Check out my new design

New design I just launched on my store. Painted by hand on the computer!

Check it out... Available on many products from pillows to table lamps!



http://www.zazzle.ca/purple_and_pink_wild_flowers-189840583417994615?

New product just released on my Zazzle website

http://www.zazzle.ca/peach_leaves_illustration-256317107907145174?

Nature Takes Over...

Happy New Year everyone. Hope you all had a great holiday season. I know I did!
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone that supported me and my artwork, making 2014 one of my best years. It was a year of hard work and learning a lot of new photography, art and processing techniques and practicing them to find my style, and also update and learn the business side of things, which is the most important when you do photography and art full time.

I can't wait for what 2015 has in store for me and my art and I can say that some really exciting projects are planed for a very near future. More on that latter...

Conceptual photographic artwork has always fascinated me and it pleases a lot to say that my first upload of 2015 to my gallery in Fine Art America is featured now in 3 of the highest art groups in FAA.
Nature Takes Over Man-Made was a concept I had in my mind since capturing the tree shot when on my last visit to the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores islands. Funny thing is, this is the island I was born at but I had never been to the Furnas Garden during my 30 years of living in the island until I migrated to Canada. The tree is very old and sits on a earth embankment with half of its roots exposed.

Post by Eduardo Tavares.

My Website: www.etphotography.ca

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2014 In Review

2014 In Review - I've created a small video slideshow with some of my favourite iPhone photos on Instagram. I really enjoyed discovering how I progressed in iphoneography and how it related to different events in my life.
Hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed creating it. Cheers!!! PS: (it's only 2:42 minutes long)
If you like the video please consider subscribing for more videos in the near future!

WINNER

1st Place WINNER!!!! I'm psyched to find out that my image "Canadian Aboriginal Man", bellow won 1st place in "Behind The Door", a juried contest hosted by www.voartg.com, a Virtual Online Gallery. My image will be displayed in the virtual gallery for at least 30 days, along with marvellous artwork from other amazing artists from around the world.

I feel honoured to have been picked to win from almost 700 entries. Woohoo!!! Congratulations go out to the second and third places as well as all the runners up.

This image has won now 1st and 2nd place prizes and has given me confidence to keep creating the type of artwork that I love.

Post by Eduardo Tavares - Fine Art.

Cheers!!!
Eduardo Tavares

Why does this happen to me?

Ever since I started getting better at photography, and more recently started creating fine art images, it has been hard for me to promote my work to people for fear that I might sound too presumptuous. There are times I wish I could write about my work and promote it all over the appropriate channels but when I start writing, that fear sets in and I get "writers block" or even worse, I get anxiety and can't think properly, so I end up procrastinating and forgetting about it. I believe my work is qualified and up to par with other top artists in the world, and I have been reassured of that by all the great feedback I have been getting from fellow artists and photographers, but that fear is always present. www.mindtools.com has a great article on "Fear Of Success". Their article is related to fear of accepting higher positions in the workplace but some of the points are applicable to my situation. Experiencing some of these thoughts or fears, might mean you have a fear of success on some level: - You don't tell others about your accomplishments. - You avoid bigger projects, especially projects that could lead to recognition. - You sabotage your own work or dreams by convincing yourself that you're not good enough. - You believe that if you do achieve success, you won't be able to sustain it. So why bother? Lately, I have been developing a need to express my thoughts on my life and artwork, in writing. I still have a lot to learn about writing, I was never good at essays in school, and English is my second language, but I will do my best to make it interesting. As they say, the worst part is starting. I will leave you now with an image of my latest artwork available now at Fine Art America and if you like it, consider telling friends and family.

Cheers,
Eduardo Tavares  

Canadian Pacific In Banff

 

Giving back - Monthly Free Artwork

Post by Eduardo Tavares - Fine Art.

My image won 2nd prize in the contest Native American Heritage Month

Post by Eduardo Tavares - Fine Art.

Does Persistence Pay Off?

The following image almost did not make the cut into my artwork gallery at Fine Art America.
Four days, a lot of frustration and many versions later, I finally decided on this monochrome version after trying different colour variations. Nothing seemed to please me when returning to upload the image.

Then it occurred to me, I have a tendency to like dark, earthy tones, painterly images and that's why none of the other colourful versions pleased my eye, but there is something about this image that resonates with me. Maybe it's the fact that it is such a simple image and sometimes less is more.

Whatever it is, the version bellow ended up being my favourite and it is now uploaded to my website. I love the faded sky and clouds and although it is monochromatic, the trees on the bottom still show the different tones of the end of summer, when the leaves start changing to yellow and red colours.

You can purchase prints, cavasses, framed, metal and acrylic prints and greeting cards here

You can also download royalty free and rights managed licensed digital copies of this image and others at Licensing Pixels.com.

