Today I would like to introduce a talented photographer: Amanda Norman. Gothic Horror Photography is her field and she is damn good at it… I invite you to discover her art through this little video underneath and the different links at the end of this post… enjoy!!! She will bring back the old goth style… with panache…
1/ Amanda, could you tell us a bit more about yourself?
Well apart from loving photography, I am naturally creative. In the past I’ve dabbled in writing tales of vampire erotica as I have a thing for vampires and recently, I started dabbling in making jewellery.
I love classic horror and during my teenage years I was introduced to films like The Exorcist, Amityville Horror, The Entity, Hammer Horror and most importantly, Salem’s Lot. I will never forget Mr Barlow as he was the first vampire to scare me shitless. I always remember being intrigued when watching Hammer Horror’s Dracula, not really scared, but Salem’s Lot has left a lasting imprint on my mind! I think its Hammer Horror and Salem’s Lot that fuel my appetite for vampires.
I’m very open minded and I can be very sceptical. I believe in spirituality, but I don’t believe in God and religion. I believe that all religions are man made and you know deep down if you’re a good person or not don’t you?
I believe that a spirit can survive outside of the body, because when I was a child I used to astral project, not knowing at the time what I was doing. I’ve also seen what I believe was a spirit out of the corner of my eye when my daughter used to have an imaginary friend, but I still try and think of something else that could have caused me to think it was a spirit. I also believe that we all have some psychic abilities and that if we know how to use them correctly, it can sustain our life-force. Yes, I’m no doubt going in too deep there, so I will leave it at that.
Other than that, I’m a young looking 39yr old granny haha and I’m very proud of my beautiful Holly. I live in Cheshire with my boyfriend Luke.
2/ If you could describe yourself in 1 word only?
Dark!
Dark because I like to hide and keep my innermost feelings to myself as I don’t feel like a lot of people will understand me and I like to protect myself.
3/ What is the first thing that you are looking for when seeking for the right photography? is it the light, overall mood, subject or a bit of them all?
It’s definitely the subject and then the lighting as this sets the mood for the photograph.
4/ Do you use processing, and if yes, what is the percentage of it going into your art?
I do use processing on the majority of photographs I publish. For my dark portraits, the percentage would be roughly 35%, for my other photography it would be 5% if that. It’s just a case of tweaking the levels.
5/ You are not only a Gothic horror Photographer but a business woman with multiple talents, could you tell us a bit more about your merchandise?
Well hahahaha! I might be a business woman, but I’m certainly not successful as I still have to work a 9-5 administrative job 5 days a week, which can be very draining.
Amanda Norman Shop – At the moment I’m selling my photography as signed limited edition A2 prints and they are limited to 50 prints only. So its first come first served. I also sell my photography on pocket mirrors and bottle opener key-rings.
Gothic Horror Collection – My photography is also available on a collection of Gothic horror greeting and business cards at http://www.zazzle.com/mandy_norman*. People can customise these cards further by adding their own text and images. I also sell iPhone and iPad covers featuring my photography.
6/ What about Umee, could you tell us more about it?
UmeeDesign.co.uk is a web design site that was born due to friends asking me if I will design them a website or provide a new theme for their blog. As I like skinning blogs and creating graphics, I thought, why not try offering it as a business? To date I’ve had only a few customers, but they are all happy and that’s the most important thing to me.
My boyfriend Luke has just launched Umeehost.co.uk which is a hosting company so that we can now offer the full package and make the process of a customer requiring a website or blog so much easier.
7/ How can people contact you?
People can contact me via my website http://www.amandanorman.com by clicking on ‘Contact’ in the menu or on Twitter (@amandanorman).
8/ What would be your ultimate goal as a photographer and where can you see yourself in 10 years time?
Hmmm….
My ultimate goal as a photographer would be taking dark portraits of celebrities like Christopher Lee, Marilyn Manson and other idols. This would be fun, but I might also find it a bit intimidating as I can be shy at first. There’s a reason why I stay behind the camera LOL! I don’t know where I will be in 10yrs time, but I hope I’m still not doing a 9-5 job.
For any “technical and usual” questions, please feel free to follow this link.
