"Birth"

"People are born everyday. Ideas and views and goals and dreams. Born every day. In fact, every second of every day. Giving birth is hard. Not only the baby from a mother's womb. But the birth this child has to give throughout its life, again and again. To ideas and views and goals and dreams. And friendships and relationships and new selves. This, I claim, is the hardest type of giving birth. When you want to re-invent yourself. When you need to let go of things known and deliver the unknown. There is pain involved. And great joy."

I wrote the above quote down a long time ago and thought it was so perfect for the image. Unfortunately, I did not write down the author! So, let's just enjoy these beautiful words, let them sink in.....and probably never find out who came up with them.... ;) 

"Tied" ...or is it "Roots"?

My newest little creation "Tied" was so much fun to make! Again, it was fairly early in the morning, I set everything up, and had a rough sketch in mind. Photographing the image was rather quick and in post the image came together beautifully. The only thing that took a little more time was the dress. I really need to investigate more how to get more flowing, "big" dresses so I don't always have to stitch together what I have to turn it into what I want it to look like ;) If anybody (especially in Europe) has an address for me - please let me know!

Also, I did another speed edit for your viewing pleasure!

When I shot the image, my message was very clear to me. People are tied down by all sorts of things and it prevents them from spreading their wings, be who they want to be, do what they want to do. During editing, however, it occurred to me more and more that these "ties" that we love to hate don't necessarily have to be such a bad thing. Can they not be roots that give us a certain sense of safety and security? They can be constants in our life that guide us and can protect us from making decisions that could harm us. It depends on how we see it - as ties or as roots. Do you have TIES or ROOTS?

Curiosity and how hardware stores are the best source of inspiration

I use a Nikon D7000 and my favorite lens is a Nikkor 40mm 2.8G. Then I have several tripods, a few reflectors, and my trusty camera bag that I love more than any fancy purse. Ok, truth be told, there are a few more lenses and filters and accessories. But the 40mm, one sturdy Manfrotto tripod and the bag (a Tenba, for those interested) are really all I need for almost any shoot. Therefore, I don't spend a lot of time in camera stores. In fact, I think I haven't been to one in almost two years. Where I like to spend time is in fabric stores, at flea markets, and especially in hardware stores! I ALWAYS, without exception, walk out with something that I could use for my photography. They are just great, aren't they? Clamps, pieces of wood, random containers, construction lights, paint, tape, barbed wire, regular wire.....just so many great items to use for photography!

During my years in the US I saw my share of ginormous hardware stores. But now, living in a small country where everything is.....well, small, imagine my absolute delight when my husband and I discovered this DIY store the other week that even had a DRIVE-IN section!!! I have heard rumors that something like this existed but have never seen one in person. Imagine all the stuff you can get there for all your photography projects. [I do sound like a complete geek, don't I?] My husband quickly succumbed to his fate and patiently walked miles and miles through that store with me. Also, he tried not to look too embarrassed when I let out a small shriek of joy when I found the perfect ROPE. Trust me, only fellow (conceptual) photographers will understand my reaction ;) I proudly brought home my rope, sat down, and started sketching my photo ideas. Let me tell you, items like this make me happier than any pair of shoes. I'm a photographer girl, not a girl-girl after all :)

Two days, one quiet morning, and a night shift later I finished my first rope image. I kept it very simple and for this simplicity I love this image.

I also recorded while editing and, as always, you can watch the video right here! I have used stock images of ropes in the past and the resolution was always terrible. So, this time around and with my very own rope I could photograph rope sections individually and piece them together later (as you can see in the video).

I cannot wait for my next trip to my new favorite store and I'm curious to hear if you share my love for hardware stores. Have you purchased items in DIY stores that you couldn't find anywhere else to incorporate into your photography? Which ones and for what images? Let me know in the comments section below!

Sanctuary - An Image for my Book Series

"Sanctuary" developed very quickly. Shoot, composite, save. Some images just flow ;)

What is your sanctuary? What is the place where you feel like you can lose yourself, where you feel safe, and where you lose track of time? I chose a book for my image because stories, foreign countries, their geography, new characters and their biography make my mind travel and time fly. Especially during the most unstable or more difficult periods in my life I clung to books because they provided a constant, allowed me to pass time in foreign lands, and life stories different to mine. While I still refer to books as steady companions, photography more often than not substitutes reading. This is the main reason why I called this portfolio Dreamworlds - on a small scale, the images take you away into far away lands and unknown stories. I hope you like it and I hope you share a little bit about your sanctuaries!

In addition to the image I also have a VIDEO for you! Enjoy!

Stand Guard

Hello everyone!

I worked on this image last week but had shot the components a few weeks ago. I'm not entirely happy with the result and chances are that I will take this piece offline eventually and start editing (and possibly shooting) from scratch. The process, though, was a fun experience and I recorded the editing process - purely for your viewing pleasure :)

It is not hard to tell that this piece is a "part 2" of my image Guarding Dreams. I do plan and sketch out some of my images or at least start shooting and editing with a specific idea in mind. Guarding Dreams and Stand Guard developed simply because I wanted to do something cool with a key ;) During the editing process, however, one of my strongest traits emerged and took control - to protect the people I love, our home, goals and dreams, principles, and sanctuaries. I'm sure many people can relate to that. This is also what makes the editing process so interesting to me. I start out with a fun prop and end up with an image in front of me that, at best, is Sabine in a nutshell ;) I don't consciously think about a specific message, it somehow pops up and manifests itself in an image. The creative process is just full of surprises!

I hope you like this piece and get a kick out of the video below! If you would like to see a few more speed edits that you might have missed in the past, visit my YouTube channel, drop a like, or, even better, subscribe :)