16 Hours Mag and Holga Friends

Posted on Friday, December 16, 2011 by Amanda

Back in the summer, when friends came to town…when the sun was shining and high overhead. I shot them with my Holga and Kodak Portra medium format film.

Speaking of film, this week, the lovely Daniella interviewed me for her ‘For The Love of Film’ series on her blog. You can read it here. Thanks for having me, Daniella!

And in some super special news, I’m honoured to have my work published in the third issue of 16Hours magazine. The current issue is on the theme of Urban. There are some amazing artists included and I’m thrilled to be among them. The magazine has just been released and you can purchase a print or digital copy here.

The Print Store Is Open Again And A Video Story

Posted on Thursday, November 24, 2011 by Amanda

Here’s a little something I made for your Thursday. I hope you enjoy it.
Music: There Is a Number of Small Things by múm.

And after a long hiatus, I’ve opened up the print store again. You can find many of my images from 2011 in the store and a couple of old favourites too. Please send me an email if there is an image you would like as a print and we will work something out. And if you are on etsy, add me to your circle! Check out the print store here.

And the winner of the Pretty Polaroid Notes pack is…Mina! I have sent you an email to find out where to send your pack of Pretty Polaroid Notes. Thanks so much to everyone for entering. I truly appreciate your support.

Give Away Winner!

Posted on Friday, October 28, 2011 by Amanda

Thank you to all the people who entered to win a spot in the Autumn session of Shoot By Design. I wish I could have you all!

The facebook winner is Stephanie Ricketts! Stephanie, please email me at a@mocking-bird.org so that I can set you up! Congratulations.

Thanks everyone. I hope I can do it again sometime.

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These beauties were in bloom back in Sydney and I shot them from every angle. I’m such a flower harlot. How pretty are they?

Welcome New Readers

Posted on Thursday, May 19, 2011 by Amanda

Hello readers new and not so new!

This week I am so thrilled to have my photography featured on decor8 and I’m guest posting over on sfgirlbybay! Thank you Holly and Victoria for having me on your beautiful blogs. I’d very much appreciate some love over on sfgirlbybay if you want to stop by and check out my post on village life that is up today.

I also wanted to say hello to any new readers who are stopping by via sfgirlbybay and decor8. It is so lovely to have you here. For the new readers and as a reminder to our lovely regulars, I’d like to point out a few features on the blog. You can find favourite posts over in the right sidebar, along with all the links on where to subscribe via RSS or email.

If you want to find out more about Mocking Bird and a little about me, check out the ‘about’ page.

I run 2 regular features called What’s In Your Kit? and Wandering Neighbourhoods. ‘What’s In Your Kit?’ is an interview series with some amazing photographers and I’ve got some great ones lined up in the next few weeks. Wandering Neighbourhoods is a photography feature where I take a little trip around neighbourhoods with my camera.

I’ve also recently announced that I will be running an online photography workshop called Shoot By Design: Refining Your Photography Style in the coming months. Check out the course page for more info.

It is so lovely to have you here. Please feel free to leave a comment and join in the conversation. Welcome to our little pocket of the universe!

Mocking Bird Turns Two

Posted on Thursday, May 12, 2011 by Amanda

Thank you for the wonderful conversations, the lovely emails, and all the amazing comments over the past year. It fills my heart each time I discover a special message from a Mocking Bird reader.

Thank you to all the quiet readers – I appreciate you taking the time to view my little blog. Please say hi in the comments if you haven’t before.

As it is Mocking Bird’s birthday, I thought I’d share some silly things about me you don’t know just for fun!

5 TV Shows I Watch:

Fringe – if you follow me on twitter or Instagram you already know this. I tweet about it often. Holy finale, Walter Bishop!
Community – A show that certainly gets better with age, last week’s episode was the best episode of any comedy this year. Hello, Josh Holloway Cameo!
Parks and Recreation – Ron Swanson I love you.
The Amazing Race – Yes, after all those seasons, I’m still watching. I love the travel aspect and totally crush on the Phil eyebrow raise.
Mad Men – Don Draper. Need I say more?

5 Beauty Products I love:

Nars blush in ‘orgasm’. I wear it every day to give me a healthy glow.
Laura Mercier Secret Concealer – It covers up my dark circles like no other concealer can. I’ve tried them all!
Cetaphil skin cleanser – I’ve also tried many cleansers over the years and it keeps my face clean and fresh. I use it to remove my make up.
Mac eye shadow in ‘rice paper’ – I sweep it over my lid before other shades and it really opens up my eyes.
La Mer cleansing lotion – This is the best stuff I’ve ever used. It leaves my face super soft. Super expensive though and I’m almost out.

