Hi there and welcome to Karyn Flett [Photofever] Photography and welcome to my blog. I get to meet so many awesome people and photograph so many beautiful little faces so here's where I can share with you who I've met and how cute they are! This is also a great way to keep you updated on all the latest happenings at Photofever Photography. So thanks for stopping by, please feel free to leave a comment, people love to read how cute you think they are. If your interested in having Photofever Photography photograph you and your family, or your wedding then please click on the website tab where you can then find my contact details. On with the show.......Karyn.
Oh and why not click on the link on the right and come on over and become a fan of Photofever on FacebookA little sneak peek of the gorgeous Emily for the Purdie family – isnt she just adorable.
Well that is it for 2011, NZIPP Conference is over and Im sure there are many many very tired photographers crawling into bed tonight and feeling a huge range of emotions. I had an absolute blast, I got to hang out with some super cool people, I achieved my goal of getting my Associate, I received 6 awards, I saw some of my awesome friends achieve great awards, I ate -slept-breathed print judging, I ran to the Fat Dog everyday for the most amazing food and coffee, I got to witness Sarah and Lauretta’s beautiful interpretive dance – rumor has it I even busted out the moves which may or may not have included the sprinkler, the shopping cart, the wheelchair and the dougie. What more can you ask for in 5 days!
Today I finished it all off with Sue Bryce’s Masterclass, and it was a class with a true Master and and absolute genius at not only making you look beautiful but feel beautiful, which is almost more important right. I am trying to file all the information I have taken in over the past few days and organise it in to what I want to change now, what I want to shoot soon and who I want to be. Ahh I already know who I want to be, I want to be me, I want to keep staying true to what I do (it may not win me Gold but every little face I get to photograph warms my heart in a way I cant describe) and most importantly I want to be the best version of me I possibly can by continuing to push myself. So now that Ive soaked it all in, nows the time to put my money where my mouth is and put it into practice and start counting down till Conference in Christchurch in 2012!!!
Must think of new dance moves before then!
Well yesterday saw the end of print judging, all the awards are awarded, the winning prints are up for display and I am home having a quick 24 hour break before heading back to attend the Infocus Conference – which actually started today but I needed to have a wee break, a catch up on some sleep and get some work done before heading back. The print judging shows the what you need to do and the conference gives you the how you need to do it, speakers talk about how to better run your business, how to push yourself creatively and get the best of yourself. Im looking forward to heading back and soakng it all in, not to mention the Awards dinner tomorrow night where I will receive my Associate award and get to see who wins the major awards – I cant wait to see if my favorite images that I have seen receive Golds and high Silvers take it out!
So how am I feeling now that the Iris awards have closed. Well I am pretty stoked with my 6 BRONZES! And I am so happy to have received my Associateship but I am amped for next year and I am feeling very focused and driven since I will need double the points I needed to get this year to get my Masters and by god I am going to get it! Plus I need one more Silver in the bag to get it so next year its game on. Last year I learnt how important it was to print your own images and have them technically perfect, this year I have learnt how important it is to shoot for yourself and to take photos just for the sake of it, experiment, try new things and create an image that has layers – yep my images next year will be onions! I feel like my mind has been going a million miles an hour thinking about new ways to see things and shoot things and that, people is what its all about. Sure awards are great, but pushing yourself and growth is where its all at. In our nightly conversations analysing it all, I said to my room mate – the fabo Nicola Inglis, for me trying to step away from soft, adorable images of beautiful children and create something different is like asking me to speak French when I only know English, but Im pretty sure there is a middle ground where I can be slightly bi-lingual! And it is going to be so much fun experimenting with it all – but of equal importance to me is staying who I am, and also entering images that depict the photographer that I am so combining it all will certainly make for some onions Im sure – its all about the layers people, all about the layers (meaning the judges need to be able to peel back a layer and peek into a story or an emotion in an image teamed with absolutely perfect technique, processing and printing). Bring on the onions!
So now, with my batteries recharged and a little work done, I’m ready to head back to Conference and sharpen up my business skills and learn all about pushing yourself and being the best you can be and giving people the best that they deserve. Oh I might just have to stop by the trade show as there is some beautiful shiney new cameras and printers that i need to go fondle lol. There is also some fantastic new ways of showing and displaying photos that have caught my eye, so lots to look at.
