• About

The Perks of Being an Artist

~ Because demented people need love, too.

The Perks of Being an Artist

Tag Archives: photography

Awesomenesses

05 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by emilypageart in art, family, gratitude, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Audrey Priel, family photo shoot, mother daughter, mother daughter photos, Mother's Day, mother's day present, photography, Rose Trail Images

Damn, y’all, it’s been a hot minute since I last posted. Sorry ’bout that. I missed TWO weekly tattoo wrap-ups, and I promise to do that soon, but first I realized that I never posted the article about me that was in the Raleigh News & Observer. I’m famous…on page C4 in the Arts section, which everyone totally reads:

The Article About My Awesomeness

In other news, for Mother’s Day, I surprised my mom with a photo shoot with my friend Audrey Priel from Rose Trail Images. My instructions to Audrey: capture my mom’s awesomeness. My mom has amazing eyes and a really lovely smile and is just all-around-too-stinkin’-cute-for-words, and the photos of her that I have from the last few years have failed to capture that. Enter, Audrey. Audrey, who you may remember from posts past, just oozes fabulosity and sillinesses and I just heart her so much. It is impossible not to fall in love with her, because when she’s with you, she’s busy falling in love with you. And damn her, she won’t just make you laugh during a photo shoot, she will make you cry, and you will come out of the experience closer than ever to whomever you’re doing the shoot with. While there are eleventy million and a half shots that I’m head over heels for, I’ve narrowed it down to just a few to share with you in slideshow:

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I realized that it’s rare that I see adult mother/daughter photo shoots. It’s always younger families. But these photos are awesome. Have I mentioned awesomeness in this post yet? Because if not, let me say it again: all the awesomenesses are contained in this day and the photos that captured it. I wish I had known Audrey before my dad got dementia, because I would have loved to do this with him, too. But this is one regret that I won’t have. Mom, I love you all the oodles.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Photo Vs. The Painting

09 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by emilypageart in art, painting, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

art, artist, avocado, bicycle, bike, bottles, cherry tomato, food art, garlic, kitchen art, oil on board, oil painting, paint, painter, painting, photography, photorealism, piano pedal, realism, realist art

Since I posted about how I often have to work from crummy photos (here and here), I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the photos next to the paintings to see what I mean. I’m sometimes left guessing. Other times, I guess and then ignore what the photo is showing me to make a bolder choice. Simply making easy changes like background color can completely alter the feel of a image, as can pushing the contrast between your highlights and shadows. I view the photos as a jumping off point. It’s good for reference, but I’m not bound to it (which is good since the photos are often pretty bad in the first place).First up is the Avocado and Cherry Tomatoes:

avocados 3.jpg

The crummy photo

Avocado and Cherry Tomatoes

The awesome painting (I say very humbly)

Next is a garlic one:

garlic 10.jpg

Garlic III

And then some garlic cloves:

garlic cloves.jpg

Garlic cloves.jpg

And piano pedals:

DSC_0069.JPG

piano-pedals

And, finally, the hanging bottles painting:

bottles 1.JPG

hanging-bottles

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Delphi

30 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by emilypageart in art, death, gratitude, kindness, MOndays with Muddy, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

ampitheatre, Beatrice Allen Page, Greek theatre, Karen Silvestri, photography, poem, poetry

After a long, trying, kinda sad day (would have been my parents’ anniversary), another artist on Fine Art America paid me a real compliment. I went to check out her work and came across a photo she had taken of an abandoned ampitheatre. Immediately, this reminded me of one of my favorite poems written by my grandmother, Beatrice Allen Page. I know it’s not Mondays with Muddy, and it’s a good possibility that I’ve posted it before, but I’m going to share it now anyway because it’s my blog and I win. When you’re done reading the poem, be sure to check out the photo I linked to above and “like” her image to boost its visibility on Fine Art America:

DELPHI

Emptiness broods on the ampitheatre.

Time has gnawed at the stone tiers.

Weeds and moss grow in the chinks.

Furtive salamanders scribble

cryptograms in ancient dust.

Throngs no longer gather here

to have their heartstrings played upon

by Attic tragedies.

 

Yet a sombre chorus of women

circles mutely in time’s shadow,

their invisible hands linked in common woe.

The scuffle of their worn sandals

makes a sound like autumn wind

sighing through age-old memory.

Masks conceal their faces.

 

Grief is more durable than stone.

