Pink Is Pink, Modern Retro Is In

Some of us girls love pink, some others hate it.

It is a very girlie affair we have with the color of pink. It can be vibrant and fun or romantically nostalgic and retro...

Today my tribute will be to the color of pink in a beauty shot.


In the coming weeks I will shoot a lot of things related to pink. Stayed tuned.

PS: This portrait was shot with Lumix G1 in my Montreal photography studio, and edited in PhotoShop.

Cheers to Pink...

Hera Bell

Telling A Love Story Through Images

Everyone has a story to tell. Every one of us fell in love at least once in our life.

How do you go about and tell a "Love Story"?

I had to go and dig through my old photo archives some shots for this topic.

I will only share one shot today with you. I have so many shots like this one.

This was shot many many years ago in Paris, with a Canon AE1 (manual film camera) a 50mm manual focus Canon lens, and TrIX B&W film 400 ISO pushed to 800 ISO. Developed and printed by me. Then scanned several years later..

Voila...


If you put a time line to love this would be towards the end of our life.

This image had been critiqued, published analysed by many.

They all had found back then that I was heavily influenced by Cartier Bresson.


"Above all, I craved to seize the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes. "

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Well, I was in Paris, much younger then I am today, shooting grainy B&W negatives and capturing street life. I guess they were right. I was influenced by the master.

May love shine upon you throughout your journey on Earth.

Cheers,

Hera Bell

Wonderful World Of Cell Phone Apps

The convenience of digital photography of shoot and look is being pushed further and further each and every day.

The days of learning about how to control your light while you shoot are way gone.

We live in an era, you shoot first, they you can edit. You don't need the know the fundamentals of photography. There is always PhotoShop to save you, or for some digital pro shooters where time is money, there are these mass production editing companies to rectify your badly light image files.

Intagrams are in vogue for most Iphone groupies. I must admit I have my favorite Intragram shooters. Too many are doing bad work and calling it art. But Roger Guetta is a rare find when it comes to Intagram experimentations. He is a local Montreal gem of a shooter. Visit his web site, you'll know what I mean. http://draman.tumblr.com/


I may sound like an old fart to many of you.

I differ otherwise...

I come from a film era. But I have embraced the digital way before digital cameras were affordable. This being said by scanning with high end scanners my negatives and creating my concept photography.

So I am not anti-digital. I am just against some ignorant photo experts...

This being said, I own a fabulous digital cell phone, you all know which one by now. Last Christmas my hubby got me a tablet.

A month ago I downloaded another app for android. Paper Camera... I only have it on my tablet. Once in a while I'll play with the camera part of my tablet. I prefer the cell phone to photograph stuff. Lighter and has the same high resolution.

I must admit, I now go back to an era where I used to sketch on paper. With a real pen and paper.

Now I have my paper camera app. Who needs real paper and real pen? In an instant I compose and it shoots the scenery I aim at as a well studied pastel sketch.

Check this out. A part of our living room shot minutes ago as is.


Talk about lazy artist... Instant gratification is much in vogue. I fell victime as well. :)

Voila, tata for tonight. I leave you my digital pen in hope to hear from you.

Cheers,

Hera Bell

My Upcoming Photography Exhibit At Centaur Theater

I am happy to announce my upcoming photography exhibit "The Intimate Lace, A Celebration Of Femininity" at Montreal's Centaur Theater's Seagram Gallery.

The exhibit will be open for public after the vernissage in conjunction with the play "Intimate Apparel"

http://www.centaurtheatre.com/43_intimateapparel.html

I suggest you that you might enjoy also seeing the play which will be opening March 29th. 2012

I will be there at the opening night.

Here is my media kit for the exhibit.






Cheers,

Hera Bell

Abracadabra Now, Dissapear!

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.”

Dr. Seuss

Let the children be themselves in front of you camera, you might end up with images that will show who they are, not who you want them to be.

Shot on location at a client's house for a large family portraiture session at Montreal's Plateau area.

The little sister wanted to play the magician with her brother by holding the vanilla gaufrette as a magic stick...


Priceless moments like this make me, the photographer want to stay behind the camera patiently when the kids will kids and you know that they will never pose and fake it for you.

Cheers,

Hera Bell

Photographing Pregnant Bellies In My Montreal Photo Studio

I have been photographing beautiful pregnant women for over 12 years now in my Montreal photography studio.

I don't show most of the time everything I shoot due to model release and privacy issues.

Once in a while I get signed permission from my clients.

The shoot happened in 2006. She was going to have a baby girl. Way before pink hues and washed out vintage photography looks became a la vogue, I was experimenting with it in my own ways.

Here is one example.


That baby girl is now six years old. And I just got a contract to photograph her upcoming birthday.

Time flies...

Cheers,

Hera

Reality Versus Dreaming In Color And Internet Web Sites

In this jungle called Internet, almost every day there is a e-business web site popping up offering hosting your portfolio for possible sales, offering you competitions by charging you a fee, offering you publishing your images in books for a fee, offering you exhibit possibilities for a fee. And the list goes on and on...

Every artist wants to make a buck. Every artist wants to become famous, get published, participate and get exhibited.

But at what cost?

If a site is asking you to supply your images in high resolution in order they promise you possible sales, stop a minute, ask yourself... Why do they need the images in large format? Are they a reputable image stock bank with a solid business history behind them? etc...

Years ago when my present agent communicated with me via e-mails, after seeing my work getting featured in a very reputable Italian photo magazine, my first reaction was, "Are you for real?" "Don't ask me to supply you any portfolio off the bat in high resolution." "Let's see sales"... I supplied him with low web resolution images at first. When he found clients for a specific image I supplied the high resolution versions. Then I waited for my payment at the end of the month...

