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CommentAuthorwarrenellis
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2010
Katie West is a photographer, a writer, a self-portraitist, a self-publisher, occasionally a model, a teacher and probably a few other things I've forgotten since it's still early for me here. I've known her for a disturbingly long time now, and have watched her grow to the point where she greeted me in the opening pages of a newspaper published by another friend whom I didn't even know Katie knew. She's kind of everywhere, sometimes, and this year she's going to be in more places than ever.
So I thought it'd be nice, for her and for us, to start the year by giving her a week here to just ramble away at you, show off some photos, talk about ideas, photography, self-publishing through POD, bloody Star Trek and whatever else occurs to her. She'll answer whatever questions you come up with -- like I say, she has done a couple of POD projects, and I know some of you here are planning the same.
Say hello to Katie.
-- W -
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- CommentAuthorAngela Hunt
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2010
Hello, Katie! I'm so glad that Warren's asked you to do this.
Fangirl moment: I frikken' adore your work. What are your plans for this year? -
Hello there, fellow Canadian!
I also like your work. I was wondering about the requirements to be an 'artist' in this era: how many hats must one be able to wear? And do you think the number of hats has increased or decreased? -
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CommentAuthorhalcyonday
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2010
Hi Katie! First things first; the prints I have bought from you are consistently the prints on my walls that people comment on the most. :)
In regards to POD, how are you finding the takeup? Is there a particular service you prefer and what, if any, pitfalls do you hope to avoid? -
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Hi Katie,
Just a quick note to say that this remains my single favourite photo I've found on Flickr. I was wondering how much tinkering you do with your photos after taking them or if they are all presented as taken by the camera. Also, just what camera you used. -
Hello. Good morning. Thanks Warren for letting me ramble about things like, oh, ...Star Trek. And things...
Anyway, I've been sick since the 26th of December and haven't left my house too much which lets a bit of the crazy sink in. For Christmas I got the Star Trek Scene It board game, and I've been playing it by myself. It's actually pretty good, not too easy, not too hard. Might be more fun playing with another person though...
Anyway.
@Angela, hello. You are too kind. :) And in terms of plans for this year, I'm working on a black and white book, which is a direct result of Warren pressuring me to do so. I also just bought a new camera that has video, and I've been very interested in attempting to make videos. However, I've realized making videos of yourself is very difficult. So it looks like a plan for 2010 has to be to find more friends. I also want to write more.
@Thor - is that actually your real name? That's pretty amazing. I think the number of hats an artist must wear has increased. The majority of people I know who work as artists are multi-talented powerhouses who can draw and paint and make music and design websites and take photographs. I don't know if this is because artists are so underappreciated that in order to make a living as one, you have to be able to do more than one thing to seem valuable; or if it's because artists these days aren't satisfied with creating art and being limited by a single medium. Maybe a bit of both.
@Meg - I am glad people like the prints, or that they comment on them at least. ;) In regards to POD, you have to realize what you're good at. I mean, I really really suck at shipping. So when I sold my last book, and had all the books shipped to me, and then I signed them and then had to ship them all out, I just hated doing it. It was the last thing I wanted to do, and as a result, they shipped slow and people complained. However, with my first book, the books shipped direct from the printer so I didn't have to deal with it at all, and that is a way better option for me. But now I know for sure that I will never put myself in charge of shipping again, right?
Blurb has excellent quality books, but something I learned with the last book I made, is that what you see on your computer (especially if you're working on a laptop) is much different than what you get in print. And I'm not really versed in what I have to do to make them look the same. So that was difficult for me to get over - having the test copy of the book arrive and looking much different than I had anticipated. But Blurb has good customer service, and I've always been told they have the most superior quality. And I guess you're paying for this quality because the books ain't cheap. My first book was 80 pages, full colour and I sold it for $49.95. The base cost of the book was $35.95, so it wasn't the most profitable of enterprises, but it wasn't bad. Luckily I sold about 120 so it made the small profit margin worth it, a bit.
