emrobinson03

[emrobinson03]

My Book - CANT Ban US!

CANT Ban US! Is the idea I came up with because I did a drag story time at 3 Auckland libraries for children. I got lots of backlash emails spammed from haters both uni and personal emails, Messenger, Facebook, Instagram etc and now they are investigating into all the hate and backlash n might cancel all the events in future years. I also got the idea because drag in many states in the US are passing bills to ban all drag queen performers. They also are passing bills to ban transgender people.

(Finn Gerring, Miss Carprise)

this image was taken as a joke before I performed. My friends were being annoying so I took a photo oh my make up. This make up was done in 30 minutes when my make up takes a long time to do originally. I didnt think I would use this image but Emil liked it and I had a look at it and I started to like it a lot.

I talked about this image in my last post but I just wanted to say That I also think the colours and the background comes together in the photo. I really like my make up.

(fields, cody coochie)

the image of fields after their shower with their hair up in a shirt dancing the first photo to start off all the other drag performers. I took the photo in the moment and it was a slay photo.

I took a photo of fields in the shower in their drag. The image was over exposed but I edited it on photoshop. Its not my favourite photo of them but it was the best one out of all that I got on my camera. If I had time i would have shot it again and done better lighting and thought of positions and areas for photos

Reign Bowman

Reign Bowman is on of my favourites I love their shirt in this photo its really good going with the title of the book. I also would reshoot this photo as its not in a good place as where I would want it. The black background. I also would change the lighting and position of them in my second photo

AURA ENVY

Aura envy is a drag super star used to be known as Feta their drag has changed a lot over the years with make up skills dancing creative ideas etc I wanted to capture them in thwir performance because they are a non binary drag performer which I am too. They are really photogenic normally on stage but I don't think I got the right angles for them on stage because I dont like the photos as much as I do of others I did a big shoot with them on the 3 sd cards I lost but thats okay I still got to put them in my book which I wanted. I would definitely reshoot these photos if I could. I love the reaction and pure happiness on kitas face.

Lady Armilade

Lady Armilade is a really cool person and performer and I got to capture there ultimate crazy energy they bring to the stage at first I didnt think I would be able to get any good photos because they had too much energy on stage and was running arounf basically but I got a few really goood ones. I like how bright their wig is in the photos and the colour pop from the outfits just fit together so well.

Twinkubus

Twinkubus is an amazing performer I met them twice recently and got to photograph them at our most recent show we were apart of at ding dong. Their make up was soo cool and so was their costume I just couldnt not photograph it I saw them on the pole dancing and I just asked them for photos I was going to use the photos of thsm on the pole but It just didnt look right in the book so I decided to do the one where hes posing on the ground and the close up of thwir face and hands holding the pole. I really like the way the background is really dark compared to their make up and clothes

Kita Mean/Anita Wiglit

I photographed Kita mean and Anita wiglit talking to eachother and looking at one another its a really cute photo of how strong their bond really is. Both kita and anita were on Rupauls Drag Race Down under Kita Mean is the true winner of season 1 they both hosted a tv show 2 seasons of house of drag basically Auckland vs Wellington queens and kings it was great. I really like the single photo of kita mean they like it too. They ended up posting it to all social media accounts they have and tagged me in all it was just fabulous I gained so many followers and supporters of my photography n art. I wanted to choose a single of Anita too but there wasnt one in focus which really sucked. This would have to be the best people I shot in this whole photoshoot. They appreciated all the photos and helped me grow as an artist

Flor

Florr is a amazing Latina Drag Queen that I love so much Ive seen her grow her drag over the years and she gives me so much love and confidence. I liked photographing them but the lighting wasnt what I hoped it was too bright and their wasnt much led lights where I photographed at Vesbar. I would like to definitely shoot them again in better lighting. I really like their concept of make up wig costume etc in these series of images but in front of Leds it would have looked so much cooler because the wig was glow in the dark and her green eyelinger was UV reacting.

