Photography Project Confessions

Plus the perks of having a print shop that you might not have expected...

Oh Hey!

“It’s been a while” would be an under statement, cause it’s been a HOT minute since I wrote to you all, but here I am…typing on a new laptop that i hope will make my interneting and workflow a lot more seamless.

Plenty of newbies here so hello to you and thanks for joining the Love Lucy newsletter. What was a weekly newsletter for nearly two years turned into, no newsletter at all, for a few months and that really hurts my pride as consistency is something I like to abide by in all parts of life, maybe a little too much even.

I basically just burnt the fuck out and couldn’t do all the things.

In this newsletter free time I’ve hired a bookkeeper, met with an accountant to discuss big girl things and also built a media company, completely by accident…

We all know how hungry the world is for video right now? This opened the door for us to create a full time business satiating the appetites of brands, makers, creatives, restaurants and everyone in between who wants to share a message online. Woohoo!

Whilst we love doing these little IG reels for clients, it’s A LOT, and we are working on shifting our business model a little to create more balance and time for our other goals both creatively and professionally. But you didn’t sign up to this newsletter to hear about my biz wins and woes so let’s chat photography.

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Seeing Red

This title is one I’ve had for so long now and it’s also the title of a banger Minor Threat song. It doesn’t really need any explanation so that either makes it the worst title for a body of work, or the best…

Restricting myself to photographing one colour is a practise that came about a couple of years ago when I was putting together my 101 Creative Strategies Guide which was based off Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies cards.

I love restriction and think that it breeds so much creativity. I urge you to give this simple challenge a go if you are feeling lost or uninspired with your photography lately. It’s amazing what a prompt can do to focus your work and lead you to uncover your next theme or project.

If you want to see me discovering red subjects in the wild then you can watch my latest YouTube video where I shoot through a roll of Ektar 100 in my Nikon L35AF.

I find projects hard easy to start and hard to finish so “Seeing Red” has kind of just gone on for the last few years and it feels like an infinite project as there will always be more red to discover.

I adore simplicity and repetition in artwork but I also find it’s a danger zone of predictability which is why one must innovate and experiment within that original structure and continue to push the boundary a little bit so as to avoid trad and tired work.

So what will happen with Seeing Red or will it just live in my head?

I’m determined to do something with it and I kick myself because last year I submitted the project to Head On Photo Festival and it got accepted into the non funded part of the festival, which was great but meant I would be out of pocket a decent amount so I decided against participating. I’m still not sure if that was the right or wrong thing to do but, hey, that’s life right?

While Seeing Red finds it’s home another dream exhibition that lives in my head swirling around is “Tiny Observations” another fairly straight forward name that puts together all the seemingly insignificant scenes i’ve captured over the years.

Tiny Observations was recently featured in BROAD MAGAZINE’S online section which felt really special, but other than that it’s another long term project (code for - I don’t know how to finish it and I’m too scared to fully pitch it to anyone so it’s just this beast that gets added to) that has no specific goal.

Often Seeing Red and Tiny Observations cross over into a hybrid project

My Print Shop Is My Happy Place

So I have recently returned to Darkroom.com after seeing how expensive my other IRL options are, especially when shipping overseas. My god it’s expensive.

I always wanted my work to be accessible and I want it to inspire other artists to do a market, start an online shop or just feel like they can do something with their work beyond social media.

The thing that my print shop offers me isn’t selling prints though…it’s a home for these projects and a way for me to see them come together and be sequenced. It’s also a great way for me to determine which of the images I think are the best of the bunch. It’s a forced process that I must go through in order to have the print shop so it feels necessary rather than indulgent and that is something I need to get going with creative work.

Of course selling a print as an artist is hands down the best feeling ever but it’s nice to not have that as the focus and it’s a great way to shield my ego when the shop is slow haha.

The reception has been amazing since reopening and I truly thank everyone for even going over and having a look.

The Tiny Observations collection can be seen here and prices start at $27 for 8x12 prints so it’s an affordable way to buy art wherever you are in the world.

Newsletter readers get a special discount too! Use code LUCY15 FOR 15% off all print orders. I’ve heard it’s even a tax write off for businesses to buy art now, at least here in Australia so that is a great excuse to go and show support to the artists you adore!

Expect me back in your inbox again on the reg and feel free to get in touch if you have any topic suggestions or you want to be interviewed!

Love Lucy xx