The January Project

This year - it's not over yet! - has been such a full and exciting one for Vintage Pie, and heading into the last couple of months of 2015 I am the kind of tired-happy that one might be if they'd just spent their entire birthday out, with all their favourite people, doing all their favourite things.

Your feet hurt, but so do your cheeks.

I'm very lucky!

A couple of weeks ago I posted on Facebook that I'd run out of sessions to offer this year, and since then I've even taken a few bookings for the new year, which is amazing. Thank you all for supporting this very small-time business, you are so appreciated!

On that note, I thought I'd just explain a bit about my summer schedule, on the one hand because it seems counter-intuitive from a business perspective to take off time while clients might have time off themselves to get photos and I'd like the chance to explain (and try to convince myself), and on the other, because a thing in writing is harder to break! (I am terrible at saying no to people, haha)

Basically, the way I've worked it the last three years of operation, has been to take January off. Not off off, I actually do the most work in this month, it's just that it's behind-the-scenes work. As a mum of three small children I don't have any child-free days during the week where I can work. Everything that happens - emails, editing, ordering, maintenance - happens once the day proper is done. My work day starts at about 8-9pm, which is why all of my correspondence is sent at really weird hours - sorry! Obviously, once my three are all at school, I'll get to work during daylight hours, and not by flickering candlelight (I'm kidding).

For now though, I actually have to take a break to square away anything that needs doing before the year starts. Kind of like getting up early on a school morning, before any children are awake (which, consequently, never happens here). I review my packages, looking at what seems to have worked and what hasn't (always appreciate my clients' feedback here) and try to improve them; I maintain my gear (and dream about adding to it); I overhaul my website (after about six shots of coffee); and I pick an area of photography that is not mine (portraits/kids/families = comfort zone), study it, and shoot it.

This January it was landscapes and I tempted dengue fever with all the mosquito bites I incurred traversing the countryside after dark. 'Surely you need the sun to get nice landscape shots, Jess? What are you doing after dark?' I hear you ask, and right you are, sunset is where it's at. The thing is, I had bought a fancy new tripod for the express purpose of The January Project, only it was so fancy I couldn't, fumbling in the half-dark, ever manage to put it back down again inside of half an hour. For a solid week, I'd go hunting thinking I knew which knobs extended each of the individual parts of the legs and which knobs made the legs completely fall out (fun to find dark little cylinders and bolts in long grass/water/manure as it happens), and fail, while mosquitos and my vivid imagination ate me alive. An owl flying past my ear forever cured me of any Harry Potter/Hogwarts romanticism I might have harbored.

But it made me a better photographer. I gained understanding, and skills that have enhanced my portrait work (I think), by not being afraid to open up the scene, and include my clients in the greater context of their surroundings. I also got a really nice tripod out of the deal that I use all the time, and I haven't lost a leg (yet).

This coming January I'm going old school, and trying to master film photography on my Dad's old Pentax. For my birthday back in April, my husband gifted me a light meter and some film rolls, and I've bought some industry manuals to study before giving it a shot (literally). I picked landscape photography last time because I wanted to shoot things that looked different. Traditionally, portrait work is very close, and there's no doubt as to the subject. I like these shots, I'm good at these shots, but I wanted to take a step (or fifty) back and get some other shots as well. My galleries look a little more interesting now, because of it. I've chosen film this time because what I want to work on is being more intentional, less manic; honing my instincts. I'm not sure what being slower to shoot will bring to my photography, but I'm keen to find out.

As a self-taught photographer it's really important for me to challenge myself with continuing education because I certainly still have a lot to learn. (As an aside, did you know photography is the fastest growing hobby in the world? I read that just recently. I think it's popular because it's a challenge, but less masochistic than golf).

Setting goals for myself, and shooting for fun, is also important because it keeps the creative spark alive; the heart cups its hands around the flame. So thanks for reading, and for understanding why I'm booking from February, not January in the New Year. I'm just always hoping to do the best job I can by my clients, so thanks for your support.

Now, back to editing :)

x Jess