Connie McDonald, New Zealand Photographer

Connie McDonald is a 19 year old photographer from New Zealand. She loves documentaries, interesting people and stickers. She is positive and has a real lust for the beauty that can be found every single day. 

When did you first start take up photography? 

My first photographic experience was being allowed a whole roll of 35mm film in my parents' SLR to document the growth and release of our tadpoles when I was in primary school. Although, I have been living through a lens since 2010.

Where in New Zealand do you most prefer to take photos? The cities, amongst nature or suburbia?

I spend a lot of my time in the small town of Wanaka in New Zealand during my university holidays. This place is the ultimate source of inspiration for me. I watch sunrises and sunsets, with all their colours swimming into each other; there are many walks one can do, there are also so many summer roses in our garden. Taking time to let the elements of the earth wash over you is a great way to refresh. Lake Wanaka is very cold, sometimes I go for a night swim, other times I like to go and sit out in the rain or let the wind play with my hair. Nature will help you if you let it. I find nature refreshing, but i love the energy of the city also. 

What and who are your favourite things to take photos of? 

I photograph what interests me. I photograph people, places and moments I love. I don't want to lie. I love the people I photograph. They are part of my life, I enjoy their existence, and I want to photograph that, I want to record my feelings. 

Your photography is such a mix of styles and themes does this reflect on you personally or the subject/place of your photos? 

I photograph what is around me. I find the idea of genre photography to be limiting. I like photographing landscapes around me, but I do not what to only be a 'landscape photographer'. I photograph me friends in silly outfits with trinkets from the $2 shop but I do not want to only a 'fashion photographer'. I want to photograph the cinematic moments of life that grab me, and beg for documentation. 

All of your photos are so unique in how they've been photographed. Do you use editing programs or certain cameras to get the effects that you achieve? 

I do not use photoshop much. All the dreamy-ness is done in-camera, not post production. I use a lot of film, both black and white and colour, and I enjoy the physical result of a negative, it's tangibility, it's object-ness. I celebrate film grain, light leaks and film edges. 

In each of your photos is there a certain look/emotion/feel that you're trying to capture? 

In every moment I like to respond to emotions I am feeling by translating them into photographs. The immersion in ones emotions brings interesting responses photographically.

What has been your best memory and moment in relation to your photography? 

I loved photographing the kids I babysit, Grace and Alice, as they practised ballet in their studio. Their comfort, confidence and innocence was so beautiful. I love those girls.

If you could give any advice to girls wanting to become photographers or have it as a hobby, what would it be? 

Life is a journey that you are able to document. I think that is the greatest gift of all. Celebrate your favourite places, people and moments through photographs.

The New Year is approaching, do you have any goals for the future? 

I want to go to new places, meet new people, be curious and happy. 

Interview with Emma Jane Phelps

Last week we discovered Tightrope to the Sun, an amazing blog by Emma Jane Phelps. We asked her for an interview and were delighted when she agreed to answer some questions for us. She's currently involved in 2013's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and provides some insight into the mind of a writer. We hope her words inspire you as much as they inspired us. 

My name is Emma Jane Phelps, or just Emma Jane for short.  I am 21 years old and I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’m a student at the University of Utah studying English Literature with an emphasis in Creative Writing. When I’m not writing or blogging I love to read, go to the theater, see as many movies as I can, go to art shows, hike, take pictures with my friends, anything artistic and inspiring. Anything that can keep my mind moving and keep my soul inspired is my favorite thing, whether that be people watching at the mall or traveling.

(1) When did you first realise that you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always loved to read. When I was little my favorite part of my house was a corner nook wedged in between our bookshelf and the couch. I’d curl myself around my favorite pillow, snuggle under my blankets and read for hours on end. Words have always transfixed me and haunted me even from a young age. I remember writing little bits of my imagination on pages in my room and during school even when I was about 6 or 7. 

I guess the real catalyst was in the fourth grade. Every day we had “writer’s workshops” where we had free time to write whatever we wanted, get two peer edits, and submit a final draft that was laminated for a portfolio. It felt so good and so natural to feel words spilling out of my fingertips and I always felt so proud to get those laminated pages back. I even wrote a longer book called “The Test” that was bound for me. Feeling a book that I wrote in my hand and being able to take it home and set it on the shelf next to my favorite books was the best feeling in the world. I’ve been writing ever since.

(2) We’ve read your novel excerpt on your blog and are already totally gripped by your story. Is this the first time you’ve taken part in NaNoWriMo? How long have you been working on this particular story?

