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More Photography News

The Best Beach Photography, vol. I

=DontFall4This:iconDontFall4This: reports, 19h 33m ago
Some of my favourite beach photos. :heart:

green love.

~patybubble:iconpatybubble: reports, 21h 35m ago
because we all love Green. :heart:

Nikon Sponsors Predator Derby

*Iamidaho:iconIamidaho: reports, 11h 40m ago
A national nonprofit organization is holding a predator derby in which contestants must shoot as many predators as possible in 24 hours to win. Nikon is one of the sponsors.

Once More With Feeling; Emotion.

=scissorxscissor:iconscissorxscissor: reports, 19h 41m ago
Collection of photographs, which captivated me and invoked strong emotional connections to my past when viewed.

Sigma USA scholarship contest for HS Students

^kkart:iconkkart: reports, 17h 42m ago
Sigma USA announces scholarship contest for American High School students

From dpreview.com: "Sigma US has announced a scholarship contest for high school students seeking higher education in a photo-related field. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash gift and $1,000 in Sigma products. To enter, US high school seniors graduating in 2010 are required to submit an 800-word essay and three to five images with a connected theme. The contest will run until February 15, 2010 with the winner announced in May."

White colour <3

~Muov:iconMuov: reports, 23h 16m ago
White is purity, cleanliness, and innocence. Over 100 photos :heart:

B L A C K

=Kvikken:iconKvikken: reports, 16h 17m ago
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P U R E

=CozyComfyCouch:iconCozyComfyCouch: reports, 1d 14h ago
Pure White
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CR: Photojournalism Groups

^estudio:iconestudio: reports, 2d 30m ago
Ever wondered where to find Groups especially relating to Photojournalism? Search and wonder no more. Here's an update of who's where and whatnots. Click on this article title to check out more!

Photography News This Week

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*Sortvind:iconSortvind: reports, 2d 4h ago
A collection of inspirational and special selected photos during the last weeks.
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Show them some love :heart:

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*SugarComaD:iconSugarComaD: reports, November 15
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*niwaj:iconniwaj: reports, November 16
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feature for nov 16th, people I watch look to see if you also got in:heart:

Consider the Lilies...

~billy-pilgrim:iconbilly-pilgrim: reports, November 17
As the gray, dreary winter sets in, a seasonally inappropriate feature of lilies in photographs, traditional, and digital media.

Photography Weekly - Issue 14

^Katerina423:iconKaterina423: reports, November 15
A weekly magazine exploring the amazing photographs that have been submitted in the last week.

Who loved it?

~kookukachu
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*Squidley
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x 6 devious rejections

Photography


God save Visual Kei Fashion (it needs it)

=Aiko273:iconAiko273: reports, July 7, 2008
They appear in a cloud of hairspray, dancing around like morons, screaming in broken Japanese.

It is the new wave of Visual kids, and unfortunately they are here to stay.

This article is not an explanation of what Visual Kei is; you can get the basic jist on wikipedia [link] (although if you are really interested I suggest further research, theres some good sites at the end of this article). It is not a "how to" of vk fashion. It is a desperate plea. A desperate plea for the unoriginality to end.

Type in "Visual Kei" onto the deviantart searchbar and you will get an eyefull of shit. I'm known for slightly brutal honesty, and let's face it, if you find the I've-just-eaten-tarmac-and-scrawled-on-my-face-with-sharpie look cool then you must be at least just as bad. The first rule of visual kei makeup/fashion is this:

WHAT LOOKS GOOD ON A JAPANESE MAN (bearing in mind he has been professionally styled, shot and photoshopped) MAY NOT LOOK GOOD ON YOU

Bad VK-fashion has been around a long time, believe me. I've made pretty much all the same mistakes too, but through practice I learned the error of my ways. Be gone blue lipstick! I cast you out, eyeswirls! etc etc. Most of the time, I put the bad makeup down to an age thing. Finding out that some of these kids are at least my age is depressing.




Back to my point; my point is this. With the gradual boom in popularity, Visual Kei fashion has developed three types of groups;

1) The Fail Eye-burningly bad, what the fuck are you doing, jesus christ I hope you didn't leave the house like that, YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.

2) The Sex Pot kids. Fauxhawk (or choppy cut, or flicky out bits), check. Bandana, check. Silver jewelery (usually Viv Westwood or something Gazette have worn), check. All clothes by Sex Pot Revenge or a company similar to Sex Pot Revenge, check. They may look okay, but they also all look exactly the same. In some cases I believe they may choose this group for fear of becoming number 1).

3) The creative. Those that use Visual Kei influences along with other things that influence them. Usually are very creative and come up with beautiful, striking looks. Sometimes they may verge into 1), sometimes those that try too hard to become 3) fall into 1), but at least they goddamn try.

Visual Kei is MEANT to be 3)! Japan is not on another planet, it is not entirely cut off from the rest of the world, they get a hell of a lot of influences from Western culture just as we get a lot of influences from them. Visual Kei bands barely ever do anything original, it is all about influence, just like how Western bands are influenced by eachother and other cultures. There is more to life than Japan and the Japanese.

My plea is that we need less of 1) and 2) and we need more of 3). I sifted through all the awful... awful stuff on deviantart labeled as either "jrock" or "visual kei" and found images of those that fit into group 3) and fit into it damn well.






