Vintage Petals

Hello everyone!

It’s a grey day here in Norfolk, January really is a time to light candles and drink tea isn’t it?

So, a couple of little announcements to share with you all.  In a bid to broaden my creativity, and shoot exactly the sort of photos I feel like shooting at the moment, I set up a little second Instagram account after Christmas.  I am exceptionally proud of my main account.  First and foremost, because of the amazing people I have met through that little app.  I am so grateful for the gorgeous people who leave a comment or hit the ‘like’ button, and all the wonderful support I am so lucky to get over there.  It has also given me so many incredible opportunities.  There are many people who see Instagram a being a world of doom and gloom with the algorithm and constant updating.  And yes, it can be immensely frustrating when a photograph you have put love into making, apparently gets hidden, or isn’t given the love you feel it deserves.  But you know what – it’s just how it is!  And once you can get over that frustration and accept that it’s swings and roundabouts, you can enjoy it for what it is.  Instagram has it’s own ebb and flow, and you just have to float with it, and focus on the love you do get.

Anyway, I digress.  I love to use Instagram to share a variety of photos rather than keeping to a niche (eg just florals, or just my home – my account is big old jumble sale of whatever I’m into at that moment, or depending on the season).  I like to try new things, and if that means the occasional photo tanks, then so be it.  I’d rather experiment than play it safe.  But I just really fancied starting an account that was purely pretty photos with a touch of magic.  Mostly close ups of florals and teacups, with a pale, cool palette.  I wanted to use it like a sketchbook almost, like I used to create at art college.  And if you use Instagram in it’s most basic form, then it’s a pretty amazing way to try out new photos and styles.  I’ve even been experimenting with vintage textures and layers (like old dust and scratches on old film!  Like old school Instagram!), which have given some of the photos I’ve shared a painterly, fine art vibe.  I keep chat and captions to a minimum, and I’m not doing stories or any of the extra content that everyone says you have to do, just to keep it a quiet space amongst a very noisy platform!

So, if you fancy popping over to see what I’m up to there, you can find me here at @thebutterflyandthebirdcage.

So this leads me to the second little announcement, which is that I have uploaded the photos above to my Redbubble account, and you can buy them as prints and greetings cards, amongst other things!  Redbubble is a global online platform for artists to sell their work.  Redbubble of course take their service fee, so I have to see long term if it’s financially worth it for me – but in the meantime I though it it was a fab way for you folks across the globe to order prints and cards of my photos.  Find my page here!

Right folks, I’m off to set up a couple of shots for the March issue of Reclaim Magazine, have a lovely evening/day wherever you are!

Tamsyn x