Louise Knight's self portrait 52 - Week 23 - Sarcoma Knows No Borders

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Week 23 - Sarcoma Knows No Borders

This week is 'International Sarcoma Awareness Week'.

This week is also the week I lost a very special person to this horrendous disease.

"Sarcomas are cancers of connective tissue - bone, muscle, nerves, fatty tissue, cartilage etc. They are rare, accounting for about 1% of all cancer diagnoses, or around 3200 cases altogether in the UK each year. "

"Sarcoma can occur anywhere in the body. It does not discriminate based on age, gender, or race, and it occurs in countries all over the world. Yet it is the Forgotten Cancer."

International Sarcoma Awareness Week July 17th - 25th 2010

In loving memory of those who have lost their battle and for those who continue to fight this forgotten cancer.

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Week 22 - Sloth

This week I am wearing the same dress as the previous 2. This is because I was being LAZY and shot 3 weeks in one day. However, laziness works pretty well for me as I've now shot my second of the 7 deadly sins and here is "Sloth". Not much to say really.. apart from "I'm tired.. zzzzZZZZ..."

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Week 21 - Redemption

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Week 20 - Somewhere Inbetween

This amazing dress was made for me by a friend in Canada. In return I made her the green dress that you can see me wearing in week 17.

The idea behind this shot was to create some sort of puppet show in levitation format! But I ran into all sorts of problems and this particular shot has turned out more 'pinup' swing acrobat style than puppet, and it also reminds me of a carousel.. but I quite like it. I've added a bit of a retro processing to it go go with the theme, I'm not happy about the skin tone but I can live with it, I did consider painting some colour back in but I'll just live with it and learn for next time :)

I've just realised that 'between' has the weirdest spelling ever.. interesting!

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PREVIOUS WEEKS
Week 01 - Curved
Week 02 - Poetry
Week 03 - Chopped
Week 04 - Street
Week 05 - Speed
Week 06 - Present
Week 07 - People
Week 08 - Mechanical
Week 09 - Play (part 1)
Week 09 - Play (part 2)
Week 10 - Inability to Fly
Week 11 - Screaming Silence is Futile
Week 12 - The Ringleader
Week 13 - Gluttony
Week 14 - Cocooned
Week 15 - I think I must be dreaming . .
Week 16 - Negative Space
Week 17 - I can fly, can you?
Week 18 - Black and Blissful, Tumbling
Week 19 - National Motivation Day
Week 20 - Somewhere Inbetween
Week 21 - Redemption
Week 22 - Sloth
Week 23 - Sarcoma Knows No Borders
 
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That sounds like a real challenge although you should be ok with curves ;).

Go for it.
 
Louise this is totally up to you, You need to do what will help you the most. I look foward to seeing what ever you do.
 
The self portrait route would be a real challenge.

Having said that, I have just looked at the stuff you have on your flickr and it's stunning. We can expect some really high quality images over the 52 weeks if that is the standard you are going to be posting.

I can't wait and have subscribed.

Andy
 
Ok thanks guys, I'll go with the self portraits, much more of a challenge for me and I'll try to make all my shots different and creative (she says..!)

I'll get on commenting on others week 1's once I've posted mine :)

daddy day care said:
I have just looked at the stuff you have on your flickr and it's stunning. We can expect some really high quality images over the 52 weeks if that is the standard you are going to be posting.

Andy
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and wow.. thank you, that really means a lot to me :)
 
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it'll be interesting to see how you get on as the weeks pass
your self-imposed "extra rule" will make it harder but that's not a bad thing

best of luck!
 
Very brave decision to photo portraits throughout the year.

I think I'll struggle with no tight restrictions like that so I take my hat off to you.

I really like your first entry, apart from the photo at the top right of the four, it is initially hard to tell what orientation it has and think the shadows actually make your skin age.

Like the other 3 very much, the lighting it lovely the bauble really works.

Looking forward to your next entry.

