A Whole Lot of Change

I went out into the garden a couple of days ago with my camera and macro lens. The garden is looking beautiful at the moment with the flowers out in full bloom. I find that flowers are great to photograph when I want to do abstract photography. They have such delicate lines and the shapes are like brush strokes when they are slightly out of focus. I just love this style!! This is a macro shot of an Aquilegia which is more commonly known as a Columbine.

This next photo is of an Azalea and when I was taking this photo I was thinking of my sister because she is obsessed with pink and I was thinking this might be a nice print for her as I don't usually take photos of such bright pink plants because they often look too bright and in your face but I think this one is slightly more subtle and has different shades of pink.

Most of my photography work is done in my garden which is excellent because it means I don't have to spend any money on travel or have to carry all of my equipment around. I have always loved my garden as it is quite large and there is just so much to look at it and my family has owned this house ever since I was born. Unfortunately my mum is wanting to move back to Somerset and in the next few weeks she will be putting the house up for sale. I don't want to move to Somerset because Norfolk is my home and is where all of my friends are so this means that I will finally have to move out and find a place on my own. 

The only problem is, is that I am currently unemployed and very low on funds after my travels! I've been applying for quite a lot of jobs but haven't heard back from any yet which is very frustrating so it's starting to stress me out as I don't feel ready to move out and become an adult yet and even if I was. I wouldn't be able to afford it. 

It's strange because there is part of me that is excited about getting my own place and being able to decide how I'm going to accessorize my flat but then there's another part of me that is dreading it and I'm really worried that I will be really lonely living by myself. I'm not very good with dramatic changes and I just feel like everything that was solid in my life is now falling apart and I'm not too sure how to handle it!

I suppose the best way to deal with it is to stay positive and keep telling myself that I can do it! I will get a job and I will cope living on my own!! The most important thing is that I stay happy and I enjoy life!

If any of you have been through similar things with moving out and job problems then I would love to here them! Leave a message or email me at katherinepowellphotography@gmail.com

Check out my website www.katherinepowellphotography.com

Trip To The Beach

I love the beach! It is one of my favourite places to visit. There is just something so calming about it and I always feel happier when I can smell the sea and hear the waves crashing against the rocks! My all time favourite beach to visit is Happisburgh beach in Norfolk. It has beautiful cliffs and what I really like about it is that it isn't a very touristy beach. The main people that go there are dog walkers. It's such a peaceful beach! I went there the other day for the first time since being back in England and I took my camera along.

This is one of the shots I got. I used a quick shutter speed so I could capture the water splashing in detail. I really like how there is a strong tonal contrast between the dark rocks and the white of the wave. 

This is another one. I love the sea barriers, I always think they add to the photos and the composition. 

I didn't just go to the beach to take photos. I also went to collect sea glass and pretty stones because I like to make things out of them and I also want to start making jewellery. Just look on Pinterest and you will find so many ideas involving things found at the beach! This is some of what I collected.

If you want to see more of my photos then check out my website www.katherinepowellphotography.com or follow me on instagram @katherinepowellphotography

Also if you are interested in purchasing any of my photos then take a look at my etsy shop www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KatherinePowellPhoto I will be adding more photos soon but if the photo you want isn't on there then please send me an email at katherinepowellphotography@gmail.com.

Have a great day!!

Back to England, Back to Reality

So it has been a long time since I've posted anything! A lot has happened in the last 5 months. In my last post I told you about how I was learning how to knit and I kept up with it and also learnt how to crochet. My favourite thing I knitted was my hat in the photo below. I love the colour and I was pretty impressed with how it turned out as I made it up as I went along. Now that it's spring I am going to crochet some baskets and cushion covers rather than scarves and hats.

In one of my posts last year, I mentioned passing my theory test and wanting to do an intensive course. Well I did this, aaaaaaand I PASSED!! It took me so many attempts but I finally got there and it was the best feeling ever! 

This was taken straight after I heard the news as you can tell by the cheesy grin on my face! I had an excellent instructor who was so friendly and funny and just made me a lot more confident in my driving. Last week I actually bought my first car, a Renault Clio, So that's very exciting and I can't wait to go on lots of adventures!

But passing my driving test wasn't even the biggest thing that happened to me. In January I left for Sydney, Australia with my good friend from university. We made our way up the east coast to Cairns and saw some incredible places. We then flew to Alice Springs and went into the outback to see the Uluru which was my favourite part of Australia. 

We were lucky enough to see the Uluru during the day, at sunset and at sunrise. It was so beautiful and it really did change quite a lot in colour!

We then flew down to Melbourne and flew to Auckland, New Zealand from there. New Zealand was just amazing, everywhere you looked there were the most beautiful sceneries! I did some really exciting things like white water rafting, swimming with dolphins, walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, climbing a glacier, visiting a maori village and visiting Hobbiton!  

