Did it feel like you had exhausted all possible options and yet are still before the mountain – large, unconquerable, and impregnable? When encountering such enormous problems, you may feel like you’re hammering against a steel mountain. The pressure of having to solve such a problem may be overwhelming.

But rejoice! There might be some hope yet!

First of all, in the light of creative problem-solving, you must be open-minded to the fact that there may be more than just one solution to the problem. And, you must be open to the fact that there may be solutions to problems you thought were unsolvable.

#01 Maybe the reason we cannot solve our problems is that we have not really taken a hard look at what the problem is.
Here, trying to understanding the problem and having a concrete understanding of its workings is integral solving the problem. If you know how it works, what the problem is, then you have a better foundation towards solving the problem.

#02 Try to take note of all of the constraints and assumptions you have the words of problem. Sometimes it is these assumptions that obstruct our view of possible solutions. You have to identify which assumptions are valid, in which assumptions need to be addressed.

#03 Try to solve the problem by parts.
Solve it going from general view towards the more detailed parts of the problem. This is called the top-down approach. Write down the question, and then come up with a one-sentence solution to that from them. The solution should be a general statement of what will solve the problem. From here you can develop the solution further, and increase its complexity little by little.

#04 Although it helps to have critical thinking aboard as you solve a problem, you must also keep a creative, analytical voice at the back of your head.
When someone comes up with a prospective solution, tried to think how you could make that solution work. Try to be creative. At the same time, look for chinks in the armor of that solution.

#05 It pays to remember that there may be more than just one solution being developed at one time.
Try to keep track of all the solutions and their developments. Remember, there may be more than just one solution to the problem.

#06 Remember that old adage,” two heads are better than one.”
That one is truer than it sounds. Always be open to new ideas. You can only benefit from listening to all the ideas each person has. This is especially true when the person you’re talking to has had experience solving problems similar to yours.

#07 Be patient.
As long as you persevere, there is always a chance that a solution will present itself. Remember that no one was able to create an invention the first time around.

Creative thinking exercises can also help you in your quest to be a more creative problems solver.

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[.]

Your Full Name
Kim Jodie Wedlock

If you have a bachelor degree/education background; what is it?
I don’t have much more than half an A Level in Art, mostly because, frankly, the subject is so terribly boring. My teachers only ever told me what was bad about my work, and left out what was good.

I am a big fan of constructive criticism, but in my own little world it means telling them what you like as well.

Tell us about you
I am an aspiring writer, not that I’ve shown much of it online at all. I am currently working on a website about a trilogy I’m working on, which I intend to publish.

Photography comes second to me, as just a hobby, and I like to play computer games which can also inspire some things for my writing, even from the silliest games.

You can probably find me on World of Warcraft as “Spinegrinder”, if you look hard enough

Where are you located?
Currently in Hastings, South East England, though I hail from Bristol and will be returning there in a matter of weeks to work on my writing.

What do you do when you are not producing artwork?
Gaming, mostly, if you can call it that, and watching films. I’m a big fan of fantasy, and usually you’ll find my eyes glued to Harry Potter, Stardust or The Colour of Magic. Also, I am a bit of an obsesser when it comes to shoes, so I may well have my nose in a catalogue too

What drove you to become a photographer?
I was out running late Winter 2006 and I ran past some snowdrops. I went back home when I’d finished, got my silly little 3mp £20 camera and took a picture. It was from then on that I became a photographer, because I enjoyed it quite a lot of course, I’ve upgraded my equipment since then…

How do you promote/sell/showcase your work?
I quite simply just upload it onto deviantART, and into groups therein, and see what happens. As for my writing, I am working on a website that I intend to promote in any little place I can, short of tattooing it across my face. I also post my favourite pieces from time to time on my tumblr page.

Do you work better at night or in the morning? Why?
Photography would be the middle of the day. I have absolutely no lighting equipment so I rely purely on natural light. As for writing, any time my boyfriend is playing a computer game, or I’m sat in front of the TV, just as some background noise or my brain will turn off. But when I’m at home, most of my writing takes place at night, since I get up quite late.

