Life+Hipstamatic Site Launched!

I purchased my iPhone specifically for the Hipstamatic Application - no kidding. Luckily I also love the iPhone.  :)  I am a freelance photographer outside of my day job, and enjoy creative, out of the ordinary photos. After seeing a good friend’s Hipstamatic photos and the amazing large scale prints he was creating, I had to have the application.  In fact, I have hardly touched my Canon DSLR since I purchased my iPhone. I have been snapping photos of everyday objects and scenes, and have decided to bring them together and create Life+Hipstamatic.  Life+Hipstamatic is exactly as the name portrays, ordinary life captured by the Hipstamatic eye.  The site was built using Tumblr.  This was my first experience using Tumblr, and it was quick and easy.  There are SEO tips, tons of free and paid designs, and great customization features.  I would recommend Tumblr highly. 

Enjoy!

“If I saw something in my viewfinder that looked familiar to me, I would do something to shake it up.” – Garry Winogrand

Life+Hipstamatic

First Book Publication - Wisconsin Trails Magazine's Capture Wisconsin

I'm so excited to have my first book publication.  The book, [tentatively] titled Capture Wisconsin, is a collaboration of photos collected and voted on over the past year by photographers of all levels across Wisconsin. The contest was held by Wisconsin Trails Magazine, and photos were submitted through the Capture Wisconsin website.  I submitted quite a few photos, and am very happy to have had one of mine selected.  The book will be released on November 18th, 2011.  I've already pre-ordered my copy and can't wait to see it. 

If you are interested in the book, you can pre-order it here:
Pre-Order the Capture Wisconsin Book

To visit the Wisconsin Trails Capture Wisconsin site:
Capture Wisconsin

Las Vegas - Hipstamatic for iPhone

I just returned from another trip to beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada.  The weather was perfect, and as always, there was a lot to see and do.

For this trip, I chose to shoot with just my Hipstamatic for iPhone app and Bondi HipstaPak.  This pak is my favorite by far, and was created for fashion photographer Ben Watts.  It contains the Watts Lens and the Big Up Film.  I took quite a few photos with the Bondi HipstaPak both in during the day and night, and results turned out great with both - this being the reason it's my favorite HipstaPak.

Photos can be seen here:
Las Vegas Hipstamatic Style

UFC on Versus 5 - Milwaukee WI August 14th, 2011

This past weekend my husband and I attended UFC/Versus 5 fights in Milwaukee.  It was a great weekend; we were able to catch the weigh-ins at the Harley Davidson Museum and a pre-party with Urijah Faber and Anthony Pettis. The day of the fights, we bought a VIP package with transportation from Showtime Sports Bar.  Lots of photos on my site:

http://jenniferahughes.zenfolio.com/versus5

Wisconsin Recall Elections - August 9th, 2011

I spent about six hours around the Capitol square on August 9th for the recall elections.  There were approximately 3,000 people gathered to view the live broadcast of the Ed Schultz show, followed by a packed Majestic Theater to watch the results live.  Guests throughout the evening included many State Senators, John Nichols and Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate.  I enjoyed taking photos of the events throughout the evening.  http://jenniferahughes.zenfolio.com/wirecall

Hipstamatic for iPhone Review - iPhone 4

I recently purchased an iPhone, and the first application I downloaded was the Hipstamatic for iPhone application.  This is an amazing little retro camera app with a variety of lenses and film that come with the original download, as well as quite a few add-on packages that can be downloaded as well.  I love this application, and my favorite lenses so far are the John S and Helga Viking, and favorite film are Ina's 1969 and Float.  I haven't downloaded any of the add-ons, but have been having quite a bit of fun combining different films and lenses! It is really easy to share photos on Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Email.  You can also click to enter photos in different contests as well as order prints directly throught the HipstaMart Print Lab.  I haven't used this feature as of yet, but the prices are quite reasonable.  Options for print sizes are 4" or 7".  For $1.99, this is quite the app! For more sample photos, see the Hipstamatic gallery on my website: http://www.jenniferahughes.zenfolio.com/.

