My dilemma with Digital

I realised tonight that although I am incredibly frustrated at not having my favourite camera to use:
[Mamiya C330f for those who are interested - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamiya_C330 or http://bipmistry.wordpress.com/mamiya-c330/ for the more hardcore camera geeks]  ~  being forced to use my digital camera has turned out to be quite refreshing.

The thing is, I just adore my old film camera: the special & unique way it blurs when the image is going out of focus, the square format (I HATE 35mm format!), the weight of the camera in your hand & around your neck (a pretty hefty 1.7kg), the way you look down into the viewfinder, not forward like with a 35mm.  And just the fact it's film & the serendipitous nature of the beast.  There's nothing quite like waiting for a film to be developed, then taking a sneaky peek at the negatives and finally seeing them scanned in and big on your screen.  Or even better (but nowadays a rare and impractical treat) - to work with them in the darkroom.

The whole process is just magical, and a large part of the enjoyment of being a photographer.

So when I normally pick up my digital camera, it always seems so disappointing... its not particularly heavy, its a horrible rectangular format, I end up looking at the digital screen after every shot, ruining any element of surprise later on, I take shot after shot, rather than relishing and taking my time with individual shots.  And the photos are just so boring!!  I find it so hard to get any life and soul into these utterly "perfect", regular, predictable, clinical images.

Yet, having taken very few 'proper' photos since finishing my MA (my Mamiya broke 1 or 2 weeks before the final deadline & has been out of action ever since) as I've not been feeling inspired to use my digital SLR... my photographic spirit finally had enough and I've been gradually taking more photos again.   Its been a wonderful release, as well as a massive challenge to get what I want out of that damn digital camera!

I've had to force myself to slow down when taking photos and not just snap away willy-nilly.  Getting there I think - here are a few of my favourites so far.....


A walk round the reservoir that I often go on with my partner... a serene and beautiful spot:

 A close-up of a birds nest I found that had fallen out a tree:

But for me, they're still not a patch on my film work - you can't beat the softness and scrumptiousness of film photography...  I guess in the meantime I'd better keep practising with my D-SLR and try to save enough money to get my Mamiya back up and running (& to also pay for the film, processing & scanning - before I even think about printing)!!!  *Gulp*

Wish me luck!!

C x

...a little bit about me...

Ok, here we go, I promised you a little peek into my world, so hope you're sitting comfortably & have a nice cuppa or some chocolate handy!

Well, the beginning seems a sensible place to start...

I grew up in the Cotswolds (in the UK) and lived in a rural little village and had a wonderful childhood, learning about plants, animals, the environment and anything & everything else I could cram into my little head!  This fantastic upbringing really set me up for my life with a love and respect for the environment, which has fed into practically every aspect of my life.

When I was 16 and went to college I discovered Photography in my second year and fell in love... this became my passion, which led me to an Art Foundation Year after completing college, specialising in Photography.  A trip to Krakow (Poland) in the middle of winter and experimenting and working for hours on end in the darkroom with toners & all sorts of chemicals, and trying out anything and everything with the support and encouragement of superb tutors resulted in one of the most exciting and creative years of my life so far.
This in turn inspired me to move to Cornwall to study a BA degree in Photography at UCF (University College Falmouth) - then the MA postgraduate degree, which really helped cement my practice and theory [and get me in a bit more debt! ;)].

As a practical soul, I knew I needed a regular job, and largely by chance ended up getting a job in a local picture framers, which I loved.  After a while I became a specialist framer, doing all the fiddly or delicate jobs... some of my favourite jobs were heirlooms from a favourite aunt/granny, a collection of old army medals that belonged to someone's Granddad, and very old & valuable artworks (my most memorable ones were by Dame Laura Knight and Charles Napier Hemy).  Amazing things to be involved in!

My next venture took me to where I am today... I saw an opportunity to work full-time in a local and well respected art gallery and jumped at the chance - I have become their Gallery Supervisor, and am constantly surrounded by incredible artworks and locally made jewellery & ceramics.  We are constantly putting up new exhibitions so it's a very dynamic place to work.

It is over these last few years that I have started to take my jewellery-making more seriously - I have always been making craft work - cards, jewellery, textiles etc since I was little, and mainly made jewellery as I got older, but it was when I discovered Gemstone beads that I got really passionate about it - and I haven't looked back since.

I now sell my jewellery at the gallery where I work (Beside The Wave Gallery http://www.beside-the-wave.co.uk/) in Falmouth, The Picture House Gallery (http://www.picturehousegalleries.co.uk/) in Padstow, and also through online stores Folksy (http://folksy.com/shops/catwhitworth), Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CatkinsDesigns) and Two Red Trees (http://tworedtrees.co.uk/) - a new website to promote hand-crafted items in Cornwall.

So that's me really... I love living in Cornwall, working with artists and artworks, taking photographs & making jewellery from beautiful natural gemstones... its all very rewarding and keeps me busy - I can't stand having nothing to do!  (Can you tell?!)

...and now I've decided to write a blog... I must be mad!

x