Thank you for reading my blog! I always planned to give NaNo a try for years, ever since I heard about it. I tried my first year in college but couldn’t find the time to write among the drudgery of my actual homework. This is the first time I’ve given my all to NaNoWriMo. I decided to do it this year because this is probably the only year I’ll have that I am only working and not trying to balance school as well. It’s been very challenging but somehow I’ve kept my word count up! 

I’ve been working on this particular story for a few years. I hadn’t written anything prior to NaNoWriMo but I’ve had the entire story on my mind since I was 17 and the events I’m writing about began happening. I knew it was meant to be a book. I’ve outlined the story and drafted the characters intensely since I turned 20. Outlining stories and getting characters exact before I begin the writing process has been a hard process. But now they feel so entirely engrained in my mind. They are more real to me than some people in my life.

(3) Do you have a favorite author? Who is your biggest inspiration? 

I have a few favorite authors and inspirations. I have three books that I consider to be the biggest influences in my life as a person and as a writer. The first is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Zusak’s description is like nothing I’ve ever read before and his writing drives me to be better. That book is perfection. His words are perfection. If I could be one fifth of the writer he is I will consider my career a success.

The second is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Everything Fitzgerald writes is pure velvet. The passion I feel from his characters and from his words moves me so much and is so inspiring. I read Gatsby about six times a year. It’s the book I pick up when I can’t sleep at night or when I need the comfort of a favorite book. 

The third is Looking for Alaska by John Green. John Green’s style is probably the style I would compare mine to the most. His words flow so well, he is smart without ever being pretentious or preachy. I read this book at a very hard time in my life and this was the book that made me want to focus on writing Young Adult fiction. All of his books and books of this nature are full of so much hope and zest for life. I want my books to be the same way.

(4) Are your characters purely fictitious, or do you base them on people you know?

For the novel I’m currently working on, everyone is based on people in my own life. This novel is about what I experienced my senior year and for a few years after I graduated high school. These characters are entirely their own people, but they all have a firm foundation in people I know. My best friends will read this book and know exactly who they are. Although it is a cliché, the old adage of “write what you know” is exactly right. When you write what you know, your words take on new life and new passion. It’s also been a very cathartic experience to write about some of what happened to me when I was growing up. 

(5) What are your thoughts on the importance of children’s literature on the social development of young people? Do you think children ought to be reading more?

I think it’s vital for people of all ages to read. It broadens your mind, it lets you feel emotions more deeply, it lets you be more human and more alive. Reading has allowed me to develop such a greater sense of empathy and connection to my fellow human beings. It’s the greatest source of comfort that I know of. Children’s literature is incredibly crucial in our world. We have become so isolationist in this world. Everyone can sit together in one room but everyone is staring at a screen and not communicating. Books and reading help you learn how to communicate and how to connect with people. Our children need that now more than ever. 

As I said before, I want to write Young Adult literature. The teenage years are so scary to face by yourself. When I read Looking for Alaska I went from feeling so alone and lacking so much hope to being swept away by the thought that I wasn’t alone and that I was understood. I want my books to reach out like this book did to me. 

Children should be reading anything they can get their hands on. Whether they are reading Shakespeare or Twilight, as long as they have words swirling in their heads, a difference is being made. It’s like Fitzgerald said,  “That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.” I think that’s what kids these days want more than anything. To belong. 

(6) What advice can you give to fellow aspiring writers?

Sit down and write. Just do it. In my experience writers are the worst procrastinators. Write for yourself and worry about pleasing others or publication much later. Get words onto a page and don’t be afraid to let yourself suck. I’m really bad at this myself. If I don’t like the words I’m writing, I tend to stop or freeze up. You just have to push through the rough patches and the right words will always come out. 

Read constantly. Surround yourself with inspiration. Never wait to write something that inspires you down. Don’t be afraid of words. Write every single day, no matter what it is or how little you write. For NaNoWriMo I have been writing about 2,000 words a day which is plenty more than I usually write. But you have got to write constantly or you will fall out of the habit. 

Love words. See everything with words in your eyes and an open heart.

(7) Which do you prefer, “real” books or E-Books?

I personally prefer real books because there is nothing better than the feel of a book in your hands or the smell of the pages filling the room. I stare at a screen almost all day everyday and it’s a much-needed vacation to look at the pages of a book rather than a screen. 

That being said, I understand the practicality of E-Readers. It’s awesome to be able to carry hundreds of books with you at one time. I have a Nook and even though I rarely use it, I do find it very nice when I do. Honestly, as long as people are reading at all, I could care less what medium they use. Reading is reading.

You can keep up to date with Emma Jane's work by following her over at http://www.emmajphelps.blogspot.se

The books mentioned in this post are available for purchase here, here & here.

