Horror Vacui, SUCKERS

Sweet Lolita phoo shoot with Hoa

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:24:39 GMT

I met harlyharlekin (Hoa) for a photo shoot again :D We had lots of luck with the weather since fall is arriving. This time, we went to the castle grounds of Heidelberg.

Again, slightly differently edited:

A few extra images, these were edited by my boyfriend who lend me his camera for the shoot :D I still like my 350D a lot, but I wanted to try his new 450D. He also assisted me and helped carry my stuff. Priceless ♥

egl post: Click

I had another rather... risque shoot a week back, I'll post pics in a while ;)

Urbexing 'n stuff

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:37:52 GMT

My english is absolutely horrid today, please bear with me. I guess I'll post about this in german another day.

I always stare out of the window when on the train, and sometimes I see neat locations on the way. 1.5 weeks ago I went to explore one of those places with Xui (kaefertal) and Michael. It turned out to be awesome, much larger than expected.
We went to look through the building which apparently used to be some kind of ... maintenance and storage facility for train stuffs. We didn't see much of the second story, as it was closed down. So we were in the yard, just about to leave, when we heard someone call us from out of one of the second story windows. We went "oh shit" at first, of course, but started a brief conversation with the seemingly twenty-something Turkish guy. It went something along the lines of, hi, what are you guys doing here? Taking photos? - Yeah, do you live here? - Yeah - Alone? - No, do you wanna come in? - Sure.
So he opened the door for us, and at this point we realized that the part of the building we couldn't get in earlier is now a homeless people shelter. Our new acquaintance turns out to be 31 and named Malik. He showed us around the place, which in a way is really cool, but you don't wanna go "AWESOME, I wanna be a hobo too" in such a situation. So yeah. Malik seemed really happy to meet "normal" people ("It gets so depressing around here, so when I saw you I thought - Oh, humans! :DD") and talked a lot, we were rather quiet because what were we gonna talk about anyways? It was really interesting and nice though, and he even asked us for our email addresses and asked if we would be visiting again. Oh, and he took us to the building's roof. The sight was amazing, but I only know from photos, because I was too scared to go up :(

Michael and I went there again on sunday, unfortunately Malik wasn't around but we took loads of photos. :D

These are unretouched and my bf's first tries at photography, btw, so please excuse underexposure. It was really dark in many rooms, since lots of windows were blocked.

We made a video! But we're having problems with firewire so we can't use the tape right now :(

We came in through that hole.

Neat reflection. :D

Cool broken...thing

This is for grammar and Photoshop Nazis.

Effing creepy goats, they make the weirdest screams! Honestly, we have it on tape, it's scary.

Also, there are photos of our first visit. You can see all the rooms there.

Still looking for girls and boys who'll do nude/topless modeling (may be paid eventually).

Awesome location is awesoooome. Who wants a shoot there?

Another one

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:16:58 GMT

I'm sooo tired.

Any suggestions on how to improve this one, editing-wise? I want to go for something more professional. ;_;

New one

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:06:21 GMT

Julia, today, quick edit. My first time using a digitiser tablet after MUCH annoyance with a mouse that wouldn't click anymore.

Technik bei Karstadt

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:13:38 GMT

Embed geht nicht, aber trotzdem. Vor allem fuer dich, Annika T_T

Uuuuuh, Slideshow

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:12:45 GMT

Lolita stuff for sale, posting here before bothering with the sales comm.

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:06:20 GMT

Mint green Anna House Dress. Worn a few times, still in perfect condition. Size S/M, 34-38 I guess.
50€

White FanplusFriend coat. Very, very warm in winter. Has a hood with bear ears. Fits S-M, I think it'd be a 34-36, maybe 38. Slight discoloration on the hem, not really noticeable.
85€

The different shades of white aren't visible IRL

Not really lolita but still neat. Size 34. Worn two times
30€

Measurements:

Waist: 64 cm / 25 inches measured flat
Waist to hem: 55 cm / 21,1 inches
Length of shoulder straps (waist to shoulder): 45 cm / 17,5 inches (adjustable to go a bit longer)
45€

Detailed measurements can be taken upon request. Buy, people. Buy.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:47:04 GMT

Xui is coming to town!

I Google You <3

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:22:41 GMT

This is ace. I think I'm starting to become a Neil Gaiman fan.

I Google you
late at night when I don’t know what to do
I find photos
you’ve forgotten
you were in
put up by your friends

I Google you
when the day is done and everything is through
I read your journal
that you kept
that month in France
I’ve watched you dance

And I’m pleased your name is practically unique
it’s only you and
a would-be PhD in Chesapeake
who writes papers on
the structure of the sun
I’ve read each one

I know that I
should let you fade
but there’s that box
and there’s your name
somehow it never makes the pain
grow less or fade or disappear
I think that I should save my soul and
I should crawl back in my hole
But it’s too easy just to fold
and type your name again
I fear
I google you
Whenever I’m alone and feeling blue
And each scrap of information
That I gather
says you’ve got somebody new
And it really shouldn’t matter
ought to blow up my computer
but instead….
I google you

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:01:48 GMT

I, uh, accidentally all night. Kinda stayed. No, no need for gratulations. Hangover. See ya.