Long before the theatre was built,

the moving choir had begun in hollows of cypress-dotted hills,

on wind-swept plains, inside walls

and towns. And still goes on

down through the ages, throughout the earth

an ever-widening circle of women

mourning the death of the warriors:

fathers…brothers…husbands…sons.

And children not yet born.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Photoshopping Your Photograph

26 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by emilypageart in art, culture, painting, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

art, art cheats, artist, filters, Fine Art America, paint, painting, photography, Photoshop

As I work to increase my online presence for my art, I’ve joined some groups on Fine Art America, and, scrolling through the images people have submitted, I’m discouraged by the number of people who simply take a photo and apply a Photoshop filter to it and call it “art.”

Taking a photo like this:

A 076

And adding a filter like this…

Ink outlines.jpg

Or this…

Palette knife filter.jpg

…doesn’t make it a better photo or worthy of being called art. It takes no real skill. Yes, it’s fun and easy to do to make your personal photos kinda neat, but that’s where it should end. Don’t try to sell it. And certainly don’t try to claim that it’s a painting. There are a few people I’ve stumbled across who post these kind of images and say that they’re “paintings” when they’re very clearly just Photoshopped pictures. It literally took me 30 seconds to create, save and post both images. To create one of my photo-realist paintings takes hours, days, and sometimes weeks, not seconds. It takes skill and patience. It takes thought.

Sorry, but this shit just drives me crazy. I love photography. Generally, it’s what I buy because I know I’ll never be in that exact place in that exact circumstance to recapture that exact image. Good photography doesn’t need to be heavily edited. Edited some, yes, absolutely, but edited with thought and to the least amount necessary to create a good composition.

So “yes yes yes” to photography, but keep it natural and label it properly as such, or if you’re going to edit it heavily, do something other than slapping a quick filter on it and calling it a day. Really push it – add some layers, at least. Okay, sorry, end of rant. Please resume your regularly scheduled programming.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Plant Photo Bomb

30 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by emilypageart in humor, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

bourbon, photo bomb, photography, plant, scrabble

I have a new favorite photo from my shoot last week. A friend pointed out that the plant over my shoulder is totally giving us the finger. It’s like, “Oh really? You’re going to relegate me to the background? My beauty is all natural, bitchez. Change your focus, lady. Blur out that hot mess in the center of your lens ’cause I’m the star.” While I loved this photo already, I really love it now.

Audrey 2.jpg

Also, I’m a little disappointed in myself. I was given Scrabble tiles to play with, and I came up with “love” and “joy.” I totally missed the opportunity to spell “bourbon.” <shaking my head in shame>

Audrey 10_compressed

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Guest Post: The Art Of Making Up Your Mind

29 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by emilypageart in art, gratitude, kindness, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

art, Audrey Priel, headshots, photography, portraits, Rose Trail Images

I asked Audrey Priel, from Rose Trail Images, to write a guest post about how she approaches her photography. What I love about her work is that she doesn’t overdo it. She edits just enough to make the photos interesting, but she doesn’t do a bunch of unnecessary trickery that distracts from the point. Any effects she adds look natural and organic. After you’ve read through it, check her out on her website or Facebook page! So without further ado, here is her post:

This blog entry could also be entitled, “Do Your Thang” or “Drowning out the Other Voices on Your Facebook Feed”.

It could also just simply be called, “How to Create your Own Gosh Darn Life”.

Let me explain. But first, let me introduce myself.

My name is Audrey, also known as the fancy shmancy “Rose Trail Images”. In real life, I’m a special ed teacher. But my cool super power is: I am also a photographer. It took me a looooooong time to say that last part. In fact, I still sometimes have to catch myself to say YES, I definitely AM a photographer. I usually still start with the whole special ed teacher thing, though. It pays most of my bills, so it’s hard to ignore it.

Audrey editing 3

Anyway, I met Emily about… oh, five years ago or so. I came into Artistic Abandon with some neighbors to get my paint on for the very first time, and lemme tell you… I got hooked. The process of creating something was so amazingly awesome. Even if I wasn’t that good at it. Then I hiccupped, as usual, sang a few lines of the Unicorn Song, and it was true friend love.  We even have girly dates with lunch and nature and princess hats. And yes, I document everything. She’s pretty much stuck with me.