With my next book, I'm making it a black and white in an attempt to keep costs down, both for me and the buyer. We'll see how that goes. A lot of POD is taking risks and seeing what works best for you.
@Dan - I used to tinker a lot more with my photos than I do now. For instance that photo you like? It's really tinkered with. The curves are adjusted like mad, the colour is muted and...oh, that's it I guess. I usually find that the only time I fuck around with a picture much in Photoshop is if I don't like it. And I find myself trying to rescue one aspect of the picture that I like, while the picture as a whole sucks. I usually give up. The majority are just straight from the camera though.
I just got a new camera! My friend Dom got me a fantastic deal on a new Nikon D5000. I've always used Canon but Dom was a very persuasive salesman and convinced me the Nikon is more suited to what I do, and so far he's been right. It's a nice camera, but using it has also made me realize even more that what camera you use has very little to do with what sort of results you get. I figure I could be using any camera, and would still be getting the same sort of pictures.
Like this one.
Oh, and these days I am making things black and white for the future book. And I am a fan of lots of heavy contrast in black and white, so...yep! -
Thanks for coming around and sharing your time, Katie.
1. How much do you plan and finagle when you're taking pictures? How much of what you get is the result of setting the stage for happy surprises?
2. What do you use for lighting equipment?
3. Why Star Trek? I know why I like it. What about you? -
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CommentAuthorDarkKnightJared
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2010
Hi, Katie! Glad you're feeling better. :)
I've been tinkering in my head about doing something in POD as well--more on the prose side than pictures--and one thing that I either haven't been able to find in my research or my mongoloid meat-pan isn't quite comprehending is about copyrighting one's work. How do you make sure the books you publish have more that the things inside are your work other than your name on the cover? What do you think of Creative Commons, if that's a good route to use with POD? -
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CommentAuthorlexmachine
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2010
I love you Katie!
I want to know a lot of things, so hopefully it's not too much: How do you go about taking your self portraits with a dslr? Do you use a tripod? Set it on whatever is handy? Timer or remote trigger or nearby friend? How many photos do you usually shoot before you get one you like? Has that changed with time?
Thanks for spending some time with us here. Very much enjoying this thread already and looking forward to more. -
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CommentAuthorJack Scoresby
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2010 edited
I love you as well Katie. =P
So, questions:
When you write, what inspires you? I remember reading something I particularly liked of yours and when I asked about it you told me you had wanted to use three specific words in it, and you just crafted the story around that. Do you just find reasons to craft stories like that or is there always just a story you want to get out?
Do you think you'll ever publish anything that's just a collection of your writing?
Besides the black and white book (which I'll get, unlike "Tokens of Affection" which I really really fucked up on by not getting) making videos and making new friends this year, any other plans this year? Like around the beginning of May? Huh? Huh? =P -
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CommentAuthorLeandro Damasceno
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2010
Katie is super talented, beautiful woman that I follow and Flickr for a long time. I actually have no questions for her right now, but I should urge you to know her work as soon as possible. She's awesome! -
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Hi Katie.
I really enjoy your writing as well as your photography and was wondering if you ever considered taking it further (for example regular articles - like your short stint on the FLNGS blog) or maybe in other directions?
*edited to add:
I just read your latest tumblr post and it reminded me why I read what your write. It's your intelligence; the way you do the things you do because you want to. For that, you should be congratulated - not enough people have the guts. -
Blurb has excellent quality books, but something I learned with the last book I made, is that what you see on your computer (especially if you're working on a laptop) is much different than what you get in print. And I'm not really versed in what I have to do to make them look the same. So that was difficult for me to get over - having the test copy of the book arrive and looking much different than I had anticipated. But Blurb has good customer service, and I've always been told they have the most superior quality. And I guess you're paying for this quality because the books ain't cheap.
My book came out a bit more saturated-looking than I anticipated, but if anything that was an improvement. I didn't use the Blurb Booksmart software, though - I'm a graphic designer by trade, so I used Adobe InDesign (CS3) and did as much proofing as possible beforehand.
