Setting myself a little challenge...

This week is the final week of Photo Meditations and honestly, I'm a little bit heartbroken about that, I feel like there is so much more I can learn from Susannah and more I can learn about myself and my photos. I'm very glad to say that I've loved every minute and I feel like I've progressed throughout it. 

I haven't taken many photos, but the ones I have taken... here, here, and here wow. I can barely believe that they are mine.

What I didn't expect from Photo Meditations is that I would change as a person, that I would push myself to do things I never would of imagined before, that I would actually want to do things I never saw myself doing... 5 weeks doesn't seem that long, and it flew by, but I feel different, in myself and I know my photos from now will be different too.

One thing I've noticed in my photos is that I don't take many photos of people (I had to search for the ones in this post haha) and over the past 5 weeks I've seen so many amazing photos, by Susannah and other photographers on the course that all of a sudden I want to take more. Not posed photos, more moments...

 I remember being annoyed in the top photo actually that the people were behind those bikes, they were ruining the lines of the wheels and the path behind but today I'm loving the mans hat, the way hes leaning away to look at the bike properly... I love the lady behind who is watching both them and me taking my photo and the little leg on the bike on the left is killing me.

And I love this little boy, his enthusiasm to see the ducks better leading him to get in the water... he looks so determined. I love his Fathers arm reaching out for him but letting him go at the same time.

So instead of challenging myself to take more photos of people, I'm challenging myself to look at people differently, to let people into my photos, not to wait for them to walk past... to use them to enhance a photo and stop being scared that they might ruin it.

Challenging myself to capture their photo the way that I see them...

p.s. In writing this here, I have to do it - you've all seen it now.

p.p.s. Susannah just uploaded a video about Photo Meditations, you should watch it :)

This is what happens..

...when I don't take the photos of my phone for a couple of months... I digitally burst on my blog :) hahaha.

I didn't realise I took so many photos with it to be honest - I do wish that Instagram was on Android photos though - I love Vignette but it would be great to have an easier way to share my photos with people.

Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating it - I'm not going to write a list, as right now I'm thankful for everything and thats a pretty big list...

p.s. I braved the self portrait on the end for Photo Meditations... 
despite my feet it was the only photo of me on there. I was sleepy.

2012 Calendars ...

I've been planning these for a while but I'll be honest, my blog/selling photos confidence is pretty low at the moment, I sold one calender last year, but you never know right... someone might want one again and making them has kept me busy and out of trouble which is good.

I've put together one Paris b&w diana mini calender but I'm planning other Paris options, holga favourites, diana mini favourites - in fact you could always make requests if you want - I'm happy with anything and I have lots of photos... and I'm thinking I'll make them available for PDF download and printed this year too - as I always worry the post will suck. (It took a month for my last parcel to get to the US, not cool)

I've also decided to make these by request this year as I hate listing items on Etsy and then they just sit there and expire - it wastes my money and time. So if you're interested in one then please let me know either in a comment here or my email is rhiannelouise@gmail.com and I'll let you know the options that are available.

The calenders will be 5x7 size - 12 pages available in matt or glossy prints and cost £12 (about $20) plus postage. Or the PDF option, which I can email to you, will be £9 (about $15).

I hope that at least one person is as excited about these as I am and hopefully I might even hear from someone :)

My photos are in a book...

I'm so excited!

When I joined Etsy, I also joined the Female Photographers of Etsy Team and Flickr Group and now the amazing fPOE design team have compiled the second fPOE team book as a celebration of 500 members titled Still: The Art of Living including two of my favourite photos I've taken - Across the Dunes, Rhosneigr and Winter Moon - both still available in my shop.

If you're interested you can preview and buy the book here...
I'll be saving up for my copy.