I looked back on a journal entry I wrote here about 14 months ago where I realised that I had been so dejected by photography grade upon finishing high school, that I had spent a year in more or less haitus from photography. Upon realising this, I quickly made some goals. I had forgotten about this journal entry until I just found it today.

Among these goals were to take more photos, get my art out, enter more competitions, make connections with more artists, take every opportunity to keep photographing at more Larps. I feel that I have accomplished most of these in some way or another. Project 365 was the perfect project for me to get back into the habit of taking photos, trying new things and really pushing myself to improve my skills. I loved it and am doing it again in 2011. I entered every competition that was feasible and had my work exhibited a few times. I photographed a LOT of larps and in both 2010 and 2011 I released and sold larp calendars. I have also shot two weddings (with two more lined up) and a school ball (which I will never do again). I have had a lot of good experiences and it is safe to say that everyone knows me as either the Photo-Ninja or the girl who always takes photos. Noone is surprised to see me with a camera, it is more uncommon to see me without.

I still however found it surprising that even at my gym I am known as a photographer and I was asked by one of the trainers to give some feedback on her daughter's photos as she was just starting out and wanted some help.

I found this quite a valuable experience. She had a good eye for composition and what I assume was an intuitive understanding of what makes a good photo. I did however give her the following advice:

"What I think you need to focus on is getting a bit more experimental with your subject matter. I am guessing that you've been taking photos mostly of things in your immediate surroundings (because I did the exact same thing when I was starting out!). Here are some ways to push yourself a bit further:

- Going on a photo walk with some friends: plan out a route or just explore and take an hour or two (or even more) just wandering around and shooting anything that catches your eye. Me and my friend once started at Britomart, walked through the city to Ponsonby, behind Ponsonby to some abandoned trains, through the domain and along some bushwalks to Newmarket and then back to town. Especially while the weather is this nice it can be a lot of fun.

- Competitions are usually a good way to explore different themes and ideas. There is never any harm in entering and you might be surprised what happens.

As I say, theres a lot out there and having a 'theme' to work around can be a good way to explore new ideas in photos.

There is no golden rule for photography but the piece of advice I give to everyone is to just take lots of photos, simple as that. Last year I did this thing called Project 365 where the aim is to take photos everyday and to upload one for each day. Pretty simple concept but it really forces you to take your camera with you everywhere, try different lighting condition, different subject matter, different styles, different locations and by doing so, really forcing yourself to be constantly thinking about composing a shot and gaining those skills to adapt to different situations. One of the most useful skills I learned was taking photos in low light conditions (without flash - I really dislike flash). And it is a fantastic way to document your life and the people and places around you to look back on in later years. Ultimately, the more photos you take, the more practice you are getting and practice makes perfect!

Another thing I encourage is getting some photos actually printed out at a photolab from time to time. It is completely different seeing your pictures printed out as opposed to on screen. Always opt for 'lab' prints rather than 'Kiosk' prints.

Finally, I find it really easy to get intimidated by how awesome other people are at photography and how much better  and expensive cameras and lenses they have than me. I would  definitely encourage looking online at what other people are doing in websites such as Flickr or DeviantArt, always good for inspiration but don't get overwhelmed. There's some extremely talented people out there. At the end of the day, if you really enjoy photography, do it for you and for the enjoyment of it. It has become an important hobby for me and I have loved it since I picked up my first camera about five years ago. I don't know what prompted you to start or where you hope to take it but I hope that you may find as much joy in it as I have and that my email has been helpful."


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What I said in November 2009 remains true to this day: "At the end of the day, I am not a professional photographer. I am not a photography student. I am not going to go off and be a photographer as career. I do it because I love it; I love the thrill of getting THAT perfect shot, I love the feedback I get from others and I love being behind the camera (even if it means I'm not often in front of it). "

As awesome as my photography adventures of 2010 have been, 2011 is my last year of my degree so hopefully by the end of this year I will have a Bachelor of Creative Technologies along with my name and so all my strength will be prioritizing my university projects and photography takes up so much of my time that I have to pull back on it a bit. But it will always be an important part of my life and I still have a few exciting projects and photo worthy events coming up. May the deviations keep coming.