A Creative Lifestyle Blog By Zoe-Lee Skelton

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Day Four | A Photo A Day | Caught In The Headlights

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I cycled past this scene and then abruptly stopped.

The lingering twilight meant I had to open my aperture up to it’s fullest (f.4) and bring the shutter count down to 1.00 s

The wall was otherwise spotless, so it looked like someone had violently chucked paint at the wall just to spoil it. I wanted to add a gritty filter to accentuate the aggressive act.

I made use of the “high pass”  filter and changed the radius to 5.0
 
I then added a desaturate adjustment to the layer and flattened the image. It’s given the image a high contrast, gritty finish. 
Tune in tomorrow for my next photo!

Christmas Travels

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I went wandering over Christmas

As always I set off from home, camera in tow, and go where the mood takes me. 

I’m amazed by the types of scenes I come across on my travels; dilapidated buildings and once treasured possessions, bustling traditional farms, animals that didn’t quite make it, and the uncompromising beauty of the everyday that unfolds in secluded locations.

This selection of pictures was taken in and around Bedfordshire – but I couldn’t tell you exactly where I took them. Firstly because, for some shots, I was trespassing, and secondly, some places are so rural and off the beaten track I couldn’t even begin to give you directions.

I hope the arrangement represents my meandering path.  

As always, let me know what you think.

Nature and Landscape Photography

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New approaches to landscape and nature photography

I’ve recently become the proud owner of a canon 60d. I took my new toy for a spin on a recent holiday to Wells-next-the-Sea, where I changed my mode of transport almost entirely to biking.

I’m an avid cyclist and I usually stumble upon my shots when on two wheels. This way, I’m able to jump off my bike and place myself entirely in the scene. The far reaching Norfolk landscape and mostly uninhabited locations allows me to do this undisturbed.

“Sharpness is a bourgeois concept”

– Henri Cartier Bresson

I’m not the type of photographer who sets up a tripod patiently waiting for something to happen in front of me; I have too much energy to stay still. I trust my eyes to spot and intriguing, beautifully composed scene my camera is there to document it.

When I’m outdoors, I don’t want to capture scale or as far as the eye can see, I like to immerse myself in my environment, whether that’s crouching in a corn field or presenting the landscape from unusual perspectives.

 
Anyway, let me know what you think in the comments below.
 

Lomography Peacock 200 ISO 110

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They arrived. Finally. After a string of stern emails to a bemused Lomography.co.uk customer service assistant, my pictures found their way through my letterbox

I picked up my Canon 110ED 20 with great self-satisfaction for a mere £2 from a charity shop in Bedford:

 

Even more fortuitous – it’s actually in good working order!
The films cost more than the camera itself. Such is the way with archaic equipment reentered into the cycle of things by ‘trendy’ people.

 

Lomography film pictures

Anyway, without further ado, here’s the outcome from a number of shootings taken at different intervals over a two month period. I used a Lomography Peacock 200 ISO 110 film which was slide developed. They’re a little grainy, which I think is partly to do with the way a cross-development process and partially due to the low level lighting of the individual scenes – you’ll notice that I braved inches of snow for these shots, so I’m more than happy to embrace the grain.

Fashion Designer Claire Maley

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I recently wrote an article about my fabulous fashion designer friend based in the concreted grid that is Milton Keynes. What sets her aside from other young designers – apart from her marginalized location –  is the unique and economical process of digitally printing her designs onto nylon. It’s quick, cheaper and there’s less mess!

You can read the entire article below, or follow this link to IN:MK’s site:
http:/www.inmk.net/article_details.php?id=19


‘If nobody wants to hire me, I’ll hire myself’  

Nov 20, 2012

‘Claire Maley is the designer and owner behind the explosive brand CM, based in the not so bustling town of Bletchley.’
Miuccia Prada, the harbinger of couture handbags, worked briefly as a mime. Gianna Versace originally trained as an architect, and Ralph Lauren started out as a road salesman before his garments adorned the cast of the Great Gatsby, cementing his name among the fashion glitterati forever. These designers did not merely spin straw into gold. They grafted hard.
Claire Maley is the designer and owner behind the explosive brand CM, based in the not so bustling town of Bletchley. Not wanting to settle for the steady suburban lifestyle, this young entrepreneur appears to be making a big bang in the universe. As I gaze star-struck at her Rainbow Galaxy print tee, I sense that this girl wants to push her brand to regions beyond.
Claire Maley design
Like most graduates, Claire found it hard to bag a job after university; however, this resilient Coventry graduate has taken a D.I.Y approach, and thankfully, the CM brand was born. Nearly a year after this determined young lady technically hired herself, business is booming, and Claire has become somewhat of local celebrity. Fresh from a BBC Three Counties Radio appearance with Nick Coffer, her Facebook page is hurtling towards the 500 likes mark and she is soon to be releasing her second collection. Oh, and did I mention that she painstakingly sews and manages the business single-handedly?
Founded in January 2012, the young designer creates unique, digitally printed apparel, bringing together the worlds of art, fashion and social media. Unique being the operative word, you can genuinely see this fusion of the arts and the digital age within her first collection available on her website. The son of man swim, obviously a number for warmer times, uses a Magritte classic, deliberately cropped for the wearer to allow fashion to do what it has always done: allure, transform and differentiate. This is fearless fashion: you will not find this in size order merchandised by a poster girl.
Claire tells me that she already has an international clientele: Texans and Tasmanians to name a few. But I’m not surprised. After my sneaky peek at the new collection – which mixes uncompromising design with grungier styling, I’m sensing an insurgence of fans from all over. Fear not, Claire has not forgotten her loyal U.K following. Pop the Fashion Store in the quaint town of Olney, just outside of Milton Keynes, is now the stockist of the brand.
Claire Maley design