 

Hobbiton

   

Tongariro Alpine Crossing (the best walk I have ever been on!)

I then flew to Bangkok, Thailand and we spent a few crazy days there buying lots of stuff from the markets! We then went up to Chiang Mai to volunteer at the Elephant Nature Park which is a great animal shelter for rescued and injured elephants that have been made to work for humans. It was a very special experience to be able to work so closely to such wonderful giants and it really made us think about how animals are treated. 

After an amazing but tiring week at the shelter, we then went down to the islands and had a relaxing last week sunbathing by the pool. I got back to England at the beginning of May. The whole experience was brilliant and feel like I have grown as a person and I am now ready for the real world! I am currently applying for jobs and will hopefully get something soon so I can start saving up money to move out. 

If you're thinking about going travelling then just do it!! You will not regret it and there is just so much you can see and do! 

I have put my macro photos back up for sale so check them out at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KatherinePowellPhoto

I am also now on twitter so follow me @kpowellphotos

Hit a Brick Wall!

It's been a while since I've posted because since I put the photos up for sale I haven't actually taken many photos that I like and want to show people. I've sort of lost motivation now that the Etsy site is done which is really bad because I should be constantly putting photos up! I think part of it is that I'm now doubting whether my work is actually good enough to sell and whether people actually like it. After doing research about selling on Etsy, I know that it can take a long time to make you're first sale and you need to advertise it and work on publicity which I have been pretty bad with recently so I know that I need to start doing it again but I've lost the excitement of it.

I think because it's now getting colder outside and it's raining a lot, I just don't want to go outside and would prefer to stay in the warmth of my bed! It's getting to the point where I just need to man up and get on with it because I do love taking photos, I just need to get that motivation and creativity back!

Now that it's autumn, there's lots of new photo opportunities out there, with the leaves turning the beautiful shades of red and brown and all of the incredible fungi that pops up (I love taking photos of fungi!!) it really is an amazing time of year so there should be nothing stopping me from taking photos!

Since I haven't been taking many photos, I needed something else to fill the time because I have a LOT of free time! Last week I went into Hobby Craft to see if there was anything in there that could give me ideas of what I could do. I came across the knitting section and decided straight away that this is what I want to do! It might sound kind of lame and stereotypically be seen as something grandmas do, but I have always wanted to learn how to knit! My mum isn't very good at it and my Grandma lives too far away to teach me so I decided to learn from videos on-line. At the shop I didn't really know what I was getting, especially when it came to the needles as there were so many to choose from so I just went with some 5mm ones! I also chose some pretty wool. As soon as I got home I started straight away and instantly fell in love! It took me a while to get the hang of it but then I started doing different patterns and got more confidence. I am now knitting my first scarf! I'm so excited to finish it and actually be able to wear something that I made!

This is my scarf so far. I still have a long way to go with it but I'm pleased with how it's going. I really love the dark red colour and think it would be perfect for autumn! I'm using the moss/seed stitch which has a really good texture.

I love knitting so much already that I went back to the shop and bought another two pairs of needles (7.5mm and 10mm) and a lot more wool! I like the fact that I can just do it in front of the TV and it doesn't take too much brain power.

This is my collection of newly bought wool and needles. As you can see I have for quite autumnal colours and I love them!

If any of you are thinking about starting knitting then I highly recommend it. What could be better than making lots of scarves!! Plus they would make lovely Christmas presents!

Prints For Sale!

I haven't posted in awhile and this is due to me being rather busy! Since I last posted I have now passed my driving theory test, done a weeks volunteering at an rspb reserve, taken more photos and finally put some photos up for sale!

I had actually passed my theory test once before several years but I never ended up passing the practical test so my theory eventually ran out. This meant I wasn't too worried about it but I still had to do quite a bit of revision. I'm now looking into doing an intensive recap course because I was at a passing level but its been over 3 years since I've driven so I feel like this is the best option for me. Being able to drive will give me a lot more photo opportunities!

A few weeks ago, I went to Blacktoft Sands rspb reserve with my best friend to do a week of volunteer work. It was a great experience and I learnt a lot but it was a very tiring week! We did some habitat management which resulted in me not being able to move the next day because my whole body ached! We also did some bird surveying and got to see some great birds that I haven't seen before and even some pretty rare birds. Unfortunately I didn't see a Bearded Tit which is the one I was most looking forward to seeing but it was a very windy week. I would love to say that I got some great photos that I could share with you but I had to get the train to the reserve and it was quite a long journey and I already had too much stuff to take so I didn't actually take my camera. Overall, it was a brilliant week and I met some amazing people that work there!

