Helen DarlingJun 162 minWhen is enough, enough? I recently taught an advanced printmaking workshop at Central Art Space. The idea of the workshop was to give participants tools that...
Helen DarlingJun 72 minIts not about the #CameraBrandAfter a bit of a break from social media I have decided to write, again. Motivated, in part, by lovely feedback I received for an...
Helen DarlingMar 282 minArt / photography in a time of madnessPart 2: Doing Good. Can art or photography make the world better? In my biased opinion the answer is an emphatic ‘yes’. Firstly, though,...
Helen DarlingMar 173 minArt in a time of madnessPart 1: The Creative While around a fifth of the population are highly sensitive this proportion is much higher among creative types. ...
Helen DarlingMar 82 minInspiration: 5 ways to inspire yourselfWhere do you get your inspiration from? For me, it is any number of weird and wonderful places - something that has come up in...
Helen DarlingMar 33 minWhen it all goes pear-shapedLino printing is a process. It starts with an idea, then a drawing, then refinements, then inverting the drawing, then tracing the...
Helen DarlingMar 12 minNo compromiseWhen I started writing these blog pieces about my journey in photography and art I didn’t think that I would share personal information. ...
Helen DarlingFeb 243 minTeaching the artI have been invited to teach a few linoprinting classes now. it is something that I both enjoy and dread (just a little). The reason...
Helen DarlingFeb 223 minRejectionThe Irish comedian, Dylan Moran, once did a brilliant skit about writing a letter rejecting a rejection letter. For anyone on the...
Helen DarlingFeb 173 minAuthenticIf authenticity is the goal here are three helpful things to consider.
Helen DarlingFeb 33 minMy first work was cringe-worthyMy introduction to printmaking came one evening in a church hall in North Dunedin and it’s fair to say I have been hooked ever since. ...
Helen DarlingFeb 22 minI'm not a fraudMany, many years ago when I was lecturing in Nursing I read a paper, the concepts of which have stuck with me. The author wrote about...
Helen DarlingJan 22 minWindswept in the Southern Ocean#subantarctic #voyage #seavoyage This Christmas I escaped the heat and furore of Central Otago for the cold and wild winds of the...
Helen DarlingNov 11, 20212 minPhotography for goodLike a number of people across New Zealand (and the world) I was captivated by the return flight of the godwits. These long-haul flyers...
Helen DarlingOct 19, 20211 minSometimes its the small thingsI recently went on a landscape mission - heading into the high country of the South Island of NZ to capture 'grand vistas'. There was...
Helen DarlingOct 8, 20211 minCurrently on my (photographic) bucket listI’m a restless sort of person, liking to get out and do stuff. In the past that was getting beyond NZs borders and seeing the world;...
Helen DarlingSep 29, 20212 minFocusI enjoy the work of a number of incredible photographers and, it may be controversial, but I have a thought about the 'norm' of sticking...
Helen DarlingSep 23, 20212 minComing unstuckPhotographs are interesting things - at their best they remind us of things we have loved, they journal events and capture important...
Helen DarlingSep 17, 20211 minRules are meant to be brokenI am not naturally a rule follower (which is why I would be unlikely to darken the doorstep of a photography club) and while I can see...
Helen DarlingSep 9, 20212 minThe Dark SideAccidentally stumbling across an insta hotspot is one thing; deliberately seeking out 'instagrammable places' is another - while it is...
Helen DarlingSep 6, 20212 minClickbaitThe normal use of clickbait is to divert our attention away from whatever we are looking at on the internet to something (generally) that...
Helen DarlingAug 23, 20212 minThat's a big lensI'm about to embark on a week-long photography retreat, fair to say, I'm a bit excited. Hanging out with fellow photographers, talking,...
Helen DarlingAug 23, 20211 minThe High / Low of PhotographyNo, I am not writing about the photographer's mood but rather the ability of photographs to convey mode by the use of a lot of light...
Helen DarlingAug 23, 20212 minWhat's a photo worth?I follow an American photographer, #JoelGrimes, who has a very distinctive style (and also presents incredibly personable videos)....