Printing madness

For the last three days and nights I have been printing up a storm. Twenty five 28x42" photographs that will make up the Eden at night exhibition. It was very exciting because it is the first time I am printing such large prints myself. I had access to the monster 44'" printer at Eden and along with the fabulous calibration that my sponsors Imaging -expert did, (which prepare the files so that they get printed exactly as I want them) I ended getting fantastic results.. I love printing big and would love one of these printers of my own. I worked like crazy because I realized several days ago that I would be away in London for a week for my book launching and that the framer was going to be on holiday the following week which would leave 3 days to prepare the show....too risky.. So it is all finished and we delivered it to the framer on Sunday.. Roger ran around organizing the framing and cooking up meals to keep me going... lucky girl aren't I? The wonderful thing is that now I am free to photograph and experiment as much as I want...

No time Off

I cannot believe that three weeks have already passed. I am now in heavy production. We are shooting in the biomes every night and I am editing by day. Fortunately, the nights still arrive early and so we are finished by midnight..unlike last June when we could not begin until 11:30pm.

As I enter the tropical biome just before dark, I am treated to the smells of moist earth and the sounds of birds. It is very still, very mysterious and very hot! I walk around surveying the plants and points of views that could make for interesting images. The obvious has been done in previous nights. I now look for the subtle, the detail, the abstract. I need to see things with new eyes each time I begin......

London is Bursting with Colour

London is in full bloom..magnolias,camelias, cherry blossoms and dafs everywhere. Quite wonderful to smell the fragrances and see green again..We stayed at the Chelsea Arts Club which is an extraordinary historical meeting place for artists and company. Pool table, bar, restaurant with a very long table where everyone talks to everyone. Roger was very pleased to have his full english breakfast each morning.

Our purpose was to hang a show at the Garden Museum, however I discovered that the framed pieces were not ready....that's what happens when you use another framer(not roger),so off we went to the Victoria & Albert museum where we saw the unbelievable ceramic, blown glass and jewellery collections. We were knocked off our feet.

Next day went to hang the show with the frames finally done..The Garden Musem is next to Archbishop of Cantebury's residence....first time there we knocked on his door looking for the museum...we weren't invited in for tea...

London is an amazing city, bustling, busy so much to see and the food is fantastic! Bring cash.....

I am perfectly coloured

For the last three days I have had the pleasure of spending time with my UK sponsors, Permajet papers and Imaging-Experts. Nikon and Shiraz Rip will come at another time.They came down on Friday, toured around Eden and then help me set up my kiosk in the Core building where I will be setting up each afternoon to edit and print out my previous nights shoot. I will have a computer, printer and monitor where everyone can see the images as I work. The idea is to engage with the public, answer questions about my work and give people a preview of the exhibition. On Saturday, I spent the day calibrating the colours on the big printer and computers that will print my exhibition.. I feel like I don't know anything. Udo Miachiels of Imaging-Experts walked in with plotters , analyzers and colour profiles and spent 2 days setting up the machines so that I will have perfect prints each time....Amazing. But now I will have perfection.. I could never have done this on my own, and these wonderful people came here and spent time to help my project be a success. How lucky I am.....

Tomorrow we are off to London for 2 days to hang an exhibition at The Garden Museum....It is bloody hectic here but great fun!

Night's Wonder

We now have spent
two nights in the biome. One in the tropical and one in the Mediterrean. Our first night was a bit of a struggle as my camera fogged up for an hour from the change of temperature. Once things cleared and we began working, we found some fantastic exotic plants to work with. My new lenses are fantastic. I can get in really close with the macro or really wide angle with the fisheye lens. The wonderful thing is that we don't have the ususal pressure of a three night shoot. I know I will have weeks to create and rediscover and I feel so relaxed about this. I was so excited after last night's shoot ,that I couldn't sleep.

It is amazing how fast you can settle into new surroundings. Our stuff is scattered all over the house, the kitchen fridge and pantry has been and we had a nice home cooked meal last night. I even joined a gym and worked out...SO I am a happy girl. Today we head to the site to get passes and badges and will tour around the biodomes to see what is blooming. We will be shooting tonight.....Cannot wait to try my new camera and lenses from Nikon. A 14-24 zoom and a 105mm micro..These will give me a whole new perspective.... very wide and very close.....

New Digs

Today was a day for travelling. We left Maidstone and travelled down to Cornwall,past London and through Kent,Sussex,Gloucestershire, Devon and Somerset. It took 6 hours but the sun came out and it was a glorious day. We arrived at security , picked up Went down to theour keys amd moved into our new home in a 15th century farm house. We have a comfortable bedroom. a great kitchen, livingroom, diningroom table and a sun porch..Plus, no one else is here.. Went down to the local pub for dinner and caught my first glance at the domes which shone in the evening sunset. They are spectacular ,galactic awe inspiring.. I can't wait to wonder around tomorrrow..

Away I Go

Well, hard to believe I am here after a year of planning, organizing, raising money and getting sponsors. But we left with FOUR suitcases, rubber boots and a raincoats and are on our way down to rainy Eden. I am excited, optimistic and nervous all at the same time. We have no idea what our accomodations will be like, all we know is we have a room in a farm house for the two months we will be here. Hope we aren't sharing with any barnyard animals....We have spent the weekend at Roger's Aunt's place and there was a big box waiting for me when I arrived. Nikon had sent over a D700 camera and two incredible lenses. A 14-24 zoom which is like a fisheye lens. and a 105 macro.. Both are bright, sharp and invite all sorts of new possibilites for shooting at night. I can't wait to get started.