 

Jennifer A Hughes

Fine Art Photography

Madison, Wisconsin

Jennifer A Hughes Photography - Capture Wisconsin Contest

I have been entering many photos into the Capture Wisconsin contest by Wisconsin Trails Magazine. I am hoping to make the book that is due out this fall!

You can find my entries here:

Capture Wisconsin Contest

Or click on "Capture Wisconsin" to the right to take you there...

Thanks for looking!

Jennifer A Hughes
Fine Art Photographer
Madison, Wisconsin

Hesperidian Productions Summer 2011 Runway Show

This past weekend I photographed my first runway show by Hesperidian Productions at Tempo Dance Studio in Middleton, WI. One of my favorite local designers, Claire Ann of Gypsy Couture had many of her designs featured.  It was a great show by everyone involved!

You can see the photos here:
http://jenniferahughes.zenfolio.com/p403228380

Hesperidian Productions can be found here:

www.facebook.com/hesperidianproductions

Featured Photo in Madison Snaps

Just found one of my photos was featured on "Madison Snaps" on Isthmus' The Daily Page.  Always fun to find my photos somewhere other than on my own site!  :)

http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=33762

I know this is a photography blog but....

I live in Madison, Wisconsin, and I'm sure many of you out there have heard of the battles we are having with our current Governor.  Today was a sad, sad day, in that the Supreme Court ruled that the law to bust unions was, in fact, in effect. This evening, as many days and evenings in the past, we held another rally at the Capitol.  Here is a video that represents true democracy in Wisconsin...Wisconsin sings "We Shall Not Be Overcome"

Update: I was contacted by CNN this morning for permission to use my video throughout their site, as well as on TV.  CNN iReport: The Day the Unions Died

Zenfolio vs PhotoShelter vs SmugMug for a Stunning Gallery!

Recently, I did extensive research into sites which I can host my photos on, as well as have the possibility to produce sales.  Many sites came up, the top being Photoshelter.com, Zenfolio.com and SmugMug.com. 

Prior to choosing Zenfolio, I was only using Flickr.  Flickr is an amazing site for generating traffic, plus many of my images show up in google image searches if my name or the correct keywords are used.  I love Flickr, especially the feedback you can give and get from the community.

However, the downside to Flickr was that I put everything up there...and that includes events and snapshots, which are by far not my gallery quality work. There is also no easy way to sell on Flickr.

As mentioned above, I did research into Photoshelter, Zenfolio and Smugmug.  Right off the bat Photoshelter was out due to the fees to join. Their rates start at $9.99/month and go up from there. 

It was then down to Zenfolio and SmugMug.  Both had great reviews, and both had great looking galleries.  SmugMug starts at $40/year for their basic plan, however you cannot set your own prices and there isn't much customization you can do to your page other than their basic layouts.  So, I went over to Zenfolio.  Same story as far as the basic vs. pro package, but their easy to use site, customizable pages, SEO options and the $25/year membership had me hooked.

After about week, I have a very nice gallery and customized pages.  They have many templates to choose from, and you can customize them as needed (font, graphics, etc).  At the $25 rate, you can choose to have your photos available for prints, however the prices are extremely low.  If at some point I choose to upgrade to the premium plan, $100 isn't so bad.  For the time being, I use their contact me section for inquiries on print sales.  With the premium plan, you can set your own domain name (however, see below for how I did this already), Zenfolio branding is removed, you can fulfill orders on your own or use one of their labs, photos are watermarked (although I was able to turn off the option to download them), and you also have a client access page.

Overall, I am very pleased so far with Zenfolio.  For $25/year, it's a great start!  They are not the best for SEO, reading the forums, keywording photos, titling your pages accurately and getting backlinks will all help traffic to your site, however.  There is an SEO section, so my page has been "given" to Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.  Also, I was able to purchase http://www.jenniferahughes.com/ through godaddy, and immediately redirect it to my Zenfolio site www.jenniferahughes.zenfolio.com for easier access. 

I hope this article helps anyone looking to find a great place to host a photo gallery and sell prints!