Kourtney

Kourtney is amazing their drag has improved so much because they are so confident in drag its crazy. I have known them for a few years now because they are my drag mums sister so my drag aunty and they've seen me go through the worst and the best make up of my drag journey. I loved capturing kourtney in the middle of talking to harry it was just so real becausr they werent posing and they didnt notice me taking rhe photos and they ended up loving them. I liked how I took the image of thwir wig and not their face its just something different which I loved. I also didnt have the best lighting there not much leds but it worked and i got some images. I also really liked how their dress sparkled in the image.

Trinity

Trinity is a transwoman and a drag queen. Trinity has been arounf the auckland scene for so many years and has been an inspiration to many other transwomen and drag performers. I dont know trinity that well but she is really kind but she can be very sassy. I wish I could have gotten some more photos of them in much better lighting but it just didnt happen. Trinitys outfit also glowed in the dark same as her wig so it would have been cool to get some photos outside when it was dark but I didnt think of that or had the idea at the time which I wish I did because they could have been really cool ideas.

[emrobinson03]

Beginning to see the light

ME!(Em,Finn Gerring, Miss Carprise)

This image is my favourite. I have never taken an image of myself like this that I actually like. this was me on a Thursday night when I was performing at ding dong lounge in the city. I had to go through the process of shaving my hair before it goes on its own and it was a really long hard process but it happened so fast waking up with clumps of my hair on my pillow as I woke up a few days after my first chemo shot. this image shows the pain in my eyes and the neutral feeling of not knowing how I look but shooting anyway. I did the makeup with my fingers and eyeliner. I chose this photo because it is the strongest image out of all the ones I decided to take. If I could take this photo again and change something I would honestly change the make-up, I wouldn't have any on and keep the photo raw.

Marmie

My best friend Marmie was who I captured for beginning to see light. their presence in front of the camera is amazing I can tell they love it and they are really respectful towards me, the way I shoot, who is around us, and my editing choices. I was originally capturing Dahlia my other friend but nothing really jumped out at me and I wasn't feeling the vibe. As soon as I shot an image of Marmie had so many ideas and I wish I could have done all my ideas but didn't have the time. marmie has always been a big supporter of my ideas and art I wish to continue shooting them and creating art around their transition and making sure they have lots of images.

[emrobinson03]

Peter Jennings

Petter Jennings is a artist that photographs Aucklands night life and events around the year. he photographs me a lot on K road and lots of drag artists he was the photographer for Aucklands biggest Diwali event, Most of all big events at phoenix cabaret, at the protests in albert park and all of the pride event. he does most of this for free too in his own time. This photo of me was taken by peter. he was really good with giving ideas of how to pose etc and having lots of fun.

This photo was also taken by peter on the same day as the photo of me

[emrobinson03]

Alex Ryan

https://www.instagram.com/alexryanphoto/

Alex Is a known photographer in auckland that goes around the world taking amazing images of drag queens and kings I really like them as an artist I take some of my inspiration from them they are so confident within their art and photographing performers in all types of lights ourfits etc.

[emrobinson03]

Week 9

What and who will you portray?

I will be photographing Drag Queens in and out of drag, Myself in and out of drag and when they are performing.

What might you communicate visually through the concept of portrayal?

I am communicating the life of drag queens and kings outside and before their make up.

What is your position on your subject matter?

I feel like my position is a person position, this is because its basically about me, what saved me, what made me who I am today, the things i do everyday, et. everyone in this book is photographed for a reason they all have a connection to me. My photography for many years has been based around drag but every single time it comes out as a new story

What is your voice? What is unique about your subject or your approach to it?

my voice is my voice its important! my subject is unique because I get the insider of the community that not many people get to take the images I do. I genuinley want to explore this more deep within the next few months.

What do you have unique access to? A group of people, a place, a situation?

I have unique access to drag queens with in the community. I have unique access to the back drag rooms of the clubs like phoenix, gay, family all from k road.

Consider the important role the title takes in communicating your intention and how audiences might ‘read’ the book. What is your working title? 

My first idea was the drag king/Queen coronation but now that I do the book im not sure if its going to work and make sense if I had the 3 sd cards I lost it would be fine but I have gone with what I could do quickly and productively

What would you like readers to think and feel?

