Fujifilm NZ photowalk in Christchurch 2019
Last year
Last year I went on a Fujifilm walk around Christchurch with my daughter Arielle. We both had to take photos of glass. We shot through glass, reflections on glass and glass buildings. I took this amazing photo of Arielle reflected in the art gallery door which was covered with coloured cellophane. I ended up winning the competition and winning a camera for Arielle which she now uses regularly.
This year’s theme
This year we went back to the photo walk again. It was held in August again and in the city centre. This time the theme was a photo story with nine images made into a square collage suitable for Instagram.
Starting venue
We started out at Dux Central and met up with other photographers. Tony Bridge, a Fujifilm X Photographer and landscape photographer, did a very short but informational talk on putting together a photo story. I actually found this talk and slideshow very useful to remind me of what I needed to be doing on the walk. There were not many of us doing the Christchurch walk compared to last year.
A sunny day!
It was a very sunny and beautiful day and everyone was happy in Christchurch. We have just finished winter here and it feels like spring out there and everybody is happy. Arielle had an idea to take photos of letters which spelt Fujifilm X. This is the brand of camera we both use – the X series cameras from Fujifilm. My idea was to do double exposures of colourful things and portraits of people. I had other ideas but as I was driving into town that day I saw a lot of colourful things and it made me think that a rainbow of people would be a good idea.
My first willing model – Yellow Man
The first model I had was Dale who is in the restaurant industry in Christchurch. He had a very edgy look. He was sitting down and having a drink. I asked him if he would model for me and I explained I was doing a double exposure with yellow from a yellow cage that was across the street. He was very friendly and helpful and let me take his portrait and overlay it with the yellow. I showed in the back of the camera and he loved it. I gave him a business card and told him to look at my Facebook page in a few days. He did visit my page and has now messaged me about the photo. I sent him a copy so that he can put it on his Facebook profile or do whatever he wants with it. I have to say this was my favourite photo of the whole day. Thanks Dale!
Orange Man
We walked a bit further and saw a man in an orange sweatshirt. He was my orange man. I overlaid him with an orange roadworks sign. He was one of the happiest men I’ve met in a long time! Thank you orange man!
My first pink lady
I took two photos of a lady and made her pink. But I never used the photo in the final artwork as it wasn’t quite right and I can’t really say why. I don’t think I nailed the pink well enough. But it’s here now on my blog is an extra photo. Thank you pink lady for being my model! I really appreciate it!
Green Lady
Walking down Manchester Street was my green lady. She had a green jacket, blonde hair and very cool sunglasses walking with a small child. Thank you green lady!
Indigo Lady
There was a lady with very blue sunglasses on who I turned a kind of indigo with a neon sign. Thank you indigo lady!
My blue lady!
We walked a bit further and banged into Sara who is the Fujifilm rep for Christchurch and the rest of the South Island. She is super lovely and wanted to take a photo of us, taking photos! This was to post on social media. Sara was even one of my models. I turned her blue with some blue artwork in Cathedral Square. Thank you Sara – you are the best!
My purple and pink ladies
I found two purple ladies. One was more pink so I used her for the pink lady. Thank you to both of your for being so friendly and accommodating!!
Red Man
I found a man wearing a red sweatshirt and overlaid him with a red sign with white writing. Thank you to my red man for being so gracious!
My white girl
And right in the middle of the artwork was Arielle overlaid with a white building which made a great centrepiece for the art work.
A great day out
Thank you to all my amazing models you were all so friendly and accommodating and I had no rejections. Christchurch really is a friendly place. If I did this again, I would hunt harder for a wider range of nationalities and age groups. The fact we only had an hour and a half to do the art work made it difficult to achieve the variety I wanted. I really enjoyed the day out with Arielle and will be at next year’s event with bells on.
We met back at the Dux Central for some nibbles and a chat to other photographers courtesy of Fujifilm. Thank you Fujifilm for a wonderful event as usual. I can’t wait for the next event.
The competition
I didn’t win and neither did Arielle, but that’s ok, we had an absolute blast. Here is the final completed artwork!
