http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:gillybeenz&section=today deviantART RSS for by:gillybeenz en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:02:37 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/26375855/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/26375855/ Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:28:18 PDT
Since the light had gone, we went back to Michelle's house to do Nadine's quicky shoot. I don't have lights or any fancy equipment, so I pushed the ISO up (my advisors tell me never to go higher than 800) and we whipped the shades off two table lamps, and the shoot was on! The pics are pretty grainy as a result, and I botched the DOF in most of them (stupid mistake!), but its all part of the learning curve. At least now when I stuff up, I know why!

Thats progress.

We had heaps of fun and Nadine's happy with her pics - and thats what really counts at the end of the day.

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/26247075/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/26247075/ Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:33:46 PDT
On Saturday I did a shoot with my niece, Michelle, in our wheat fields. Jordy (~Jordee) did the make up and styling and her friend Nadine was reflector-girl. I don't have a real reflector, so we ended up using one of those shiny dashboard-protector thingys - it got the job done, sort of.

Not only is Jords a frikkin good MUA and stylist, but she was SO helpful with the actual shoot - her experience was invaluable to both me/myself (?) and the model. Thank you Jordy!!

After Michelle's shoot, and with the waning light, we went to Michelle's house where we ended up doing a shoot with Nadine - but more about that when the pics are ready to upload.

For now though, a few pics of my beautiful niece, Michelle

PS: Its a mircale we got this shoot done considering the fact that we were all hungover as hell from a debauched girls night the night before!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/26042810/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/26042810/ Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:05:24 PDT FuzzyYak & *TehHuskeh) generously offered Jordan (~Jordee) and I the use of their studio for a shoot she had in mind.

Jordan is a pro, so being asked to do a shoot with her blew my mind to begin with. She may be my daughter, but when it comes to photography and modelling, she's the grown up in the relationship! And after all the C&C I've received with the editing this week, I can safely attest to her being a bullying parent! But her crits were spot on, and I've learnt a ton this week. Thank you Jordee!!!

And thanks to my surrogate husbands for the use of their studio and lights!

Results of the shoot are here:
[link]
[link]

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/25686918/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/25686918/ Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:25:56 PDT
Take care.

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/25156916/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/25156916/ Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:18:56 PDT
Thanks.

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/24716500/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/24716500/ Tue, 12 May 2009 07:40:40 PDT
It wasn't as though I had to set up lights or organise a make-up artist, so I just played it by ear. I did her make up - which came out pretty well considering my severe lack of practice in that department, and then we just played around with settings and poses. We had so much fun and I did get some good shots, but best of all is that we both learnt a lot. For starters, I need a reflector! I badly need a reflector!!! For now though I'm just gonna use one of those revolting dashboard protectors with the shiny foil on it - should work. Nats had a lot of fun (which was the main purpose of the shoot) and we've agreed to do it again soon, but with more forethought and planning put into it.

It was really weird for me to edit beauty shots, since they are polar opposites to my normal gritty, textured portraits. But once again I learnt a lot, and I had my strictest critic (~Jordee) giving me invaluable advice along the way - thanks Jords! I do, however, have issues when it comes to 'cheating' in the name of beauty - with my normal portraits, its the supposed flaws that make the shot and define the subject; but with beauty pics you have to remove those flaws. Eish!

Anyway, it was fun and I'm looking forward to giving it another shot one of these days - with a reflector and a plan!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/24286302/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/24286302/ Fri, 17 Apr 2009 06:42:11 PDT
Have a good weekend, guys!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/24256835/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/24256835/ Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:14:17 PDT
Anyway, I took some 'snaps' to the people today and their reactions are always fun. Some bitch, some laugh, but they're all just happy to have a photo! The guys who've been photographed and don't have a pic to prove it are starting to nag - I've created a monster! But I told them I'll go back on the weekend and they're all chuffed. I'm starting to wonder what will await me...I have a feeling they're gonna be dolled up to the nines, which could be a lot of fun!