Bonnie Britt, American Photojournalist

"I started taking photographs when I was ten years old. From that moment on it has always felt right to be looking at my world through a lens, because that is how I see things: cinematically. In the beginning of my relationship with photography I felt that I was trying so hard to take good photos, using the tools I had learned in school to properly compose/expose the image. Then I fell in love with the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, and suddenly learned that there is no secret to taking good photos. You simply have to look. That is when I took all the rules I had been taught and threw them out the window, letting my eyes guide me towards beauty.
To look at my photographs is to look at my Self. To feel my energy, see the magic that I see in life, get inside my mind, eyes, and heart. Taking photographs is meditative. I must be completely present, focusing all energy and love in to the moment, so when I click that shutter I have captured a moment in time that has feeling. Richard Avedon once said that photography is the death of a moment.When you look at a photograph you are literally looking at the death of that moment. It was there, for that fraction of a second and will never be again. But there is the proof that moment existed, and here is how I experienced that moment. The magic of photography continues to amaze me every time I see a beautiful image. When you look at my photograph, the light that shines in me radiates to you. It is this way with all forms of art, which is why art is so important. Life is about connecting with everyone and everything, and art is a link." 

See through my eyes and feel my spirit

To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. Its a way of life. 
-Henri Cartier-Bresson

Find Bonnie here: 
http://bonniebritt.com/
http://bonniebritt.tumblr.com/

Sara Nuša Golob Grabner, Slovenian Photographer

My name is Sara Nuša Golob Grabner, I am 19 and I live in a small European country Slovenia. In this small country, my dreams are big. 

I am a photographer, an aspiring actress and I write.

When I was a little girl I wanted to make my life a fairytale. I talked to trees, listened to the wind to learn his secrets, dreamed of finding the perfet love, danced anytime I heard music, walked on my toes around the house and always imagined I am playing a role in a magical, beautiful story. Everything was an adventure, I could become a secret agent, a Native American princess, an explorer, a ballerina. I could become anything when I was little and since then I have never had a doubt I can become anything I want in my life. 

I never had ordinary plans for my life. I wanted to be an artist who's name will be known all over the world. And I still want that and believe I will be. 

I acted in a movie and had the time of my life doing it which only deepened my love for acting. I look up to Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and I and dream of making myself better and better until I become as great of an actress as they were.

After spending years looking at beautiful photographs in Vogue I started creating my own.I started photographing in 2010. Since then I had three solo exhibitions, won a FIAP gold medal, a gold medal from Photographer's Society SVIT, won first prize in kLAK competition and exhibited in many exhibitions in Slovenia including the Transgeneracija festival in Cankarjev Dom. Italian Vogue published 22 of my photographs in their Photo Vogue section. I was a featured photographer twice on Fotoblur.

I love to express myself in writing also, I read a lot, I love poetry, I write my own poems and hope to publish a poetry book in the future. I already read poems in front of a live audience for the first time in May 2013 in a poetry reading in the main city of my country, Ljubljana. 

My first job was teaching dance, which I loved my whole life, to little children for a year and I am incredibly thankful for that experience because I most of the time still feel like a child and that's why I love to talk to children, teach them, learn from them.

I hope to study art history in my future to learn more about art in general.

So this is my life. I live to create, I live in my art, for my love.

You can find Sara Here: 

http://saranusaphotography.webs.com/

http://www.vogue.it/en/photovogue/Profilo/be804ef3-1634-4c16-9eb8-7561c1a3a3cb/User

Interview with Taya Iv

We were lucky enough recently to be able to interview, Photographer, Blogger and Online Editor, Taya Iv.  She talks to us about her plans for the future, her love of photography and how it all started and advice for young writers. Take the time to read her answers, and you will quickly see how how inspiring this sixteen year old really is. 

(1) When did you first discover your passion for photography and writing? 

I discovered both passions at different points in life. I was always an avid writer without realising; I spent my days scribbling in my diary. When I was 8 years old my teacher introduced our class to snail mail and my first ever letter was sent to an Irish boy thousands of kilometers away. From then on my discovery of my love for words and writing started revealing more of itself to me. I discovered photography when I was 12 years of age. I was surfing the Internet looking for images to use as references for drawings (for it was the passion for drawing that I knew I had from a very young age) when I came across DeviantArt. DeviantArt showed me all the arts varying from writing to illustration to photography and much more. I found so many photographers whose work ignited a flame within me that was always there. I just needed a spark and the first photographers I met were the candles that shared their dreams with me and set my passion on fire. I had a camera phone which I used to take self-portraits. From then on I have been upgrading my equipment and falling in love with capturing memories over and over again. I have never looked back since then.

