Cross Fertilisation - and Episode 30 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

"Mwahahahahaaaa..." (evil laugh, possible wolf howling off in the distance)

It was supposed to be deep and resonate.

I forgot my throat is nearly always dry for the first couple of minutes of my podcast, so instead it came out a bit higher pitched than intended, and certainly no deep resonance.

And as for the wolf, well, I think you might just hear a car driving past...

That's the problem with a live show. You've had to commit to whatever comes out of your mouth, even as you realise it's not working. You can't do another take.

So much for my Halloween special introduction...

However, I think the rest of the podcast went well enough. Numbers were up, although I think that was largely to do with the fact potters, Fitch & McAndrew – who were the clients of photo shoot I was talking about - had shared the event page, the Instagram post, and the actual podcast as it went live.

And the reason I decided to talk about their photo shoot this week is because they are having their 5th Annual Online Exhibition this Friday, 30th October.

Here are the links to their website and their Facebook page – do go and take a look, and follow, subscribe etc

https://fitchandmcandrew.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/fitchandmcandrew/

It's always lovely when you can get a bit of cross-fertilisation with other creatives: I introduce my followers to them and they introduce theirs to me.

It doesn't always happen. An awful lot of creatives I know are neither social media, nor marketing savvy. By and large they, quite understandably, want to get on with creating and not be distracted by having to promote themselves or their work, which requires a totally different skill set and brain wiring.

This is not to say that either Fitch & McAndrew, or I, are experts in any way. It's more a case of the "in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king..."

We're all struggling along in our own ways. But to help each other out, however slight, is still a heart warming thing.

And it helps that they really are a wonderful couple with lovely kids, and I count them very much as friends more than clients.

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0.00 - Halloween-style intro...
0.17 - What's coming up
6:32 - Photo shoot for potters, Fitch and McAndrew
30:00 - Cool birthday presents!
38:26 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
1:17:18 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel -  https://www.youtube.com/kimayres  – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres  Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

54 Today

Most years I've blogged on my birthday. But with the exception of the large party I had for my 50th, for the most part it's a quiet family affair that follows a relatively predictable, although very enjoyable, sequence.

This year I realised was going to be different though. With Covid-19 and social distancing in place, I would not be going to In House Chocolates for a hot chocolate or mocha. Nor would we be going to Cream o' Galloway for an ice cream after a walk on the beach. And apart from Meg, none of the children or grandchildren would be joining us for dinner.

And while there might officially be some leeway for certain, limited, households to mingle, we cannot include ourselves in it. 

We've always suspected that Meg might be in a higher risk category because of all sorts of associated conditions she has with her Down's Syndrome, even though she was never included in the official lists.

However, the other day I read a scientifically backed report which had discovered that the death rate for people with DS who contract Covid-19 is 10 times higher than the normal population.

We cannot take any risks. 

Like many, part of our way of dealing with the situation on a mental health level is to pretty much pretend it isn't happening most of the time. While we're in the house, life isn't much different from before.

But as soon as you start planning any kind of birthday celebrations, it's inevitable a reality-attack will happen. So of course, there's a tinge of sadness about it.

However, within the constraints, we've had a lovely day.

Our morning trip to the Shed Café was enhanced by a home made mocha and a successful Megalicious choc-chip cookie experiment.

After lunch we went for a walk on a beach. It felt incredibly crowded, although in reality there were probably no more than 20 people there. 

Still trying to get the hang of selfies...

We enjoyed it, although felt the need to cut it short as a couple of people had dogs off the lead that looked like they would charge over to, and leap up on, anyone they thought looked interesting.

We had to take the long way back to the car to avoid them.

Maggie didn't disappoint (she never does) when it came to my birthday cake though.

We've managed to keep a really good healthy eating regime going this year. Experience over the decades has taught us that it's fine to have the occasional blow-out, but it has to be contained to one day.

The problem with cake, especially when there are only 3 of us, is there will be leftovers for another day or two - and that can make it difficult to get back on track.

So this time, as part of another Megalicious experiment, she and Meg created chocolate brownies made with ground hazelnuts, meaning not only are they gluten-free, but had a praline-type flavour. It also meant any leftovers could be easily frozen for another occasion and not be left out for temptation.

Of course I ate too much - but then what would you expect?

Some years, around this time, I do a self portrait. I find I have a curiosity about how my face is changing with age.

I recently stumbled across a photo I took 7½ years back, and decided to recreate it:

Early 2013 - back when I used to think I looked old

Late 2020 - the eyebrows are definitely getting more unruly 

Since Lockdown began 7 months back, I've lost around 16lbs. And I'm probably about 30lbs lighter than I was in that younger version of me.

I've been quite surprised to discover I have cheekbones (look at that angular bit just in front of my ear!).

Never seen them before. Even when I was a teenager I had a rounder, fleshier face.

