Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the past.
You know, I lived on Australia for over a decade. My next stop was Paris. I lived there for about 2 to 3 years. I went there with about 20 strong images from Australia. My friend here says all the images were of scantily clad women. And it’s true, I did have a certain look to my portfolio. Now let me explain:
Your portfolio is as strong as the weakest element. For example, if the hair is bad, your image is bad. If the makeup is bad, your image is bad. If the clothes are bad, the image is bad. You get the idea. I tried to lessen the chances of a bad image by minimizing what I use (i.e., clothes). My photos were more elemental, like sun, skin, water, sand. That sort of thing. It took me over a decade to just get 20 strong images. Like I said before, my images were more elemental. I guess I kind of learned the element idea from my father, who was a great artist. www.donnice.com
My images were more about the elements of nature. Of course, we used models as a focal point, but the elements of nature gave the images energy. Either way, it was fun. I shot underwater, in waves, even moving on a trampoline, used clouds as the background, wind. Stuff like that. It always gave the image a bit of energy.
My friend here just reminded me of a story I did. We were shooting swimwear with a japanese catalog. They said, Mr. Nice, you’re not done. You have one more photo.” It was dark out. We were by the ocean, so I said, “No problem.” We pointed all the headlights on the girl and put her in the water. I shot in black and white. It looked cool. I should have done the whole story like that. Here comes the “You have to adapt,” sort of thing. Anyway, it was cool.
So, basically, what I’m trying to convey is just use the least amount as possible in your image. Clothes can date a photograph real fast. A specific era hair and makeup can date a photo. So I just kept it natural. Anyway, that was my look I was always going for.
Now I take pictures of flowers and clouds. Who said life is boring? Never a dull moment, and always changing. My friend here said I’m very philosophical today. I replied, “No, I just had a lot of coffee.”
This is B. Nice signing off. Love and miss you guys. Love, B. Nice