Hello all!  Thank you to those who have followed us from the beginning!  I would like to happily announce that by the end of January 2018 we will be moving to a new web location! All future blog posts, content, and MiniRex Studios related materials will be at a new site.  As the months have passed since I finished school, I have found that I need more room to grow (digitally speaking) and so, this will be the last post on http://www.themodernbeatnik.com  This website has treated me well, but it is time to give MiniRex the space and means to blossom into the great photography business that it can be!  But do not despair! You can still follow all of my blogging and photography at http://www.minirexstudios.com,  check out our great new web format on January 15, 2018.  Thank you very much for your continued support!

Peace,

Jeanette

UPDATE:  Due to a technical error, minirexstudios.com will be unable to launch until 01/16/2017.  Thank you for your patience.

Each week I move closer to graduation, and as I do so, I have continued to shoot for my group show.  Last week I packed up my gear, bundled up in my warmest clothes (sounds crazy after how the weather has been the last few days) and headed out onto a frozen lake. I have never enjoyed waking on ice, but I knew I needed to overcome my fears if I was to get any good shots.  I waddled slowly across the slick surface with my heavy camera propped precariously on my shoulder and set up in the middle of the lake.  Every shot I took, I became a little less afraid that I was going to fall through to an icy demise.  Soon I was practically dancing over the lake to find new angles.  One of the last shots I took was the one above.   The way the light twinkles over the indents of past explorers footprints seems so carefree and happy and I think that sums up how I have felt when I have been out taking photos lately.  Out in nature, in the woods or on a frozen body of water, with my giant camera, I feel content and free as well.  Photography has become a fantastic new outlet for me and I am always happy when shots like this come out and I can share that happiness with others.  I am looking forward to more icy adventures in the future and I am excited to continue to share those adventures with others!

This semester, as I approach graduation and becoming a “real person”, there are several hoops that I must jump through to receive my diploma.  I have to write a capstone for my Natural Science major and I have to participate in a collaborative art show with the rest of my Art major peers.  My fellow artist friends and I have been working up to this show throughout the summer and through the school year.  My focus for the show: black and white, large format photography, that is scanned digitally and then printed on a large scale on handmade paper.

I enjoy working with large format photography because of the endless possibilities it gives me when shooting.  I can change the focus to just a small part of a branch, but at the same time have part of a tree somewhere else in the shot completely clear as well.  This is something that I am really interested in and is the link between most of my photographs.  I can also capture a huge amount of detail with the larger film, which leads to richer and more visually captivating prints.  Mix that with the handmade paper and I am able to create lovely and unique images.  The entire process from shooting, to developing, to finally printing, is a relaxing and enjoyable experience for me.  The only drawback: it takes a boatload of time to do.  To create one single print, I can spend upwards of 20 hours in production time.  That may seem slightly insane to most people, but to me, it means that I get to spend 20 hours doing something that I absolutely love.

Our show opens in April and I encourage anyone and everyone to attend it at the SJU art gallery.  Till then, stay tuned for more updates on my work!

Hello all, just wanted to let you know that there have been some updates to my website including an artwork tab where you can see some of my photography and other work.  Also coming soon will be an “About me” tab that will have my artist bio and statement 🙂  Stay tuned for more updates as the month progresses! Also check out my Instagram @minirexstudios for more behind the scenes looks at what I am doing!

Hello to the few wonderful family members and friends that read this blog! So clearly I have been an absolute failure in regards to this blog, posting, and marketing but expect some exciting changes in the next few weeks!!  I don’t want to say too much until things are more solidified, but hopefully this will be a nice jumping off point for my career goals after college and a few ideas that I have up my sleeve.  Love to all!

-Jeanette