Laura Hollick - Soul Art Studio

The mythical photographic art of Ward Shipman feels like a portal into a timeless era where goddesses are guiding every nuance, and sensual beauty is the everyday language.

I first connected with Ward about 5 years ago when I modeled for his work. At the time he was working strictly with black and white film and developing everything himself in the darkroom. We did this photoshoot for his Angle series.

Laura Hollick photographed by Ward Shipman

It is easy to take for granted the seamless blending of the figure into the architecture background. We are so accustomed to photoshoped images these days that we almost expect things to be blended and collaged together in a believable way. But, this was created entirely in the darkroom, there was no photoshop involved in creating this image!

Ward intuitively melds images together in such a magical way, he creates environmental stories through his images.

Mr. Shipman is also a school teacher. Photography is part of the curriculum that he teaches. A few years ago he realized he needed to learn digital photography and photoshop in order to stay on top of the latest knowledge regarding the development of photography.

We connected again to do another photoshoot. This time it was shot digitally in my studio against a plain background. He had full intention of transforming the image in photoshop in post production.

The resulting image is a water nympth. I feel like I was transformed into a goddess who lives and breathes in the water.

No matter what medium or tools Ward employs the essence of his work remains the same. He explores a mythical time of beauty, sensuality and interconnectedness with nature. With his new digital tools Ward has evolved his visual narratives into full on epics.

To listen to an interview with Ward Shipman click here

To learn more about Ward Shipman visit his website at www.guyinaboat.com

Linda Joy is the editor and publisher of Aspire Magazine.  Her mission is to inspire women around the world to create their lives from the inside out.  She discovered her mission through her own personal life experience.  After struggling financially she found her true essence and started a journey to unfold her legendary life.

I had the honor of interviewing this inspirational woman and bask in the wisdom she offers. To listen to our interview CLICK HERE

Linda Joy

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Stephanie is a photographer, designer and photoshop artist. She is one of those rare birds who is able to spot the unseen beauty and transform it into a modern fairytale.

I first learned about her work a few years ago when she was voted Best Photographer in View Magazine.

I approached her and asked if she would be part of ‘The Photographer’s Series’, a series of interviews with select photographers from across Canada. The purpose of these interviews is to explore the vision, creative process and journey of each photographer. Part of my research involved being part of a creative photoshoot with each photographer.

For Stephanie’s shoot, she wanted to explore the idea of temptation. She used apples to reference the biblical story of Eve’s temptation, but she added her own Stephanie twist to it.

This piece is called ‘Temptation II’

During the photoshoot I learned a few things about Stephanie Bell….
1. She has birds flying around in her home.
2. She starts with a concept and let’s it grow as the ingredients come together.
3. She creates a team of support around her to help her realize her visions.
4. She is rather quiet during the creative process, but you can tell there is a lot going on inside.
5. Her post production work is labour intensive, she uses photoshop like a painting tool.

This is Stephanie Bell

To listen to the interview with Stephanie Bell CLICK HERE
To learn more about Stephanie’s work go to: www.emergingdesign.ca