Damien over at Your Photo Tips did a great little write up on my zombie pinups today…
The undead can be really be hard to flatter in photography. I mean, most times you really want to capture the “life” and the “soul” of a person when doing a portrait. But what do you do when your subjects have no life and no soul?
You do what Tanya Plonka would do. You capture them in style!
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It’s always a wonderful pleasure to see photographers making waves and breaking trends all while having fun with their craft. Tanya is a wonderful photographer that exhibits a true love of photography and it really shows in her images.
Today I got an awesome shout-out from Jeff at the PhotoWalkPro Blog, which I just stumbled across yesterday.
Just yesterday I received comment from Tanya Plonka, a very talented and creative photographer. I have to tell you that she has one particular gallery the likes of which I have never seen before. Mixed in with her galleries of portraits, pets, wedding and still lifes is a gallery called Zombies. Yes, those wonderful flesh-eating mutants. The series is both creative and disturbing at the same time. If you have a taste for the bizarre, you really need to check out her unique images.
A little while ago I mentioned I had big news, and that news is: I am finally launching my own business (officially)!
I will be operating under Photography & Design by Tanya Plonka.
Essentially, I will be offering all the same services I have done all along! -Portrait photography (individuals, couples, kids, families, bands, etc) -Wedding photography -Commercial photography -Event photography (ie, dance, concerts) -Website design -Poster design -Misc other print design -Photo restoration -Image manipulation & retouching
I was planning to hold off on this until my website redesign was finished, but I’m being indecisive so that will be a while yet! I’ll make a big announcement when the new site is up. I’m hoping to have it finished over the Christmas break, since I have no place that currently showcases my design work.
This news comes after Litwin Photography became too much for Hope to handle while she stayed at home with Jaxen, so they are bringing the business back into their home at a much smaller scale and closing the retail space.
I am choosing not have a studio at first, but will shoot anywhere on location. My goal is to keep my overhead down as much as possible, because I want to be able to offer people affordable photos during this bad economic time. I am still more pricey than, say, Sears or a just-turned hobbyist-to-“pro” photographer, but am trying really hard to stay below the costs expected from professional photographers. I come from a family with a limited budget who has always valued photography, so I find it important to allow nearly any family access to gorgeous keepsakes! I have different price points for everyone, from affordable prints to high end books and wall art pieces :)
All of my prices will be listed on my new site, but to give you an idea, sitting fees start at only $40, and my prints at $5!
Okay, /sales pitch.
I have been putting together my samples, and decided to do one of my albums based on the photos I took of Sarah with her horse Santana in 2007. Earlier this year I had looked back at them, and though I loved them more in content and emotion than the new ones of her with Theo (the red dress photos), I thought the quality just wasn’t as good.
Well, it turns out it’s just that my retouching skills have gotten a lot sharper this last year. I worked on the raw files, editing them from scratch, and I am so happy with the results! When it is finalized I will definitely share the album spreads, but for now here is the photo from the inside cover (a picture that didn’t even make my “final cut” the first time around):
Unfortunately getting everything set up, as well as adjusting to my new job at the University, is taking up a lot of my time, so I haven’t been editing personal photos, like the zombie pinups from earlier this year, or some cool Disneyland ones… but in time, I promise I’ll make more updates!
And if you know anyone who needs a wedding photographer for 2009, feel free to send them my way! I am already starting to book up, so it looks to be an exciting year.
Tanya Plonka Wins Accolade of Excellence in the 2008 Awards of Excellence 16×20 Print Competition
Tanya Plonka of Lethbridge, AB, has received special honors in the WEDDING & PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS INTERNATIONAL (WPPI) 2008 Awards of Excellence 16×20 Print Competition. Designed to recognize outstanding photographers, the judging was held in Las Vegas, NV on March 15 and 16, 2008.
“Untitled” received an Accolade of Excellence in the Animals / Pets category.
Plonka competed against an international field of photographers to win such honors.
The Awards of Excellence 16×20 Print Competition awards are presented each year at the largest trade show, educational platform and convention in the United States for professional photographers. The 2008 competition included 2653 prints in 19 different categories submitted by photographers from all over the world.
