No Connection

After many weeks of studying to finish a degree that does not really seem to fit into my creative work, I now feel relieved. Tomorrow will be the last time I will sit in a row consisting of probably thirty desks, repeated endlessly to form a matrix, filling up an entire hanger-sized hall.  

The great thing about this is that I will have loads more time to photograph, develop and print in the future, which brings me to my next point: A new series in celebration of a great year, with all it's good and bad moments we may or may not know about. This time I will approach architecture using large format film photography. The release date of this new project is possibly February 2015. 

For now, here is an image I simply call "No Connection".

by Karolina Rupp Photography

Photo Party

Here a couple of images from today's shoot at Bravo Pizzaria:


Model: Daniéle

by Karolina Rupp Photography

by Karolina Rupp Photography

by Karolina Rupp Photography

Model: Janene

by Karolina Rupp Photography

by Karolina Rupp Photography

Model: Ilse

What is left behind?! Or is it?

Please click on the image for a larger version.

A recent trip to Retro Rabbit in Pierneef street, Pretoria proved to be quite the eye catcher. Here my impressions.

This series "What is left behind?! Or is it?" was inspired by a rather sad event, the passing of my grandmother. She left behind a fully functioning household with loads of crockery and goodies and things. The overwhelming task of sorting through the items and finding a new home for them or bluntly put just throwing some of them away is exhausting. I guess this shoot helped me to see the matter in a more positive light, to find beauty rather than sadness in things that once belonged to someone else. 

The idea is that some things are never left behind, they might only change hands or minds.

 

Stone Quarry

 

Click on the image to see a larger version

The Dancers

Being inspired by a beautiful garden, this small series did not harm or kill any plants and was shot using natural light.

Playing in the wind, these creatures are still restricted by their stems and twigs, connected to earth. Photographing them out of context and alone away from their mother plant allows them to seem free. They become 'The Dancers', loosing themselves in movement and beauty.

Karolina Rupp Photography

Metamorphosis

After being really busy it is just fun to take some time off and play around in Photoshop to create weird and wonderful creatures.

"Metamorphosis" by Karolina Rupp

I am looking forward to completing two series in July of which one is going to be a collaboration with a wonderfully talented illustrator and the other will be shot on medium format film. The first sneak peaks should be available by mid August.

The making of: Tash + Ca Club

On the 7th of June I shot the new sleep wear range of Tash + Ca Club.

Here the making of:

by Karolina Rupp Photography

by Karolina Rupp Photography

by Karolina Rupp Photography

by Karolina Rupp Photography

by Karolina Rupp Photography

by Karolina Rupp Photography

An Overview

Help me help you :)

Why is art so expensive?

This is an interesting question I ask myself as I find myself on both sides of the argument. On the one hand I am an artist selling my work and I need to cover my costs as well as make a profit that puts food on the table amongst other things. On the other, I am not shy to buy art that I like. The limit here is that it needs to fit into my budget, which again depends on my own profits I make from selling artwork.

So how do I take a photograph and sell it for as little as possible in order to make it available to everyone who is interested in having it against their walls? 

Lets break it down:

- Buying the film

- Developing the film

- Scanning the film

- Printing the scan

- Framing the print

This obviously excludes the use of my film cameras and their maintenance costs as well as other things such as fuel to get to and from the places who offer the services I require. 

An option here is to print on non-archival paper which is a lot cheaper and sell unframed prints.

The point of this post is though that I really want my art to be accessible to the people who enjoy it. Being someone who buys art as well, I understand the financial limits as well as the costs involved in making it. 

This is why I decided to do a little survey to find out how much potential buyers are willing to pay for my work.

Please fill in the form here.

More and more and more...

by Karolina Rupp Photography

Finding space in you life for the things that actually matter, matters. Keeping them cold does not keep them fresh.

New Series

As promised, here an explanation to my new series:

"How did your face look, before your parents were born?" Zen-Koan

A mask can look inward and outward, it looks at the person wearing it and changes his or her expression but at the same time it also impacts the audience creating fantasies in their head of what is behind it. It stands between the I and the world.

In this series I am creating masks that are made from people, from faces just to become something they are not and never have been.

Oscar Wilde mentioned something really interesting, he said "give a person a mask and they will tell the truth". Imagine a masquerade of truths.

These are just pieces of information, but I will update this post once the series is complete.

The making of fashion photos...

I recently had the chance to shoot male models again. We took the morning of a public holiday and went to the really empty Pretoria University campus. We were 3 photographers, Jessica, Etienne and myself and 2 models which seemed to be a winning combination!

Here the making of:

And here the newest images:

Vincent photographed by Karolina Rupp

Michael photographed by Karolina Rupp

The ghost who is following me

by Karolina Rupp

It's a Sunday and it's raining.  The perfect time to play around in Photoshop and create something new.

Exhibition

 

I hope to see you all there! 

Nicole Dextras

I stumbled across this wonderful series by Nicole Dextras. She froze flowers and dresses in huge ice blocks, lit them and photographed them at night.

“This frozen wardrobe acts as a metaphor for the multilayered affinities between the self and the environment,” Dextras explained. “On a deeper level, the mercurial aspect of ice alludes to the transient nature of the environment and of the inherent poetic beauty of the ephemeral.”

All images by Nicole Dextras.

Shooting Fashion

Recently I shot a couple of fashion images. The last time I took these kind of photographs was quite some time ago so I felt a little nervous, but in the end it turned out great. A big thank you to the wonderful models, Michael and Vincent.

By Karolina Rupp Photography

By Karolina Rupp Photography

Waking up in the Mind Palace

Recently I started experimenting more and more with image reflections and photo manipulation as you can see here. I found it to be necessary to explain myself with regard to these images in a little more detail as they seem to slightly resemble kaleidoscopic imagery and odd combinations of visuals, but they in fact are built on a system of meaning which I will explain here. 

We all find ourselves in situations where we look inward and feel a little or very confused about ourselves, our actions and the outside world. Being aware of these thoughts and actively trying to understand and analyse them in order to better one's 'beingness' sometimes seems like an incredibly overwhelming and difficult task. This effort of realising what these thoughts are and the serious inner stroll amongst the pillars of ideas and the big open mind palace with high ceilings and intricate paintings and pattern on the walls, is what I am trying to capture in this new series of images. Instead of looking at results and answers I am trying to capture the middle or in between stages of actions that develop from thoughts. 

I hope that this makes things a little clearer, even though it deals with confusion.

Question

Seeing or being in a different environment is always inspiring! I am planning on shooting quite a bit of film in the following days and weeks but will not forget about my digital camera either. It's exciting! This is the first time where I feel absolutely no pressure shooting, it's just fun. What an amazing feeling! 

In the next couple of days I will try and post some new images on facebook.

And the question for the day: Do you wake up or open your eyes first?

Liminality

I find myself in a transition phase as this year is nearly over with lots of things that I've done and a new year to come with more things to do and conquer. A perfect explanation for this phase (that I continue talking about) is the concept of liminality.

It is an "intermediate state of being "in between" in which individuals are striped from their usual identity and their constituting social differences while being on the verge of personal or social transformation." Reference.

I find that this concept itself would be a great exploration in terms of a photographic series, possibly in black and white film as artists themselves are viewed as 'edgemen'.

And for some inspiration, here some infrared portraits by Nir Arieli.

Edward Weston

Having to shoot in the style of someone is sometimes a little difficult. This time it was Edward Weston. Telling stories and triggering emotions by photographing objects such as peppers or shells is the key to his still life pieces.

The image here is my interpretation of his work as part of an assignment.


Title: The Mourning Sister

By Karolina Rupp Photography