Sports Stars: Lauren (Rowing & Netball)

Our week 3 sports star in Lauren, a student at Saint Margaret Mary College in Townsville. Leiden Studios has been fortunate enough to have know Lauren since she was very young and have watched her develop into who she is today.

ls: What sports do you play?
Lauren: Netball & Rowing.
ls: What clubs do you play for?
Lauren: Phoenix Netball and Saint Margaret Mary College Rowing.
ls: What position do you play?
Lauren: WD, GD, GK (Wing Defense, Goal Keeper and Goal Defense) & I row in 3 seat.
ls: How long have you been playing?
Lauren: 6 years netball and this was my first year of rowing.
ls: What representative honours have you achieved?
Lauren: Div 1 Townsville Netball 2012-2013, Div 2 TCNAI 2013. I won the under 14 single sculls rowing at the Queensland State Titles  earlier this year.
ls: How did you get involved in these sports?
Lauren: With netball, my mother started watching and encouraged me to join. With rowing my brother, Tom, had started the year before and I was determined to give it a try 
ls: How much time is involved?
Lauren: When both sports are going it is about 18 hours a week, only including the official training sessions.
ls: What is the best part of playing sports?
Lauren: The feeling that you have achieved something you never thought was you could accomplish.
ls: What is the worst part of playing sport?
Lauren:The worst part is making a mistake that affects the whole team.
ls: What was your favourite event?
Lauren: I loved the State championships because of the friends going and because of the bus ride and competition.
ls: Why did you choose these sports?
Lauren:I chose netball because it is fun and always challenging. I chose rowing because all my closest friends are also doing it and it's an all round fitness sport.
ls: What is your biggest accomplishment in your sport?
Lauren: Winning the under 14 single skulls at the QLD State Titles.
ls: What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?
Lauren: Always pushing how hard I can go, how strong I really am.
ls: What would be your ultimate achievement?
Lauren: My ultimate achievement would be to win the under 15 single scull for Queensland and maybe to go to the nationals, eventually.
ls: How do you set your goals?
Lauren: I set my goals with small distances so that I can have something to look forward too.
ls: What is the best advise you were ever given?
Lauren: YOLO (You only live once).
ls: Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?
Lauren: Life is not measured by how many breaths that you take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
ls: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Lauren: My Family.
ls: What do you do in your spare time away from the sport?
Lauren: watch movies.
ls: Do you have a pre-match routine?
Lauren: I talk to myself coming up and crack my right thumb.
ls: Anything else you would like to share?
Lauren: Not at this stage.

After the first couple of interviews we were getting quite a variety of responses. We also had a range of parents asking what the requirements were to be included in this project with a couple not being able to go to representative sides due to a variety of reasons. So we though we get get a bit of feed back from the parents as well.

ls: Thanks for your time deb and for bringing Lauren in for this shoot. How much time is involved  with travel to training and to compete?
Deb: The bus takes Lauren to school, but for the rest about 2 hours a week with pick ups and drop offs.
ls: Is there a limit to the number of sports they can play?
Deb: Not really as long as there is a balance with their sport and school work.
ls: Are there benefits to them playing different sports?
Deb: the diversity of friends and the different muscle groups that it works. 
ls: Are there difficulties in getting them to play the sport and in getting them to practice and train?
Deb: SMMC helps with transport but netball we have tot drop off and pick up.
ls: Do you enjoy going to the games?
Deb: Always.
ls: Thanks for your time Lauren and Deb, good luck in the future with you goals and ambitions. As a rower I know how difficult and time consuming the sport can be, so good luck defending the title next year.

Sports Stars 2 - Chloe (Netball)

Our week 2 sports star is Chloe, who currently plays for the Phoenix Netball club in Townsville. She plays in the under age team and the Premier League. She has represented Townsville at the State Championships and made North Queensland sides. She is currently going through the trials process to made the QLD state side. Chloe attends Saint Margaret Mary School. We sad down with Chloe and her grand mother to talk about what she has achieved so far in Netball.

ls: What sports do you play?
cc: Netball & Touch.
ls: What clubs do you play for?
cc: Phoenix Netball and Brothers Touch.
ls: What position do you play?
ls: GD & GK (Goal Keeper and Goal Defense)
ls: How long have you been playing?
cc: 8 years.
ls: Who is your sporting hero?
cc: Laura Geitz from the QLD Firebirds and Australia. (Laura is currently the captain of the Australian Netball side)