What is your definition of “A Great Photographer”?
Someone original and who takes the photograph as they see it, not as someone else would. I am not much a fan, personally, of untouched photography, I’ve lately become rather interested in use of photoshop curves, colours and layers, and if they’re used in an original and/or appropriate way, that can really make a photograph.

Who is a photographer that you look up to? Why so?
Weeelll, there are a lot of users on deviantART that I look up to, but too many to name off of the top of my head. More world-reknown photographers would be someone like Strijdom van der Merwe, most notably for his work with water. He is a landscape artist, and his work is astounding, but then the way he photographs it afterwards really capture the beauty of it all twofold.

I have no name, however, but I also like the photographers for lingerie company Bravissimo, because they’ve gone in a different direction from skimpy and sexy and instead have gone for more cute and playful. Also the props are great, I want my house to look like that!

What do you think about the Internet and how it is affecting the visual communication business?
I think the Internet is a kind of…well it depends how you look at it. In one light, you’ve got the ability to let everyone get their work out there, and it’s opened a lot of career opportunities, especially in music, however there is the other side of things, where there is a lot of art theft going on, where people are stealing images and, the latest one I heard was only yesterday, girltripped of deviantART are having their work used on t-shirts in Australia without their say so.

It’s a very risky business, especially for photography, as with photography, there is no easy way to prove that you are the owner of the image unless it was taken with an SLR and not a digital camera. Clay work and artisan crafts are the safest online, due to the pieces being material, and that if someone attempted to remake it, the odds are it would be a shoddy job.

What music are you listening to lately?
Music is a funny thing. I’ve gone through it all, from boy bands when I was a young girl, to rap and RnB when I was an older girl, to heavy metal and grindcore as a teenager, and to all of it now. I find Lady Gaga to be a real inspiration, she’s a jack of all trades, master of everything under the sun.

She inspires my photography, my personal image, my music, my mood, even how I decorate my room! I would never want to be her, but she affects me in a more positive way than anyone else in music has. Also she seems to have a passion for shoes and costumes similar to me

How does the global economic recession affecting the industry, or the least affecting your business/ work?
Well, because of the recession, I, like many, am unemployed. I have been since Christmas 2008. I live off of my own and my boyfriend’s parents. It’s awful, but luckily I don’t ask for much. My dad bought me my DSLR out of money left over from the mortgage, and my sister got a laptop. Now, because of this money crisis everywhere, no one really buys luxuries like photographic prints, or things from etsy.

I attempted to set up a shop on etsy to sell my fairy doors, but I had no luck with it. I am still trying, of course, no point in giving up, and I have found a few more things to attempt on there, but as it stands, it’s hitting a lot of artists very hard, especially those who do it for fun, like me. However, doing it for fun suggests I never planned to make money anyway…

Name 3 of your favorite (art) books/ magazines.
Ah, it depends what you mean by “art” books. I do own a few, I have Dita Von Teese’s Burlesque and the Art of the Teese, which is full of fantastic photography, and that is my favourite. I also have Brian Froud’s Cottingly Fairy books, which feature art work of squished fairies through out, which I just adore. Other than that, I don’t have any more art books…oh, well, no I do have a Australian Women’s Weekly on cake decorating, and that has some nice pictures in it, along with instructions to make it yourself….does that count? I’m more of a fantasy novel person really…

What do you like the sound of? Why so?
I like the sound of water boiling, epically played violins and a funny call my Ring neck Parakeet makes. I’m always trying to mimic it…I fail, of course.

If you have online portfolio, what is the URL?
Of course I do! I have my deviantART: http://blacklavaprints.deviantart.com
Although I have several of those for different types of art, but you can always contact me through that one to find out more.
And my blog where I post some of my favourites: http://cyanidemist.tumblr.com

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[.]

With this in mind, this article will attempt to explain the concept of Internet marketing for beginners and will outline some basic strategies which can help a business owner to launch his own Internet marketing campaign. We will cover concepts such as creating a website, placing banner ads, sending out e-newsletters, orchestrating an email marketing campaign and optimizing your website for search engines.

