Nevada Weir.

Nevada Weir is a travel/documentary photographer. She travels all over the world to take photos. She specializes in the remote areas of the world and the cultures that inhabit them. Her journeys have taken her through many obscure areas of the world, including Southeast Asia, India, China, Nepal, Africa, New Zealand, Central Asia, Mongolia, and South America. "I travel to have experiences, and the photography aspect heightens that, because the camera forces me to come in closer, become involved and notice what people are doing. I'm trying to capture on celluloid one instant or feeling or action or moment in their lives that has to be fairly poignant."(Nevada Weir) She has been published by many national and international publications such as: National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic, Geo, Islands, and Outdoor Photographer. Before becoming a professional photographer, Nevada used to take snapshots as a hobby while she lead Outward Bound tours. In December of 2000, she planned and pitched an expedition to Africa with National Geographics. There she photographed the people and places along the wild African river.

Today, Nevada Weir has merged her tour guiding career with her photography career, and has created a business for herself doing photo tours. Nevada believes that in order to be a good photographer, you must feel comfortable with the act of photographing people. "I think the most important thing is feeling comfortable with the actual act of photographing people. I've found, in teaching, that often people feel shy or intrusive, or that it's rude. -- In order to photograph people, you can't feel that way. I sincerely believe that photographing someone is a compliment. It's a sign that you find someone interesting." (Nevada Weir)

Nevada Weir shoots using film. She has tried using digital cameras, but doesn't like them and thinks that film is much more practical for her out in the remote areas she travels in. "I don’t need that instant replay, and they're technically much more difficult to work with in the field. It's more practical for me to use film and then [digitize an image] if I need to."(Nevada Weir)

I strongly admire Nevada Weir and her work. I would love to have the opportunity to do what she's doing, and travel the world to take photographs. When I look at her images, it makes me want to get out there and discover new places and new cultures. I have always wanted to go to Africa to take photos, and when I see Nevada's images, it really inspires me and encourages me to want to do that even more. I think that she is leading a truly fascinating life, doing something that she loves, and I admire that very much. I also like the fact that she says you must feel comfortable with the aspect of photographing people in order to be a successful photographer. I agree with that, and it is something that I am working on right now. Since I am shy, I usually find myself uncomfortable approaching people and asking if I may photograph them. I am working on trying to get more comfortable doing that though, because I know that it is important.

To see more of her work, please visit her website: http://www.nevadawier.com/SlideShow/port.htm

Sources
http://www.nevadawier.com/bio.html
http://www.photomediagroup.com/pmm/issues/Winter2001/profile.htm

Nevada Weir Photos.

Nina Leen.

Nina Leen was born in 1909. Although she was born in Russia, she was raised in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. She always knew that she wanted to be a photographer and was fascinated with viewing the world through a camera lens. Her first camera was a Rolliflex. She enjoyed photographing members of both the human kind and the animal kingdom, and became acclaimed in Europe as an animal photographer. She moved to the United States in 1939. She was fascinated by the culture differences and the habits and rituals of teens in her new homeland. She began to photograph American teens, and created two seires called, "A Teenager Monopolizes the Telephone" and "The American Male".

In 1945, Nina Leen joined LIFE Magazine. She was one of their first women photographers and produced over 40 covers and countless spreeads for them throughout her career. She covered a wide variety of stories throughout her life, and is best known for her continuing story of a dog named Lucky. Lucky was a dog whom Nina Leen adopted, after it had been found near dead on the highway by some LIFE staffers. She won over the hearts of America with these photos.

Nina also photographed bats. Her bat series was published in a book called "The World Of Bats", 1n 1970. She had long been fascinated by bats and called them her flying kittens. She'd spend hours walking through jungles and exploring caves, crouching for hours on end in the darkness in order to achieve photos which had never been seen before. In her career, she published 15 books in total, including Women, Heroes and a Fog, Love, and Elevated Apes. She passed away on January 5, 1995.

I really admire Nina Leen and all the work that she did. I especially love her photos of animals, and I found it really amazing when I read about what she had to entail in order to get her bat photos. It definitely takes a lot of strength and courage to venture into dangerous places like dark caves and the jungle for some photographs. I really admire her strength and the patience she has that allowed her to wait for hours at a time in order to get photos. She has definitely inspired me to be more patient while I am shooting. I also love her photos of her adopted dog Lucky, because I enjoy photographing my dog as well. I find the pictures to be very touching, and they have given me inspiration for when I am photographing my own dog.

