In the 6th installment of the guest blog series, my guest Landa hails from the Netherlands, which reminds me, Amsterdam is still on my list of places to visit in Europe... Landa approached me with a specific topic in mind for her post, and being so impressed with her work, I told her she could write about whatever she wanted. So here she is, sharing her thoughts on inspiration, style, and even life. Show her some love!

Searching for your own individual style in photography is something I’ve been struggling with. Especially in the last few months it is really annoying me that I’ve done many things and tried different things, techniques, styles and lenses and I still don’t really have a clue about what my own style is and what I want to show and tell the world. I kind of hope you recognize this. Perhaps not even in photography, because maybe this is actually just ‘this thing called life’. We all grow older and get to know ourselves better, and we develop our personalities and style. Maybe some of you have stories to tell, maybe others don’t know exactly. I’ve got some ideas, but they’re still a little vague to me.





Three years ago I started studying Lifestyle & Design at an art academy in Rotterdam and I think I chose LSD to develop myself some more. I know I love people, I love how they move, how they feel, how they think. Especially how they dress and why they wear what they wear is something I’m intrigued by. Studying psychology was my second choice, but I dislike books without a lot of pictures and reading for hours and hours. Besides that, I already knew I loved photography. I know I want to become a good photographer and nothing can stop me, besides myself. I’m now in the 5^th semester and my minor is digital photography. I get all these assignments where I have to make concepts and realize it all from scratch. I used to be all about the easygoing things where I didn’t have to arrange a lot. But since that didn’t really get me much further, I knew I had to change something. Now I decided to push myself and just go with the idea I like the most, no matter how hard they are to execute. It’s sometimes a big hassle, but in the end it’s always worth it.





Now there’s also this other thing called being original in a world where everything has already been done. Do you recognize the feeling where you’re checking out photographers you didn’t know yet and you feel like they already did what you were thinking about doing? Like as if while you were dreaming, your dreams were reality for someone else already. Or you feel so inspired that you are afraid that you’re copying them in a way? That + not knowing what your own style is yet = so annoying. But why make it something negative? Make it positive. How I do that? I try to get my inspiration from other places. I can keep looking at photographers, but maybe I should be watching weird ass cultmovies, or go to a town in the middle of nowhere where I haven’t been before. Having an adventure in the middle of the night or trying to write a fantasy story. It’s all up to you actually, and who cares if some photographer already did something you were dreaming about, just do it, it will turn out different anyway. Learn from it.





I think it’s just normal that I’m not really sure what I want to tell the world and that I don’t know what my style is. Everyday when I walk to school there is a quote in neon letters on the wall above the entrance: “I have to change to stay the same”. So I just have to continue experimenting with different things, techniques, styles and lenses and one day I’ll figure it out: I’ll look at my work and I’ll see the ‘red thread’ as we call it in dutch. It will all become clear, we will never stop developing ourselves, we will always try to improve and it’s not bad to be a perfectionist!



Website | http://www.landaphotography.nl

Blog | http://landapenders.tumblr.com

Twitter | http://twitter.com/landapenders

They say when all cities start looking the same in France, go to Toulouse. With it's quaint architecture and university-town atmosphere, Toulouse stands out in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of Paris that I'd grown accustomed to. The city's diverse ethnic make up allowed for an interesting time to people-watch (and photograph). While in Toulouse, I spent a few bucks at the market, wandered in and out of comic book stores, and even saw a wedding in its Capitol. If you want a relaxing weekend away from the big city crowds, then Toulouse is the perfect place to go.

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.