#01 One of the most basic steps for starting an Internet marketing campaign is to create a website.
If you don’t have a website or have a poorly designed website you should consider creating or re-designing a website to adequately market your products. If you do not have experience in web design, there are a number of software packages which make it simple for those with no design experience to create a functional website. However, hiring a web designer is worthwhile because he can work to create a website which is attractive, functional and suitable to your products and series. He can also help you include more advanced features on your website.

#02 Banner ads are another popular option for advertising your business on the Internet.
Banner ads are advertisements which typically appear along the top of a website but it may also include smaller ads in other locations. Banner ads typically include graphics and text which entice Internet users to click on the advertisement. Once a user clicks on the ad, they are directed to your website. This type of advertising can be very effective when care is taken to place the advertisements on high traffic websites which attract an audience who may have an interest in your products.

#03 Sending out e-newsletters can also be a part of an effective Internet marketing strategy.
E-newsletters are essentially emails which may contain a variety of information including informative articles, useful quizzes, relevant advertising or any other information which is deemed worthwhile for the recipients of the e-newsletter. The importance of these newsletters is that they can be used as marketing tools which are not viewed by the recipients as an advertisement. One way to do this is to incorporate links or other soft sale approaches into the copy of the e-newsletters. However, care should be taken to keep these references minimal so the e-newsletter is not viewed as Spam.

#04 Email marketing campaigns can be another successful aspect of an Internet marketing campaign.
Email marketing essentially involves sending out emails to a group of individuals who may be interested in your products and services. Care should be taken in sending out these emails to avoid sending emails which are unsolicited and will be viewed as Spam. One way to do this is to only send out the emails to users who have requested inclusion on an email mailing list. Another way to do this is to provide value in the emails as opposed to just including advertisements. This can be done by offering relevant advice in your emails and other useful information which may be of interest to the recipients of the email.

#05 Finally, optimizing your website for search engines is a critical aspect of an Internet marketing campaign.
Search engines rank websites according to quality and relevance for particular search terms. Many Internet users appreciate the effort by search engines and use these search engines to find the best websites on a particular subject. This means the Internet users are likely to only visit websites which rank well with search engines. Therefore if your website is not high ranking, you are not likely to generate a great deal of traffic from Internet users who use search engines to find relevant websites. Top ranking websites are likely to obtain the most traffic from search engines and all websites falling on the first page of the search engine results will likely enjoy some degree of success in improving their traffic.

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Do you think your business needs a website? If the answer is yes, don’t settle for an average website. Hire Halim Design to build you a professional website that will attract customers to your business. Visit www.halimdesign.com for more information.

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[.]

Your Full Name
My name is Laura Kok.

If you have a bachelor degree/education background; what is it?
I’m still on High School. Next year I’m gonna study Photography, Film and more.

Tell us about you
I’m a 16 year old girl, living on a farm.
I live with my parents but I have two sisters.

Where are you located?
In live in Zwolle, the Netherlands.

What do you do when you are not producing artwork?
I like to draw, write, watching movies, cooking. If I’m with my friends I enjoy it all.

What drove you to become a photographer?
My mother bought a digital camera and I was in love actually!

How do you promote/sell/showcase your work?
On the internet, just Deviant Art, Hyves (it’s a dutch Facebook) etc. I don’t sell my work actually.

Do you work better at night or in the morning? Why?
In the morning. I love morning lights and I don’t like flash lights. I’m also in a better mood at morning.

What is your definition of “A Great Photographer”?
Having an own style. Enjoying your work. Being ambitious.

Who is a photographer that you look up to? Why so?
www.iNeedChemicalx.deviantart.com. I saw her photos when i joined Deviant Art and I was like: I wanna be good like her!! And now is also like Richard Bakker and Lara Jade.

What do you think about the Internet and how it is affecting the visual communication business?
I think if there wasn’t internet I wasn’t good as I’m now. I mean, I learned sooo much because of feedback!

What music are you listening lately?
Ellie Goulding, Fever Ray, Russian Red, Natasha Bedingfield, The Cure and more more more. ( I know, i like almost every kind of music)

How does the global economic recession affecting the industry, or the least affecting your business/ work?
I think it doesn’t? I’m not selling my work so…

Name 3 of your favorite (art) books/ magazines.
Oh that’s a hard one.. I really liked Sarah’s Key and a Thousand Splendid Suns.
Magazines like Elle and Vogue are just fun to see the photo shoots.