ls: What representative honours have you achieved?
cc: Townsville, North Queensland and QLD Netball Squad.
ls: How did you get involved in these sports?
cc: Through my mother and friends. 
ls: How much time is involved?
cc: 6 days a week
ls: What is the best part of playing sports?
cc: Going away to carnivals with my teams.
ls: What is the worst part of playing sport?
cc: Having to balance sport with school work.
ls: What was your favourite event?
CC: Going away with my North Queensland netball team.
ls: Why did you choose these sports?
cc: I chose to play netball as my older sister played netball and my mum loved the sport. I chose to play touch because I wanted to participate in a fun sport with all my friends.
ls: What is your biggest accomplishment in your sport?
cc: Winning sports women of the year and making the Queensland Under 17's State Netball team.
ls: What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?
cc: Always try my best and push myself each training session and game.
ls: What would be your ultimate achievement?
cc: To make a Queensland and then Australian team for netball.
ls: How do you set your goals?
cc: I set my goals by creating new challenges.
ls: What is the best advise you were ever given?
cc: Never give up, try your hardest, play hard but enjoy yourself.
ls: Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?
cc: Be the best person that you can be.
ls: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
cc: Famous sports people, my coaches and my mother.
ls: What do you do in your spare time away from the sport?
cc: Spend my time with my family and friends.
ls: Do you have a pre-match routine?
cc: I eat a small snack.
ls: Anything else you would like to share?
cc: Not at this stage.
ls: Thanks for your time Chloe, good luck in the future with you goals and ambitions. Thanks also to your grand mother for bringing you to the shoot. 

Leiden Studios has been lucky enough this year to have photographed both Chloe and her older sister this year. I would like to thank the Cooper family for the privilege and offer both girls all the success in the future.

Beginner photography and Photoshop Courses

Hi all

Leiden Studios is excited to announce the dates of the first basic photography and Photoshop courses to be conducted from our studios in Annandale.

Basic SLR Operations & Image Capture

Saturday 24th November and 2st December 9.00am- 12.00am

1. Understanding the controls on an SLR
2. Basic Camera Settings
3. Basic Exposure

Participants must have an SLR camera.

Cost of Course:  $185.00

Basic Photoshop

Saturday 24th November and 2th December 1.00pm - 4.00pm

1. Setting up Photoshop
2. Basic Work flow
3. Working with adjustment layers
4. Blend Modes.

Participants will need a copy of Photoshop and a laptop. Leiden Studios will have a some spare computers but will be limited in their availability.

Cost of Course:  $185.00

Enrol in Both:  $300.00

Seats are limited so book quickly.

Malcolm is currently completing a Cert IV in Training and Assessment. He has been a photographer for over 20 years, firstly as chief medical photographer at Queensland Medical Laboratories in Brisbane. He and Kellie started Leiden Studios in 2005 and have built the business to what it is now. We are and award winning wedding, portrait and sports photography business.

The idea of the course is to teach people how to see light, and then take an image capture that can be printed into a fine art work. Leiden Studios has a printer capable of printing onto fine art paper, so let us see what North Queensland is capable of. We hope to have a gallery of student work on display after the first course.

Interested students should call the Leiden Studios office during office hours or email to register your interest. Places are filling fast, each course is limited to 8 people. The first 3 people who book will receive two 8x10 fine art prints of their work.

To book you must call or send an email to confirm your booking, we also require a 50% deposit to finalise your position.

Phone: 0407 977 530
email: enquiries@leidenstudios.com

Professioal Photographer or Photoshopper

There was an interesting post on Facebook the other day questioning if a photographer who uses photoshop is actually a professional photographer or photoshopper. The question came that it should be captured correctly in camera and therefore you should not need photoshop.

I have to say that there may be merit to this comment on photography, however that is about all I would agree with. Unfortunately in this age, the modern camera is outstanding and is very affordable. The number of people picking up a camera and believing that there is a quick buck to be made out of photography is amazing. So if you are a photographer who does this for a living you have to separate yourself from the pack of happy snappers. This is achieved by the ability to "finish" the image, by covering to black & white, adding a texture or border, or bringing out the detail that is in the image. Producing an amazing print or album, something that has always been the photographic product, not a low res image on Facebook.

Unfortunately, a lot of the new breed of professional photographer believe that by undercutting other professionals is the way to a successful career. A basic understanding of f-stops, shutter speed and composition is not really needed as the camera does it all for you. An image that is correctly exposed with great use of the light and is well composed will stand out from the crowd because so few photographers actually know how to do these things. If you can then finish the image so that it looks like a work of art, then as a professional you will be miles in front of the pack.

So what is a professional photographer? To me it is someone who's primary income is from photography. To do this, the skill set required is large. A basic understanding of all technical aspects of photography is essential, getting back to get it right in camera so that photoshop is only used to enhance the image, not "fix" it. A wide range of Photoshop skills so that the absolute best can be produced from the raw camera image. An understanding of colour balance and colour space to produce the best possible print of the image. And then a range of business skills to allow the growth of the business. Marketing, sales, accounting, networking, cash flows etc. are required to be a successful photographer. Not an easy job, but definitely worth it.

Watch this space, Leiden Studios is going to embark on an adventure aimed at the beginner to intermediate photographer.