So far my only real complaint, though, is that the softcover option, while cheaper, leaves a lot to be desired - the covers are pretty flimsy, and tend to curl at the corners.
Whatever the case, if you need to pick anybody's brain on pre-press issues, I'm always willing to help out.
Bret -
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CommentAuthorMatthew Sheret
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2010
Allo m'lady!
You mentioned further up a little about the limited image tinkering you carry out, but something I really liked about your submission to Paper Science was maximising that; scything out huge parts of the image and cutting out a lot of what has brought people to your site - both in terms of what of you was in shot and the lack of background.
Any chance you'll do more of that kind of thing? -
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@Will - 1. it depends. Sometimes I plan, but mostly, I just go. I find whenever I try to plan a shoot, it rarely turns out to my liking. There isn't usually a setting of a stage either, just, my house usually. I'm not a strong believer in having a clean background or what have you. I like having a busy background just means more things to look at. :)
2. I don't have any lighting equipment. I just use the lights in my house, and I also have two clamp lights that I'll use sometimes. Sometimes I wish I knew how to use a light set-up, but then again, would that result in my images being too...contrived in a way? Because I'd really have to think about things and ..stuff. I'm super technical when it comes to photography, as you probably know by know. ;)
3. I actually didn't start liking Star Trek until my first year university. So late! I know! But then I couldn't get enough. I can still never get enough. I love the characters, I love the possibilities, I love the difficulty of dealing with what the human race has achieved in some imagined future and what that means to the universe at large and to our humanity. I love how well the series all deal with humour and technology, tragedy and hope. The acting is great and so many of the characters I just adore. Ok, so I guess I like a lot about Star Trek and as I write this I realize I could go on and on...but I'll stop there.
@Jared - I think copyright law is really tricky. I'm sure to copyright something in print is a bit easier than copyrighting something on the internet, but I'm not too versed on the subject. My best friend is very smart on all things law, and I keep encouraging her to become some sort of copyright lawyer, but I don't think she's down with that. Anyway, in my books I put the same copyright lingo you see in all books. And having published books with an actual publisher, and not just POD, I know that's what they do too.
In regards to Creative Commons, I'm not sure how that would apply to POD. It could of course, as it could apply to anything, right? I just mean how it could be applied to POD in some sort of new way. Personally though, I prefer a plain old all rights reserved. That doesn't mean I'm against other people using my images to make something new and their own, I just appreciate it if they ask permission first. I suppose it's just all personal preference though...
@Lexie - I use both a tripod and whatever is handy. I rarely bring my tripod out of the house with me, so if I get the urge to shoot while out and about, the camera sits on whatever's handy. (A side note: This is one of the reasons I chose the Nikon over the Canon, as the body is made of metal and not plastic and my camera is often falling off the places where I sit it.) I also use a remote control to shoot my photos. This makes life for a self-portrait artist much easier as you're not having to run back and forth between the camera to press the timer.
The number of photos I shoot before I get one I like varies greatly. Sometimes I take three pictures and like all of them, sometimes I take 300 and like none of them. As I'm shooting I can feel how it's going. Sometimes I get very frustrated because I am not getting any good results, and I can either stop and feel unsatisfied, or change completely what I am doing and hope for a better outcome. Or sometimes I'll just be in the mood to shoot, and be getting a ton of photos I really like. I think it's always been this way. Because how and when I shoot is so directly related to my moods, and always has been, the amount I shoot and what I get out of it has always varied.
Shooting is a lot about process for me. I think I've talked about this before, but as I shoot, sometimes I move furniture around and mess shit up and one of my favourite parts of shooting, is putting it all back together. I clean up everything I've moved out of place before I look at a single picture I took, I don't know how to describe how much I like this feeling, how important it is to the entire process. It's kinda crazy, I guess, but I might be a bit crazy. Maybe...
