I've been shopping!

I'm on a very tight budget at the moment. I've been keeping to $20 a day for the last month and it's not as tough as i thought it would be. I mean, I now see how ridiculous it is that last year, when I was earning more than double what I am now, and I didn't have a $50/week fee to pay for a correspondence course (which, incidentally, I haven't started working on yet.) I was spending pretty much everything. I could have been putting $300 a week into my savings, and still be living off the same amount of money I am now! If I had done that, i wouldn't have all this pesky debt stopping me from enjoying any windfalls, like extra work shifts.

That said, I was so proud of myself after my first fortnight of budgeting- I was paid about $520, which leaves me with $420 for transport/food/alcohol and I managed to not spend $65. I have no idea how I did it, but I figured it made sense to reward myself. So I spent it (+$10) on things I WANTED (oh God I've missed that)

What did i buy? I hear you ask. Shoes of course! Last year, I fell in love with the Tony Bianco "Nemesis" wedge shoe boot. They're beautiful- but at $190 I really couldn't justify it right before a trip to Europe. Then I discovered Betts "Poppie" which is pretty much identical to the Biancos, for only $90. What luck, I just happened to have a 45% off voucher that my friend gave me. So I spent about a quarter what I would have, had I succumbed to the beauty of Tony Bianco, for a shoe that, from afar, looks the same. The are of course, faux suede as opposed to genuine, but that just means I can panic less when it rains, yes?

I have to tell you, they are THE comfiest shoes I've ever worn. Well, the comfiest shoes that make me 4-5inches taller than I actually am, that is. I mean, wedges are, of course, more comfortable than say a stiletto heel. It's just logic- there's more foot support which puts less stress on the ankles, balls and calves. Also, as the have a rather thick platform, there's none of that burning pain in the ball of your foot that you get with most shoes. I feel like I'm wearing flats! They're perfect. And they look good with pretty much anything- jeans, skirts, stockings, bear legs, socks- anything! I'm pretty much in love with them.

Now my other significant purchase recently was that of the Ebay variety. I had a brief love affair with Ebay a few years ago, and when I fell in love with an incredible shade of MAC lipstick, I wasn't too keen on the idea of paying $36 for something that can be bought in the US for just $13.50. So, to Ebay I went. Including postage from NY, it was only about $23- well worth the 10day wait for arrival. I was a bit nervous about buying a lipstick without testing it first, but I'm pretty happy. The colour, Girl About Town, doesn't make me look like a hag, and though it's a bit glossier than the Sephora Maniac Matte I'm used to, it doesn't disappear in 5 minutes like many others.

(Please ignore the fact that I look like a stunned mullet. And yes, I really am that freckled)

As for the colour, the pictures don't show it perfectly because I took them in my bathroom and the light wasn't fab. It's basically fuchsia. I've had my eye out for such a brilliant pink for a while- after seeing plenty of it on the runway. I think it's amazing, and when I saw the profile photo of a facebook friend with the exact colour i was looking for, I had to ask. It was no surprise to find out it was MAC, and in fact it was the same girl who suggested I try Ebay.

I'm feeling pretty poorly right now. I woke up this morning feeling like I'd been hit by a bus filled with mucous or something. Which sucks because I'm working tomorrow and the next day and I get the feeling that it will probably get worse. Right now, I'm functioning on a fairly regular level, with only the slightest hints of delirium. Tomorrow could be a different story.

Tonight I'm off to my first Ramshackle gig since last July, and their first since September. I just wish I wasn't sick because it's cutting into my enthusiasm. And I can't decide what to wear!

Expect photos soon, they're beginning to build up.

-m xx

Oh, and p.s.

I believe I mentioned the other day that I waxed a friend's chest? Well, large chunks of it were filmed, and lovely Jared has edited it into a 6min film of pain and awesomeness.

If you have never heard my voice, you may freak out a bit. I don't talk much but I know that when reading a blog you get an idea in your head of what a person sounds like and if I don't meet that expectation I'm sorry! As a special treat, you may even hear me sing a bit! So please, don't have a mental breakdown over my man-voice and the weird accent I sometimes adopt when on video. I don't mean to do it.



En.Joy.

-m xx

P.S. pay close attention to the scene where Jared waxes a strip. I instruct him on how to do it, specifically saying "do not pull up." What does he do? And Andy ends up with a square hickey on his chest from it.

P.P.S mushroom nailpolish featured heavily in the vid.

Snow and Debauchery

So, I survived!
And you'll probably be disapointed by the lack of debauchery in this post, but I like the word.
I can reveal that we succeeded in making a time machine, but it only goes up.
Also, ski goggles are apparently a lot more useful as Nerf dart shields than anything else.
There may be more photos up later, for some reason when I rotate the vertical ones, they un-rotate once uploaded here. That and if I get my hands on some of the photos on other cameras I'll be bound to find some wee gems to share.
So I should be doing another promo shoot for Ramshackle this weekend (I know, you're sick of their faces, so am I) depending on weather of course. Hoping it goes spectacularly. And you'll be seeing some fresh faces soon now that I've got a camera I can take anywhere, got a few shindigs and such coming up with people other than the Shackle! What an exciting life I lead.

Anyway, here's what you really want, the rest of the photos:

Falling over to find a particularly lovely view.

The Happy Couple

Tony has the best smile. Seriously.

Unfortunately the best photos were mostly portrait. I'll try and fix that issue and get them up.

Peace

-m xx

Been a long lonely lonely lonely time

J.