So maybe this weekend I'll take my standard lens and see what I can do with it, or maybe I'll continue to play with my baby lens, but take longer shots. Either way, with these guys as my subjects I can only get good shots! Whether or not I take them properly remains to be seen.

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/24165184/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/24165184/ Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:58:45 PDT
Some of the women just posessed the camera. I found myself mumbling 'the camera frikkin LOVES you'inanely over and over again. Not that they knew wtf I was saying - I was just so astounded at the way these women photographed! Beyooootiful!!! Its not easy though, since some speak Pedi, some Shangaan, some Portuguese and some Afrikaans. Most of the men speak either Portuguese or Afrikaans, so thats okay, but my Pedi leaves a lot to be desired and my Shangaan is non existant! I get so fucking confused eventually! But its fun just experiencing the vibe. The little kids walk along with me, and eventually I have about 5 kids demanding to see the screen after each shot. Or else its the guys standing behind me giving styling tips to whoever I'm photographing. Eventually I have to tell them to shutup in 4 languages so I can take the damn photograph - and then they all piss themselves laughing!

I was chuffed cause most of my pics were in focus today, and I got the settings right most of the time. Suddenly I was even aware of what was going on in the background and the cropping. It all just felt a lot easier and a lot more relaxed. I got the old men to smile, and when I showed them the difference between the 'ID' pic and the expressive pic, they decided that 'donna Julia' was the best photographer in the world. Annie Liebowitz herself could not have had a better day!

Happy Easter guys, whatever it means to you.

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/24104232/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/24104232/ Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:07:08 PDT
[link]

I'll be signing autographs at the farmer's co-op after church on Sunday - please wear shoes!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/23979798/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/23979798/ Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:00:27 PDT
Then I went down to one of the farm compounds with my camera (about 5pm). Saturday arvie in the compounds is always a pretty festive place to be. There was the usual party bunch nagging me drunkenly for 'snaps', the union heavies who wanted an impromptu meeting (I avoided that!), the cool dudes charfing the young women at the wash troughs, the soccer fanatics all crowded around the TV analysing the game they'd just watched... everyone was busy with something. I love spending time down there cause I'm always warmly welcomed and I love the vibe. Plus there are some stunning photo ops.

Unfortunately my photographic prowess is still sorely lacking, so lots of the pics were too dark - its not easy photographing dark skins in natural light, I have decided. But there are a few I'm quite chuffed with, and will post them soon.

The pics on dA are a lot darker than they appear on my monitor in PS and I don;t know how to fix that. I'll just have to wait for my guru to come and visit to help me correct that. Oh, and its his birthday today!! Happy birthday Sugarlips! (FuzzyYak)

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/23876500/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/23876500/ Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:35:06 PDT
I joined Flickr awhile back and have been inspired by some of the groups to work on the pics I took while we were in Cape Town - I love urban African scenes, so am searching through the blurry stuff to find some good 'uns to work on and post.

The farm is back in full production, so I need a distraction to ease the frustration of dealing with frikkin supermarket buyers, and farmers who think paper work is using two-ply instead of one!

The more I go through my CT pics, the more I miss CT! What I miss the most about it is the positive vibe. With elections coming up, the country seems more divided than ever and politicians are at their scaley worst - its so depressing, especially in the platteland. Then you have too much rain for the crops, seed and chemical prices increasing, retailers making ridiculous demands, farmers bitching...

I miss Cape Town!!! I miss the colour-blind city where people know how to live and make the most of each day - I miss the stimulation!

I shall just have to find stimulation in my pics and my paintings instead - pretty good motivation, I guess.

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/23443926/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/23443926/ Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:29:42 PST
I went and fetched Jordy from Pta on Thursday, and while there bought all the wherewithal for making...sushi!! So today we try our hand at (1) not burning the rice and (2) getting it to stick together around the fish 'n avo...fashion sarmies, here we come! We also want to try making salmon roses. If it works, I should be posting some pics of the results. Jords bought me a cocktail shaker, so whether or not our sushi is succesful, we'll still be having a good afternoon!

