Skip to main content

Exhibition at the Atkins Building is Up and Ready!!


This has been a long time coming.  Probably for as long as I can remember I've wanted to be the sort of person who could put on an exhibit. I remember being 8 years old and asking for a camera because I wanted to produce the sort of photographs I admired from others. I always had a fascination with the family albums and our slide projector. I was forever asking to put on a slideshow, much to my parents annoyance. I remember vividly loving some photographs of me as a baby sitting on a shag carpet with the light coming in from a window to the side and thinking it was a fantastic photo. I realise now that I was already admiring good available light. I might dig that photo up one day and post it actually.


So finally I've done it. My work is on display and it is everything I wanted it to be and more. I didn't realise how much seeing all these images in print would mean to me. I spend so much time working on them on a computer and sharing them on social media that I don't get to have a lot of these in print. Of course my clients do but they don't stay with me for long before my clients come to collect them.


It made me realise how much more impact a print has over a digital image. When I saw for the first time some of my portraits framed I actually felt a little emotional to the point where I had a lump in my throat. These are images I've worked on over and over again, either preparing them for clients, competitions, my Fellowship and for social media. I would have thought they would have lost their impact on me by now. But the way I feel when I see an image digitally is nothing compared to the feeling I had when I collected my work from the framers.  Jo from The Frame Game in Hinckley does all my framing.  She did a fantastic job, as she always does for me.


I am now incredibly excited for the preview night on Friday May 15th. I keep getting emotional thinking about it and seriously hope I can hold it together on the night.


I can finally say that I am where I've always wanted to be and doing what I love. I've heard it said before that if you do what you love for a living you will never work a day in your life. That feels so true for me because so much of what I do feels nothing like work. Even as I write this now I'm happy to be doing so.


The Atkins building is a superb venue for this event and I'm so pleased with all the help and support from Hinckley council in putting this all together. My exhibit will be running through to June 1st and as I mentioned above we are hosting a preview night on Friday May 15th starting from 7pm. All are welcome and the more the merrier.  So if you are in the area I'd love to see you there.


And while you are there I'd love it if you'd sign my guest book. This is an important event for me and this will make a cherished keepsake for me to remember this by.

I hope to see you there!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teen Portraits - Prom Season is Just Around the Corner

If your child is heading to prom in the next couple of months I'd say there is probably no better time than now to have portraits created of your growing teen. With the purchase of a new (and probably expensive) outfit wouldn't it be nice to capture this milestone with a portrait created by a professional. Across the pond this is a hugely popular time to create portraits, and although I am not American (I'm Canadian) I wholeheartedly agree that this is a special moment to record. My prom was a key memory in my teen years and in fact I myself had professional portraits created also. I think I'll go dig them up if I can, though admittedly I think my mother has them back in Canada. I wonder if I can get her to scan one for me. My daughter is currently making plans for college and in the running is one that will move her away from home, as many others are probably experiencing for themselves, particularly those who are 18. This makes it all the more important to ...

My First London Fashion Shoot

Well I finally did it. I bit the bullet and faced my fears and headed to London with a good friend, Mr. Panikos Hajistilly to do my first location shoot. We chose our locations together and Panikos organised a model and brought so much of his gear which he kindly shared with me. And probably most importantly, he showed me how it's done. I was so surprised to see just how much wonderful light was there, just waiting to be used. I am a studio photographer and while I understand the use of studio flash very well, I am very much out of practice and out of my comfort zone with using available light. Its one thing to place lights and backdrops around my subject in the comfort of my studio. Its very different to find the right light and the right backdrop in unfamiliar territory and to place my subject in it. That may sound simple enough but honestly it is not, particularly on a day with no clouds in the sky. One of our planned locations just wasn't possible as a result of the ...

Its a Dog's Life

When life gets tough I always look at dogs or my cats and think how lucky they are. I know not all are treated well but those lucky enough to be in a good home, like the ones who come into my studio, have a really great life. They look so happy and its a wonderful thing to see.  I honestly love photographing dogs. They are a joy to work with and its almost impossible to produce a bad portrait of a dog which does of course make my life a little easier. I am someone who really needs to love the work I create. I can't help but love the portraits I've created of all the dogs I've photographed over the years. And this shoot was certainly no exception. I found it a real pleasure using a lighter background this time too. I do often gravitate towards darker looks but seeing as this dog had a light coloured coat I thought I'd produce lighter images. This gave me the chance to use a canvas I painted a couple of years ago but never really used and I absolutely love it...

Family Photos with Flair - Vanity Fair Style Family Portraits

This style of portrait continues to be the eye catching success I had always hoped it would be. Once again I created a beautiful family portrait that I am really proud of and I know this family loves too. Over the years I have developed this style through influences such as Vanity Fair and the many photographers I follow, though I hope that there is something in here that is entirely my own. Having my work easily identified as my own was a goal of mine from the start. Getting to the point where people will want not just a portrait but a Christina Lauder portrait is where I've always wanted to be and I'm hoping I'm on way. These portraits were created for the family of two professional photographers who wanted some portraits of their own. Family portraits isn't really something one can do of oneself, at least not easily. So they needed the services of another and I was honoured to be chosen for the job. They chose me not just for my style but also for my ab...

The Cuttest Little Creature (a baby Shih Tzu) I Ever Did See

I say creature, rather than dog, puppy or even animal only because as I looked through the images I had created on more than one occasion she looked like more like an animated character in a film than any dog I'd ever met. Weighing in at just over 4lbs she was little more than a ball of fur, adorable in every way. Once again my work day felt very little like work. I love creating pieces such as these and the bonus of puppy cuddles is simply wonderful. This one above is a particular favourite of mine. The scales are quite accurate so its nice to have a keepsake that includes just how small a new puppy is. This family will always have this as a reminder, not that this little on will grow particularly big. This image above is quite easy to create because puppies naturally try to climb out, yet they aren't big enough to get themselves out. This results in quite a captive audience giving us some great portraits. Here again this little girl looks like a ball of fluf...