When 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 DARLING
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Helen Darling
- Jun 8
- 2 min
Its not about the #CameraBrand
After 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 Darling
- Mar 29
- 2 min
Art / photography in a time of madness
Part 2: Doing Good. Can art or photography make the world better? In my biased opinion the answer is an emphatic ‘yes’. Firstly, though,...
Helen Darling
- Mar 17
- 3 min
Art in a time of madness
Part 1: The Creative While around a fifth of the population are highly sensitive this proportion is much higher among creative types. ...
Helen Darling
- Mar 8
- 2 min
Inspiration: 5 ways to inspire yourself
Where do you get your inspiration from? For me, it is any number of weird and wonderful places - something that has come up in...
Helen Darling
- Mar 3
- 3 min
When it all goes pear-shaped
Lino printing is a process. It starts with an idea, then a drawing, then refinements, then inverting the drawing, then tracing the...
Helen Darling
- Mar 1
- 2 min
No compromise
When I started writing these blog pieces about my journey in photography and art I didn’t think that I would share personal information. ...
Helen Darling
- Feb 24
- 3 min
Teaching the art
I 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 Darling
- Feb 22
- 3 min
Rejection
The Irish comedian, Dylan Moran, once did a brilliant skit about writing a letter rejecting a rejection letter. For anyone on the...
Helen Darling
- Feb 17
- 3 min
Authentic
If authenticity is the goal here are three helpful things to consider.
Helen Darling
- Feb 3
- 3 min
My first work was cringe-worthy
My 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 Darling
- Feb 2
- 2 min
I'm not a fraud
Many, 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 Darling
- Jan 2
- 2 min
Windswept 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 Darling
- Nov 11, 2021
- 2 min
Photography for good
Like 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 Darling
- Oct 19, 2021
- 1 min
Sometimes its the small things
I recently went on a landscape mission - heading into the high country of the South Island of NZ to capture 'grand vistas'. There was...
Helen Darling
- Oct 8, 2021
- 1 min
Currently on my (photographic) bucket list
I’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 Darling
- Sep 29, 2021
- 2 min
Focus
I 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 Darling
- Sep 23, 2021
- 2 min
Coming unstuck
Photographs are interesting things - at their best they remind us of things we have loved, they journal events and capture important...
Helen Darling
- Sep 17, 2021
- 1 min
Rules are meant to be broken
I 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 Darling
- Sep 9, 2021
- 2 min
The Dark Side
Accidentally stumbling across an insta hotspot is one thing; deliberately seeking out 'instagrammable places' is another - while it is...
Helen Darling
- Sep 6, 2021
- 2 min
Clickbait
The normal use of clickbait is to divert our attention away from whatever we are looking at on the internet to something (generally) that...
Helen Darling
- Aug 23, 2021
- 2 min
That's a big lens
I'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 Darling
- Aug 23, 2021
- 1 min
The High / Low of Photography
No, 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 Darling
- Aug 23, 2021
- 2 min
What's a photo worth?
I follow an American photographer, #JoelGrimes, who has a very distinctive style (and also presents incredibly personable videos)....