acute angle of the slope, it was so much fun!

We had such a great time and we were still picking sand out of deep dark “places” a week later!

After the sledging we took a walk along a boardwalk to see more of the ecosystem. I imagine the area looks quite astounding when the wildflowers are in bloom and is unbearable in the heat of the summer.

Understandably, the kids were exhausted after all the sledging. Walking up sand dunes is a tiring business, let me tell you!

If you’re ever in New Mexico I would definitely recommend a visit to White Sands. Whether you’re a photographer or there just to have fun, there is so much beauty to be seen and enjoyed.

After our morning at the dunes we visited the Space Museum in Alamogordo (just the outside of the museum actually, but even that was worth it) and then hit the road again. The next stop on our trip was Carlsbad Caverns; a place worthy of it’s own blog post!

~Ceri

March 14, 2017March 13, 2017

Artists Inspired Blog Circle | March 2017 – Green

Scottsdale Photographer © Ceri Herd Photography

I had a plan for this month’s installment of the Artists Inspired blog circle. A clear and concise plan. 10 days before publishing the blog we would be travelling to Texas for Spring Break (which happily coincides with my birthday each year) and I was bound to find lots of {green} there. Surely!

…except I had it in my head I was looking for orange and made no attempt to search out green at all!

Anyhow, no matter. A day at Big Bend National Park presented me with plenty of green to share with you.

…but then, two days after we returned home from our epic road trip, having already selected my {green} images and with only 2 days until I have to post my blog link, as I was enjoying a dog walk at dusk, I was struck by just how much green there is in the valley at this time of year, more so than either of our previous years here thanks to winter rain showers. One week away and the valley has exploded with colour and life in our absence; the air is thick with the smell of blossom! I couldn’t not share it with you! I hope these few images, taken in somewhat of a hurry, capture a sense of that life.

These first two may not look like much but there is grass! Grass where I’ve never seen grass growing before! Green where normally there is brown! How cool is that?!

Ok so this last one isn’t actually from my dog walking route; it is from my original blog post with images from Big Bend National Park. I’m including it here because I loved the juxtaposition of the small and delicate wildflower being threatened and yet protected by the prickles of the spiky prickly pear.

This blog is part of the Artists Inspired Blog Circle series. Click here to continue the circle and see how talented photographer, Channon Williamson, interpreted this month’s theme. Be sure to follow the links all the way round to complete the full circle.

The Artists Inspired Blog Circle is made up of an exceptionally talented group of photographers from all walks of life, from all over the world. They are wives, mothers, friends, daughters and visual storytellers who draw from their own experiences to create art that is inspiring, unique, beautiful and thought-provoking.

March 6, 2017March 3, 2017

Share Six Blog Circle | March 2017 – Restore

Scottsdale Creative Photographer | ©CeriHerdPhotography

I am thrilled and honoured to be to joining the talented Share Six team! Share Six is a group of photographers who blog 6 images each month; each month is a different theme. This month our theme is {restore} and what a wonderful theme to kick start my involvement!

As 2016 came to a close I was competing my 365 (in fact 365 + 3 months). I was completely burnt out from the pre-Christmas rush and the endless months of daily shooting. In the last days of December and moving into the New Year, I was not thrilled with anything I produced. I couldn’t find any artistry or *see* what I was looking for. At all.

As January passed by and I took some time away from the camera, I continued with the struggle. My desire to create was still strong but my fear of failing stopped me from picking up my camera.

At the beginning of February I had a sudden realisation that I needed to make an effort to change my mood. This funk was not going to go away by itself.

In order to love the final image, I need to love the process of creating it.

In these past few weeks I have been attempting to {restore} myself. I took some time to focus on the specific aim of “creating.” My Share Six images where not specifically taken for this blog but they were taken specifically to restore my artistic soul. I played with each of my favourite creative techniques, techniques that push me technically and artistically. All of these images (apart from one) was taken within a one hour time frame around noon on a bright and sunny day. You’ll will see which is a different time of day (it was the following afternoon, with much lower and more golden light).

Freelensing

ICM – Intentional Camera Movement

In-Camera Double Exposure

Shooting Through : Prism

Macro

Shooting Through: Convex Lens

Over the coming months I’ll be doing a series of “how to” blog posts explaining how and why I do these different techniques. If you’d like to keep up to date with those posts make sure you subscribe to have them delivered them directly to your inbox >>

I hope you enjoyed seeing how I {restore} my creative soul. Time to stop being burned out and overwhelmed with the catch-up task ahead!

Please click HERE to see the talented Aubrey Dettmer of Applewood Photography’s interpretation of this months theme.

Join us for this month’s theme by posting your {restore} images on our Facebook page at Share Six and to our Instagram gallery, by tagging #sharesix and #sharesix_restore. A new theme will be posted on 6th April.

October 30, 2016March 20, 2018

{Inspired by…} | Scottsdale Photographer

To be {inspired by…} great photographers is not to imitate; it is not to impersonate. It is to look at their art, to soak it in, to think about their thought processes and let those guide you in yours. It is not to copy but to allow your style to be influenced and to open your eyes to new possibilities.

By HeArt, a wonderful online community of photographers, hosted an entire month of {inspired by} themes. I was so inspired, I felt compelled to put my submissions into a blog post. So here it is!

Francesca Woodman ~ Francesca Stern Woodman was an American photographer best known for her black and white pictures featuring either herself or female models [Wikipedia].

Influenced by Francesca Woodman — Inspired by Francesca Woodman

Check out the winners for this theme (not mine, but the winners truly are stunning) here.

Imogen Cunningham ~ Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer known for her botanical photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes [website].

Inspired by Imogen Cunningham Theme Winner

See all winners for this theme here.

Ansel Adams ~ Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist. His black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park, have been widely reproduced on calendars, posters, and books [website].

Check out the winners for this theme (again, not mine but the winners are inspiring in their own right) here.

Henri Cartier-Besson ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35 mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and conceived of photography as capturing a decisive moment [Wikipedia].

Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson, theme winner

See all the theme winners here.

I hope you enjoyed this look through a month of my image submissions. People often ask what the benefits are for submitting to By HeArt, other Facebook-based communities and their weekly competitions. To them I say this: researching and studying these photographers has given my own work a new lease on life, I have been inspired to try new things, I have found a new method and a new confidence for creating for black and white images. These pages are integral to my photographic and artistic development. They push me to be the best that I can be. I will be forever grateful to these pages for their support, their encouragement and the inspiration that they provide.

Love~ Ceri