With the new year quickly approaching, I wanted to end the year on Just-In-Time with a special guest post from Autumn Wilson. Autumn has fittingly decided to write about the things she learned in 2010; I hope these lessons will help you in 2011. Enjoy & Happy New Year!

Learning photography on your own can be very trying. I am by no means even close to where I want to be, but I am a lot closer now than I was a year ago when I first began photography.

With 2011 quickly approaching I wanted to share with you all what I've learned over my year of trials and errors. When I look back at the pictures I was taking a year ago... and the pictures I've taken recently I see an entirely different person.


These pictures were both taken in January. The first one is a self-portrait and the 2nd picture is the first time I ever had a shoot with a complete stranger who wanted to 'model' for me.


The first image is of Rikki, the first agency signed model I had ever worked with. This was taken in July.
The 2nd & 3rd images were of another agency represented model taken in September, and it was the first time I had ever worked with a Hair & MUA.

It is evident how much I've grown, and that I am proud of.

Here are a few things I've learned along the way:

1. You are going to get very discouraged with yourself. Probably a lot. But, there are those moments, those rare pictures, few and far between that make you keep going on. I think it is also the never ending disappointment you feel with yourself and your pictures. The thinking that you could have done better and wishing you had. You just keep striving for that perfection and honestly I hope it never comes, because I think that if it did I would stop trying because being an artist, a creator, a dreamer, is about never being satisfied with what is real today.

2. You have to always reflect and remember what it is that made you love photography to begin with because it is very easy to lose sight of yourself and find yourself trying to be someone you're not.

3. Practice. Practice everything. You can practice balance so you can get as tack sharp photos as you possibly can.
You can go out and put yourself in different lighting conditions so when you're in that situation you'll be much more ready for it than if you hadn't.
You can take self-portraits if you have to do so it at least gets you shooting.

4. Learn. Always try to learn more because knowledge can only make you better.

5. Save money when you can. Unfortunately photography gear is expensive and sometimes we think of concepts that require money in order to make them happen. Money will probably always be a little bit of an obstacle, and if it's not you're very lucky.
The key to money is to not let it be an excuse for what you can or cannot achieve. It's just a tiny obstacle that takes a little time and effort.

6. Network. All of the photographers that I know about are because they have a large network base and I've found them online. You don't have to be Annie Liebovitz to be well known. You just have to interact with people and in time your network base will grow. Maybe not as fast as you like, but as long as you are putting effort into that Network (and they do take work) it will grow in time.

7. Be inspired. It is so important as a creative person to have a constant flow of creativity in your life. It doesn't matter what it is. It can be looking at other photographer's work. It can be watching a movie. It can be reading, traveling, walking outside. It could be all of them.

8. Make mistakes. You will never learn if you are too afraid to. The best way to learn is through your own experiences. You can study and watch other people as much as you'd like but when it comes to doing it yourself, you will have to learn on your own. It can only make you grow.

As much as I've learned over the course of the year, I know I will have another list this long or longer next year when I am remembering everything I have learned throughout 2011.

It can only get better from here. :)
xx - Autumn

Four months ago, I stood over my empty suitcases, faced with the exact dilemma that challenges me now - how to take my room with me across the Atlantic ocean. Four months ago, I was saying goodbye to old friends. Now, I'm saying goodbye to new ones. Four monts ago, I was jetting off on exchange to Paris. Now, I'm flying home for the holidays.

What a whirlwind these last four months have been. I saw 20 cities across 9 countries, learned to appreciate wine, went up the Swiss Alps, hitchhiked across the French-Spanish border, celebrated Oktoberfest in true Bavarian style, was involuntarily involved in a death (when my train in France ran over someone), experienced Venice in flood, suffered 4 major French strikes, and developed the habit of eating bread with every meal. Europe has been breathtaking, exciting, and emotional. I'm convinced that some of the most memorable moments of my university experience has been weaved into these last few months.

When I left for France in September, a wise and wonderful woman (hi mom) told me that she hopes I find what I want in life when I'm on exchange. Up until a few weeks ago, I was disappointed because I didn't think it had shown me anything more than what I already knew. But when I woke up last Sunday, I realized that perhaps it already has - just in a different way than I'd anticipated. It's raised a lot of questions about personal goals, professional aspirations, balance and priorities. I'm sure I'll keep reflecting on these topics when I'm back home, but lucky for me, my time in Europe isn't up yet. I'll be moving to England in early January for another semester abroad.

So these last four months abroad have brought me a lot of questions, perhaps, if I'm fortunate enough, the next four months will bring me some answers.

Until next time, stay classy.

The Fresh Young Talent section is seeing an influx of blog entries as I become more emerged in the blogging community. For today's guest blog post, I invited Lotte Simons to share her thoughts on photography. She's at the ripe age of 18 and her talent is evident in the rawness of her photographs. I hope you enjoy her work!



Whilst trying decide what I should use this post to talk about, my friend suggested that I "make it sound magical" to which I responded: "magical just isn't my thing. I just imagine people dancing in cute little dresses round toadstalls with fairies and pixie dust giggling and spinning and seemingly high on something. Then there's me, in my jeans, hoody, jodboots and chaps covered in mud with my hair a mess from the wind holding onto two lunatic chestnut horses and not giving a shit that I look a state!"

And I think that gave me an idea for what I wanted to focus my post on. For as much as I could have blogged about a shoot and made the whole thing sound very fairytale and dreamlike, it would've been a waste of an opportunity. It's not who I am, it's not how I see the world and it's definitely not my work. So I thought instead i'd share who I think I am, how I view the world and most importantly, what my work is.