Dan
 
hmm
looked at this for a while
certainly lots of nice curves (and some very nice curves)
I thought the bauble was an earring until I read the story

looks a little messy seeing all four
each one by itself would probably work though
I especially like the one in the lower left
 
OOoooo! nice idea(I think I've said that far too many times:bang:)

The use of 4 different shots is very eye catching, if I was being picky I would say the top right is the weaker out of the 4.
 
crikey you're very conservative if you think NSFW
looks fine to me (y)

(test - would you show your granny - yup!))
 
I love, love, love self portraits. I particularly like ones that reveal something about that person and this one looks likes its portraying your fun side.

I agree with Mike about all 4 of them being messy together but the bottom two really work for me, especially the bottom right, it has a really abstract, doll-like feel! The top two dont really do anything but they're still great experimentation. (y) The de-saturated colours are great as well and they reflect the current weather in a way :)

Possibly one day I will have to kahunas to put my self portraiture up.Either way great start and cant wait to see more.

Vicky.
 
davekiddle said:
Look forward to 'GRUNGE'! :LOL:
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Me too :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

That is incredibly creative Louise, I wouldn't even know where to start with something like that.
You've set yourself a real challenge with self portraits for the whole set, but you've pulled it off brilliantly for curved.
Looking forward to seeing what you do for the other themes.
 
i like this idea but think you must be totally :wacky: with the self portrait idea good luck really like the bottom left image and looking forward to the nsfw images being added (y)
 
Great first image! I have to agree with a poster above about the top right being a bit of a strange viewpoint, but on the whole it works well! I can't get to grips with self portraits (only ever done 1!), so respect for giving it a go! (y)

Chris
 
What a great idea with the self portraits, I look forward to seeing the 51 to come!
Like the others have said, the top right picture doesn't fit as well as the other three (maybe it's because the background is lighter in it?) - but all in all it's a lovely picture and I think it works well as a composite. Great start! :clap:
 
You're either very brave or very daft (or just very talented) - think I'll go with the latter.#3 is the pick for me.
 
This is defo one to watch I am really looking forward to seeing how you can interpret some of the themes on offer. I think the curves shot is very clever and have to agree with the other comments about the top right not really fitting in as such but overall I think it works (y)
 
reposting so I can change my first post weekly for easier viewing
(and then on with the reply comments!) :)

here's my first entry!

Now, first of all, this wasn't what I was going to shoot.. but I thought I'd keep it simple and easy for the first week and it needs no introduction, but here, have one anyway - the female form. I was going to post just one image, but there was something about the 4 together that I really liked, possibly the angle. In fact, it's almost definitely the angles of each image all put together like that. I did do some spinning and turning to see what looked better, but it was this combination that I liked the most.

Fortunately for Christmas I was given a ginormous bauble. It's been hanging up in my living room since boxing day giving a brilliant fisheye sorta' view of the room, works the same for my bedroom you can see, which also gives you a chance to see my (not so) brilliant lighting set-up:

One halogen construction lamp
One big reflector
One big mirrored wall

Not the most sophisticated of equipment but it'll do me for now until I have something better!

The bauble is there for aesthetic effect and of course to add MORE curves to the image(s). I like it.. If I could've done anything differently, I possibly would've brushed my hair & tidied my room. I also would've bought a studio kit.. which incidentally is next on my shopping list!

Without further ado, I present to you, week 1 - Curved:

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dan_yorkshire said:
Very brave decision to photo portraits throughout the year.

I think I'll struggle with no tight restrictions like that so I take my hat off to you.

I really like your first entry, apart from the photo at the top right of the four, it is initially hard to tell what orientation it has and think the shadows actually make your skin age.

Like the other 3 very much, the lighting it lovely the bauble really works.

Looking forward to your next entry.

Dan
Click to expand...

I have sort of jumped in at the deep end I know.. but I'm hoping the challenge will increase my confidence & ability to think creatively. I'm sure by week 26 (although probably before), you'll all be sick of the sight of me!!

Totally agree about the top right image, if I'm honest, I was being picky.. Originally I had 4 images, 3 of them with baubles and just 1 without, which made the image look uneven. I chose the top right image purely because of the curves in the bust, waist, hip, arm and fingers. The only other sure choice I had was almost identical to the bottom right image, but without the bauble, and because of the similarities I chose not to use it as I preferred the one with the bauble.. is this making any sense? probably not!

mmcp42 said:
hmm
looked at this for a while
certainly lots of nice curves (and some very nice curves)
I thought the bauble was an earring until I read the story

looks a little messy seeing all four
each one by itself would probably work though
I especially like the one in the lower left
Click to expand...

Thanks on the messy comment, after reading it I had another look and can see where you're coming from. I guess if I was going to pick just the one image, it would've been the bottom right, or possibly a triptych of the two bottom images. For now though (even though I'd like to change it now!) it'sstaying as it is as my entry and I'll learn from my mistakes for future uploads, that way I can see my progress throughout the year.

Perhaps I might post a couple of the images seperately on my flickr at a later date.

mmcp42 said:
crikey you're very conservative if you think NSFW
looks fine to me

(test - would you show your granny - yup!))
Click to expand...

I wasn't sure.. I posted an art nude not that long ago and also wasn't sure, but it turned out it was nsfw as there was a wee bit of side-boob on show, there's technically side-bum here so you can never be too sure!

Vic said:
I love, love, love self portraits. I particularly like ones that reveal something about that person and this one looks likes its portraying your fun side.

I agree with Mike about all 4 of them being messy together but the bottom two really work for me, especially the bottom right, it has a really abstract, doll-like feel! The top two dont really do anything but they're still great experimentation. The de-saturated colours are great as well and they reflect the current weather in a way

Possibly one day I will have to kahunas to put my self portraiture up.Either way great start and cant wait to see more.

Vicky.
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Thanks for your comment, that's exactly what I want to put across with my photos so I'm glad you're looking into it as the subject having a personality and it not just being a photo of.. a person. I have many different sides to me, so hopefully I can show this in all my pictures

You should definitely put some self portraiture up!

davekiddle said:
Look forward to 'GRUNGE'!
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SarahLee said:
Me too :LOL:

That is incredibly creative Louise, I wouldn't even know where to start with something like that.
You've set yourself a real challenge with self portraits for the whole set, but you've pulled it off brilliantly for curved.
Looking forward to seeing what you do for the other themes.
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I know you guys aren't, but I really am looking forward to it coming up, if it does!!

Got my thinking cap on already for the coming weeks!

ShrubMonkey said:
This sounds really ambitious, but good luck, great first shot too
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Thank you!
Hey shrub monkey, we're local!

chris321 said:
Great first image! I have to agree with a poster above about the top right being a bit of a strange viewpoint, but on the whole it works well! I can't get to grips with self portraits (only ever done 1!), so respect for giving it a go!

Chris
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It's a big challenge making self portraits different each time, but very rewarding at the end if you get what you're after. You should give it another try.

clowesey said:
You're either very brave or very daft (or just very talented) - think I'll go with the latter.#3 is the pick for me.
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daft will do..! Thanks :)

CGeezer said:
This is defo one to watch I am really looking forward to seeing how you can interpret some of the themes on offer. I think the curves shot is very clever and have to agree with the other comments about the top right not really fitting in as such but overall I think it works (y)
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Thanks, I haven't set myself a challenge like this since I was in college so I'm really looking forward to it!


Thank you for all your other replies, they're really going to help me improve over the weeks. thank you thank you thank you. Now, onto other peoples threads!
 
Week 2 - POETRY

Now, I'm not gonna lie.. this is BAD. I've been very naughty this week so unfortunately I wasn't able to get any sort of shot I was hoping for. Which is annoying as I feel like I'm failing at such an early stage..

Short story to explain my rubbishness and then onto the image!

At first, I was seriously enthusiastic about this. I was hoping to get out in the snow for the shot, but by the time I had any sort of free time (Saturday morning..) it had ALL gone :(

I had an image in my head which was perfect, I'd gotten all my props together & started writing my own poem to accompany the final image, but come Saturday afternoon, it all went hideously wrong.

So there I was.. I'd made it across the field in my wellies and massive warm coat, I set my tripod and camera up, whacked a bag over it to protect it from the heavens which had decided to open up just as I'd got to my location (it'd been raining all day previously too!). Took my coat and wellies off, and then it rained even more.. I put my bare foot in a 15cm deep disgustingly muddy puddle, put my other foot in one of the last piles of snow in West Sussex and stood on a very painful thing sticking out of the ground.. by now my feet were numb and my hair was a biiiig mess! Scrambled up a mound trying not to get my clothes mucky, only to realise I was too far away from the camera for my remote to work.. so back down I scrambled, back through the muddy puddle and snow, trod on the sharp thing again, moved the tripod closer, re-composed, scrambled back up the mound, realised I'd forgotten my prop.. the main part of the photo and without it, the poem I was writing wouldn't make much sense. It was in my car. ARGH.. ****** THIS were my next words I believe.. my feet were already numb, from both the freezing cold water & pain of being stabbed repeatedly, it was peeing it down with rain, the sun was practically gone and I was in a grump.
So back home I came, minus any shoes, dumped my bags in the hallway put my PJs on and forgot about it!

So here I am, again.. looking relatively happier than I really feel about this week's entry. I shot this image back in december, because I was bored and had a bunch of new jewellery from work and a charity shop book, which (again, I'm not going to lie) doesn't actually have any poems in, I don't even know what book it is, but for the sake of week 2's theme, it is full of poems, ok? And I love poetry, which is why I've got it pressed against my face like it's a new kitten that I've just found abandoned on my doorstep for me to give a new home. Happy week 2..

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Cool shot! nice take on the theme too, I know it wasn't taken specifically but well crowbarred in :) Love the processing and the overall tone, and I think the crop is spot on too. 10/10 from me (y)
 
Cheat :p

I quite like the shot though. Can't really offer any constructive crit... I don't really do people.
 
:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

Sorry Louise, but I can't help laughing at your exploits this week . . . thank you for sharing it's really brightened my evening up :D
Hope the feet are better today.

louise-knight said:
for the sake of week 2's theme, it is full of poems, ok? And I love poetry, which is why I've got it pressed against my face like it's a new kitten that I've just found abandoned on my doorstep for me to give a new home. Happy week 2..
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And given all that you went through, I'm prepared to suspend disbelief and pretend that I absolutely 100% buy into that little fib!

OK it might be a bit of a cheat, but I really like this image. The book is an absolutely beautiful prop. I don't care what's in it - if I found one with a cover like that in a charity shop I'd snap it up too.
I love the pose and the costuming - very effective. There's a bit of sharpness in the eyes lost because of the veil, but I think that just draws my eye more towards the book.
 
Wicked! You're going to be a front runner for best story teller, you have a talent there, I give you that much :LOL:. I love that poem in that book too... what's it called again... "Prologue" I think? It's a cracker! Ahem...

Anyway, on to the photos... and aren't you a pretty talented photographer too! Can't fault either of the shots. Compositionally spot on, ideas are spot on, PP is bang on. You're very photogenic too, you know how to interact with the camera using your eyes. Ok, so you cheated... but because of the mayhem that insued due to your efforts I think we can let you off!

Awesome work (y)


(pssst... love your flickr too. Very impressive!)
 
Hehe.. loving the story of how the picture was (not) taken! I really like this picture, some great props, great expression, and that is a lovely looking cover on the book. Like the processing as well! Very good, even if you cheated ;)
 
Two very good shots Louise... Curved is excellent with plenty of them too... Poetry, the book doesn't need to have poems in, the intent is there and that's what counts and a lovely shot too.
 