Ok. So I'll admit, it's been a while. What with the limited amount of time I actually spend at home and the general state of tiredness/apathy I tend to be in when I AM home, I haven't been in touch. I'm sorry blogger, I've neglected you.

Well, works going well. Preparing myself for the best pay ever next friday! Because of work I haven't had all that much time for photography lately. But I do have some to share with you!
Backdated photos from the Hunter Valley trip as well as some I got on Sunday night at a last minute RS gig.

Just call me commercial.

Steph.

The Golden One...

A first appearance on ff. for Kent

Going to the annual fashion photography exhibition at the MLC centre on Saturday, as I actually have the day off work! Pretty excited. Hoping to get some good inspiration, especially as I've got another Ramshackle portrait shoot coming up and hopefully a paid one for another band. Also, one of the bands playing at the Landsdowne where RS were on Sunday night want to book me for their next gig in the area. So hoping to hear from them soonish.

I need to make business cards but I've been procrastinating since the link to my facebook page isn't a very practical one. Anyway, I've decided to make a second blogger, just for my photography. It will have the links to here and my fb, as well as the obvious things like contact info.

Been having some really interesting ideas for artistically ironic photoshoots lately. I really want to achieve a photoshoot with a story to it, to set myself and the boys apart from most amateurs. I'm aiming to get that one perfect photo that makes you go "Yup. That's the rolling Stone cover!" Gunna "pitch" them to james and see what he thinks. Also trying to get a few more started, put the extras in the bank etc.

Anyway, Ill keep you posted and try not to be away for so long this time. Peace out!
-Mell

How so Halso?

So I was totally inspired by spying one of his photos in a blog I follow (brookestyle365.blogspot.com -have a look see) and thought I might revisit the work of Ilkka Halso. I discovered him early year 12, upon the advisory of my art teacher, as she thought he'd make a good "artist of obsession" for my process diary (hate that term, basically it means an artist that somehow inspires us. All a load of bullshit because he had absolutely nothing to do with my concepts or practice so...)

Anyway, so here is some of his amazing stuff:

Very similar to the one posted by Brooke

As you can see, he's mostly environmental and very into photo manipulation. But he actually does build some of the structures in his photos- They take ages! Now that's dedication to a cause.

Tonight is the Marlow/Corpus gig at The Bull and Bush in Baulkham Hills. So new, exciting photos of different people will be up soon! Lovely!

Still hunting for a job, unsuccessfully. Haven't heard anything from last weeks resume thieves but oh well. Something will happen soon I'm sure (I hope or bye bye Europe. And I have to book it soon so it'll be bye bye deposit on flights. I guess I could just go UK and Oktoberfest and maybe tack a bit of Germany on the end...)

Exciting news! 1. I'm getting a hair cut tomorrow. And I mean cut. I'm saying bye to my hair and hello to a new, Ruby Rose-esque do (not the blonde, just the cut). 2. I'm going on a snow trip with the RS crew in June. I'm not going to take Derek (the D90- I finally named him) but I should have a compact by then so I'll still be able to get some OK photos. I'm pretty excited.

Ok I just scrolled to higlight everything and a Spanish translation of my entire post appeared in a little box. Odd...

All for now.

Ramshackle Photoshoot 27/12/09

Been a busy few weeks what with Christmas and New Years and all in between, so I apologize for not posting for a while. Hope you all enjoyed Christmas and had fun bringing in the New Year! Did you get your midnight kisses?
Can't wait till next year when I'll be spending NYE watching the ball drop in Times Square. Well, here's hoping. I really need more income so I can increase my travelling funds. And I have to start booking Europe soon! So stressful already and I'm not going for 7 or 8 months.

I've started various modification projects, so I'll get photos of them up when (if) I am done. It takes me a while to do these sorts of things because I've never really learnt to sew so I kind of guess a lot. That and having the attention span of a gnat makes it difficult to stay interested. But slowly, surely, I plan to get them done!
To more exciting news, I did a photo shoot for Ramshackle on the 27th of December. It took about 5 hours of my time, but we did get some good shots. (Not 5 hours worth, mind. The boys enjoyed goofing off and as it was the first time they'd done this kind of thing, their modelling skills aren't exactly stellar).
Their Lewisham gig is coming up, Saturday the 9th and I'm pretty excited to try and get some actual paying clients while I'm there. J's brother, Travis from Marlow asked me to take photos at their upcoming gig which is pretty cool. All experience is good experience that will some day lead to paid experience. I hope. I am discovering that the field of music photography seems a lot easier to get into than fashion photography. And it's a great starting point if i can do more portrait style shoots.
Also, Dad just bought a portable photo printer, so if people are interested I'll soon be able to sell small prints on the spot. I'm thinking I'll start at like $2.50 a print (they're on 2"x3" and who am I to exploit people?) and drop the prices for bulk purchases. Like 10 prints for $20 and so on. But then again, people might not want to buy such small prints when they could book me for a gig and get a whole CD that they can then print at whatever size they want! I'm going to go buy blank CDs/DVDs today and save all my photos on to them, to make sure I have external back up. Then I'll be able to use them for selling as well.
Anyway, here are some of my best shots from the 27th. To see the rest head to photobucket.


Test shots- Jared

love it.

Location one, West Ryde

"ssssshhhhhhhnuhnuhnun!"

Location 3- Gladesville Hospital Tunnel

J. relaxing in between shots

Andy. Despite the exposure being way out I like it.

Candid photos during the planning stages.

J.

Tony.

I have more to come. My net keeps crashing so I'll do them in another post.

Happy 2010 everyone!