What will you look like at 60?

If you've seen much of my work you will know I am a big fan of tattoos - the quality of the work, the vibrancy and the overall pride they instill in their owners is something I find deeply rewarding.

I've toyed with the idea for years and I'm getting closer I think to taking the plunge and some of that progress is thanks to Lou here.  Lou is the owner of the business Curious Cat and, as previously mentioned, a Facebook pal.

One comment I hear when I voice this interest is 'what will you look like when you are 60?' Lou gave me the perfect answer 'just like you but more awesome'.

Lou has reached awesome status a little earlier than 60 ;-)

pete

Fashion should provoke a reaction

Lou mentioned she had a few t-shirts to use in our shoot and a few of them had been designed by people she knew.

This tshirt is bound to raise a few eyebrows but then Lou has never really been bothered by what others think of her.  Fashion, just like art, should provoke a reaction.

I think the t-shirt is more about the attitude behind the image than the image itself - it is a t-shirt for a proud woman.

I think it found its rightful home.

pete

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet

Even a rose that is slowly morphing into a skull.

It took me a while to see that while I was shooting at the Essex Tattoo Expo - I fixated on the rose and only as I composed the image did I really start to see the transition from flower to skull.

Every tattoo deserves a second look.

pete

Back in time

If you have a full back tattoo you are investing trust, money and time in equal measure.

It's interesting that as I have shared these tattoo images more and more people have referred to the tattoos as artwork.  With that realisation comes an acceptance of the quality of the work and the commitment required of both artist and recipient.

It is hard to appreciate the commitment required to receive and to give this level of artwork without an appreciation that they are art.

The idea that a tattoo can be an impulse is rarely the case.

pete

Bring out the big guns

I think one of the things that distinguishes a photographer from a person with a camera is their people skills - you can have the most expensive camera in the world and still produce nothing more than snaps if you can't get on with people.

So shooting at the Essex Tattoo Expo was a great opportunity to polish my people skills - I must have worked with 70+ people over the weekend and, I think I can safely say, we all had a blast and the photographs came out pretty darn good.

Dan here was a prime example - initially part of a group of friends of whom I spoke to one and 5 minutes later I had shot all 3. People like people.

It if looks like fun and sounds like fun it is probably fun.

pete