I have been taking some more photos and here's one example:

I don't usually do black and white photography but I really liked how this photo looked and thought it looked better like this than in colour! It is of a Sow Thistle.

After weeks of research and planning, I have finally got some photos up for sale on Etsy. Click the link if you are interested and want to find out prices and sizes. www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KatherinePowellPhoto

At the moment I am just sticking with selling prints just so I can get the hang of it before making it more complicated! I got some business cards printed to put in with the prints that I sell and I'll carry some around with me if I ever bump into someone that might like my photos!

The next step for me now is to try and generate some publicity for my website and to obviously keep taking photos!

If you have any questions for me then feel free to leave a comment or send me an email at katherinepowellphotography@gmail.com

Check out my new photos: www.katherinepowellphotography.com

Beautiful Weather and Beautiful Flowers

This week we have had some beautiful weather and naturally I didn't want to be cooped up indoors, reading about how to start a business! So instead I spent majority of my time outdoors enjoying the glorious sunshine. I found it a bit too bright during the day to take photos so I waited until the evenings when there was less glare.

It's the first time I've properly been out taking photographs since I finished uni and I have to say it was a lot more enjoyable this time. Not having the pressure of a deadline and worrying about whether my teachers would like it or not makes it a lot less stressful. I feel like I have more freedom now to do what I want!

I just took photos in my garden because I often find that I don't need to go anywhere fancy because looking at anything close up is usually always interesting. There are also some beautiful flowers out at the moment so I thought I had better take some photos before they started to die.

This photo is of a purple Scabious. This has always been one of my favourite flowers because when I was a kid I used to think it looked like a UFO so I've always called it the UFO plant. This was taken with extension tubes attached to my macro lens so I could get even closer.

This photo is of an African Marigold. Its got such a beautiful, vibrant colour and really stands out from the other flowers in the garden. I didn't want to focus on capturing the detail with this picture because I just wanted to focus on the colours. There is only the edge of one petal in focus and the rest is out of focus. I personally like this approach because it draws you eye to that one part of the photo but it all flows well together. This again was taken with a macro lens attached to extension tubes. 

I will be adding some these photos and some more to my website soon. Check it out by following this link www.katherinepowellphotography.com

In the next few weeks I will probably do a post about what equipment I use. It's nothing fancy but some of you might be interested. 

If you have any feedback about my photos then feel free to comment. Or if you have any questions then again don't hesitate to leave a comment and I will get back to you as quickly as possible!

Hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather as much as I am!

Venturing into the World of Etsy

I have been going back and forth about whether to start an Etsy shop or not and I have finally come to a decision... I'm going through with it! It's a great site for people to buy and sell handmade items and I would definitely recommend checking it out if you haven't already! I've looked through their photography section and specifically at nature macro photography and I do feel like I could eventually sell some of my work.

My main worry about setting up a shop is having it turn out to be a complete failure and not sell one item! I suppose this is many people's concern when they are thinking about doing this but obviously a lot of people still go through with it. I've done a lot of research about setting a shop up and it will definitely be a lot of hard work and will take a lot of patience.

It seems to be that getting traffic to the site will be very important because obviously if people aren't looking at your shop then you arent going to be getting any sales! So before I actually set up a shop, I am trying to get more of a following and social media is a fantastic way of doing this.

I have made an Instagram account that is just focused on my photography and isn't personal. I feel like this will be a good way to show my work because of the hashtag system they have. I have a link to my online portfolio on there so if people are interested in seeing more of my work then they can. If you want to check out my Instagram, my username is: katherinepowellphotography

I am also planning on setting up a twitter account when I've set up an Etsy shop as this is a good way to tell my followers when I've put new items on my shop.

There is also this blog, which is my way of showing what I am up to with a bit more detail.

I have looked at a lot of other photographers on Etsy and a lot of them don't just sell prints. They also sell phone cases, mugs, coasters, bags, cushions etc. with their photos printed on them. This is definitely something I am going to look into more and check out prices.

This is just one example of what I could sell. I think my style of photos would work well with phone cases. This particular photo is of a Sow thistle head with water drops on it.

I think it would be good to have a range of products to sell because it would hopefully introduce a range of customers instead of people just looking for a photo print.

Setting up this shop will by no means be what I pay the bills with. I am being realistic with it and realise it will be difficult to get even one sale. It's more of a project for me to do up until I go travelling and then once I come back and get a full time job, it can be something I do on the side. It is also a good way for me to still do photography and I am really looking forward to getting the shop up and running! It will take a while before I do start putting my work up for sale because there is quite a lot I have to think about first and there's lots of planning to do but I am really excited!

If you have any advice on how I should start an Etsy shop then feel free to comment! Any help is welcome by me!

If you would like to see more of my work then check out my website using the following link: www.katherinepowellphotography.com