I'll try and get the pics in focus, but no guarantees!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/23229382/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/23229382/ Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:42:52 PST
I've been messing around with the pics in LR this avie (I loooove LR!) and will get a little more serious about it all this evening with PS. So watch this space!

This is so much more fun than painting!!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/22759653/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/22759653/ Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:52:54 PST
]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/22684309/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/22684309/ Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:48:56 PST
I took tons of photos, learnt a lot about photography and my camera from Nick, and even bought a lens - a 50mm 1:1.8 baby lens which I love! As soon as I've caught up on my farm work I'll start going through my pics in earnest and start posting.

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21527862/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21527862/ Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:30:05 PST
The bunch of pics I'm uploading now are all from that day - once again, please give me constructive criticism.

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21498622/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21498622/ Sat, 15 Nov 2008 09:53:51 PST
Only 2 weeks till CT, so I had better get some practice shots in next week.

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21400123/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21400123/ Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:10:05 PST
Thanks Shane and Johann for another brilliant weekend and for Lightroom...and Shane: we're quits!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21356136/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21356136/ Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:54:38 PST
The combines cut the wheat and store the kernels in vast tanks until they're full, then they drive up to the trucks and the wheat comes shooting out of this spout thats suspended above the rim of the truck. I thought it would be quite cool to photograph the wheat from below as it poured out of the spout and into the truck. I planned the shot, took experimental shots with different settings in situ while I waited for the combine to fill up. But eventually I got bored and climbed off the truck (risking life and limb) to go and shoot the actual combine in the lands.

I battled with the settings and only learnt later in front of my pc, that an LCD screen is not always reliable! But I took tons of crap photos of the combines until one FINALLY drove up to the truck... and then my battery went flat! &%$@#!

It was too hot to go up today, but maybe I'll drag myself out of bed early tomorrow morning and try again!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21259470/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21259470/ Sat, 01 Nov 2008 05:41:20 PDT
I'm posting 5 pics from yesterday - please crit them so I can learn! It was late afternoon and the skies were heavy, so I set the camera to 100 ISO and played around with shutter speed - I even used flash fill in some shots!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21248474/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21248474/ Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:31:14 PDT
]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21168493/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21168493/ Sun, 26 Oct 2008 09:38:54 PDT
So if theres anyone out there who can tell me what I've done and how to fix it, I'd be eternally grateful. I've asked our resident genius, FuzzyYak, for help, but I suspect he has more important things to worry about today than my button pushing dilemma! (We're rooting for you, J!)

So no photographs to reveal this week - well, not unless you wanna see them on my camera!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21056144/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/21056144/ Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:55:10 PDT
So for the next couple of weeks I'm going to be posting my attempts at photography. I am very happy to receive constructive criticism - I may not always understand what it means, but I'll find out and implement it! Hopefully by December 1st I'll be capable of taking half decent pics and actually remember how I took em!

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/20432810/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/20432810/ Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:36:12 PDT
How the hell does Fuzzy Yak get thumbnails in his journal? Do I have to be a subsriber to do that? I was going to add a few pictures of the studio in progress, but now you'll just have to wait for photos of the end product.

]]> *gillybeenz http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/19928600/ http://gillybeenz.deviantart.com/journal/19928600/ Wed, 13 Aug 2008 05:47:59 PDT
The good news is that I am building myself a studio, finally!! My original studio in my home was waylaid and became a home office - and me, paperwork and paints do not go well together!

It should be about another 2 weeks before completion, and then I can move in and get creative! They say that if you want something, you should create the right environment and the rest will follow. Well, I suspect this to be true, because since deciding upon the studio, I have been inundated with ideas and the creative juices are flowing!

So hopefully it won't be too long before I can start posting some art work again.

]]> *gillybeenz