If you have nothing to do today on this rainy cold day, then jump in your car, head to Rotorua Convention Centre and check out the award winning images up on display, it will be well worth the drive believe me! There are some true works of art on show.
The beauty of NZIPP award winning images absolutely have to be seen in person to appreciate the true beauty an art of them. Way before I ever entered I had trawled through the old galleries of awards gone by and been wowed at the images but didn’t get the true beauty of them until I had seen them in person. Sitting through the judging you are so hopefull at the start that you’ll score atleast a treasured silver, then you see your images in the run through and see the outstanding visions they are in the company of and you suddenly feel that ball of “oh crap” in your stomach. As your prints come up and don’t receive an award it becomes apparent that there is a separation in what it is and what it could be.
I guess there in lies my lesson this year. There are beautiful images and then there are beautiful images that pull you in, make you question what’s happening and leave you wanting more. As my fellow blogger, Nicola Inglis, said in her post – great images have layers and they can be gently peeled back to reveal the story.
I am confident in my ability to take beautiful images, I know what I do and I know what I do well. But I have learnt that I can take it to another level, I can delveage into a deeper story, connection and person and I am excited to get back to work and dive into the deeper end of the pool and see how I swim.
Now before you go thinking I wasn’t any more awards, I am thrilled to have a grand total of 5 bronzes and enough points for my Associate wohoooo! I even have a few spare points that can now go towards my Masters.
Looking at the awards going up for display tonight I skipped out the door back to my hotel and thought I didn’t just get 5 bronzes, I GOT 5 BRONZES!!!! And tonight I celebrate that and all things possible.
And I still have one more shot at maybe a silver tomorrow….cause you just never know.
I had plenty of time to watch the judging today as my first lot of prints werent up till 3.30. The Student/Assistant category was awesome to watch with some stunning work coming from some very talented up and coming photographers. I started the day very calm and at ease but as 3.30 got closer I started pacing, talking non stop and managed to enililate a plastic cup! I am chasing those precious 3 points to gain my associateship and with 4 prints up today, I was seriously hoping to make even a slight dent in my goal.
By the time my prints came up I was a complex mix of calm and jittery but it was well worth it when I was awarded with 2 bronzes. Yay!
Tomorrow is Portrait day and all I need is one little point……but of course im certainly hoping for that and a smudge more 
This week I am on the serious and very exciting countdown to the NZIPP Iris Award and Infocus Conference. This will be my second year attending the awards and my third year entering. So why did I enter and whats my goal….well its like any profession, personal development is so important to up skilling yourself and keeping yourself fresh, not to mention challenging yourself! And what a challenge! How do you choose up to 10 images to enter out of so many that you love, how do you pick the right ones that capture what you want to show about what you do and what you love, its no easy task, in fact sometimes it feels impossible. So what am I entering….its always been hugely important to me to enter what I do day to day, what I shoot for clients, cause I feel like that shows who I am and what I do the best, if that goes down well with the judges then I will be ecstatic, doing the happy dance and enjoying the odd drink to celebrate! If I dont do as well as I hope, then you know, thats ok to cause Ive chosen 10 images that I love, 10 images that show my style, my beautiful clients and what I love doing (and I will still enjoy the odd drink haha).
So thats the what, now heres the why….like I said personal development is super important to me and so is gaining further qualifications through NZIPP. For each award that you receive you are awarded points, 3 points for a Gold, 2 for a Silver and 1 for a Bronze and each time you accumulate a certain amount of points, you receive qualifications. So I am 3 points off receiving Associateship so the nerves are pretty high for me this year! I’d lying if I said I was calmly looking forward to it – I am a jittery bag of excited nerves and am counting down the days with a mix of huge excitement and insomniac nerves!!! I’ll be sitting on the edge of my chair crossing every finger and toe and hoping that I can obtain those 3 points! I’ll be keeping you posted on the results and the tension day to day of judging and if I manage to obtain those points!
3 days to go!!!
So im going to post some off whats been over on my Facebook page
Have you popped over to Facebook and checked out all the lastest updates for Karyn Flett Photography. Lots and lots to check out.
