I’m Still Alive!

Hey folks.

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve spoken to you all. It’s been a very busy time, but I’ve also gotten out of the groove of writing lately. I’m trying to force myself to get the ball rolling again, so the motivation will hopefully return. Without wanting to make an excuse, or ask for sympathy, this is a problem I’ve long had to deal with: running out of enthusiasm for a project. I think it has something to do with my ADHD, and it’s a real struggle to overcome sometimes. So I hope you’ll all understand and allow me a little leeway :) It’s not that I don’t enjoy writing about photography, or that I’ve given up on the blog, it’s just finding that spark of enthusiasm when everything inside me just goes “meh”.

What’s been going on?

In no particular order:

Creative Portrait Photography classes
The next class will be starting next week, but there are still two spots available! If you’re quick you will be able to get in on this great value, hands-on class that I run. It’s on the next four Mondays, and it only costs $130aud. Read the full details here: http://neilcreek.com/classes

I’ve been published in an ebook!
The first Digital Photography School ebook has just been launched, and I am one of the contributors. The book is all about portrait photography, and has been assembled from the very best resources on the topic published on DPS. In addition, I have written an exclusive chapter on portrait lighting. Also, six photographers have been interviewed on the topic of portrait photography, and I am one of them! It’s a huge honor to appear in the book alongside incredible photographers like Chase Jarvis. I’ll follow up with a post with more detail soon, but if you can’t wait to get your hands on it (and take advantage of the introductory special price of 25% off) then follow this link: The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography.

Facebook Fan Page
In the past I have tried to build a strong community around this blog, which has succeeded to varying degrees both on Flickr and via a forum. Neither has really taken off, however, so I wanted to try a slightly different route. As such I have created a fan page for this blog on Facebook. If you are a Facebook user, and you enjoy reading this blog, then I encourage you to pop on by and join the fan page. I’m planning to organise events, projects and maybe some competitions via the group, so please don’t hesitate to participate in the conversation! More on this in a future post.

New blog features
You may have already noticed in the last few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with some new technology on the blog. In the right column, under the tabbed navigation, there is a Facebook fan page box. This ties in with the new Facebook fan page, and shows the most recent posts made there by the page admins, as well as some random pics of some of the members and a link to join the fan page if you have not already. This is a great way to stay up to date with the latest happenings on the Facebook page. At the bottom of the blog I’m trying out a beta of a blog footer toolbar, which has some interesting features. I encourage you to have a play and use it to get around the blog, share posts with your friends, or other handy functions.

Smugmug banner
I have been using Smugmug as my primary image gallery (alongside flickr) for a few months now, and I’m very happy with it. I recommend the service to photographers who want to show off their photos in the best possible way online. I’ll post a more detailed review in a future post, but I wanted to acknowledge that I am now promoting Smugmug via the banner in the right column. This is an affiliate link, and I make a percentage commission on any Smugmug signups that go to the site through the banner. So if you’re planning to sign up, I would humbly ask that you do so via the banner, and help support this blog at the same time!

I can’t believe I’m an Apple user!
About a month ago, Naomi and I joined the masses and became iPhone users! I love the little thing, and I’ve been having lots of fun with it. I’ve also been trying out many apps, including a lot of photography related ones. I plan to write a post (or perhaps a series of posts) in the near future about how I use my iPhone as a photographer, and what photography related apps I have found useful.

Interstate work!
I feel like I’ve hit the big time :) After finding some of my experimental photography on Flickr, which matched their vision for an advertising campaign, I was contacted by a Sydney based advertising company. Long story short, a few weeks ago, Naomi and I flew up to Sydney for an intense two day photo shoot, working with a TV crew, at ten different locations, with eight different models. It was a very exciting and educational experience. I can’t go into detail about the job just yet, but once the campaign goes live, I’ll be doing a writeup of my biggest job yet. I hope you’ll find it interesting, and maybe learn something – I sure did! To the right you can see a behind the scenes photo of the TV crew at work on location.