Fellow Photographers,

This week has been something of a busy week, so my weekly newsletter a little shorter than normal. Last week I highlighted the RPS Distinctions Night and Lightroom Training Day which are coming up in less that a fortnight. This week I am highlighting three different messy events which are all taking place in February. Three events, each with their own style. They are:

Friday the Thirteenth – Part Two (Friday 13th Feb, 7pm – 10pm) – Ok, so this isn’t really a messy event as such, it is a horror themed night but there will be a reasonable amount of fake blood in use at the event, so it is sort of messy.
Clear Slime Nude (Friday 20th Feb. 7pm – 10pm) – At this event we will be creating art nude images, using clear slime to enhance the photographs we are working on.
Messy Day with Jesse Marie (Saturday 21st Feb 10am – 5pm) – This is another of our popular studio messy days.

In addition to details of the above events we have link to an article about regular photography exercises which will help improve your skills as a photographer.

Plus the usual photo of the day and details of a stock photography sale. Both of those have a messy element to them. A very messy bookshop and a sale that got very messy when it came to getting payment from the client.

For all of this…. please read on….

Featured Post

[LINK] 7 Daily Exercises

I don’t often post links to articles I find on the web. However I spotted this one on digital camera world. There are some interesting ideas here:

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2014/04/19/7-daily-exercises-that-will-make-you-a-better-photographer/

The key thing in the article is that if we are to improve as photographers we need to be constantly pushing ourselves just a little outside of our comfort zone. Why not commit today to pick up a new photography skill or to tryout a new technique.

Forthcoming Events

Friday, 13 February 2015 – Friday the Thirteenth – Part 2 – Fear Factor!

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Location: Ian’s Studio
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Price: £29

Anther in our horror movie themed shoots. This time we will be concentrating on the emotions connected with such movies. From the fear of the victims to the mad delight of perpetrators. We will be photographing screams, tears and maniacal laughter. Add to all of this the odd splattering of (fake) blood and you will have a photography night to remember.

Our model for this event will be Karen R (See: http://purpleport.com/portfolio/karenr/?referrer=ianbutty ) but there is also the chance that the studio’s very own mad axe man may make a re-appearance too… you have been warned.

Price: £29

Please book via my website: http://www.ians-studio.co.uk/events/friday-the-thirteenth-part-2-fear-factor/

Friday, 20 February 2015 – Clear Slime Nude

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Location: Ian’s Studio
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Price: £29

The main feature of tonight’s Friday Night at the Studio event will be creating art nude images involving the use of clear slime. We will add an unusual twist to our art nude images by adding a texture to the model by the use of the clear slime, combining this with dramatic lighting, and the posing of the model will create some memorable images.

Although working with the slime will be the main feature of the event, it is not practical to shoot images in this way for the whole three hours of the event. For the first part of the event we will different art nude images using material to enhance the lighting and the model’s pose.

The model for this event will be announced shortly.

Price: £29

The maximum number of spaces for this event will be seven.

Please book via my website: http://www.ians-studio.co.uk/events/clear-slime-nude/

Saturday, 21 February 2015 – Messy Day

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Location: Ian’s Studio
Time: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Price: £99

Another of our full-day messy days at the studio. At this event you have the chance to create photographs or video with a messy theme to them.

Typically at these days there will chances to shoot at least four different messy set-ups and scenarios. At past events these have included art nude with multicoloured slime, messy diner, messy decorator, game show with forfeits.

The set-ups will be tailored to suit the type of “Wet and Messy” styles the attendees wish to wish to shoot. It is expected that a significant number of the set-ups will appeal to photographers who enjoy shooting “splosh” / WAM fetish images.

Our model for this event will be Jesse Marie (that’s her in the eFlyer!) you can check out her profile on purpleport here: http://purpleport.com/portfolio/casinomarie/?referrer=ianbutty

Jesse will be getting messy both fully clothed and fully nude.

Please note that we are working with messy substances at this shoot and it is advisable that photographers wear old clothes, just in case!

Price: £99

A minimum of three photographers is required for this event. The maximum number of photographers will be limited to just five.

Please book via my website: http://www.ians-studio.co.uk/events/messy-day/

Photo of the Day

POTD (9 Years ago today) 28 Jan 2006: Books in a second-hand bookshop

Books in a second-hand bookshop

I’m currently thinking about Tunisia as my next overseas photo trip. I’m looking for a copy of “The Insight Guide : Tunisia“. This afternoon I decided to go and look for it a book shop that I’ve been going to for over 15 years.

The shop is in Cheadle and can be best described as being full of character! The upper floor of the shop is crammed with books of all types and ages. Over the years I have had quite a lot of science fiction books from this shop and it is often possible to find SF books here that are tricky to track down elsewhere.

Sadly for me on this visit – if they did have the Insight Guide in stock – I couldn’t find it!

Other photographs of Cheadle: http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/4F9904D7-7009-4CA2-B66F-300CDFB4DC96/cheadle/7/0/0/1/Ian%20Butterfield.html

POSTSCRIPT: Less than a year after this photo was take the bookshop burnt down.

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a source of free photographs.
This photograph is (c) Ian M Butterfield. All rights are reserved. No use Is permitted (including non-commercial use) without prior permission. If you wish to use any of my photographs please ask first.

Image Reference: EY0128A-D00361

Stock Sales

For those who are interested in Stock Photography here’s some information about some of the strange and not so strange sales that I have made.

Non-SALE 11 Feb 2005: Liverpool

The Liver Building, Liverpool

NUMBER OF SALES TO DATE: 0
SOLD VIA: None
LICENCE: Rights Managed

I wanted to post this non-sale image for various reasons, not least to show how long it can take to get definitive answers.

The photograph was taken on my 40th Birthday we went on the Manchester Ship Canal day cruise and I created this image as we were coming in to Liverpool.

The image sold two years later (or so I thought) via one of Alamy’s distributors. The problem was it sat on my account as uncleared for months, eventually months turned to years. It wasn’t until 30 October 2008 over three and a half years after the original ‘sale’ before I got the refund message.

Apparently Alamy had some problems with one of their distributors in Poland and I think there may have been legal action to try to recover funds. Sadly if any funds were recovered I never saw a penny of it.

This image remains unsold.

19 Feb 2005
Country: United Kingdom
Usage: Editorial
Media: Magazine – Print only
Industry sector: Retail books/magazines/newspapers
Sub-Industry: Miscellaneous
Print run: up to 25,000
Placement: Inside
Image Size: 1/4 page
Start: 18 February 2005
End: 18 March 2005

Followed by
30 Oct 2008
Sale Refunded.

http://www.alamy.com/image-details-popup.asp?Imageid={C134B2DD-6BDD-49B3-80D9-C4F984A2E860}

Image Reference: EV0522A-D00494