I would love the readers to think these artists are amazing and I want them to be more interested and maybe even support the community queens not just thoses queens on rupauls drag race and also be interested in the drag kings because drag kings arent shown on tv only on house of drag that isnt showing anymore. Drag kings are just as talented at Queens if not more.

What is the role of the text within the book? How does the text relate to the story the images tell? How do they work together?

at the moment i havent Written any text in the book im still at the point of making the book and choosing images.

How many shoots do you require to gain adequate coverage and successfully tell the story? 

realistically I need a lot more than what I have because I dont have as many as I first pictured but Im doing around 4 shoots which is fun, I genuinely find this all over stimulating having to plan out my days around photoshoots, medical stuff, medication times, doing other classes, performing, and eating.

Do you need gear and support with your shoots? What is your plan?

at this point of my book I just need it to be done like I dont really hve a plan its basically just do it when I have time and energy put my best interest into it.

What software and workflow will you use to edit, process, collate and design your photobook PDF?

I honestly might just use power point or slides just something that I already know or I might try use an app on my tablet but im honestly just trying to get it over and done with

What is your research plan? 

I have reseached lots of artists who photograph like me or I take inspiration for. i think I wanna add a few extra artists onto my blog that are friends of mine in the community that arent that famous but create images I inspire to make one day.

What other photobooks have you looked at? 

I have looked at https://shop.vossevents.com/products/the-dolls-photography-book Fashion photographer Marco Ovando is excited to announce the release of his first photography book, ​The Dolls,​ featuring icons of the hit award-winning program, ​RuPaul’s Drag Race.​ Ovando has worked extensively with many of the drag queens in the wildly-popular international “Werq the World Tour”, and most recently due to Covid-19, the “Drive N’ Drag Tour”, where the talent is referred to as “the queens” by staff and crew but the girls, themselves, use a different moniker-- “the dolls.” In his career of fashion photography spanning more than 25 years, Ovando has always been at the forefront of capturing the glamour of the drag world, including from the very first season of ​RuPaul’s Drag Race​, now 13 years ago

Are there decisions that have yet to be made? How will you resolve these? I have to choose my images and the new name of my book due to the photos I do have.

[emrobinson03]

Week 7 Photos

What and who will you portray?

Myself, Finn Gerring, Miss Carprise

What might you communicate visually through the concept of portrayal?

myself and the different identitys I have for different days, also the beauty of drag and being Non-Binary

How will you select and sequence your images?

I will work closely with Emil and those who I take photos of.

How do we find our ‘voice’ in creative work?

by creating images that have meaning and power. if you are interested in what you are photographing then you are going to find your voice within what you make.

How do we grow our skills through developing a photo habit?

I think that every photo we take we develop our photo habits if thats with lighting, how we stand, how we position the tripod, how we use the 3 important keys to taking an image. its really just how we develop our ideas within our habits that we can change our habits to better suit the image. like for exmple I know how to use studio lighting and those are the habits I tend to go back to but they dont always work especially outdoors and in non artificial light.

[emrobinson03]

Edith Amituanai

Edith Amituanai was born in 1980 in Auckland, New Zealand. In 2005 she completed a Bachelor of Design (majoring in photography) at Unitec Institute of Technology, before completing a Master of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland in 2009. In 2007, Amituanai was the first recipient of the Art Foundation’s Marti Friendlander Photographic Award. The following year she was nominated for the Walters Prize at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Amituanai undertook the Taipei Artist Village Residencyin 2014 and was the inaugural artist-in-residence at the Hastings City Art Gallery in 2017. She has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums across Aotearoa and internationally in Australia, Austria, Taiwan, Germany and France. Her artwork is held in national collections including Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. Amituanai is represented by Anna Miles Gallery, Auckland.

