Favorite Soap Top Photo Challenge on Facebook

One of the reasons I set up these photo challenges, is because I think we can all work on our photography skills.  Even ugly soap can be made beautiful with the right angle, light and focus.  I encourage all of you to step outside your comfort zone and really play, flounder, hone in and improve your own setting-the-stage for your soaps. 

There were some amazing soaps submitted this week.  I am truly floored by some of the talent out there and are inspired by the images... the soap itself.  Again, this wasn't about the most beautiful tops (which there were dozens of amazing ones!), this was about photographing your favorite tops. 

Many of you have created a mood so deep, that it has successfully taken me to another place outside of my room.  As if I experience a few seconds on another plane, in a different time and space and if I were connected to a breathing machine or heart rate monitor, I'm guessing the images actually had a physical impact as well.  Not just creative thought.

Imagine for a moment: an image that you've seen that transformed your mood or gave you relief even for a moment.  Then get behind your camera and move around your subject until you FEEL something and click.  Then stay behind the lens and do it again.  And again.  I took a photography class in college and I was taught to examine images that gave me an emotion or took me to the past or rekindled a memory I had forgotten.  That is special when you can examine, then reexamine why it moved you.  Was it the light, the blurred background, the colors, expressions on faces, the unknown....what wasn't said?  All this works to tell a story.

Soap may not tell a story to most, but to us it has a history within ourselves.  Our hard work, our love for science or art, our sweat and tears and sometimes our feelings of worth.  These are our creations and because they are special, we need to deliver all of that information, emotion and love, outside of ourselves and into our image for others to view and experience.

These two are mine, though not thought provoking necessarily, but the first one has a sense of playfulness.

 Joanna Schmidt

SoapTops

Joanna Schmidt

Detox

So, without further ado, here are the photographs that moved me.  Not just beautiful soap, but a mood that captured my attention and took me from my own reality for a few seconds.

Clara Lindberg 

Creamy mohair and goat's milk soap with cinnamon & neroli.

 Kate Boisoneau

Poppet: smoky sweet caramelized sugar, roasted almond, rich cocoa, and airy, creamy marshmallow

 Hajni Kele

Witches Brew

Just because most of these are close-ups, doesn't mean those are the ones that are moving to me.  Lighting and focus have an impact as well.  The one interesting thing about macro shots:  it brings attention to details that are normally overlooked.  Many times it shows the care and beauty that isn't normally seen upfront.  It lures the viewer in and captivates them.

What are your thoughts?  Please share in the comments below...

xoxo Joanna

Etsy Sunshine Sporn!

Oats and Honey Soap by The Soap Lab

Fresh Rosemary and Lemongrass Soap by Empire Soap

 Yellow Marseille Soap by Morning Calm

Turmeric Root Soap by Whole Truth Beauty

Lemon Sugar Soap by Dress Green

Honeysuckle Goat Milk Soap by goatmilkstuff

Natural Orange Citrus Soap by Dr. K Soap Company

A fine selection of bright and cheery yellow soap for today!

Salty Porn Porn

Salt Soap by Swanee

Sea Mist by bubs & scrubs

Lavender Salt by Finchberry

Pepperbirch Salt by Good Forest Soaps

Salt Soap by A Delicate Matter

Salt Soap by Jenora Soaps

Zesty Lemon Spa Soap by Sheris Soap Opera

Dead Sea Salt Soap with Dead Sea Salt & Blue Clay by Tokyo Factory

Seaside Spa by Spiral Soaps

(I had to add this one because it was just too fantastic!)

*

Ah, now, I can ponder the ocean.

The Soap Bar Blog Facebook Photos

I am happy to say that, as of today, we have 327 members on the pretty new Soap Bar Blog Facebook Page!  I have taken a few photos from the group.  Nice soap, right?  Come join us if you'd like.  There is lots of sharing, technical info and all around good people here.

Thanks to all of you for letting me be me!
xo Joanna

s o a p  *  p o r n  *  f e e d s  *  us

DonnaOShaughnessy's soap
Charcoal soap scented with Lavender and Orange Essential oils.

Debbie's soap
Yesterdays soap. Organic olive,coconut and rapeseed oil with a ton of unrefined cocoa butter. Scented with peppermint, lavender and tea tree essential oils

Michael of My Planet Earth Soap Co.
Honey/Grapefruit (Raw Organic Honeycomb scented with Pink Grapefruit, Lime and Litsea Essential Oils), Oatmeal Stout (Black Amber Ale Beer Soap) and Winter I Freaking Hate You! (Scented with Litsea, Lemon and Bergamot Essential Oils).

 Jan's soap (Sunlit Soap)
Apples a la Mode 

Emma's soap (Spiral Soaps)
Lemon Soul, a sublime blend of lemon, may chang & black pepper essential oils, and a sprinkling of poppy seeds. 

Leanne's soap (aromaNature Savon Naturel)
Locally Sourced Spiralina Soap

 Ceri's soap (Oakwood Soaperie)
Buttered Rose Soap with tussah silk, rose clay, and floral eo's

 Marcie Brown's soap
Cascade Trail. Very woodsy with pine, cedar, fir, spruce, juniper, dirt and earth FOs.


*

A Peek Before It Browns

I tried a new scent out (Blueberry Vanilla from Daystar) and I kind of figured that it would brown due to the vanilla content, but I used some, not a lot, of titanium dioxide and blue mica for swirls in a test batch.  You can see the swirls on top that went brown after three days.  Even though the whole test batch will be brown as a bear, I captured the blue/yellow when I cut the loaf.  It reminded me of those rocks that look plain on the outside and once it gets cracked open, there are gorgeous jewel-like stones inside.  I've seen them in museums and specialty gift shops.

