Here in Australia it is Autumn. The days are getting shorter although the weather is still quite warm and people are still out enjoying the beach.
I actually took these photos this week for a 52 Week Project I am doing . This week the theme was “activity” after being unsuccessful capturing anything all week I returned to the beach yesterday and captured a few people engaged in different activities during the last few hours of daylight.
Thought it was time I updated my pinned post. Cant believe it’s been 4 years since I started my Website.
April 2016
Welcome to my Photography Portfolio. I’m currently doing a 366 day project rather than post everyday, which you can see on my Flickr and Instagram. I’ll be sharing my fav photo of the week and also keeping you upto date with my Tree, Autumn and Reflection Projects. I hope you stick around and enjoy my photos.
I’ve become fascinated with the history of how colour is produced for both film and painting since learning about the limited supply of colour film (I am still waiting for an order of colour film I placed in May) and certain pigments particularly ultramarine which inspired the creation of beyond the sea an ongoing series of digitally painted photos. Whether it is a limit of raw materials or a supply issue I’m not entirely sure though it has sparked an interest and i’ve been doing lots of experimenting and research and have lots more ideas using light, dyes inks and pigments.
Verdigris Tree is an exploration into the history of the colour green. The production of the colour green has a fascinating history and all sorts of toxic materials were used initially including arsenic to create different hues of green. Another e ne of the original green pigments was also made from the oxidisation of copper when it turns green. The transformation of this process interested me and prompted me to create this piece I documented the change of colour with this amazing product that transforms into the beautiful verdigris green over a few minutes and of course made a video to accompany the image which can be viewed by viewing the image of Verdigis Tree on a computer and viewing the QR code on your phone which will bring up the instagram filter effect that is activated by the image of of the Verdigris Tree to view the video.
.. The piece was initially created for the theme renew for a group exhibition – which didn’t actually transpire as I got the cut off dates wrong and missed the deadline. I did however enter it into the photo access art prize .
I’ve created a few other pieces inspired by colours and pigments currently using natural dyes and inks . I’m currently enjoying going with the flow and discovering and experimenting and learning while creating
Beyond the Sea, is an ongoing series of digitally painted black and white seascapes.Coated with a mixture of beeswax and tree resin -known as encaustic. Giving them luxurious, textured finish
With in each photo I have digitally painted the water with different hues of the illustrious pigment, ultramarine.As a lover of art and history, I am fascinated by the origins of paint ,Ultramarine was traditionally made by grinding down lapis lazuli and derives its name from the Latin Ultramarinus which means ‘Beyond the Sea’. – Hence the title of the series
During Covid pandemic ultramarine blue became a precious commodity with a limited supply and obtaining blue paint at the time was difficult. This as well as the shortage of Raw materials to produce colour photographic film and the difficulty of buying highlighted to me the state our resources are in and inspired me to create this series . I intentionally chose to display this captivating colour bl;ue in a digital form, showcasing its rarity and significance.
Beyond the Sea showcases the beauty of nature and the remarkable history of a prized pigment combined with thought-provoking images which intend to stimulate and educate, instilling a desire for safeguarding and reverence of our planet’s wonders
The Photos also activate an augmented reality filter which displays a 3 Dimensional layered animation I made with poetry composed by artificial intelligence.
To view the augmented reality filter : Use a computer to display Photo of Leave the Light On and scan the QRcode below with your phone to use the filter from my Instagram.View the Photo come to life through your phone.
To see more of Beyond the Sea series of Augmented Reality Encaustic photos they are currently being exhibited at Bourvardia Cocktail Bar Melbourne till the end of June.
Before I Share my favourite colour film photographs I took last year I thought I would do a post of my digital photographs particularly photos I created in response to 52 Frames a great weekly photography challenge I discovered last year .
I’ve attempted a few 52 week challenges over the years and have never succeeded this one was no different however i did get to 38 weeks before forgetting to do the photo and not continuing on.
I only realised when going through the photos to upload how many black and White Photos I took for the challenges . I’ve also added the theme
I’ve always enjoyed responding to briefs both professionally and with personal photography projects. However this year between work and focussing on creating a more cohesive portfolio and series of images I’m not committing to anything more than a post a week on here. You can also find me on instagram if you want to see more.
I am beginning the Year with my first post of 2023 on my neglected website by sharing 10 of my favourite black and white film photos i took in 2022.
I got back into film photography in 2021 and i enjoy experimenting with different techniques particularly double exposure , I develop the black and white film at home. I also shoot colour as well and may try and develop it at home too.I hope to create a portfolio of images either for an exhibition or a book this year.
I will also be updating my website and hope to post at least once a week and engage more in the community.
I have a few crystals I have collected over the years and was fortunate enough to find a crystal vein on our property years ago and collected alot of quartz crystals which unfortunately i have since misplaced.
Though as quartz and diamonds are mainly translucent and sparkly I’ve used images ive taken with my crystal ball using it as a lens to see through rather than focussing on its colour.
The crystal Ball causes refraction and turns the World up side Down
And because i feel i have gone completely of topic I have also included a moving image I took of my crystal ball and a tree with my 3D – 35mm camera which has 3 different lenses that simultaneously capture 3 different images of 3 different perspectives of the subject and when combined appear 3d.
It’s been so long since I’ve uploaded anything on here though I thought i would make an appearence by contributing to the lens Artist- #189 odds and ends challenge hosted by Tina.
This week the theme is “Odds and Ends” Initially I was going to include photos from a folder on my computer titled “random things” which is mainly lots of photos of random objects and photographic responses to briefs and themes I have done over the years.
Then I remembered a project I started while doing a short course on building a photographic portfolio last year . I was initially inspired by minimal landscape photos that I had taken over the years and used the word unclutter to link them all together. I then explored and documented my quest to be a minimalist and unclutter my home. I had been motivated by a statement I read from a minimalist book that stated that “we can be just as content with a photo of the object, than the object itself”.
I had planned to photograph all my odds and ends before I threw them out and then make a conceptual response to this project . I did do lots of uncluttering and took lots of photos and made some videos (which i’ll upload below of more odds and ends). I did however lack motivation as areas I uncluttered became cluttered again . Though i will revisit it more in the future .
Here is a selection of odds and ends i took which remind me of their existence. Am I sad I no longer have them , No they weren’t valuable as such just nostalgic so its nice to have an image to remind me.
A selection of some of the Odds and Ends I photographed before I donated them to op shop.
I also made a few timelapse videos of the process of uncluttering odds and ends. This one is suggesting how images of minimalist landscapes can assist with the motivation of uncluttering .
Zoé Haynes-Smith Photography 