What do you like the sound of? Why so?
Yes! Birds in the morning, the sea and all those natural sounds.

If you have online portfolio, what is the URL?
www.LauraKokFotografie.nl
www.ByLaauraa.deviantart.com

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[.]

The first method is to weave in your personal touch in your sales message. Nobody wants to be sold to by a total stranger, but many people will buy what their close friends recommend to them. If you can convince your audience that you are a personal friend who has their best interest at heart, they will be convinced to buy your products. Remember to speak to an individual in your sales letter, not to your whole audience.

The second method is to publish testimonials and comments from your customers. A good idea would be to publish both good and bad comments; that way prospects will be really convinced that these testimonials are real. When prospects see testimonials on your website, they will have the confidence to buy from you because human beings follow the herd mentality; when others have bought and proven it authentic, they will jump on the bandwagon and buy too.

Use visual representations for the problems and solutions that your product offers. Not everyone will read your text copy from the head to the tail, but most people will pay attention to images on your website.

Offer quality bonuses to accompany the product. When you offer bonuses that complement your product, your prospects will feel it’s a very good deal and it would be stupid to miss it. Be sure to state the monetary value of your bonuses so that people will be even more compelled to grab your good bargain.

Lastly, ask for the sale! Many people entice their prospects with the benefits of their product, sell to them with stories of how it has solved many problems, even offered killer bonuses but forget to ask for the sale. Give a clear instruction on how to buy your product (i.e. “click the button to buy now!”).

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Can’t afford loosing more customers just because you don’t have a website? Loose no more. Tell us about your company and how we can assist your graphic/web needs to solve the problem. Visit www.halimdesign.com and inquiry now!

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[.]

Your Full Name
Valérie Bastille

If you have a bachelor degree/education background; what is it?
I studied for two years in animation at the Cegep du Vieux Montreal.

Tell us about you
First of all sorry for my English, my first language is french : )

I’m a 20 years old girl, and like most people I’ve always been drawing, but got serious about it around 14-15 years old, and got my first tablet around that year too. After high school I studied Animation 2D for two years, before giving up.

I’ve been off school for roughly two years now, and learned a lot. I’ll be attending Illustration in Dawson College at fall tho, since I feel like I’ve been getting closer to what I want my work to be like, but I still don’t have the confidence yet to be a pro.

Where are you located?
Montreal, Canada.

What do you do when you are not producing artwork?
I drink coffee and smoke way too much with my friends, I talk to my cats and dye my hair. How exciting, right?

What drove you to become an illustrator?
There’s nothing I love more than that. I love creating a universe that reflects what’s going my head.

How do you promote/sell/showcase your work?
I have an online gallery at Deviant Art, and participate in a few collective publications, as Merure and Erri (http://drownspire.com). I also work part time in a VFX studio, Sexy Legs, which is totally awesome : )

What is your definition of “A Great Illustrator”?
Someone who can draw/paint/represent everything in a very personal way. I think that you have to ‘own’ something when you paint it, to make it work with your universe. It’s all about being personal and refreshing, I think.

Who is an illustrator that you look up to? Why so?
Hyung Tae Kim, Barbara Canepa, the french illustrator LostFish, Loish, mainly because they all have that very unique, stylish way of depicting things. They all bring that new twist in art and I really admire them, they never fail to inspire me~

What do you think about the Internet and how it is affecting the visual communication business?
I think the internet is honestly a wonderful inspirational tool, as well as great ‘window’ to the outside world, about what’s going on everywhere and all that stuff. Honestly, I think most of people drawing or being very intense in their stuff tends to close themselves to what surround them, so it’s a great asset? (I’m not even sure this is the right word haha)

What music are you listening lately?
My all time favorite would be Shiina Ringo. I love everything she does and never get tired of her, she’s a pure genius. Otherwise I admit I like Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, it’s so very powerful and addicting. And I also listen to Emilie Simon, who has a very nice imagery, as well as Pierre Lapointe.

Name 3 of your favorite (art) books/ magazines.
Hi-Fructose art magazine, the art book serie Robot by Range Murata and SkyDoll 0: Doll’s Factory.