Sad to say, but completely expected... the soap is now fully brown, but it was fun to stare at it while it lasted. :)

Feelings of Nostalgia In Pictures (Soap Porn)

Memorial Day always brings a mixed bag of feelings for me. Sadness, reflection, emptiness, peace, excitement, love, freedom and creative hunger. I found a few pictures I need to share that helped me move through this hungry, thirsty artistic mood I am having. It quieted my inner beast. For now, it brought me to nostalgia.

Salt Bars by Life Soap Simple

Tomato Basil Soap by Life Soap Simple

_________________________

Rainbow naranja y lavanda 2 by Sergio-Masala

(Rainbow orange and lavender 2) took Spanish in Junior High School you know. I know un poco! ;) Oh lookie! I went to his blog and sure enough, I was right. Go figure.

_______________________________

Floresta Verde by Soapchick UK

Salgado Azule by Soapchick UK

reminds me of the countless times I spent on the beach looking for sea glass

______________________________

Soap by Hao Cheng

____________________________

Mea Culpa soap block (part of an art installation)

at The Soap Factory in Minneapolis, MN

artist: Maria Velasco | Source: Maria Velasco Studio

______________________________

Pudge by Curat Handcrafted Soaps

I love the name, the ingredients and the way I'm supposed to use it. Yeah, I bought a piece. ;)

Ingred: Saponified soy olive & coconut oils, bananas, pineapple, mango, currant oil, citrus EO

What fun this porn post was! Have a great day folkies!! Love ya!

New Year, New Soap & The Art Of Soap

With holidays behind me and work starting tomorrow, I am feeling a sense of excitement along with fear as I move my business into the new year.

My company has been undergoing changes that I am happy with, but I am not finished with the changes and I have many hurdles to jump before I can get to where I must go. What I want most right now and to start the new year is to focus on soap. What it is for me, how it touches me to my very bones and the need to create tiny masterpieces that will ring true for me and for others. Hope I am not just serenading myself into a fantasy of soap-love-lust, but I am still all tied up and smitten with it.

Today, I sat with a hot cup of coffee and a book that was sent to me from Debbie Chialtas of Soapy Love. The book is her second published full color soap book that I have so generously been given. The book is a compilation of mini stories of 24 soap makers from around the world accompanied by colorful photographs of their soap. The soap maker's short story along with the close up photography of their soap brought me to tears a couple of times. The stories were powerful and a few were quite unique.



The photography was stunning and all photo credits go to Erin Pikor of Naiad Soap Arts, who is a wildly talented soap maker and now a published photographer as well!

I felt honored to be a part of the soap world when I finished the book... although I wished I had 24 more artisan soap makers to read about and see more photography of their art form.

My anxiety and excitement build up confuses me because I know what will meet me down the road. My friend and long lost soul: The art of soap making. When I have let the making part go for any length of time, I fear the worst and wonder if it will taunt me and hate me when I return. I know, you think I am crazy to think soaping takes on a being, but when I love something so so much, there is always a fear it might just disappear as quickly as it came.

I hope this book does a little heart string pulling for you as well. It just solidified the fact that no matter who we are or why we do it, soap is something we make and love, and until that is gone, we will be forever engaged.

---

The Art Of Soap
by Debbie Chialtas of Soapy Love
Photos by Erin Pikor of Naiad Soap Arts

Wrap It Up - Retailer Ready

Wrapping soap is a dilemma for me and probably for many other soap makers. It's a constant tug-o-war between style and practicality. If you are thinking about selling your soaps wholesale to customers who want your soaps labeled, this is something that needs to be weighed.

I know I want my soaps to be seen and the artistic nuances to be admired and to have the soaps exposed so people can smell them. On the flip side, if I were to provide soaps wholesale in bars (right now I offer wholesale in loaves), I'd need to weigh all of my options. Exposed bars aren't necessarily what the retailer wants and it might end up damaged....then what?

Wrapping a bar completely allows the bar to be packed consistently for shipping, minimizes damage during any shifting...whether it be in shipment or shelf shifting...etc. In this way, your soaps are not seen so your packaging must be so appealing that it blows people away, or your bar will remain a lonely dusty skeleton on that shelf until it is thrown away. Do we want that for our babies? OK, this choice means serious artistic uniqueness. It can be done and the choices are HUGE!

Here are a couple of examples of beauty that I came across with all sorts of wrapping jobs.

------

Here are packaging ideas for soap makers provided by The Ponte Vedre Soap Shoppe website. Each packaging idea is marked with a number. If you are interested in finding out more, go to their site to see the details of the wrap job.

(pvsoap)

This person from Memory Makers bought soaps plain from Good Fortune and decorated them herself for her own wedding. They are so cute!

I went to Good Fortune so I could show you their soaps, but I couldn't pull a graphic from the site. They wrap their soap with a card and what looks like a hair tie to hold it all together. Very smart.


Here is an example of a full wrap with no band or personal touch. Still...quite elegant.

Tokyo Milk Paper Wrapped Dragonfly Soap at South Moon Under

There's a do-it-yourself tutorial at Creature Comforts, where they show how to wrap soap with step by step instructions (measuring, cutting, ribbon, stickers....)




Then there is the tissue wrapped soaps:

Soap by Gianna Rose



The metal box (which I haven't yet seen) done by Scottish Fine Soaps

There's the boxed soap/ A dear friend of mine, Lisa Devo, is co-owner of The Soap &Paper Factory and their line is stunning looking. Their soap in a box is shown here:



Fabric is a beautiful choice as well:

Wrapped in hand batiked fabric at Me Naturally

So how do you wrap your beauties and are you thrilled with the outcome? Do you have a blog post you'd like to share? I think wrapped soaps are beautiful any way you slice it, styles and difference are fantastic. I love to see it all.

But I'm extra hungry today.
;)