World Cosplay Summit Photo Shoot, Whoo _

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:00:25 GMT

Marino (marinou) as Enma Ai (Black), Deval (lumis_mirage) as Hone Onna (Blue); Series: Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl)

Check out their web site, too: M-O-E.org
All the photos in huuge size: here

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:53:40 GMT

Just for fun, don't bash me for the overshopping XD

manami_chan

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:19:49 GMT

Dey see me experimentin'

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:23:19 GMT

I played around some more with my lighting approach from the ubergoth shoot, namely the colored soft fill(?) light.
And, of course, moar photoshopping! So this is what I got:

(Model: manami_chan. Thanks for being my guinea pig! ♥)

Before, straight out of camera.

After about 1 hour of editing.

Close-Up of eyes.

Close-Up of lips & skin.

Close-Up of chin area.

Lighting:
- Speedlite in Umbrella at 1/32, camera right
- Halogen work light with transparent pink & violet paper taped to the front :P

Photoshop work:
- Slight skin correction
- Dodging & Burning
- White Balance set to something colder (accentuates the reds, creates the blue undertones)
- enhancing skin texture
- adding lashes

I got quite a bit of noise unfortunately, but I'll start working with Noiseware Pro tomorrow. There's a few tiny things which I'll correct tomorrow (lashes, some skin pixels, eyes), but other than that, I'm pretty satisfied.

yay

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:57:14 GMT

Dunkelsuess is hosting a lolita fashion market! There'll be food and clothes and a booth where I'll take your picture. :D

Hey there Cthulhu :3

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:16:52 GMT

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:04:39 GMT

http://www.Graphjam.com

...:D

Blah

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:14:01 GMT

The necklace contains my DNA sample btw. :D

Blah

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:29:08 GMT

I met up with scissorfairy for a photo shoot yesterday.
It completely failed due to the weather (meaning: Rainstorms in a creepy, dark forest with practically no light and weird tall twig houses everywhere - Blair Witch, anyone?) and some equipment issues (meaning: I left my lighting kit at home because I thought I wouldn't need it, and it turned out that it was way too dark without it), so all we got is two photos.
So, everything turned out much too dark and you can't even see her awesome cage bonnet. I hope we'll take some good pictures soon, but for now these will have to do!

scissorfairy's dog Balu stole our prop, a real bone, and ran about wagging her tail like the happiest dog ever while carrying it:

And then we loli-fied her.

That's it!

New!

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:54:07 GMT

New photos from Akasha Couture!

( Cliiick )

Akasha Couture - Photoshoot

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:52:36 GMT

Yesterday's shoot was awesome.

Some stats:
Models:
- Alice (the only non-asian. Long legs, green eyes, lip piercings - lovely girl)
- Xui (Amazing as ever - looong legs, best posing, we finally met again)
- Hoa (So cuuute! Very tiny, bright hot pink hair, sweet all over!)

Others:
- Deborah, Designer & seamstress of Akasha Couture
- Trine (?), her friend, also our Hair&MakeUp-Artist for the day, and my assistant
- Me, as photographer :P

Numbers:
- 6, people in the car
- 4, people the car was meant for
- 4, traffic laws broken (or more)
- 4, boxes of clothes (plus bags with dresses and hoop skirts)
- 7, hours of shooting
- 4, GB of photos
- 236, photos left after first selection
- 1, bag of trash my dog ripped apart to scatter the contents around my flat, licking ancient meat sauce and throwing up/having explosive diarrhea from it all over the bathroom
- 3, locations
- 0, catastrophes :D

Basically, what we did was a shoot to show off Deborah's designs. I was afraid my locations, aside from the blue gate-ish thing, would be too drastic for the casual and colourful outfits I've seen on her website, but she brought a set of gorgeous gowns along which matched perfectly! The weather was great too...oh well, on the the photos!

Doing the makeup

Part of the wardrobe

Shooting...my hair looks weird from behind

Deborah (left) and Alice, changing her shoes

Walking back to get changed

Still walking... left to right: Alice, Deborah, Trine(?), Xui, Hoa

BTW, we caused a ruckus. :D People were staring, sometimes stopping to stare, and once or twice people yelled at the car while we drove by - I guess it was the bright pink hair and the overall crowdedness?

Xui really liked ironing.

In the car

In the car part two

Shooting...I have no clue how that cable ended up NOT to be in the photo.

Still shooting... I know I know, I'll fry in hell for not rotating the photo, but it's 05:36 am!

Alice with a matching box I found in my cupboard. Again, sorry. And look at her shoes :D

Outside of the forest

Alice's awesome tattoo

Trine (?) having a smoke

The only "group photo" - after Hoa and Alice had left already :(

FINISHED PHOTOS!

Yeah, I haven't gotten any further yet - after Deborah and her friend left, Xui and I went groceries shopping, and then she left as well. It was 9 pm when I came home, so I got into bed with the notebook, planning on sorting photos and starting to retouch like I usually do - I can never wait with editing images!