What do you like the sound of? Why so?
I like the rain pouring on a window, and the wind going inside an old house in winter.

If you have online portfolio, what is the URL?
http://nay-chan.deviantart.com/
http://commeunblog.blogspot.com/

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[.]

WILDERNESS
BALNAVES CONTEMPORARY PAINTING: PAINTING
5 March – 23 May 2010

Wilderness, a new exhibition, will bring together fourteen of Australia’s best contemporary painters, including Del Kathryn Barton, Daniel Boyd, Tony Clark, Louise Hearman, Mary Scott, Michael Zavros and Fiona Lowry, to consider how nature and landscape are as entwined in our minds, memories and imaginations as as they are in any empirical fact.

After viewing the work of over 60 young to mid-career painters, Wayne Tunnicliffe, senior curator, contemporary art, selected the theme of wilderness and invited these fourteen artists to participate in this exhibition.

Wilderness is not about observed landscape, but about imagined regions, psychological landscapes, creatures both natural and unnatural, the importance that ideas of the ‘wild’ still play in our minds and lives, and how we inscribe nature with memory and meaning.

The concept of ‘wilderness’, of a land and nature unspoilt by humankind, only became prevalent as man no longer lived in the wilderness itself and urban life and cultivated nature became demarcated from ‘untouched’ areas. This also removed humankind from this new notion of land, as if to say that only landscape untouched by man was wilderness, the pristine being more valuable than land on which our mark was apparent.

The idea of ‘wilderness’, of an intact nature that predates human intervention, seems to serve an important psychological need, though in reality such areas are virtually non-existent. For the artists in this exhibition, ‘wilderness’ is not an actual place but a desire to explore what nature and the wild means in our minds and imaginations.

Mary Scott’s paintings are oversized close-ups of a display case of over 700 hummingbirds in the natural history museum in London. Michael Zavros’ meticulously painted miniature landscapes show the highly stylised, formal gardens of the 17th and early 18th centuries in which nature has been subjected to a controlling human will.

Louise Hearman’s paintings also spring from a highly fertile imagination and a somewhat dark subconscious. Together they form a surreal landscape in which disembodied heads hover over clouds, young girls walk into the earth and a bird stands on the ground in front of a giant, gently grimacing mouth.

Del Kathryn Barton’s vast painting We too have been there, though we shall land no more 2009 is over seven metres long and depicts a primordial scene in which glistening plants, beautifully groomed creatures and woodsprite-like figures, which could be male or female, gather around a lake, suggesting a fecund fusion of creation, nature and art.

Whereas the paintings in Wilderness are stylistically diverse, the artists are linked by a common approach to depicting a wild life that is as much within us as ‘out there’. These artists all ask us to look further at the world around us and to question just how natural nature is and what we expect to find when we look at the landscape. These paintings convey a vision of wilderness as firmly located in our psyches as it is any national park or unspoilt tract of land.

The fourteen artists are Del Kathryn Barton, Andrew Browne, Daniel Boyd, Stephen Bush, Tony Clark, Julie Fragar, Louise Hearman, Fiona Lowry, Nigel Milsom, James Morrison, Alex Pittendrigh, Mary Scott, Megan Walch and Michael Zavros.

Wilderness is the first in a new series of biennial exhibitions supported by the Balnaves Foundation. The first considers painting, the second, photography and the third, contemporary sculpture and installation.

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The Foundation supports eligible organisations that aim to create a better Australia through education, medicine and the arts with a focus on young people, the disadvantaged, and Indigenous communities.

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On view:
5 March – 23 May 2010
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery Road, The Domain, Sydney

Telephone:
(02) 9225 1744 or recorded information (02) 9225 1790
National Toll Free 1800 679 278

Hours:
10am to 5pm, 7 days a week
Art After Hours Wednesday nights until 9pm

Media Information and Interviews:
Susanne Briggs
(02) 9225 1734 or 0414 437 588
susanneb@ag.nsw.gov.au

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IMAGE CREDIT: Del Kathryn Barton We too have been there, though we shall land no more 2009 (detail) Louise Hearman Untitled #1304 2009, photography Mark Ashkanasy, courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney.