The world at the moment is both incredibly familiar, as at times it feels more like some kind of Groundhog Day scenario where nearly every day is identical to the last - and also incredibly strange, as there are aspects to it where I have no framework or prior experience to make sense of it all.

At this point it feels difficult to have any idea what I, or the world, will look like by the time my 55th birthday rolls around...

Temporal Debt - and Episode 29 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Financial debt is a part of many people's lives. Indeed, most of the Global Economy is built on it.

Money is borrowed from the future to deal with the problems of the now, in the hope that by the time the future comes, the finances will be in a better shape to pay it off.

For some, financial debt is taken to such a point that they have maxed out on every possible source of borrowing. They now live in a permanent state where not only do they not have enough to properly live on, but the interest on the debt is continuing to build up, such that they will never escape it.

Having grown up with a close relative whose attitude was more or less, "better to have something for 6 months and have it reclaimed, than never to have had it at all...", my own attitude to money has always been more cautious.

However, I've come to realise I live in a permanent state of temporal debt.

I never have enough time or energy, so am continually borrowing from the future, while at the same time constantly paying a vastly inflated price for it.

This is the problem of living with ME/CFS, while at the same time trying to earn a living so that financial debt does not become an issue.

As well as being something I enjoy doing, and want to do more of, the podcasts are also the foundation of the way I am pivoting my photography business in this Covid world of ours.

As I look towards doing more in the way of teaching online, starting and growing a membership, and finding other streams of income than taking photos for people, I have effectively been in business-startup mode for the past 7 months or so.

Starting a business takes up considerably more time and energy than maintaining a business, and Chronic Fatigue means everything takes way, way longer than it would otherwise.

The rate of progression feels painfully slow, and I am constantly pushing myself to, and beyond, my limits.

There are days I can achieve a bit more, but the cost is that the following day or two I will be wiped out and achieve little to nothing.

But I find that almost every day I'm trying to borrow a bit more of that time from the future, while still paying for the debt of yesterday.

There's a point in last night's podcast  where my mind just switches off for a moment and I cannot find any coherent thoughts.

Fortunately it doesn't last long. But while I try and maintain an upbeat energy in my presentation, when editing the podcast I can see quite a few points where I'm borrowing from today.

And today, in order to write this blog post, upload the edited video to YouTube, and link and promote it on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, I'm very aware of borrowing even more from tomorrow.

It's not always quite as bad as this on a Tuesday/Wednesday. After 29 weeks of doing the live video podcast I've become pretty good at taking things easy on a Monday and not involving myself in stress-related thoughts and activities on a Tuesday morning.

However, yesterday I had to go to the health centre to have a pint of blood removed (part of an ongoing treatment for haemochromatosis).

I could probably have coped with just being a pint of blood short, but the stress levels associated with having to go a health centre these days are disproportionally huge. No matter the levels of hand-sanitising and face mask wearing, the fear of picking something up, in a place where ill people congregate, is pretty anxiety inducing.

So before they day was properly underway, I was already ready to keel over.

There is plenty of financial crisis and debt management advice about, but where do you go for help for temporal debt?

On a lighter note, the momentary switch off aside, last night's podcast was enjoyable. It was fun to revisit the photo shoot I did with local indie-band, Kasama, and I gave some really shit hot advice on using window light with your selfies...

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0.00 - What's coming up
3:20 - Photo shoot for local Indie band, Kasaman
16:40 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
1:17:30 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel -  https://www.youtube.com/kimayres  – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres  Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

Recovering from the Workshops - and Episode 28 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

When I began my podcast last night, it felt like it had been weeks since my last one – not just a mere 7 days.

In between I had done my live, online photography workshop over 4 consecutive evenings for Spring Fling Rescheduled (see last post).

In some ways it was just more of me sitting in front of the webcam, talking, putting up images on the screen, and saying "hi" to people who were leaving comments. But the workshops were not the same as the regular podcasts.

Rather than me talking about photo shoots I've done in the past, and then critiquing images people had sent to me, this was a hands-on experience where people were assigned tasks and then shared their photos.

Before the workshops began, one of the conversations I'd had with the organisers was, what if no one joined in? We were fairly sure some people would watch them, but there was no guarantee anyone would take up any of the assignments and submit their images.

However, in the end my fears were unfounded – there was plenty of engagement, with people taking part from around the world – from the USA to India, and even one "hi" from Australia!

It was intense, and required a lot of energy though.

Needless to say there was a lot of preparation beforehand, and after each session I had to edit, render and upload the video so it could be ready for the Spring Fling website the following day – allowing people who couldn't be there for the live version to still follow along.

On the Saturday I also did a photo shoot for a friend, and by the evening I was already exhausted before I began.

But I had to be high-energy for the workshops. You cannot expect people to give up their time for someone who is not giving their all. Effective teaching is as much a performance as it is imparting information.

Looking back when I was editing it, I can see there are places when I begin to flag, and then there's a brief pause as I realise what's happening, dig deep, and raise the levels again.