A few of my own shots inspired by Visual Kei (I don't claim to be good at it, I just claim to be inspired by it)





I hope this has inspired at least one person to try to mix Visual Kei fashion in with their own style and influences. If anyone needs any more pointers or tips I'd be happy to help! (For starters, stay away from [link] Lolita Kisama, for the love of God) I'd also love to see any submissions inspired by this article.



Visual_fucks@LJ; pretty much a what not to do of VK fashion.
Visual_fuckers@LJ; a community for fans of VK fashion. (Mostly the opposite of the above link)
Closet Child; Brand-name Japanese clothes at discount prices.
H. Naoto; Japanese clothing brand.
Sex Pot Revenge; Still a good brand, just mix it up a bit.
Black Peace Now; Japanese clothing brand.
Moi Meme Moitie; Japanese clothing brand.
Algonquins; Japanese clothing brand.
Suppurate System; Japanese jewelry brand.
FRUiTS@LJ; For fans of all jfashions.

(This is just a tiny amount of links and clothing brands, and please be aware you really do not have to buy brand to dress VK. Most people buy from places such as H&M, Primark, etc)

Devious Comments

love 3 3 joy 3 3 wow 0 0 mad 2 2 sad 0 0 fear 0 0 neutral 0 0
:iconinvaderzimbabe14:
NICE ART ^_^

--
There's a hole in the world like a great black pit and it's filled with people who are filled with shit! And the vermin of the world inhabit it!

i'm a vampire! how about u? copy this 2 ur signature if u r ^.^"
:icontotalimmortal86:
Hey. I just had a look... I see what you mean about it though. Some of the stuff is just so awful... hehehe. But you and the ones you've featured here seem to have a natural talent for it! It looks great on you!

Maybe I should try it sometime, see what kinda of ball-bag I can make myself look like. Just for the hell of it, because I know I can't hold down that awesomeness! :D
:icontatemyuu:
i really love this article. I also am inspired by vk and I hoep that i'll learn to mix my own style with it ^^. I experiment with make up a lot thought recently I don't ahve the time and I'm at a los. Could you teach me more about foundation and at least more about make up?
And i agree that one important thing for us who try the vk look is to realize then we fail and not to post photos of us doing so. But I guess many people do not feel the shame ^^;; *personaly I would die fro mthe shame*

ahh this comment kinda sounds pointless ^^;; I'm really bad at commenting but I jsut wanted to tel lthat I really liked this article ^^

--
I'm doing COMMISSIONS!!!!! [link]
:iconaiko273:
It is all for fun anyway, so really don't worry about it too much. If you don't mind taking the criticism then post it on the net, if you don't then I suggest you don't (suggestion for everyone).

I'll be doing more VK-inspired stuff soon, but I really don't listen to it anymore, most of the fans piss me off, but I don't want the fashion to go completely to shit D:
:iconaiko273:
I'm glad you like it!

It is good that you are starting with foundation. I suggest getting some mineral foundation; it may be slightly more pricey (try ebay though) but it is VERY good for your skin (very few people are allergic to it, so I suggest getting a tester first), feels very light and covers well. Try [link] or [link]

Basically, just like any other style the first steps are to learn basic makeup skills and basic clothing co-ordination skills. Most people just seem to jump into VK fashion because it is something "different" when really it has the same basic skills as anything else.
:icontotalimmortal86:
Well I think i've seen plenty of stick in my lifetime to not be worried about it anymore :laughing:
I haven't really dealt with any make up as such, only when i've been drunk and defenceless, and been attacked with it! D:

I can't wait to see what you have to show next!
I think that's just the way it flows, with the evolution of different looks and styles. That it'll either redefine it, or just make a completely new and different one... maybe. (Talking BS now so shut me up please :D)

Thank you Aiko :D
:iconzombie-vomit:
I don't dress VK or really listen to it anymore, but I understand exactly what you mean. They (the bad ones) annoy me just about as bad as scene kids.

--
We will always be much more human than we wish to be.
Beyond The Pale by Pain Of Salvation.
:icontatemyuu:
oh! thank you i'll look around for foundation as the one I have is kinda crappy ^^ tho I still have to get used to wearing some as it feels strange. i usually don't use it because I put on make up not so often *I'm very bad at getting up i nthe morning XD*
Could you suggest me some sites or so where i could read some basics? I'm into vk for abour 4 -5 years but i never really intended to be vk I jsut dress up how I want. But because I'm into vk that means that I'm get inspired by them so my clothes are inspired also i gues XDD Oh and I did post an introduction at everyday vk a couple of months ago i think.

Ok I'm gonna look for foundation and maybe get some basics^^ I'm interested into clothing so it will be a great help *w* I'm glad you wrote this because I'm a person who goes for originality *tho I don't think I'm original Xd just normal* but really originality is a thing people should find and i really hate then people do something half hearted or don't even try to get the best out of it. I guess that's why we have somany fails u.u;

--
I'm doing COMMISSIONS!!!!! [link]
:iconaiko273:
Haha, well, you don't even need to wear makeup to have a VK-look to you. I think one of the guys featured wasn't wearing much.

I'm glad you are mature enough to see it that way. I had some moron saying I've turned into another Audrey Kitching or whatever her name is. Idiots like to liken the things they do not understand to popular things they do understand (and usually dislike).
:iconaiko273:
Unfortunately, it seems that with the popularity comes the scene kids. I don't want the two fashions to merge together..
 

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