I’ve been nonstop since the end of March and it looks like I’ll only have one day off between now and the second week of May… whew! If you find yourself in the Joshua Tree area be sure to stop by and check out my labor of love! On display through April 28. I will be at the gallery April 27 & 28 from 1:00-5:00 PM both days. I’ll post more about the entire thing once I get some downtime. Until then, enjoy this write up in the Hi Desert Star.
3 weeks away! Come on out and show your support for starving artists!
Opening Night Reception: Saturday, April 6, 2019
The Glass Outhouse Art Gallery
77575 Twentynine Palms Highway, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277
If you haven’t already, book your room as hotels are filling up FAST! These are the available hotels as of March 12, 2019:
Sunnyvale Garden Suites www.sunnyvalesuites.com
Best Western Gardens Hotel at Joshua Tree National Park
Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Twentynine Palms- Joshua Tree
Tower Homestead www.towerhomesteadguestranch.com
Mojave Trails Inn & Suites www.mojavetrailsinn.com
El Rancho Dolores Motel (760) 367-3528
9 Palms Inn https://9palmsinn.com
Motel 6 Twentynine Palms
Rodeway Inn & Suites 29 Palms
Americas Best Value Inn Joshua Tree/ 29 Palms
Or look for an Airbnb.
Palm Springs International Airport is about an hour drive from Twentynine Palms.
If you’re staying in Joshua Tree proper, it’s about a 30-minute drive each way.
Active military is usually given a discount at hotels in the area as Twentynine Palms is home to one of the largest military training areas in the nation.
If you’re not able to make the desert trek, please make sure to follow my Instagram @helldini and hashtag #muchachobyhelengordon.
You can view the show April 6 - April 28. I will be there both opening and closing weekends.
Hope to see you there! -Helen
A few weeks back I was looking for a ring light so I could experiment with lighting and taking portraits. I found a pretty good one from Photojojo and it happened to be on sale for $49; score! The more professional ones can be pretty pricey but I wanted a cheaper one in case I didn't like it, I wouldn't have invested much money. This thing is pretty awesome, it has 3 levels of brightness, you can change the light to work on just one side at a time, run constantly or sync up with your flash settings. Pretty good for starting out on lighting. This past weekend I was able to use it on some friends who were kind enough to let stick this obtrusive thing in their face!
Those eyelashes!
This little light has definitely lit a fire under my ass to keep working on portraiture. If you've been thinking about getting a ring light and are on a budget, I highly recommend this one (especially if it's still on sale).
-Helen
Last weekend I attended a wedding with my best friend... not really relevant to you but I'll explain what this has to do with portraiture. There's a quote about photography that I both love and hate: "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough." -Robert Capa. I love it because it's true; I hate it because it forces me to get close to people. I'm a firm believer in personal space but this is something that you need to get over in photography. No, not every photo shoot will be in your face, sometimes arm's length or a few feet farther is perfect. But to capture something that is moving or beautiful (to me) is to capture the eyes. They speak volumes.
Since I have a hard time photographing people and my best friend has a handsome face (he claims he doesn't while batting his mile-long eyelashes) I've found that it's easier for me to work on portraiture with someone I already feel close to. I don't mind getting up in his face and vice versa. He doesn't mind me constantly taking his photo and working on new techniques, he rarely says no and c'mon, he has a handsome face. He has become my muse over the last few years. I get into these documenting modes where he's basically having a conversation with a camera. So, if you're like me and find it hard to connect with people to take photos, try using your best friends. Ask them to pose for you. It's seems pretty simple, like duh, but a lot of people are not that into you sticking a camera in their face all day, every day... trust me. Even my dogs walk out of the room when I pull out my camera. And I buy them food!
So after the wedding we went back to the hotel where we thought the wedding party was going to, y'know, party... but they all went to sleep early - BOOOO! So we went back to our room and voila! A few beers and Dewar's later I have a few shots I'm OK with... I'm not that close, just across the table but baby steps people... baby steps.
I posted a few more on my Flickr for your viewing pleasure. I'll be working on more portraits over the next few months and I want to know any tips you have so leave a comment below!
-Helen