@Jack - I love you too. I used to write a lot more than I do now, and writing a story around three specific words was probably enough. And so these days I'm torn. Torn between practicing writing, which I think I need to do, and writing things that I can be proud of. But I know that in practicing, there will be a lot of shit I'm not happy with. But I guess that's how it goes. Lately, I find my writing is always inspired by small moments that I feel like talking about in order to look at them in a deeper, more intense way. Like that thing I wrote about the snakes. Hitting that snake, though, you know, it wasn't that big of a deal, seemed to stick with me, so I figured writing about it might help me realize why, and lo and behold, it was actually a story about my mother, which surprises me not at all.
I would love to write a book. I actually have this grand outline for an epic vampire series that I've been working on for a long time. It isn't how I usually write, but it's so much fun. And filled with so much history, because as you know I love history and so my lead vampire chick was actually a concubine for this general of the Ottoman Empire's Navy and researching is so much fun! Sigh. I miss writing essays. But yeah, I would like to publish a real book, you know that was sold at Borders and Indigo and fine book stores everywhere. That's something I've always wanted to do. But I'm not in a rush. It may never happen, but I hope it does.
And plans? This year? Besides bw book? Hmmm...OH! I am going to Japan to see this really amazing man by the name of Jack Scoresby. Oh, hey, that's you. As you said, we will be tearing up Tokyo Godzilla-style.
@Leandro - Why, thank you, sir.
@Jones - I like how your profile says "Animal: Wolf". Anyway. I think maybe one of the things I'm going to try to do in 2010 is do more of what I was doing at the FLNGS blog on my own blog; which is to say, I want to tell more stories. So hopefully more of that will be showing up.
@Bret - Yeah, I once got a soft cover test copy of a Blurb book, and found it wanting. I also thought when I ordered in bulk, the dust covers of the books, the printing almost seemed off. Though when ordering one at a time, I never had this problem.
I might be talking to you at some point about black and white printing some time in the future. I'm thinking of going with Lulu this time... -
@Matthew Sheret - well, that was the point of Paper Science, wasn't it? To do something I don't usually do. That was actually an accident, and I'm not sure I would do more like that. I guess, I mean, there's always the possibility but it's not something I'm striving towards. I really like background, especially busy backgrounds with a lot for the viewer to explore, so to take that away from photos, it's good sometimes, but I like it too much to explore taking it out too heavily. It's the backgrounds that give an audience so much more to work with.
So yeah, it's me, but it shows more than that. There's a cat on the couch behind me, there's art on the walls, there's chocolate bar wrappers, Planet Earth and Star Trek Scene It? games, an awesome Batman mug. I'm a big fan of the details. It means you get me, as a subject of the photo, but you also get everything around me that lends itself to your idea of me. And the best, most interesting part? There's no such thing as a candid self-portrait. Know what I mean? -
Katie: That is my real name, yes. I have a younger sister named Zola. Our father has said "You don't have weird names" with a straight face more than once.
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I know a little bit about copyright. It's the only part of intellectual property law that I really enjoyed. And I have an interest in it, as a creator myself.
Generally, and this is modified by local, national law, but the basics stay the same. Your ownership rights vest when you put the words or pictures down in some kind of cognizable format, from handwrittten notes or sketches to data stored on your digital camera. Mere ideas are not copyrighted, and short phrases cannot be copyrighted, but the definition of "idea" or "short phrase" is always being tested.
Anyhow, good to see you're still cracking open brainpans, Katie. Keep up the good work. Did your people ever get that vintage theatre rescued? That's the last extra-curricular project I remember of yours. Damn, I've been off the radar a while. -
Psst. Hi purdy lady.
Lookit:
*wiggles butt at Katie*
That's all I got, really.
Oh, wait, no. I do have a rather involved hypothetical question for you...
If you could host a dinner party and invite 11 guests (living or dead, fictional or real), who would they be? What would you serve? What music would you listen to? Who would make you feel most shy? Most brave? Which one of them would you be most likely to dose with rohypnol and take shameless advantage of? -
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CommentAuthorJack Scoresby
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2010
I honestly can't wait for the answer to Theremina's question. Mostly to check the accuracy of my guesses. -