Edith Amituanai: Double Takeis the first exhibition to survey artist Edith Amituanai’s practice in its entirety. Presenting over 60 photographs, it provides insights into the various bodies of work she has produced since 2003 which draw attention to the experiences of Pacific people as well as other diasporic communities both within New Zealand and further afield. Imaging people and domestic spaces in her immediate neighbourhood of Ranui in West Auckland and extending to Samoa, the USA and beyond, she provides a lens on what she describes as a ‘third-wave migration’ driven by diverse economic and social forces that propel the movement of Pacific Island communities from their homelands. Double Take invites us to reconsider these works for the critical insights they reveal of the artist’s use of and belief in the photographic medium. Suspended in place and time we see the inner and outer worlds of those pictured and, for a moment, envisage ourselves there.

Edith Amituanai is an artist I worked closely with in year 12 and 13. their passion for photographing her community made me drawn to photographing mine. she is such a nice person and has so many creative ideas when it come to telling stories through a lense. I honestly love the way she captures people around her especially this photo on top. i think its so cool because they arent posing they are in the moment and you can see the joy and expressions on their face.

this is an example of the images edith produced while at our school I made similar masks for my art sculpture board she worked with the year 10s and they were all photographed with their masks they had made.

this mask here was one I made while I was in the hospital in year 13 my art is a lot better now

[emrobinson03]

Teju Cole

TEJU COLE is a novelist, photographer, critic, curator, and the author of several books. He was the photography critic of the New York Times Magazine from 2015 until 2019. He is currently the Gore Vidal Professor of the Practice of Creative Writing at Harvard. His novella, Every Day is for the Thief, was named a book of the year by the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, NPR, and the Telegraph, and shortlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award. His novel, Open City, also featured on numerous book of the year lists, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the New York City Book Award for Fiction, the Rosenthal Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Internationaler Literaturpreis, and was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the New York Public Library Young Lions Award, and the Ondaatje Prize of the Royal Society of Literature. His essay collection, Known and Strange Things, was shortlisted for both the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay and the inaugural PEN/Jean Stein Award for “a book that has broken new ground by reshaping the boundaries of its form and signaling strong potential for lasting influence.” Known and Strange Things was named a book of the year by the Guardian, the Financial Times, Time Magazine, and many others.

Im not too sure as to why we were too look at this artist but I really like the lighting and composition of all the objects used.

this artist isnt my type of artist i would personally look at but thats because its not really something I do in my work.

[emrobinson03]

reflection Of this photoshoot

I honestly Love the photos I took this weekend I feel as tho I need to do more photoshoots still to create a book I enjoy and need to find others who Will let me photograph the before and after of their make up. I already asked the people I shot on the SD cards tht were lost but a lot of them dont have time due to work, uni, etc. I also need to do a shoot of myself so I can upload me to. I lost my passion for photography for a few months this year but now Ive got my spark back and I cant wait to shoot more things. I feel like I need to refresh on appature, shutter speed and iso because when I was shooting I realised I couldnt remember what settings I should use and the photos could have been soo much better if I had figured out everything these are 2 of my favourite images my overall image is the one I posted of Kita Mean!

[emrobinson03]

More Contact sheets

[emrobinson03]

Contact sheets from the weekend

[emrobinson03]

DAVID AYLLON

The "Guise" gallery exhibit ran from February 3 - March 10, 2018 at PO’P Gallery in Baldwin, New York. The exhibit featured portraits of noted nightlife & drag entertainers such as Sasha Velour (RuPaul’s Drag Race winner, Season 9), Bob The Drag Queen (RuPaul’s Drag Race winner, Season 8), Alaska, Peaches Christ, and more. As a queer Latino, my fascination with persona grew from adolescent escapism into a process of examining gender, personal history, and self-expression through photography & design. By collaborating with noted personalities from the drag community, I can create dynamic narrative portraits that explore nostalgia and identity through the lens of artifice, urban fantasy, and pop-culture. I’ve always been drawn to larger than life characters, real or fictitious, and my goal with this work is to create worlds and situations for these drag personas to embody that are as exaggerated and strange and beautiful as they are. Although the exhibit was first displayed in 2018, the series of portraits is ongoing

