Anyway I thought I might show you all the FREE stuff I got at Fashion Week.
From Left to Right: Vintage black and white scarf, 3 pairs of black leggings, skin care products, fancy shoe clips, heaps of pads and tampons, Marie Claire magazine, more skin care products, Smiggle stationary, Blue eco bag, De Lorenzo hair treatment, hair lemon hang over treatment, bath crystals.Look at it all, and I gave away about the same amount of stuff to my sister for her Birthday (Happy Birthday Ebony :> your real present is coming asap). The best stuff came from the RAW parade, which was an eco fashion show using vintage clothes and organic fabrics at the Docklands. In that goodie bag I got a black and white vintage scarf and a blue "green bag" for the supermarket plus some De Lorenzo hair treatment. You can find out more about that show at Melbourne Street Fashion.com (photos of the parade will be there ASAP...remember I took over 700 photos so it is taking forever to edit them all, sorry)
My media pass. It was so fun to have this, being able to go to the VIP bar and drink it up before the shows for free was fantastic and then again after the shows. Not so much fun was me having to work during the shows in the photographers pit because boy are some photographers pushy. It is such a sexist industry, 99% of the photographers were men and there is me, Fashion Hayley in some crazy bright outfit and my kinda crap equipment compared to their $10,000 camera's with fancy smancy lenses. They think they can just walk all over you and make you move, well honey's I'm sorry but you can't! At one of the events I went to with one of our writers from Melbourne Street Fashion.com when the event coordinator saw us 2 girls she was like "where is your photographer? I thought you were bringing a photographer?" Hello I am right here! It was kinda funny in the photographers pit, I was the only one who clapped with the audience and seemed to enjoy the show. I guess for most of the other photographers fashion isn't their passion they are just there for work as a photographer for The Age or Herald Sun, normally they are shooting politicians or something. I also was the only one not wearing black.I always wanted to be a photographer, and now it has kinda happened. I studied photography all through highschool and then at University. All that study is wasted now though, because I learnt all about film, film processing in black and white and colour and film slr cameras. My 1st digital camera wasn't bought until I was 21 and finished with studying photography, and it was only a 3megapixel camera (the most you could get at the time) and now I have a 6megapixel and a 8megapixel camera but the photos are just never as good as with film. I was thinking about how there is no way I could have taken 700 photos with film, that would just have been way too expensive, digital camera's have made everyone a photographer because it's just so cheap and easy now, but they have meant that everything I learnt and studied was a waste of time. When I was younger, about 13, we lived on the same street as this famous comedian and writer for The Age, and her boyfriend was a photographer for The Age as well. Well me and my sister became good friends with this couple, they were sort of like our mentors and they really inspired me in so many ways. They had spent a year teaching English in Japan and they were living a very bohemian life which I kinda aspired to do. Well when I told them I wanted to be a photographer they told me "Don't, it is too hard an industry" which kinda surprised me, but I didn't listen obviously, I kept on studying, but now I see what they mean. It is very competitive and really you are only as good as your equipment, and good equipment is very expensive. It doesn't help that everything that I learnt is of no use to me now, people just 3 years younger than me have more of an understanding of digital photography than me. My age group is just a little out of the technology loop, just a little, but enough to make a difference. I don't know what I'm going to end up doing, photography? owning a shop? fashion stylist? I've dabbled in both styling and photography and I love them both, maybe owning a shop can combine the 2 without me having to work for someone else. It is kinda exciting, I want to know what happens, it's like the beginning of a book and you can't wait for the end but the process of getting there is just as good. What I mean is I am happy and excited about life, the possibilities are endless.
Sounds like you had a blast (even with the sexist piglets in the photog pit), you sound so excited about the future!
ReplyDeleteHow you have even managed a post of this depth is beyond me. I am suffering today after the mad week it has been, and feeling in desperate need of a massage and housekeeper to handle the pile of work that happened in my absence. Your photographs are excellent, and I am so impressed with your work. I wished I'd called you to help me on yesterdays event, as I was a photographer short (being fathers day) and spent the day trying to photograph people while not killing them with my huge tutu!
ReplyDeleteAnd how cool is it having a Media pass? I loved that my one yesterday listed me as "Blogger & Socialite"! Hahaha, now I feel quite fabulous.
I am sooooo proud of you and so pleased you had such an amazing time...love you heaps Mum.
ReplyDeleteYou must be exhausted! I'm glad you held through. I wish I got a free scarf and leggings too! But I didn't go to the Docklands show:( Hope you finish editing and writing!
ReplyDeletewow, free pads and tampons? lol
ReplyDeletego hayley for being the only girl in the photographers pit. i hope they didn't crush you to death.
There are A LOT of politics involved with fashion week....this is why ive stopped going.
ReplyDeleteFilm will never compare to digital!!!
Hi Hailey, as a designer for one of those papers you mentioned I know about these photojournalists you're talking about (don't worry, I won't say anything ;))
ReplyDeleteI won't lie, most ARE there just for a job, and even those who ARE into fashion have become jaded because they don't really have any creative control. They are told to shoot each outfit three times (close up of details, mid shot, whole outfits) and that's it.
I myself have been a freelance music photographer for about 3 years. At first I was exactly like you, excited and clapping with the crowd. But now even if I love the band I'm shooting, I'm there for a job to get the best photo possible (for the editor's sake) and sometimes when you're doing that every night after doing 3 or 4 other jobs before hand, it is exhausting. (not to mention editing ALL your photos afterwards for the next 3 hours so it'll be up in the system for tomorrow's paper)
That said, don't be discouraged about being a photographer. Yes, it IS a hard industry to get into. But it's not about the equipment, it's more about who you know. Yes, it helps to have a fancy looking camera. This is more because most non-photographers go "OH she ~LOOKS~ professional, she must be good", which is definitely the wrong perception.
Honestly, I can't wait to see your photos. It's always good to see someone so passionate about their work and not completely chained down by an editor.
In an unrelated note, I saw you on the 55 tram last week (we got off at the same stop at Collins St). Wanted to say hi but you were with 2 other people and I was with 2 other people, and I was also shy hahahaha.
You must photograph those camp little shoe clips, I stupidly left mine in Melbourne and only realized when I got back to Sydney. Naturally, I could give a toss about the tampons!
ReplyDeleteWell... I only came across your blog yesterday, and I'm just a random unimportant stranger, so I don't know if my opinion counts for anything... but, for what it's worth, I am in a lot of awe of all of your achievements! I would die to be in your shoes!
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's that whole "the grass is greener on the other side" thing... but still... your adventures around Melbourne are so awe-inspiring! Makes me want to drop out of my psych degree and do something fun and creative! I do make and sell stuff as a HOBBY... but I couldn't ever DREAM of doing that full-time!
I wouldn't worry too much about those big-shot photographers tackling you down... they sound more like paparazzi trash than professionals! It's not about the size of your lens, it's about the quality and passion behind the photo (as cliché as that may be). I mean, there's no use in me going out and buying a $10,000 camera to snap shots of a fashion show if I don't have any interest in fashion!
That was a long ramble... sorry, I'm not very good at being concise!
In summary: I think you're damn awesome.
/end FH worshipping!