 

 

Anywho, to get back to the point. The point of how the heck I do what I do. Sometimes… I still don’t know. But what I do know is that it’s something I always wanted to do. Like roller derby, only safer. I feel like for the first time in my life, I finally did something I’ve always wanted to do. I made up my mind to buy a camera and take pictures, even though I had no training what so ever. And I haven’t looked back since.

Photography is just capturing moments in time. Anyone can do that. It’s always been said, it’s not the camera or the fancy lenses that makes a photograph, but the person behind the camera. THAT, my friends, is one of the truest statements ever to be told. Each moment in time is looked at differently by everyone. Photographs are the same way. I could see a field of dandelions in the sunset, looking golden and glorious, and all my husband sees is a bunch of weeds, and why doesn’t anyone ever mow over there?? Those are the moments that I get super psyched about. It’s like the show Fixer Upper… they take houses that no one would ever dream of buying and turns them into something amazing because they had vision for it. Photographers are the same way with landscapes and light. It also helps when you have amazing people like Emily to work with!

Audrey editing 1

Some may see just a rickety old fence and some overgrown weeds…I see it as a playground for awesomeness!

Now, here comes the tricky part. Ok, so there are lots of tricky parts as nothing is ever as easy as you want it to be, but here’s the main tricky part for me: if I don’t know or understand something, I figure it out. Usually by asking smart people (my Mom and Dad usually pop into my head first) or by my trusty friend, Google. But with creating art… you can’t just Google that. Sure, they can give you entire books on how to create dreamy landscapes and what exactly is an F-stop, and you want me to place the OCF WHERE? But actually doing it and creating something beautiful… that’s all on you, baby.

I became a part of a bunch of Photography groups on Facebook to help me understand Lightroom and Photoshop and editing skills a bit better. People post pictures of something they have taken and have spent HOURS editing and ogling over, pouring their hearts out on this one image, and you know what happens? People critique it. Not just critique it, but squash it to death. “The highlights need to be fixed on the right side” or “I would totally delete the tree coming out in the background over there”, and “I you definitely need to make it a warmer image”. These are nice comments compared to what I’ve read before. And starting out, I thought all these people were right! I listened… intently… and tried to agree. But then I came across an image someone took. A mother had just given birth to a stillborn, and the photo was in color. Glorious, birthy color. It was emotional, and I felt every inch of that image. And it was critiqued, HARSHLY, because the “experts” felt that an image that raw should be in black and white. From that point on, I realized that every image a photographer/mother/father/human/dog (by accident) takes is a work of art, in their eyes. Not everyone is going to like it. Everyone else will want to tweak it somehow, someway, because that’s what would make it their own. But it’s not yours… it’s theirs. And it is perfect.

Audrey editing 2

This picture, with all the sun flare, would be crucified on those Photog groups. Me? I think the sun flare is the best part!

Audrey Fence

So, now what? Now… I do things my way. I’m a nature freak, so about 99% of all my shoots involve nature in some way. Even if I bring it with me J I have decided I love sun flares, because they make your subjects look like an angel. I love warm, earthy, organic colors. I love the warmer images that make you want to dive into them and hug the subjects and invite them over for a bowl of pasta. But more importantly, I want to be able to show personalities. For example, take our friend Emily over here. We all know she’s a bit silly, but also warm-hearted, down to earth, and real. A loving human being that exudes warmth and kindness. So… that’s exactly how I tried to portray her. In the golden light, being herself, with warm, natural colors and some sun flare for fun. Voila!

 

I hope I haven’t bored you too much with my blabbering. Everyone’s story is personal. Their journey is their own. This is only a tiny fraction of my story, but for me… it adds so much to the overall book of my life. I’m better at not listening to all the naysayers. I am learning to take in the constructive feedback and leave out all the other crap. I’m also learning that my photography… it’s not too shabby 😉 The more I practice and learn, the better it will be. Now… who wants to help me practice?

Audrey 1_compressed
Audrey 6_compressed
Audrey silly 3_compressed
Audrey silly 4_compressed
Audrey 9_compressed

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Pictures!!!

28 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by emilypageart in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Audrey Priel, head shots, photo, photo shoot, photography, Rose Trail Images

Last week, I had a friend, Audrey Priel, take photos of me for my newly revamped website and for some other art-and-book-related endeavors. Audrey started out as a customer at my paint and sip studio, and won me over because she hiccups constantly. Seriously, like, all day, every day. It’s probably annoying for her, but it’s adorable and hilarious to me. Also, she knew the Unicorn Song and used to go to my favorite pub in D.C. So we bonded quickly. Then she became an actual friend because she’s spectacularly silly and kind and encourages me to be the same way. I’ve gotten to watch over the last couple years as she’s decided to take her photography seriously, and it’s been beautiful to watch her grow into and realize her own talent. Knowing that I needed updated photos, I naturally turned to her.