Nina Leen would fall under the category, "Women in Photography".

Sources
http://www.gallerym.com/artist.cfm?ID=51
http://www.photocollect.com/bio.php?id=225

Nina Leen Photos

Anne Geddes.

A photographer who I have always been influenced by is Anne Geddes. I remember when I was little, my mom had an address book which featured Anne Geddes' photos. For each letter of the alphabet, there would be a photo featuring a baby or young child who was dressed up as something that began with that letter. I remember spending hours looking at the pictures in that book. I thought they were some of the most beautiful images I had ever seen back then, and I still do today.

Anne Geddes was born in September 1956, in Queensland, Australia, where she was also raised. She is one of the most famous baby photographers in the world. In her mid-twenties, she began experimenting with her family camera. Until then, she had never considered photography as a career. "I had always loved looking at images. Unfortunately, there were no photography courses at the school I attended, and I never considered that career for myself. I didn't even think it was an option until I was 25 and in a position where I could make that change." (Anne Geddes) Anne states in an interview with Photo Insider, that she got into photographing babies because she thought the way they were portrayed was unnatural. "The whole reason I got into photography was because I thought the way babies and young children were portrayed was unnatural. It reflected the old-school mentality that said you photograph a baby in a sheepskin rug in it's Sunday best. Babies are my inspiration and my joy. In them, I see innocence and the precious possibilities of each life unfolding. In my images, I hope to convey a measure of beauty that exists in all children." (Anne Geddes) In most of her work, the babies are posed as fictitious characters such as fairies, flowers, or animals, like bunnies. In almost all of her photos, the babies are seen sleeping or stating off into space, as if they are still in their mother's womb. Since deciding to become a photographer, her images have been published in over 50 countries around the world and she has sold over 16 million books in 23 languages. Her pictures can be found in greeting cards, calendars, books, stationary, photo albums, and more.$50,000 dollars was raised for child abuse with the sale of her calendars in 1992. Her works include, Down In The Garden (1996), Until Now (1998), Pure (2002), Miracle (2004), Cherished Thoughts With Love (2005), and Anne Geddes An Autobiography: A Labour Of Love (2008).

Anne Geddes would be classified as a portrait photographer.

Sources
http://www.artpromote.com/anne_geddes.shtml http://www.annegeddesbabypictures.com/article3.html http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/anne_geddes http://www.photoinsider.com/pages/AnneGeddes/AnneGeddes.html

Anne Geddes Photos

About Me.

My name is Megan, and I am a 19-year-old photography student at Seneca College in Toronto. My program is called Independent Digital Photography. It is a two year program, and I will be finishing up my first semester in a few weeks time. I am enjoying the program so far, and have learned a lot. When I have completed this program, I am hoping to get into photojournalism. I love writing, and wish to have a career where I can combine both writing and photography.

Throughout my life, I have always been a creative person. Whether it be dance, music, drawing, writing, or photography, I have always tried to get myself involved in activities where I can express and further develop my creativity. I love learning and experiencing new things.

My interest in photography began in high school. I was given an assignment where I had to create a children's story book. I needed to come up with a story as well as provide images, which could either be drawings or photographs. I decided that I would use photographs since I am not the best at drawing. Through doing that assignment, I ended up realizing that I really loved photography and that it was a lot of fun. From then on, photography became a passionate hobby of mine, and I was constantly taking pictures wherever I went.

My favourite things to photograph are nature, animals, and children. I really enjoy visiting my uncle's farm in Omemee (near Lindsay, Ontario), to take photos. I find that whenever I am there, I always feel very inspired. There's always a large variety of things to photograph, from farm animals, to the old barns, to my little cousins. Everything I love to photograph is right there in front of me. In the future, I would like to do some traveling to take photos.

In the beginning, I was influenced by one of my dad's friends, who is a photographer. My dad showed me his website, and I remember just sitting at my computer for hours looking at his photos and thinking about how amazing they were. They definitely inspired me to want to become a photographer. (Here is his website: http://www.bokeh.com/) More recently, I have found a lot of inspiration in the work of Diane Arbus. I like that she photographed societies outcasts, something that most would shy away from. I also enjoy the work of Sally Mann, which even though has caused much controversy, is still in my opinion very beautiful.

In my blog, I will talk about some other photographers whose work I enjoy and find myself being influenced by.