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[.]

Keep in mind that obtaining this information will not be easy. Your competitors are obviously will not be out and be open about their sensitive information. As long as you are patiently and thoroughly seeking, you will be surprised at how much advertising, public statements, and observing consumers’ reactions will give you information that reflects their strategies.

Make sure that you are collecting information that are relevant and usable, not just for the sake of collecting it. Focus on the trend’s patterns more than the details. Keep an eye on the big picture, will allow you to spot new rivals and developing trends early on.

The following are samples of questionnaires that can guide you in collecting the information you need:

• Do their products or services address specific demographic market?

• How well do they reach their segmented target market?

• How closely does their product or service quality match the description conveyed by the publisher’s marketing efforts?

• How big or small is their budget? How well is it managed?

• What is their marketing mix? Sales policy? Distribution policy?

• How will they respond to your actions?

• How will their actions impact and influence your growth rate, market share, and profitability?

• How will your actions affect their growth rate, market share, and profitability?

• How well are your competitors doing in terms of sales growth, market share, profit margins, net income, return on investment, etc.?

• What are their strengths and weaknesses – product quality, positioning, distribution, marketing and selling ability, operational skills, financial ability and constraints, pricing, etc.?

• How sustainable are their advantages?

• How easily can their weaknesses be exploited?

• What kind of personalities do your competitors’ key people have?

• What are the major obstacles for each of your competitors in gaining market share? What are your own major obstacles?

• What stage of the life cycle are their products in?

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Don’t think you can afford a website? Tell us your budget and we’ll work it out. Halim Design offers creative marketing solutions that won’t make a hole in your pocket. Visit www.halimdesign.com for more information today!

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[.]

Your Full Name
Rozenn Quéré

Tell us about yourself and what you do
I’m a photographer, I work on the link between photography and narrative. The two last years, I’ve been exploring the possibilities of animated photography with director Perrine Lottier-Wolff. Together, we made a short film called “the man who flew away” and we are now working on a tv project, “Gabrielle”. Before that, I’ve published books for children illustrated with photos.

If you have a bachelor degree/education background; what is it?
I have the equivalent of an M. Phil : I’ve studied cinema for 3 years and then, photography for 3 years in the French National School of photography.

Where are you located?
I live and work in Paris. Soon in Brussels, inch’Allah.

As a creative person in several different art forms, do you consider yourself as one particular artist in a specific discipline over the others? Which would that be?
I am currently working on a project of an animated series for television, which makes me a co-director (with Perrine LW), but I’m first a photographer. Besides, I’ve been nourished of theatre, poetry and painting, so I guess these influences get somewhere into my photos.

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DE POUSSIÈRE from querozenn on Vimeo.

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Explain your creative process in a project? What are usually the challenges and how you go around it?
If work as a filmaker with Perrine Lottier-Wolff, who is a director and scriptwriter, the creative process is quite long because it needs more money, that means : more people to convince and more presentations of the project to write and rewrite. Therefore, the challenge is to finance the project, no to imagine it. We’ve got no problem of imagination supply !

If I work alone as a photographer :
- either it is commissioned work (for a theatre company, a string quartet, a museum, or a festival for example), then, the challenge is to manage to shape my imaginary world so that it can illustrate someone else’s art.
- either it is completely personal work, and here, I am totally intuitive – always have a camera, a notebook, and try to be yourself a much as you can (Here is my daily laboratory : http://www.querozenn.blogspot.com )

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LES BRAS M’EN TOMBENT from querozenn on Vimeo.

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What would be your strangest assignment you have done? Why so?
I don’t know… Maybe architecture photography.. Spending 4 days on getting the lines back in parallel…

How do you promote yourself?
Very badly, thank you.

Who is the person you look up to in this industry? Why so?
Not sure to understand the question… You mean, a kind of model ? Someone I dream of, someone I would like to be like ? (I don’t think I have, until now)

How does the global economic recession affecting the industry, or the least affecting your business/ work/project?
It’s been ok the last year, because we are lucky that in France, there is quite a lot of public money meant to support culturel projects, even if there is a crisis.

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Notebook / apparitions from querozenn on Vimeo.

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A great story-teller is…..
Sorry, I’m not old enough for recipes !