I’ve posed for several photo shoots in the past because of my years in acting, and generally, it’s a miserable process. It’s awkward and feels phony and forced and contrived and all sorts of other yuckwords. I’m just not comfortable with it. But this photo shoot was FUN. Legit. It wasn’t just fantastic, it was funtastic. Audrey was so playful and creative and she got so damn excited with each shot that I got excited with each shot, even though I couldn’t see them. And when someone gets that excited, it makes you feel pretty, and loved, and it inspires you to be more naturally yourself, which in turn makes the photos come out better, which makes her more excited, which makes you more excited, and it’s an endless cycle of excited-ness (“excitement” wasn’t an exciting enough word).

And then I got to see the results. Holy crap. The girl’s got skillz fo rillz. I can’t wait to share some of my favorites in another post once I narrow it down from the bagazillion (that’s a bagillion gazillion for those not good at math) I have to choose from. You can see some of her other work on her Rose Trail Images website.

Audrey is going to be doing a guest blog for me in the near future, talking about her approach to these kinds of photo shoots, and we’ll share some of her photos from my session at that time. But today, I just want to share what generally happens when I sit for photos, which is why most photographers don’t exactly love me:

Audrey silly 1_compressedAudrey silly 2_compressedAudrey silly 5_compressed

Audrey silly 6_compressed

This one is my personal favorite.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Audrey

20 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by emilypageart in art, culture, gratitude, humor, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Audrey Priel, blog, photography

Hi everybody, sorry for not posting yesterday. I went to NJ this weekend to train artists for a new sip & paint studio that’s opening, and I’ve been playing catch-up ever since. I’m still playing catch-up, but my friend Audrey just posted this on her blog, so I thought I’d share it, since it involves ME! Really, everything should involve me. Because I’m awesome. And humble. Anyway, Audrey is a kickass photographer and all around amazeballs person, so you should check her out:

Audrey Priel, Photographer Extraordinaire

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Man Contemplates

10 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by emilypageart in art, humor, husband

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

art, contemplating place in the world, humbled by nature, peeing outdoors, photography, picking on my husband

Man contemplates nature

I call this photo, “Man contemplates his place in this vast, natural world. Also, man pees when he thinks no one is watching.”

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Seeing Your Land Anew

03 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by emilypageart in art, Eerieville, gratitude

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

art, artist, autumn, fall, gratitude, haunted attraction, nature, photography, pride

On Friday, I knew I needed to distract myself as much as possible because it was my dad’s birthday. So I got together with my photographer friend, Audrey, and we headed out to the haunted attraction S and I are building. I don’t consider myself to be a great photographer, but it was so beautiful out that day, and things are starting to age and weather nicely, so there was plenty of inspiration.

I go to nature

When you’re in the throes of building and it’s eleventy-twenty-seven degrees out and you’re getting eaten alive by mosquitos or gnats or running from spiders or snakes or homicidal deer and you feel like you’re going to die, you forget to stop and look at what you’ve created. Bringing someone out there for their first time seeing it makes you see things anew and allows you to look at what you’ve created with some measure of pride. And, when I’m just strolling and photographing and not building or shoveling or sculpting, it lets me fall in love with the property itself, which gives me more energy to continue on with the endeavor. We got lucky that we had a perfectly clear, sunny day, and the leaves were starting to change. All the textures and colors of the property were prancing and showing off for us, shouting, “Look at me!” and “No, look at me!” and “Over here!” Here are some of my favorite pics from the day (not focusing a ton on the sets, since they’re not dressed and complete yet):

cottage chimney 3 Front gate graveyard 2 graveyard 4 moss 2 snake rail 4 well 3

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts
Follow The Perks of Being an Artist on WordPress.com

Emily Page

Emily Page

Check Out the Art

You can view my artwork on Facebook or on my website at http://www.emilypageart.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Buy Fractured Memories!

Buy the book!

Goodreads – Fractured Memories

Follow The Perks of Being an Artist on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,252 other followers

Buy Fractured Memories!

Buy Fractured Memories!

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    %d bloggers like this: