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Monday, 23 January 2012 |
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This is the first in what we hope will be a series of interviews with photographers whose work with Creativity Backgrounds has caught our eye. This time it's with Nicole of The Hourglass™ .
Nicole uses a lot of colour in her shoots, including loads of our Creativity Backgrounds, and we were intrigued to find out a little more about her, her studio practice, and how she developed her distinctive style of retro glamour and burlesque photography.
Click on more below for more!
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011 |
Prizes of Creativity Background Paper are on their way to the winners of our Photovision prize draw - congratulations to the winners!
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Monday, 27 June 2011 |
Creativity
Backgrounds are proud sponsors of the Jenny Potter Foundation School, set up to
support teenage cancer patients.
 Jenny Potter told us: "In
2010 I decided to set up a non profitable part of my business where I do photo
shoot days for people who I feel have been through a lot in their lives and may
need a day where they have something nice happen. I decided to put an ad firstly
on net mums for mum's who would be models for the day. When I received the
replies I found that a lot of them had been through a lot from failed IVF
treatment and lots more. So I through it would be good to do a day where the
mum's felt special. I arranged with my make up artist, Rachel Short to do a
photography day. The location wasn't the most glamorous of places and since this
I have found a studio that I will hire for future days. We decided to invite
the mum's with their babies/toddlers to a day where they had their make up done
had a photo shoot and received a large complimentary photo. All this for free.
For about 2 months before the photo shoot I contacted as many companies as
possible to see if they could help me by donating some products, vouchers,
samples, etc so that we could do goody bags for all the
mums..
"So I
decided that the foundation school part of my business would do complimentary
photo shoot days for people who may be terminally ill, have ill children, be
people who have had tough times from bereavement, financial problems. There is
not an application form to apply for a photo shoot. I decide to contact an
organisation or charity and tell them what I do and see what the response is.
For 2011 I would like to do a photo shoot for some of the teenagers having
cancer treatment at the teenage cancer trust, another one would be a group of
women who are having chemo for breast cancer as I have a friend going through
this so I may ask for her help too, with my son being type 1 diabetic. I would
like to do a special day for the children and the mums maybe during the summer
break from school. The foundation part of the business will be non profitable
and will rely on donations, sponsorship and money for extra photos that people
want will be ploughed in to pay for the day the expenses of make up artist hire,
studio hire, refreshments, and items for goody bags. I may only start doing a
few a year but if there are 10 to 12 people or more on the photo shoot days at
least we can help the deserving people have a special day and feel special for
the day.
"Part
of the foundation school will also raise money for the teenage cancer trust unit
at University Hospital of Wales for the teenage cancer unit there. I aim to do
some fundraising by over the next 2 years doing an exhibition and auction of my
music photography. I have met with the teenage cancer trust but have had to
delay things due to my son's recent diagnosis of type 1
diabetes.
Even if
we only manage a few photo shoots this year we will do our best to make them
special and rewarding for all the deserving people."
www.jennypotter.com
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Wednesday, 04 May 2011 |
 Creativity Backgrounds was represented again this year at the Photovision Roadshow at a new venue, the Sopwell House Hotel which, incidentally, is a wedding photographer's dream setting!
We really enjoyed the event, and again were delighted to meet so many exisiting customers, to do business with new people setting up studios and those looking for better deals with a wider range of photography background colours.
Our 4 for the price of 3 rolls of background paper offer remains really popular and that’s on top of our already competitive prices, and it seems you like our £5 only delivery, we are able to do this because of the sheer volume of paper we ship out every week!
Congratulations to the two prize draw winners!
- 1st Prize goes to Peter Wells, PGW Photography from West Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. He chose Chromagreen and Black in the half width rolls (1.35 x 11m)
- 2nd Prize Simon Lane from St Albans, Hertfordshire. He chose Arctic White in the half width roll (1.35 x 11m)
We hope you both enjoy your papers!
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Wednesday, 04 May 2011 |
We do see some unusual uses for our Photography Background paper from time to time, and we are often asked if can be used for drawing. Well in most cases the answer is yes it can!
 Drawn to the Beat was a participatory music drawing event devised and led by Naomi Kendrik. The project, which took place on the 27th January 2011 at Band on the Wall, a music venue since the 1930s positioned in Manchester's creative hub in the Northern Quarter, involved 95 participants and featured a silent disco and live music.
Naomi says "Music drawing forms part of my wider art practice of drawing, sculpture, installation, participatory events in which I focus on creating work that by engaging people with the senses, offers a ‘full' experience of something and consequently a more personal connection to my artwork. My method of music drawing has listening, and emotional and physical response at its core, establishing an immediate connection between mind and body. I often draw using both hands simultaneously, while sitting on a large expanse of paper, with my eyes closed to help me focus on listening to the music."
In preparation for Drawn to the Beat Naomi had covered Band on the Wall's stage, dance floor and balcony with large sheets of photography background paper. 400 crayons, 50 graphite crayons and 100 Silent Disco headsets also lay in wait.
 "The balcony giving a bird’s eye view of the main ‘draw floor’ was a fantastic vantage point. It revealed the amazing spectacle of crouched bodies that expelled, as if from within, vivid colour giving each person their own drawn aura. This colour then grew out from each individual merging and overlapping with others to create an almost vibrating surface, gleaming and heavy with the wax and graphite that had been pounded into it.