But the ME/CFS doesn't like me doing that very often and I paid for it most of the following day – until I had to do the same thing on Sunday.

The enthusiasm and response of the people who took part, though, did help to energise me. Otherwise I'm not entirely sure how I would have got through it.

Last night's podcast, by comparison, felt like a much gentler affair.

Partly this was because I was back on more familiar territory, having now done 28 weekly episodes, and partly because only 2 people submitted images for critique, so I was finished in less than an hour, which is pretty rare for me.

However, with all the intensity of the workshop sessions, last week's podcast felt like it had happened  months ago, and it was a little like returning to a place that at once is both familiar and distant in the memories.

I did enjoy the chance to revisit the photo shoot I did with singer, Robyn Stapleton, at Comlongon Castle a few years ago, though. I learned a huge amount from that experience, which fed into a lot of subsequent commissions.

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0.00 - What's coming up
2:50 - Photo shoot at Comlongon Castle with singer, Robyn Stapleton
23:49 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
57:30 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel -  https://www.youtube.com/kimayres  – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres  Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

Spring Fling, Photography Workshop - and Episode 27 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

With Spring Fling being an open studios event, where it's very purpose is for visitors to go into studios and workshops, and meet and talk directly to artists and makers, Covid-19 could not have been more detrimental to its existence.

Since 2003, the last weekend in May has been one of the busiest times of the year for many local artists, making preparations for large numbers of people coming into their workspaces. But this year was different.

However, rather than completely writing it off and cancelling it, the organisers decided to postpone it, and redesign it as an online event.

All this week, then (5th to 12th October) is Spring Fling Rescheduled.
https://www.spring-fling.co.uk/

Each participating studio has a page on the Spring Fling website, and many have been expanded to include images of their spaces and videos of their practices.

On my one, for example, I have created a video giving an introduction to how changing the direction of your light source can have a huge impact on the mood of your photo.
https://www.spring-fling.co.uk/portfolio-posts/kim-ayres/

On Maggie's page you can follow her talking through one of her primary sketch books for the series of paintings on “breath”, which is the focus of her current body of work.
https://www.spring-fling.co.uk/portfolio-posts/maggie-ayres/

Additionally there are 2 photography workshops you can follow and join in.

One is about cyanotype printing. Izzy Leach, whom I have been mentoring through the Upland “Emerge” programme, has put together a video and list of ingredients and tools to make it work. She's highly creative as well as warm and friendly, and I would certainly recommend you check it out
https://www.spring-fling.co.uk/kind-of-blue/

The other is by me and is going to be spread over 4 evenings this week.
https://www.spring-fling.co.uk/photography-workshop/ 

Each evening at 8pm (UK time) from Thursday to Sunday, I will be on Facebook Live, taking you through an introduction to different kinds of photography, and then setting you wee tasks to have a go yourself.

Here's the event page on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/events/756127085231822/

And if you like and follow Spring Fling's page, you should get notified when I go live
https://www.facebook.com/springflingopenstudios/

If anyone wants to post their images on Facebook before the following evening, I'll give some feedback on them.

On Thursday I'll be talking about different ways to photograph a household item and make it more interesting.

On Friday I'll be talking about doors and windows – photographing them, and photographing through them.

On Saturday I'll be talking about portraits and selfies.

And on Sunday, as well as reviewing the images, I'll pick my favourite, and the winner will get a one-to-one online photography mentoring session with me.

You don't need a fancy DSLR – anything from a phone to a tablet to a point-and-shoot (or a fancy DSLR if you have one) can be used – nor any clever lighting set up either. 

The whole thing has been designed for people to be able to take part with  minimal equipment, from their own homes, in case they are in a Lockdown situation.

And another advantage about this all being online is you don't have to be in SW Scotland to take part either. It doesn't matter what part of the world you live in, so long as you take into consideration the time differences, and that when I say 8pm, I am referring to UK time.

If for any reason you can't make the live sessions on Facebook, they will be recorded and uploaded to the workshop page on the Spring Fling website by the following morning
https://www.spring-fling.co.uk/photography-workshop/

Do let your friends and families know too – for anyone who's ever wanted to improve their photography, even if it is only on their phones for their social media posts, then this is a great way to improve your understanding of the medium.

I do hope you'll be able to join me.

Meanwhile, in this week's podcast, I talked about my involvement in various Spring Fling events over the years, including the time I photographed 127 Humphrey Bogarts...

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0.00 - What's coming up
4:35 - Introduction to Spring Fling Open Studios
5:55 - My Spring Fling experience over several years
15:55 - I'm Humphrey Bogart, and so's my wife...
46:25 - Introduction to a Photography Workshop in conjunction with Spring Fling
53:58 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
1:18:00 - Ethics of removing an object in landscape photography
1:36:00 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel -  https://www.youtube.com/kimayres  – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres  Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/