Hello and thank you for calling in...

My name is Helen and I am a Photographer living in England. I started this Blog on the day that my Grandma died, three months after my Father died and several weeks before a third funeral. Initially it was a very personal way to stay connected to the people I'd lost and it helped, it really did. But writing and taking pictures everyday has opened back up a creative side that I had lost during the everyday. A big thank you to my followers, to those who take the time to comment and to new visitors, I hope we will become Blog friends too...

Monday 22 August 2011

getting work out there!


Back from my summer break at last!
Portugal was beautiful, which I didn't expect. That doesn't sound very fair but I had an idea it would be either a little barren and desert like or too costal del tourist for me and it was neither.


'Into the Sun'

True we had a lovely villa inside a beautiful golf course so it wasn't the real portugal but it was an old village with a shiny new face so we had the best of both worlds. It was near Villamora, about half an hour walk away from the large modern port in an area called 'The Old Village' its perfect for families although if you are beachy types it would be a little too far away with small children. If your a golfer it is utterly perfect.
I did a little photography and the light and colours were beautiful. I had time to reflect and have come back and printed out and mounted all of my decent photos from the last three years which are now for sale in the gallery! Progress!!
The turning point was finding somewhere who printed them out to the same standard as the image on my laptop. I had tried several different places and been very disappointed with the results and it had really put me off, feeling that my images just weren't good enough to be sold. I had heard of the printing shop at a photography studio nearby but for some reason i had assumed that being in a huge successful wedding studio, it would be expensive. Also its quite a scary thing to take your work into a building full of professionals, however my daughter went there for her work experience week and I plucked up the courage to visit. The pictures were printed on a small 6x4 first to ensure the colours and quality were just right then printed at 12x8. They were fab and suddenly I was a real photographer.
I have also compiled a portfolio and had it printed at http://www.photoworld.co.uk/
'Pathway to The Sea'
I can highly recommend them, the album is hard backed with good quality paper and the picture quality is very good.
At last my photography is really out there in the big wide world, which feels like such a good leap forward. Well enough showing off from me. Actually its not showing off, its sharing with people who will understand!! :o)