This Image is amazing and I would love to do a photoshoot like this but maybe just the face with lots of accessories etc around and them holding. I really like the lighting in this photo with all the different colours and tones of blues, pinks, reds, and purples. I think how the face is lightened up is really beautiful and structured the picture. I never knew about this artist until I found this photo I knew about this art style by Lane Worrall who is a auckland queer artist and friend of mine. They featured Natrasha in a stunning rhinestoned drag make up look and outfit and lots of accessories around them I love the image its just so beautiful they have lots of different examples bht this one was my favourite

https://www.glambylane.com/?fbclid=PAAaaPHiC4FF5QpdfdYERVYGdPZqkGOmXWbNEtpr4d14gUe9RG0zMZnXIp_xc

[emrobinson03]

Annie Leibowitz

A photographer inspired by Annie Leibowitz captured powerful portraits of drag queens in and out of costume to show the “human side” of their characters. Drag queens have found themselves at the center of an argument between conservatives and liberals with many red states trying to push through legislation that would ban drag shows from public places. “I decided I wanted to show drag performers in and out of drag to show the human side of the characters they play on stage,” he continues. Annie Leibovitz’s portraits of showgirls were a big inspiration visually with the costumed photos in color and the out-of-costume photos in black and white.

I really like Annie Leibovitz’s art, I looked at them closely during my year 2 and 3 ncea art board they inspired it a lot. They are all very simple images but are so energetic and have something to say. The black and white against all the pop and colour just says something about these images the fact they use black and white when they have nothing on is really interesting they're basically showikg that under all the glitz and glam they are normal human beings just like everyone else. In my photo book im hoping to capture something like this but instead of my person posing I want them to just do what they normally do. For the background I reckon instead of poped colour backgrounds I might use the clubs walls or the sparkly curtains. Also these 2 queens here I absolutely love they are just so cheecky and fabulous

[emrobinson03]

I went to drag wars on friday night and I was so exhausted after class I was contemplating going but I am so happy I went. I got some amazing images of lots of performers Kita Mean winner of Rupauls drag race season 1 down under is going to use one of my images on her Facebook and Instagram and Tagg me which is a big win because she has 122k followers on instagram and that can help me as a small artist. This is the image before it was edited on adobe photoshop

[emrobinson03]

more photoshoot cover sheets

[emrobinson03]

Ziqian Liu

Born in 1990 in China, graduated from the University of Technology Sydney in 2015, started photography in 2018, based in Shanghai.

All of her work is a self-portrait. In her work, she combines her body, plants, and mirror images, constantly exploring the balanced state of peaceful coexistence between humans and nature. In terms of visual presentation, she is keen to create quiet images with a sense of rigor and order. Her works intentionally rarely show her face because she wants the viewer to imagine that the body in the picture can be anyone. Different viewers will have different perceptions of her works, which is what she finds most interesting and exciting about photography. 

There are two main themes in Ziqian's work. The first theme is about the symbiosis between human beings and nature. To some extent, it can be said that human beings and the rest of the natural world are equal - we live in the same world, breathing the same air, mutual tolerance. In her work she tries to find a state of harmony between humans and nature, full of peace and emotion, because, in this state of symbiosis, beauty will be most embodied.

The second theme is about perspective. Things we are familiar with often remain in a fixed image, but what she is trying to convey through her work is to look at the same thing from different angles to disclose different findings. This is not only for things but also for understanding others and our hearts. 

these 2 images are powerful and I love them so much I like how she uses mirrors in her art sometimes and the blend between humans and nature. it is just os interesting to look at and I want to try use this technique but instead of nature I wanna use make-up brushes, wigs, props for shows etc. I found them on a Pinterest board with lots of her work on it. she also has portraits and photos like this

this image could work so well if I used a small mirror it looks like a normal body but with a full face of drag and big hair the image could be so powerful or I could do it that the body is a very drag-like costume and neutral face so its compares to the image but is completely opposite

[emrobinson03]

mirror photography

these Images were taken when I did drag and when I was in the bathroom her at uni I dont know what I was thinking and why I chose to take a photo in the mirror of the bathroom, but I found a note in my phone saying I took photos in the bathroom mirror because its the bathroom I passed out in and I thought it was funny

I honestly hate mirror selfies like this I like the 2 way mirror phots which I took and using in m photobook.