5 Musicians/bands I love:

Sigur Ros
Arcade Fire
Radiohead
U2
Bjork

and not in that order. I’ve seen U2 12 times, Radiohead 4 times, Sigur Ros 4 times, Arcade Fire 3 times and Bjork once.

5 Places I’ve Visited:

Ireland – I won a U2 competition back in 1998 and won a trip to Dublin to stay in U2′s hotel, The Clarence. I also won The Edge’s guitar. It’s back in Sydney. I loved Ireland so much that I went back again in 2001.
Italy- A love affair I’ve had for 10 years. I’ve been longing to return ever since. A photographer’s paradise.
Boston – I adore that town.
London – Every time I’ve been in London, it’s only been for a few days at a time. I need to spend some real time there.
Every state in Australia except for Tasmania (and the Northern Territory).

This was kind of fun. Maybe I’ll do some more in the future. Happy Birthday, MB community!

Polaroid Day: Black Edition

Posted on Monday, February 7, 2011 by Amanda

Some time ago, a publisher in Korea contacted me about including some of my Polaroids in a book called Polaroid Day. The book has been released in Korea and I was lucky enough to receive an artist copy from the publishers. I was so thrilled to see my Polaroids in the book, especially as one of them was placed opposite Deborah Rodrigo’s gorgeous coffee shot. She and I used to live very close to one another back in Sydney, so it was kind of funny that out of 42 photographers, they placed our photos next to each other. And her Polaroid is gorgeous! That’s my teacup shot up the top also.

I wanted to share a few other shots from the book as it’s filled with some beautiful photography by some amazing photographers including Debbie Martin, Patrick Ng, Claire Dollan, Brecht Cuppens, Marika Ryu and Irina Mashurova.

Communicating with Korea was a little tricky and I’m not sure if the book is going to be available in Australia, Europe or North America. However it looks like you can purchase from the publisher website here.

2011, A Year Of Focus

Posted on Monday, January 17, 2011 by Amanda

A lot of bloggers, creatives and philosophers like to choose a word to look to for a year. One word that can launch their aspirations and drive their success for the year. I’ve never done this myself but am drawn to this idea of giving yourself a target for the year. If I were to choose a word that would buoy my hopes for 2011, my word would be “focus”.

In 2011, I want to focus on focus. I want not to do a little bit of this and little bit of that, to not start one thing and then start another, but to concentrate my efforts in one area until I have something substantial and something that I am proud of. I hope to direct my photography down this path and to really look at why I’m shooting. At the end of 2011, I would much rather have 10 photographs that tell a story than 200 that are bits and pieces of a bowerbird’s nest. This is not to say that 200 bowerbird pictures aren’t suitable and honest, but for me right now, I need some focus and a little direction.

Have you chosen one little word in the past? How did you find it helped you throughout the year? I’m interested to see how this plays out and would love to hear your opinions on whether it worked for you or not. I’d also love to hear about your words for the year, if you’re playing along.

Twelve- A Photography Project For You

Posted on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 by Amanda

Start the year with Twelve!

Twelve is a photography project I have created with you in mind. For the next 12 months, I am going to host a photography project based on a monthly word/theme. This is not a project for me, but for you, my lovely readers. I encourage you to join me in a monthly photography project with a twist.

What Do You Need To Do?

Sign up for a flickr account (if you don’t have one already) and join the group, Twelve. At the beginning of each month, I will post a theme or word for you to explore throughout that month. Along with the theme word, I will also provide you with colour inspiration for that month. You can shoot the theme alone or the theme with the colour inspiration included in your photograph. For example, if the theme word is ‘grow’ and the colour inspiration ‘green’, you can shoot your photographs around the theme of ‘grow’ or you can shoot a range of photographs incorporating both the theme and the colour green.

I challenge you to take at least 3 to 6 photographs per month. The idea is to take the theme and interpret it in a number of different ways. I encourage you to shoot more than one image to try and stretch your range and scope. You could shoot the same subject 5 different ways or shoot 5 separate subjects. If you would like to shoot more than the advised 4-6, go for it! Feel free to shoot any medium- digital or film.

Once you have shot your images, you can share them in the flickr pool and add them to your blog. You may want to create a special set just for your Twelve project photographs on flickr. Come back here and leave a link to your images on the appropriate monthly Twelve post to share with others. I may share some of the monthly images here on Mocking Bird.

I encourage you to look at other people’s images and comment on their work as well as sharing your own. Building a community of photographers can only help to make you a more aware and thoughtful photographer.

The theme for January is: Wish- Hold your breath, dream big, look forward, with open arms, take a leap…

January Colour Inspiration: violet, white

I am excited to get started with Twelve and I hope you will join me in this project for 2011. Would you like to join me? Get snapping!