I believe it takes once to get s*****! But make it at least a small loss that you can stop further heart acke...

Yes, I got paid... And the rest is only a history now. We have an amazing working relationship. I trust him...

Last year through another photographer friend, some of us discovered a new competition site... They were offering even money without asking a competition entry fee to the first winners in each category. And this was going on weekly. WOW! It was too good to be true.

So I have participated for few weeks with only with 11 images. Once I won a first place in a category, I got $20.00. Yup.

But then my agent started warning me. What was the catch behind the company collecting high end photography in relatively high resolution format. Yes you could easily print an 8"x10" print from the minimum size of image files they were requesting.

I stopped participating after my 11 image entries.

Please do not misunderstand me. Sites such as this one might be great web sites for you if you like to keep your competitive edge on a high level by participating at their weekly photo competitions. You might sell a limited edition 5"x7" with a digital signature they are asking you supply them. You gotta be kidding me right?

Never supply your signature in digital format to anyone.

All successful businesses have to start somewhere. I believe in that. But at what cost to you, the participant?

In a large pool of such web sites you go and become a member of, which one is truly will be selling your images and paying you instead?

January 16th 2012 I got an e-mail from this competition site.... I was awarded something even though I had entered only with 11 images the entire last year.

Here is my badge of honour in color, their company name is blurred.


I wish the owners all the best of luck in their huge collection of images from around the globe from some great photographers... Some participants have uploaded each over 400 TOP quality image files last year. Almost their entire portfolio.

What the site operators will do with all these images? Surely you don't think that your limited edition 5"x7" digitally signed photo with bring you a huge whopping sale to pay your rent and food...

I have a feeling with success and polpularity, such site operators are very clever in their business plan. There is a sale going each and every day in the Internet land. Big fish buying the small promising fish to eliminate competition... It is called mergers. That's how these type of sites make money. And meanwhile you, the artist hope to get famous and make a sale.

Photography business isn't an easy one. Like any business it is a business before everything else. Art is art, but it rarely pays the bills.

Cheers,

Hera Bell

Pensive Beauties

I hosted a on-location photography workshop with models this past summer in West Island at an old historic mansion.

I shared with you last year some of the photos already. In the afternoon portion of the workshop our theme was the 50's glam.

Here is one which I hadn't shared yet.




新年快樂！Happy New Year!!!

Cheers,

Hera Bell

My Photo Adventures With A Plastic Snow Flake

When our local camera club threw at us a photography challenge, I couldn't help but wanting to participate in it.

This is what membership received from the organisers:

Expressions Group Meeting and Assignment – Monday, January 23

We will start with a short presentation (about 15 min), Intro to Light Painting by Chris. Then the rest of the meeting we will showcase the work of members who submit the following:

We are asking that you choose one (and only one) ordinary household object and photograph it 3 very different ways; that is, show us 3 different ways to view this one object. And please make sure that it is an ordinary domestic object, that you have around the house - no exotic souvenirs from trips abroad. The fun is to use something ordinary and make us see it in very different ways.

Everyone's "series of 3" will be shown in a slide show, after which, each member who wishes to share with us how and why they shot their object, will have a chance to do so in a friendly and informal atmosphere. Please note: this is an assignment not a challenge so it will not be judged.

Please give your 3 images the same title but number them with the sequence you want them displayed, eg., Bowl1, Bowl2, Bowl3.

A few hints: you can change your angle of view, use different lenses, use color, use B&W, use different lighting but most of all use your imagination! Make us see the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.

The link is up so you can start submitting!

Cheers,
Chris and Ness

Last Christmas I was browsing at our local Dollar store. Sometimes you can find amazing stuff there. I came across a bag containing 6 plastic snowflakes. It matched the idea of my Christmas table setting, which was going to be ice, shimmer and fire this year. So I did spend a whopping one dollar.

This is how my table looked.


And then on that same table I have snap shot these 3 images for the camera club’s challenge with my cellphone. I have not cropped, edited or adjusted anything on these shots. This will be my challenge entry next Monday.


My photographic adventures never stop, even when it comes photographing a simple inexpensive plastic snowflake, I thrive making it look glamorous with low tech camera equipment…

It is all about styling and imagination... To see it larger please click on the image.

Cheers,

Hera Bell

Some Cell Phone Snaps Are Just Snaps

I was sitting in our living room last night watching a movie on my Samsung Galaxy Tablet via our Videotron account.

A phone call arrived around 8pm through my Samsung Galaxy SII. A new client who wanted to book a shoot next week.

I checked my calendar on my tablet and booked her the shoot.

Then as I was going back to watch my movie on the tablet, I noticed the flowers in the vase well lit from a top light in front of our living room window. I grabbed my cellphone, opened an application and snap shot this actual shot.

It is a funky snap shot which the app is adding that film strip. We used to print our negatives in the past under an enlarger by shaving off the negative tray to exhibit the negatives edges, to show off that we shoot perfect compositions, without cropping. Times has changed... Kodak has just announced bankruptcy.


I did all that while still sitting in my living room, without moving an inch. It is amazing where we are with today's technology. And God knows where we will still go one day.

I am a photography studio in Montreal. I am one woman's operation most of the time. And this is possible because of cellphones, Internet, web sites, etc etc...

I can shoot, get paid, then edit and show the client the results via e-mails. Some don't even come back to pick up the results. They prefer being wired via file transfer sites.

However nothing still beats a great looking package and some prints.


Cheers,

Hera Bell