Name 3 your favorite books.
I don’t have favorite books, but they’ve been my pillow books lately :
Letters to a young poet, Rilke
Du Luxe et de L’impuissance, Jean-Luc Lagarce
Eulogy of Love, Alain Badiou

If you have online portfolio (website/awards/credits/client’s showcase), what is the URL?
http://www.rozennquere.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/querozenn

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Zillah from querozenn on Vimeo.

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Jean (wallpaper) from querozenn on Vimeo.

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[.]

Your Full Name
Iwona Drozda-Sibeijn

Tell us about you
I’m a project manager, majoring in initiatives supporting business in non-profit sector. Art has never been my profession but rather a hobby, which started playing more and more significant role in my life.

All I know I have learned myself by trial and error method. 5 years ago I was still making collages in Corel PhotoPaint out of horrible photos taken with a compact camera. Getting new tools 2 years ago brought me to another level-I surprisingly noticed my photos were gaining a better quality.

This is where I am now: trying new techniques, improving my skills and sharing it with wider audience. Yet still, art remains the same for me-a perfect way to embody my emotions.

Where are you located?
I am polish, but I live in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.

A great photographer is…..
someone who can create unique or inspirational atmosphere.

What drove you to become a photographer?
When I was 16, my mother bought a film camera. It was some “no brand” model-really bad-but it triggered something in me. I found myself carrying it around everywhere taking photos of basically anything. I dropped this hobby for quite a while though, to focus on my education and career.

Only 10 years later I bought a digital compact camera and discovered the world of photo manipulation. Almost every day when I got back from my work, I used to mess with Photoshop till late at night. At that time my photos weren’t good enough to present them just like that, so I used them in manipulations. When I finally got my first SLR and some good lenses, I saw I actually could take technically good photo. It pushed me to try to improve my photography even more.

Tell us about your unique photography style and the creative process behind it?
Creative process is always an impulse for me. Most of the time I have some idea popping in my head and I have to bring it to life straight away otherwise I can’t focus on anything else. It used to get me in real trouble when I was younger; luckily I can control it much better now .

Sometimes I also wander around looking for some inspiration or just a nice scenery. In the end I hang on to an idea I’ve stumbled upon and try to get the desired result immediately as well. Finally, I give the photo a special feeling by adjusting colors, contrast, etc. I always convert RAW file and use no or as little Photoshop as possible.

If you were not a photographer, what would be the alternative career path you choose?
I wish I’d chosen to be a photographer

How do you promote yourself?
I try to be visible in chosen online art places, mostly to get some feedback. Although it’s certainly not the best thing to do if you want to go fully commercial

What do you think about the Internet and how it is affecting the visual communication business?
Obviously, internet makes life much easier in many areas, including visual communication. From an artist point of view, it opens new possibilities to promote and get feedback on artwork, as well as to learn new techniques, equipment, etc. It certainly helped me in every aspect mentioned.

Internet is also transforming the market from print to digital, although print won’t cease to exist, as many feared before. It is gradually transferred to digital. Take CD artwork as an example (I did a few myself). Instead of a paper booklet, musicians make artwork available online, along with the music. Most internet markets in visual communication business are in upward trend and, from the other hand, the new ones are constantly opening, so it is also more likely to find a niche for any type of artwork.

Could you share any insight for people just entering the profession?
That would be an insight from myself for myself

Who is the person that you look up to in the photography world? Why so?
No-one in particular. I try to “process” creations of as many people as I can get to. I really enjoy looking at any good picture, regardless who the author is. Usually it’s an unique atmosphere or unusual character of a photo that impresses me.

What music are you listening lately?
Mainly heavier doom metal, depressive, sludge, metalcore, good old grunge…

Name 3 your favorite books.
“The Long Walk” by Stephen King; “Brain Sex” by Anne Moir & David Jessel and “Modern concepts of corporate management” by Jacek Dytwald

What do you like the smell of? Why so?
I like the smell of a frosty sunny day. It’s so refreshing!

If you have online portfolio, what is the URL?
My online portfolio: http://www.eeritrocite.com/
All my newest work can be found on: http://www.yv.deviantart.com/

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