But I was so horribly worn out and tired that I decided to just go to sleep. At 9 pm! On a saturday, which I usually would spend surfin teh interwebs until 5 am...yeah.
And now I have a nice and huge allergic reaction from crawling around on the floor all day, climbing things in the forest...my pants were sticking to my skin with dirt by the end of the day, and I am red all over, and my face is horrible from being exposed to all the pollen, even though I took too much of my anti-allergic medication again. Well, but it was worth it, I like the results a lot and there will be many more images to come! I hope I'll get at least 6 done tomorrow...but first of all, I need to sleep.

So, good night everybody. :3

Read! Watch! And let me know what you think!
Also, it seems we'll do more shoots together in the future, so if you'd like to participate as model or hair/make-artist, give me a quick heads-up.

My experience with TOKYOPOP

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:43:57 GMT

So, I told you I'd be writing about this as soon as it was over. So here I go.

About six months ago I sent an email to TOKYOPOP because I had read that they were looking for contributions for the English Gothic & Lolita Bible. I formally told them that I would be happy to submit some photos, gave them a link to my portfolio and attached two photos.

Six (?) weeks later I got a reply from them, saying

Hi Kristina,

we love tat you previously submitted for us, and we were considering you for...

then telling me about the wedding-themed photoshoot they wanted to hire me for. They already stated the amount of compensation and asked if I felt up to the task. In contrast to my trying to be professional in my first mail, their response was really informal, so I decided to go along with that (Stupid y/n?). All in all, the communication was very sloppy. LOTS of typos, names spelled wrong, and they just "forgot" to answer half of my questions. Overall they acted as if they were doing me a huge favour.

They gave a deadline, too, of course, which was about 2 months from the first mail I got from them (Oct 10th). It took them a month to send the contract which arrived on Nov 3rd (Deadline for the shoot was Dec 1st). By that time, I was in contact with three persons from TOKYOPOP - Michelle Nguyen, who was the one to offer me the shoot, and two guys who were asking about my personal information for the contract, then offering me to send a scan of the contract for previewing while it was on it's way via snail mail. I said I'd like to see it, then they told me they didn't have a scanner available and that they'd like to send it to me via Fax. I had some trouble finding someone who had a fax machine in my area, so I asked TOKYOPOP to tell me when they would be faxing the contract. They told me a day and time and the fax never came. A few days later, they sent me a scan of the contract via email. It became quite confusing to talk to three people at once instead of just Ms Nguyen as in the beginning and I never got the reason for the change. Well.

Most of the time they responded to my mails within 3-4 days but sometimes they took a solid week which is long if you have only 8 weeks to get things done from the initial offer to the finished transfer of the photos. When I failed to reply within a few days (I didn't have an internet access at the time), they would write another mail, becoming more impatient and rude.

In the end, all went well and I transferred the photos. They sent another mail stating that they had accepted and loved the photos. After that I didn't hear from them again, I just waited for my payment to arrive since the contract stated that they would be sending a check within 30 days after accepting the photos.

Exactly 33 days after that, I moved houses. I kept inquiring to the new residents of my former house, asking if there had been mail for me. There was none. After two months, I wrote another mail to TOKYOPOP, asking if the check had returned to their address or if there was something wrong. Their answer blew me away: They told me that I had already cashed in the check in January. I inquired with the new tenants again, checked my bank account, everything, and when I was close to guessing that I had been scammed by either my tenants of TOKYOPOP, I suddenly had the check in my mailbox, directly from TOKYOPOP sent via UPS Express.

That and the overall communication with TOKYOPOP strikes me as really unprofessional and insulting. I'm glad I had the opportunity to have my work published, but I don't think I can honestly recommend working for them. :/

If you have worked for them too or know someone who did, I'd be glad to hear more opinions.

...

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:47:01 GMT

Joined another useless community because yeah, I'm THAT bored.

Kristina Kröte's Profile

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Für alle, die schon immer mal wissen wollten...

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:13:14 GMT

...in welcher wunderschönen Sprache man sich hierzulande verständigt:

Selten so eine tolle Anmache bekommen.

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:19:35 GMT

...
Anschaffungskosten für einen neuen PC: ca 1000 Euro

DSL-Bereitstellungsgebühren: ca 40 Euro

Das Profil von Kontorka hier bei Schwarzes-Glück.de gefunden zu haben.....einfach unbezahlbar

Find deine Fotos echt phantastisch...

Gruß ******

Billy Idol rapping for IKEA:

Horror Vacui, SUCKERS

Sweet Lolita phoo shoot with Hoa

Urbexing 'n stuff

Another one

New one

Technik bei Karstadt

Uuuuuh, Slideshow

Lolita stuff for sale, posting here before bothering with the sales comm.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I Google You <3

World Cosplay Summit Photo Shoot, Whoo *_*

Dey see me experimentin'

yay

Hey there Cthulhu :3

Blah

Blah

New!

Akasha Couture - Photoshoot

My experience with TOKYOPOP

...

Für alle, die schon immer mal wissen wollten...

Selten so eine tolle Anmache bekommen.

World Cosplay Summit Photo Shoot, Whoo _