Simply Cute

'Simply Cute' was taken during April 2010 as I continued to build a portfolio of work with the purpose of studying a photography degree at Plymouth College of Art.  Like many of my photographs back then, it was unfortunately shot in JPEG format, using a Nikon D60 and a 70-300mm Tamron lens.  While it can not be printed in the sizeable realms that 'Posiedon' is currently being produced though Graphique in St. Austell and Kaya Gallery in Plymouth, it has found a nice little place along side some of my other work in a different context altogether.

Simply Cute

Over the next month, I will be applying the finishing touches to my Etsy store with a variety of products, ready to go live for the start of the new year.  I've been in the planning stage for a while now and as a way of testing the water in what may or may not sell, I recently produced a series of products, one of which being a batch of fridge magnets for a local cafe. Within weeks, the majority had surprisingly sold and this image in particular quickly became one of the most popular.  They weren't short on quality either, using the same paper as I always do for my actual prints through Kaya Gallery, along with a good weighty plastic and strong magnetic strip from an online company I eventually settled with. With key rings and even Snow Globes planned (though I am hoping to find a company that also does Sand Globes to suit some of my Kenya images), the sky is the limit to the potential of my store. If only I knew this during my time at university.

At the moment I am toying around with the possibility of text across the top of some of the fridge magnet images, though more so as a limited run for particular calendar events.  The theme of love is wonderfully represented with 'Simply Cute' and with a little further editing, I believe this will work out great for Valentines.  I am also producing a run of 'Deirdre' Chicken fridge magnets with possible text of "Love My Girls" and links to BHWT, with the potential to donate a percentage of the profits to this wonderful organisation, though more on this and my Etsy store as I get closer to launch.  I really do miss her.

This last year and a half since graduation has been a real eye opener (and struggle at times) in the ways and means of being a practising documentary photography while generating an income.  I continue to persevere onwards; that is all you can do really, though these last few months have been fantastic with further business ventures and sales due to my 'Emily Rose' project.  I can't wait to get back out to sea (she is currently under maintenance for the next few weeks and with a Christmas job lined up, my next trip has been postponed now till the second week of January) and I firmly believe next year will be a stunning, rewarding and very hard working year for me.  After updating my LinkedIn profile recently, it is comforting to note how far I've come and how much I've been involved with since graduation; I expect to add a great many more opportunities to the already growing list during 2016.  

I will also make some time free during April of next year and head back to the same spot I took 'Simply Cute', situated in a lovely little place called Mount Edgecombe, only this time with my Nikon D700 and a 500mm lens.  Hopefully there will be more wonderful new borns on display, loving their introduction to life and as always, loving one another.  If there is anything this world needs right now, it is a whole lot of love.  After the awful events that have transpired recently, particularly that of Paris, I think it is important to remind ourselves that there is still a great beauty and warmth to be found in this world, despite the various evils that often overshadow the thought.  You just have to look for it, however hidden away it may seem.

It is strange how we look back at a photo and how is speaks back to us years later.  'Simply Cute' seems to translate a scene of fragility and wonderment of what life is all about.  We often strive for things that matter the least, when all we really should be searching for is the necessity to be comfortably safe.  For this is all anyone on this planet should ever want or deserve. To be forever safe, comfortable, and always loved.  Perhaps one day we all will.