The Gull Sees The Farthest Who Flies The Highest by Eduardo Tavares

[FRAMED] Ep. 12 Jennifer Hudson "Fine Art Conceptual Photography"

I am totally inspired after watching this video from "Framed" about an amazing fine art photographer, Jennifer Hudson! One of my projects in the near future is to do portrait work on an outdoor studio setting. Can't wait.

Was it a waste of time?

I did not take any weddings for 2014 because I was involved in a commercial project at CCM in Woodstock, ON, a brand new mini shopping mall on the southeast of the city. For seven months I was responsible for creating and maintaining their website and social media pages. I  photographed products and food and created all the promotional materials.

Because fine art has always been a passion of mine and computers were my field of work for over 15 years, it is only natural that I feel comfortable using the computer to create my art. I love transforming a photograph into a beautiful piece of art. You can find my work in fine art by going to  www.etphotography.ca and clicking the Fine Art link.

While managing CCM, I ran my own small portrait studio where I created a body of fine art work and at the same time, photographed family and modern female portraits with more emphasis in my Signature Style portraiture.

A couple of months ago the owner of CCM decided to sell the property and the project came to an end.

So, was it wasted time? I don't think so. The past year was an amazing learning experience. It gave me a chance to take workshops and classes by some of the top photographers and marketing teachers in the world, and I have a much clearer view of what I want to achieve in my photography and artistic career. I am working hard now to re-establish my business in Ontario and focus on reaching my desired target market.

I have some exciting ideas coming in the near future and will be updating here and on social media.

Until then, stay creative.

Eduardo Tavares Signature Style Portraiture

Black and White Portraits

I love black and white photography, even on portraits. I am going to try doing some sessions exclusively in BW.
For now here is a candid portrait of Erin at her wedding last summer that I converted. I think it looks great even in happy portraits!

NEW PRODUCT

I am very excited about this brand new product I am offering in my studio now.

It is a Collage Wall made out of several pictures from your photo session, covering up to four feet of wall for the largest one.

Right now I have 4 different set ups, available in Masonite, Acrylic and Aluminum finishes. Here is a small sample of two of my favourite. These collages come ready to hang and with installation instructions. They look stunning in any room of your house.

Total size - 3'x1.5'

Total size - 3'x1'

New found love

I am first and foremost a wedding and portrait photographer but recently I found that I really like food photography. Having more time to set up and chose better angles is a big plus. My wife MaryLisa runs the coffee shop located at Canadian City Mart, where we have our studio so I get to take photos of the food she creates to post on the mart's facebook page.
It's been a lot of fun and together we make a good team.
Here's one of today's creations:

French Vanilla French Toast and Ham

Family Portrait

What is a Family?

by: agentflorence

http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=529645&issue=522

The power of Social Media

I hear it all the time... social media is one of the best vehicles to get your art or photography exposed to potential buyers... it still has not worked for me in terms of sales. But I am not giving up!
In fact, a couple of days ago, I had another artist put a comment and share my image bellow on her facebook page and all of a sudden this image is my most viewed on Fine Art America and it has been getting a lot of exposure. So I still believe in the power of the social media, I just think it takes some time to reach the right market.

Here is the image, one of my favorites:

"Pier and Sailboat" by: Eduardo Tavares

Projected Background Portrait

There is a portrait technique where the photographer projects a slide or a video on the background, of images previously taken of the same subject in other poses. I think it is very cool concept and I have seen some fantastic images done that way. I will try it myself once I can get a projector.
For now though, I have created a similar concept using two images which I blended in photoshop. It is not the same thing but I like the way it turned out.
Feel free to comment on the image and, if you know the technique I described above, and you have any  samples of it, you can post a link to them.

Cheers...

Erin and Jon's Wedding

Last weekend, we had the privilege of photographing and being part of Erin and Jon's special day!
Although the weather did not co-operate, we were able to capture some wonderful images of this fun and classy couple.
Erin and Jon are amazing people an we wish them loads of happiness!

Hope everyone is having a great summer. By this time last year Lisa and I were in Los Angeles and then Las Vegas enjoying the hot temperatures and dry air. We had a very tight budget (that in itself is probably good content for another blog) because we were moving to Woodstock, Ontario, to start our photography business.
One year has passed and it has been really, really hard to say the least but we have also been working our butts off and finally have our studio at the new boutique mall "Canadian City Mart", which we also manage.
Our budget is still very limited but you have to start somewhere, right? We have our first wedding shoot this Saturday and can't wait to photograph the amazing couple, Erin and Jon. The wedding is going to be at their beautiful backyard.
For now, here are some snapshots of the studio:

Interesting Photo of the Day: Infinite Tunnel of Books – PictureCorrect

Cool stuff!!!

Interesting Photo of the Day: Infinite Tunnel of Books – PictureCorrect