Beautiful as this drawing was, the purpose of the event was about the experience of drawing music, literally what happens to you in that moment. The resulting giant drawing made over the course of the night is a documentation of those multiple moments, a record. Further documentation of what happened, of people’s movements, expressions and even the sounds emitted from their drawing processes were meticulously gathered through photography and film."
See more of Naomi’s work on her blog http://deadrabbit-ablog.blogspot.com/2011/02/drawn-to-beat.html
Link to more Drawn to the Beat Photography by Andrew Brooks and Jacob Russell http://www.flickr.com/photos/multisensory/sets/72157625959595554/
Buy Arctic White Photography Background Paper here .
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Thursday, 20 January 2011 |
Leading UK based fashion photographer, Marko Dutka has used Creativity
Background Paper in his new photo shoot ‘Baroque & Roll’
 Marko Dutka’s new work ‘Baroque & Roll’
takes as its inspiration the ‘Baroque’ or misshapen pearl. His stunning new
portraits are from an ongoing project exploring, documenting and celebrating
individuals in all walks of life who add colour, richness and diversity to our
culture.
Biography
Marko Dutka, as well as being a photographic artist, is a successful fashion,
portrait and wedding photographer. Since starting his photographic career in
late 1999, Marko has worked internationally for a variety of clients. He
received a Fellowship from the British Institute of Professional Photography in
2009 and he has been published nationally and internationally. Since 2004 he has
won 36 major photography awards. He was nominated for the British Professional
Fashion Photographer of the Year in 2006 and his work has been exhibited widely
including the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) ‘Through the Lens’ exhibition
in 2008 and with the Royal Photographic Society
Baroque & Roll (Baroque – the misshapen Pearl)
The pearl, beautiful in its organic uniformity is a symbol of perfection that
relies on its conformist relationship with its partners for its full sensation.
Baroque or misshapen pearls don’t hang well together. They can’t be forced into
clusters and their beauty relies upon hanging separately, claiming all their own
attention. Thus with individuals and their dress. The people photographed in
this exhibition reject the branded culture and conformist individuality of the
high street. These individuals hang separately, revelling in playing with a
language that they create themselves, dancing across the boundary between the
group and the individual.
As with all rule breaking there are degrees of separation. We live in a
culture of diversity that is actually composed of ever decreasing circles of
conformity. In our most individual condition of nakedness we are at our most
conformist, simply the animal. Even here there are those who, through exercise,
incision or ink, are simply not satisfied. Through imagination and design we can
display our relationship with each other and ourselves. These images are from an
ongoing project exploring, documenting and celebrating individuals in all walks
of life who add colour, richness and diversity to our culture.
For More information on this and forthcoming exhibitions at the James Hockey
& Foyer Galleries, UCA Farnham click here http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/galleries/exhibitions/2011/marko-dutka
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Tuesday, 04 January 2011 |
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 As
patrons of the Royal Photographic Society, Creativity Backgrounds are pleased to
announce the 154th International Print Exhibition call for entries. This is open
to ALL photographers. You do NOT need to be an RPS member. Download an
application form from the RPS website.
Deadline for entries 21st
March 2011. Don’t leave it to the last minute!
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Tuesday, 04 January 2011 |
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 Back in July members of the DPS (Disabled Photographers Society) met at Coventry
Airport Airbase. They were there to shoot members of the British Forces
Sweethearts, who posed against a backdrop of historical aircraft, ranging from
war-time de Havilland Dragon Rapide to a recently retired RAF Nimrod. Four
make-up artists worked on the girls to style the ladies back into the 1950s.
They were joined by Emma Jesson, ITV weather girl, and all round great sport.
So what was the purpose of the shoot, one may ask? Well it was for a calendar
shoot for the Forces Children's Trust, a charity devoted to helping children
whose mum or dad has died or been seriously wounded whilst serving as a member
of the British Armed Forces. they provide help and support for children to
develop the skills needed for life.
You
can buy the calendar here: http://www.beanprint.com/calendar/48/british-forces-sweetheats-2011/
It
costs only £9.99 and will help raise a smile on a lonely child.
We
offer DPS members 10% off, please contact the DPS chairman, Tom Molloy direct to
get your code.
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Wednesday, 17 November 2010 |
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 Creativity Backgrounds are patrons of the Royal Photographic Society so we were invited by the RPS to exhibit at their Think Photography event in west Bromwich. The event was well attended, and there was a lot of interest in our backgrounds, especially our new Ultra Black , Chromagreen and Chromablue . We were delighted to be able to offer some great show offers on our background stands which sold out at the show!
Patterson photographic used our Cloud Grey for their photo shoot. Photographers brought their own cameras along and shot the model who was there over the weekend.
It was all really good, and we enjoyed meeting new and catching up with existing customers. Jazz on Sunday lunchtime in the cafe was a bonus!
News of our prize draw competition winner coming soon!
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Marko Dutka is a regular contributor to Creativity Backgrounds and uses our background papers in his work. We were pleased to learn therefore that Marko's project "Portrait of Genius", in which Marko re-interprets the self portraits of old masters including William Turner and Titian, has been featured as a cover story in issue 44 of 
marko-page18
Are you free that weekend? The Royal Photographic Society is holding their annual Think Photography Exhibion at that interesting, if controversial building, "The Public" in New Street, West Bromwich, B70 7PG. Would be great to see you there.
We had another enjoyable day at the Photovision Roadshow at Windsor on the 29th June. We held a prize draw and we are pleased to announce our lucky winners.
2nd Prize of 2 of our Creativity Backgrounds rolls goes to Maninder Ghatora(left) mgphotovision.co.uk