"My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph"- Richard Avedon

I'd like to think that at least holds partly true for me as well. Aside from the blindingly obvious that although the photo is of someone else, it's the photographers view of them, I photograph what appeals to me visually and (if you can comprehend this) emotionally.



I try to get my work to reflect energy, for example dancers can leap, horses can gallop and fabric can float. These three key things are featured in my work quite often, though I try not to overuse the idea, otherwise it would become very repetitive. Although I do admit I have to ban myself from touching the chiffon these days!

There was a period when I was very satisfied with my work, I'd dislike it a few weeks after shooting it but that was normal self criticism to me and encouraged progression, I could look at my work and be satisfied that i'd captured whatever it was I was looking for. Then it slipped and it felt like nothing was working and nothing was ever good enough, none of my photos were making me feel fulfilled as a photographer or a person. I couldn't get over the feeling that every photo had something missing from it and I can only describe it as feeling hollow. After a while I figured out the one essential element that was left out of my work, me. At some point i'd stopped really shooting what I love and I think that showed in my photos. So I went back to basics and literally put myself back in my work by taking numerous self portraits.

It worked. I could experiment freely without worrying if i'm making sense to a model with what i'm asking them to do and I could just leap straight in and get the shot in my head. I don't believe i'll ever be able to look at any of my photos and think i've finally captured what I was looking for, woohoo the gaping hole in my existance is filled, being unsatisfied with my work is what motivates me creatively to try harder. The day I am content with my work is the day i've given up as a photographer, which i'm not sure is possible.

I didn't want to give a lecture and i'm not here to preach life lessons, it's merely my opinion that I think it's important to photograph what you love and put yourself into your work.

'There are always two people in every picture:  the photographer and the viewer.'  ~Ansel Adams

And the viewer can tell if the photographer is missing.

The crisp air is indication enough that winter in Paris is well under its way. Despite the cold, I'm glad we’re officially in the month of Santa. With the Christmas tree up and the wish list carefully penned, it was time to visit the famous Christmas Market along Champs Elysées.

As soon as I stepped out of the Metro station, the Christmas music playing through the loud speakers put me in the perfect mood for the holidays. The market was crowded with families and friends who flocked from booth to booth, hovering over the wonderfully handcrafted ornaments, jewellery, and delicious food. I munched on churros and crepes (with Nutella, of course) as I joined the crowds.

At the end of the Christmas Market, Roue de Paris awaited me. By then, the sun had set and I was romanticized by the Parisian night as I rode to the top of the ferris wheel. It was nothing short of delightful for my first ferris wheel ride.

There was just one last thing on my list before heading back to the suburbs outside of Paris. The night finished underneath the Eiffel Tower. Adorned in lights, the tower was even more impressive at night than in the day. As I stood there, I wondered if I would ever be lucky enough to live in Paris again.

Two more weeks until I say my goodbyes to this city.

xx

I'm on a 1 week break and instead of spending my time catching up on work, I decided to spend it in Spain. While in Barcelona, I discovered the genius of Gaudi, learned to appreciate the works of Picasso, and saw first hand the passion of flamingo dancing. Between spending way too much time in front of street entertainers and not nearly enough time at the beach, I also experienced the boldness of Spanish men, who, hands down, win the award for being the most forward men I've come across in Europe.

Hope you like these photos. Here's to the beach, the boys, the BCN.

It's great to see the Guest Blogger segment take off. I hope you've enjoyed reading Larissa Felsen and Alex Beadon's blog posts. For this next guest post, Mike and I found each other through the power of Twitter. Mike has some great nature and landscape photographs that I was really excited when he expressed interest in writing this week's guest post. Enjoy and show him some love~

Aloha from Maui :)

My passions in photography are surfing and nature. Maui is an incredible place for both, with places like Haleakala Crater and Hana for natural beauty.



We also have some of the best surf spots on the planet, Honolua Bay and Pe'ahi (Jaws), where the best riders in the world come to challenge the giant waves.



Maui is home to  some of the most endangered birds and plants on the planet. I work with groups like the Maui Forest Bird Restoration Project and Nature Conservancy to protect these amazing creatures.



The environment where the birds live, high on the slopes of Haleakala, is a cloud forest largely inaccessible. Waikamoi Preserve is the exception and well worth hiking if you get the chance.



Hawaii gets some of  the largest and most powerful surf in the world! These giant waves slam Maui's North shore every year from November to March. I began photographing these swells after injuring my shoulder a few years ago and am addicted to being where the action is.

We have two world class big wave spots: Honolua Bay on West Maui is a flawless right point. The action at the Bay is nonstop on a huge day, with over 50 surfers ripping every wave that comes through and hundreds of spectators on the cliffs.



Pe'ahi on the North Shore (aka Jaws) is an open ocean peak that can break to over 70 foot! This wave is one of the surfing wonders of the world and must be experienced to fully appreciate its size and power. Standing on the cliff overlooking the lineup you can feel the ground shake and the air vibrate when a set comes in.



On the biggest day, only those being towed in by jet skis can physically catch the waves. Jaws has produced the winner of the XXL Biggest Wave Award every year that it was eligible. There is a carnival atmosphere, with hundreds or thousands of spectators cheering on the cliff and  boats, skis and helicopters making it a must see event if you’re lucky enough to be on Maui when it goes off.



Aloha,

Mike

Mike Neal is a photographer and woodworker based on Maui. His work can be seen at NealStudios.net or at the Maui Hands and Native Intelligence galleries.