(2) Your photography is portrayed in such a beautiful and positive light. Would you say thats a personal perspective on how you see the world surrounding you? 

I look at the world through ‘nature’s glasses’ as I call it. Nature has its course and it does not rush at all; I do my best to follow its lead.  Having been thrown into difficult situations I see no other way but to stay tough and focus on the wonderful things I have in life. Without hope I would definitely be someone completely different in a negative way. This is why I like expressing my love, fear and other emotions with the world through my images to inspire them to continue on loving their lives no matter how crushed they feel. So to answer your question, yes! :)

(3) Do you prefer to take photos amongst nature? 

Definitely. I really love how perfect nature turns out in images no matter how gloomy a day is. 

(4) When you travel, what do you hope to gain from that experience? 

When I travel, I strive to learn as much as I can from the people and nature there. It’s easy to think that what we have around us is exactly the same elsewhere; I enjoy proving to myself that every country has its light and its darkness, both of which I tend to see or feel and both of which are totally different to what I am used to. 

(5) You’re the Editor of Tranquility Magazine, could you explain to us how you first came up with the idea to create it? 

Tranquility Magazine was invented by a fellow photographer who asked me to be the magazine’s editor. It was purely her idea to create and share incredible, life-giving images with the rest of the world and give as much inspiration as possible to a world that sometimes lacks it. We are currently working on the magazine and hoping that by next year we will have a lot of new content to share with everyone. Fingers crossed!

(6) You have a lot of online support on your social media outlets, how did you first react to that attention? 

I was surprised and confused (still am now actually, even more) that someone takes the time to look through my photos and send me support. I wish with all of my heart that I can do the same to everyone else, because the amount of love that we all have can just be the trigger that will change the world. 

(7) What are your views when it comes to feminism and women’s rights?

Feminism is amazing. Women should be equal in a way that will benefit the world and I am sure that if handled carefully, the situation of inequality will calm down. I myself am a strong believer of the fact that every female should have a right to education, jobs and much more. Nobody should be brought down just because of their gender. Seeing society becoming enlightened by the support women give to other women who need it overjoys me and I hope I can be a part of that community of women who inspire, love and fight for their rights by giving out kindness to others.

(8) We have been wanting to know this for a while, how long did it take to grow your hair to the length you have now? 

 My lovely mum was kind enough to never cut my hair since my birth. As a young girl herself she would always be forced by her parents to cut hers because it was hectic to handle long hair in those times. She always regretted leaving her locks behind in a hair salon and decided to give her daughter the freedom of choosing what to do with hers. I am so thankful. The only cutting we do is trimming!

(9) Could you share with us a few of your dreams and aspirations for the New Year? 

 I am so excited for the New Year!  I am in a situation where I have to decide where I will be travelling to next to study and I have a feeling that my plans will be complete by next year. Moving again will be amazing and I cannot wait to start studying alongside other passionate individuals. My other plans are linked to Tranquility magazine (and the publication of future issues), a photography calendar and maybe a book. Thank you for asking this question, it reminded me of how much I can look forward to and work hard for even from now

(10) If you could give any advice to young photographers and writers like yourself, what would it be? 

Writers, keep a journal with you no matter where you are. Listen to music, let your mind flow. Forget your boundaries and write as much as your heart desires. If your hand begins to ache but your heart still wants to speak, write more. It’s easy to think that you will remember every minuscule moment and document it later. Truth it, you will forget or, if you will remember, it will not sound as honest or as detailed as it would if you wrote it at the moment or a short while after. Write, even if you don’t feel like it. 

Photographers, do the same with your cameras. It’s easy to let a moment go because you can’t be bothered to take out your equipment or you feel like it will not turn out right. Whenever that happens, think of this: What if your next shot will be the beginning of a new series or something that will inspire people out there? Get out of your way and see how much that will motivate yourself and others. Photograph so you can feel energy, more inspiration and more love for what you do. I think that goes for every other hobby there is out there. Fight your fears, your worries and your pain by using your talent to create something that will become not only your remedy, but possible the remedy of thousands out there. A lot of people need inspiration and you might just be who they need right now. So don’t stop; keep on creating. 

Do you hear your heart beating? It’s pumping blood for you, isn’t that incredible? Your existence is just as real as anyone else’s which means you can go beyond all limits and reach your dreams. Don’t forget to allow your passion to flow in you so you can feel more energy and inspire the world with your existence. You can do this.

You can find Taya here: 

http://tayaiv.blogspot.ru

https://www.facebook.com/TayaSnow?fref=ts

http://www.flickr.com/people/56919100@N05/