Exploring Felting - and making a felt flower

 Hi everyone. I hope you and yours are well. In the northern hemisphere I know there have been very hot summer temperatures and devistating fires, while down here in winter-time Australia we have had a lot of rain in the south and floods on our east coast. It is cold and wet where I live in the south west of Western Australia. But I am grateful for the rain though it does sometimes interrupt my daily walk.  

I have never been much intersted in felting. But a few weeks ago I "discovered" the Felting Pot Sudio in the lovely Fullers Coop - basically a big shed with lots of artisans in their own lock up spaces. They are mostly open Thursday to Saturday - with the cafe open Monday to Saturday. It is our new favourite place for lunch with friends. Only about 15 minutes from my home by car and no problem with parking. There are even comfy chairs with knee rugs if you are feeling the cold. 

Anyway after I discovered the Felting Pot Studio which I must say is full of deliciousness for crafters, and chatted to the owner Natalie, I liked them on Facebook and then saw an advertisement for a beginners felting workshop - a day workshop where you make a felt flower. So I enrolled. What a great day I had with a lovely group of ladies. Natalie went through the steps so clearly and we all came home with a felt flower. 

Now I am not going to pretend I know much about felting - you would need to go to a workshop yourself - and there are You Tube videos - but I think a hands-on workshop is a much better idea. 

Felting is I discovered very labour intensive! There is a lot of pulling, rubbing, pounding and rolling, soap and water involved. And surprising to me - bubblewrap! 

Starting with a selection of "wool top" (top left below) we all ended up with a beautiful felt flower! Below you can see my finished flower on the right. I added some gold thread stitching and some little beads I had at home left over from some other long forgotten project. I was really happy with the result. 

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Weekend portrait photography workshop

Sadly I don't seem to have much of an opportunity to do portrait photography (a willing model is essential!), and in truth, I don't feel I really have the skills necessary, and certainly haven't had the practice I would like.  

So I jumped at the chance when the Photography Group of Bunbury advertised a portrait workshop with portrait photographer Seng Mah from Venture Photography, though in truth Seng is much more than a portrait photographer.  

The workshop is one of a series of workshops that the photography group is offering this year through a grant allocation. 

The workshop was held at the historic Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, and after an introduction on the basics of portrait photography we were lead through a series of settings using fixed and strobe lighting in a studio setting, and then out onto the street to photograph in natural light in shadow (street art in an alleyway was a perfect backdrop for this), and natural sunlit situations.  

Here are some of my pics from the day.

Participants getting in close in the dance room of the art gallery. 

The beautiful faces of Hal who was a pleasure to work with. I really love the bottom one changed to black and white. 

Dino, who is quite new to portrait modelling 

 All these photos were taken with my 50mm lens, on full manual mode.

A few basic tips:
Connect with your subject - communication and collaboration with your model is the key
Expose for the face but focus on the eyes
Turn face towards the light 
A portrait should be a story about the whole person
Lighting can evoke different moods - shadows can sculpt the form and create drama 
Do you want your background blurred, or included to tell help tell the story?
                                       .................................

Last August I had the opportunity to join a 20s style glamour photo shoot with the Photography Group of Bunbury, also using fixed lighting in a studio type setting. This was totally different to anything I had ever done before. These workshops are helping to build on my skills and make me feel more confident. 
 
Here is Sammy and Veronica. 

I really love these opportunities, but I also like candid family or travel shots too. These require a different set of skills. Talking to the subject is very important, ask them about themselves, what they are doing. Show them the photo, offer to send them a copy.

This was taken last year in Spain. As we were on a walking tour I was very sorry I didn't have time to stop and talk to this guy playing his guitar on steps in the old town of Albaicin in Grenada. I should have gone back and dropped some money in his hat. 

 Do you like portrait photography? Do you have any tips for better images? Perhaps you would like to share in your comments. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

Live in Bunbury and want to join a photography group?: Photography Group of Bunbury

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit
Little Things Thursday
Friday Bliss at Floral Passions

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