Thanks again for everyone's input on my previous submission :)

SarahLee said:
:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

Sorry Louise, but I can't help laughing at your exploits this week . . . thank you for sharing it's really brightened my evening up :D
Hope the feet are better today.



And given all that you went through, I'm prepared to suspend disbelief and pretend that I absolutely 100% buy into that little fib!

OK it might be a bit of a cheat, but I really like this image. The book is an absolutely beautiful prop. I don't care what's in it - if I found one with a cover like that in a charity shop I'd snap it up too.
I love the pose and the costuming - very effective. There's a bit of sharpness in the eyes lost because of the veil, but I think that just draws my eye more towards the book.
Click to expand...

karmagarda said:
Wicked! You're going to be a front runner for best story teller, you have a talent there, I give you that much :LOL:. I love that poem in that book too... what's it called again... "Prologue" I think? It's a cracker! Ahem...

Anyway, on to the photos... and aren't you a pretty talented photographer too! Can't fault either of the shots. Compositionally spot on, ideas are spot on, PP is bang on. You're very photogenic too, you know how to interact with the camera using your eyes. Ok, so you cheated... but because of the mayhem that insued due to your efforts I think we can let you off!

Awesome work (y)


(pssst... love your flickr too. Very impressive!)
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Glass Books said:
Hehe.. loving the story of how the picture was (not) taken! I really like this picture, some great props, great expression, and that is a lovely looking cover on the book. Like the processing as well! Very good, even if you cheated ;)
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Just to add peoples, I'm not a cheat.. go read the rules in my first post :rules: :rules: :naughty:

I'm hoping to get out and about for my next few submissions.. seeing as week 4 will be 'street', I really have no excuse!

Your comments are really encouraging, I'm going to go with SarahLee on her mission to play about with post processing more, I'll be playing with different techniques & textures so for week 3, expect that.. it should follow this post:)
 
Week 3 - CHOPPED

I really REALLY tried to steer away from the obvious for week 3, so I figured I'd go with what I do best and procrastinate. Come Friday afternoon I realised that wasn't helping, so I surfed the interweb for some inspiration, and found none. Until a few hours later I noticed the (over £100 worth of) hair cutty vouchers I was given for Christmas by people quite obviously trying to tell me something (they are right though!).

Hurrahh, I will cut my hair off and take photos of the process. hmm, maybe not. But I do own some more useless props which have become useful - finally!

Out of the various different images I took, this was my favourite. That doesn't however, mean that I like it. Maybe it will grow on me.. (geddit.. grow.. hair, on me?! I really hope it doesn't!)

Cue week three's entry, CHOPPED!

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I have just come across your post and you are one hell of a brave and talented woman to do this. I'm finding it difficult to come up with images for the themes, let alone including a self portrait!
Loving all your pics so far and look forward to seeing all the rest. Good luck.
 
Glad it's not your real hair, although I think some people round here would believe anything if you told them it was :)

I like the shot. The toned down saturation and grain add to the "crazy lady chopped her hair off" theme of the image. Nice take on the week (y)
 
ProG77 said:
I have just come across your post and you are one hell of a brave and talented woman to do this. I'm finding it difficult to come up with images for the themes, let alone including a self portrait!
Loving all your pics so far and look forward to seeing all the rest. Good luck.
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Brave?.. don't think so! A bit bonkers, more than likely :D Talented? we shall see in the following weeks :)
Thank you!


dlh said:
Glad it's not your real hair, although I think some people round here would believe anything if you told them it was :)

I like the shot. The toned down saturation and grain add to the "crazy lady chopped her hair off" theme of the image. Nice take on the week (y)
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Thanks! I actually found it really tricky processing this shot, usually that's not the case as I love that stage, but I'm relatively happy with the outcome.

I think the great thing about this project is that you can see how you've progressed throughout the year, I for one and seriously excited about making a book of my pics!
 
nice idea!
a few hairs on the floor would improve it IMHO
like it though! :clap:
 
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