the life of joanna b.

overdue

2010-07-23T23:44:00.002+01:00

woah.. its been a ridiculously long time since i last blogged! and since then, a lot has changed!!

i've been traveling all over the world and am loving life right now!!
just wanted to make a little announcement on this blog to let anyone know doesn't already know whats going on with me at the moment.

i'm no longer going to be running my photography business. i'll still be doing the odd shoot and i'll always do self portraits! how could i ever stop doing those?! so you won't be missing out on photos from me ;)

the reason i'm stopping work as a photographer is to start on a new career path. music has always been my biggest passion, and things recently have pushed me to go for what i've always wanted - to be a singer. i've had so much support, i can't explain how overwhelmed i've been by it all! i'm so happy & excited about this new adventure and hope that you will continue to follow me and my work!

from now on you can find me on facebook, twitter, youtube and on my new blog

i've had an amazing time as a photographer but i'm not sad to put it aside. this is such an exciting time for me!
thank you all sooooo much for your support over the years, i'm so grateful & i've made so many amazing friends =)
I LOVE YOU!

Summer Floods

2010-05-23T15:06:00.006+01:00

oh my, its been ages since i last posted!! sorry about that!
since my last post i've been going down to london for shoots a lot, and i've done a couple of jobs in manchester and liverpool. its great that i can easily travel to more people now for work!
i've got all my travels for the summer sorted now, its only a few weeks until they start! first up - nyc! i'm soo excited. i'm going to be snapping away constantly. i'm planning on buying some cheap disposable cameras too. i really love the effect you get from them and i miss that magical feeling of not knowing what you're going to get from the prints.

this weekend i went down to london for a shoot. the weather was gorgeous, and still is!
the shoot was for Kerryn Grocia - a final year fashion student. I shot her final collection which is inspired by floods. i absolutely loved the collection, so beautiful and unique. the print on the fabric was gorgeous. i'm very tempted to get her to make me something!

here are my favourite images from the day

you can see more here
(model & make up - Sheeylah Na'imah Nortley)

this coming friday i'll be shooting with anna (miss eco glam) and dora chan. we're doing a shoot in my aunt and uncle's woods. i'm super excited about it! can't wait to show you the finished images from that! all i want to do right now is location shoots.
i worked with dora a couple of weekends ago in manchester. she was so sweet, a pleasure to work with and very talented! this is my favourite shot from the day

ooh and i'm going to see one of my favourite singers, Ingrid Michaelson, this wednesday in Shepherds Bush. can't wait! i saw her around this time last year i think and she was magical <3

i hope you are all well and enjoying the gorgeous weather!

its good to be home

2010-04-06T21:13:00.003+01:00

i've been living back in the midlands for a couple of weeks now. its so nice to be home. i feel a lot calmer. i think for me, having the option to go for a walk in the countryside whenever i want is such a comfort. and to hear birds cheeping away outside.. its so nice to be somewhere peaceful again.
but that doesn't mean i haven't been busy! i've been traveling back down to london for shoots a number of times already. apart from the early wake up times, i'm really enjoying the traveling part! it might get old soon but for now, i'm enjoying it. plus i've been going up to manchester to visit friends so i've been having a lot of fun - working hard and playing hard!

last week i did a great test shoot after a client shoot, with jo saville and simona. it was a last minute thing we'd organised the day before so we just threw some ideas together. i'm so happy with how the shots turned out and it was so nice working with simona.
here are my favourite shots

you can see more here

about a month ago i shot an editorial for kismet magazine. its just come out with an interview too! take a look on their website or on mine here

i feel a lot more focused on what i want out of life in general now. and i'm determined not to let go of that focus.

playing with silver

2010-03-11T19:26:00.002Z

silver paint! give me and Jo Saville paint, feathers.. any kind of crafty thing and we'll get very excited!
we had a lovely shoot on tuesday with model, Chloe Farnworth. Chloe is so sweet, its a pleasure to work with her.
i love shoots like this, it feels more like a few friends getting together and playing with girly things than work!
here are some behind the scenes shots

and finished shots

I had an editorial shoot for a magazine last week. I saw the mock ups yesterday, I can't wait for it to come out so you can all see! i'm so proud of the work everyone did on the shoot.

oh and i got another tattoo today! something i wrote myself, in my own handwriting. its very special to me =)

i'm moving out of london next weekend. its come around so fast! i can't quite believe i'm leaving.. but i'll be back the weekend after, then the next week. so i really won't be staying away!

going back to my roots

2010-02-21T23:12:00.002Z

i've got a new plan for 2010! and i'm very excited about it!

(outtake from 5/365)

first of all, i'm leaving london, moving back to the midlands to my parents' for a bit. i was applying for jobs here in london but i just thought, if i'm working full time in some job i don't care about, i'm barely going to have anytime to work on my photography. its hard enough to make any progress in my career when i'm shooting clients all the time. theres no point in me wasting time and money being in london when i can go back home for a bit, save some money, work REALLY hard on my portfolio and try and get some good assisting work. i don't want to bumble along anymore, i want to go further!

i'm also going to be traveling as much as i can afford to! starting with new york in june!! i'm so excited, its insane!
i'm going to be staying with the lovely hortencia caires
hopefully i'll get to do some cool photography while i'm there, and of course do lots of touristy things, meet lots of people and SHOP! i can't wait to go there, i've wanted to go for as long as i can remember. it will be amazing.
and theres some amazing raw food places there, that will be awesome to experience.

i want to open up as many opportunities for myself as i possibly can, i'm going to really go for my dreams this year and be fearless!

Room 101

2010-02-16T12:13:00.000Z

i did this shoot with an amazing team a couple of weeks ago. the photos are finally ready to put up. it was such a great shoot, i didn't have any lighting, just me, my camera and a tripod. it reminded me of when i first started photography and had to use the available light in whatever situation i was in. i fell in love with working like that all over again! its so interesting to me to work with natural light and little lamps to get the effect you want. it took more thought than my usual shoots and i think thats why i love the photos so much

here are some behind the scenes

and a couple of finished shots

you can see more an view them bigger here

TEAM
art direction - Marcus Flemmings
make up - Komal Iqbal @kokoblush makeup
models - Hema Kansara,Anna Wojcik, JiaJia Lika Wu, Sheila Nortley

one happy hippy

2010-02-07T22:36:00.003Z

life is pretty good right now!
work is going great, i'm feeling really positive!

i had a fab shoot today with Nhuc Tran (model) and Ariane Jaksch (make up)
its always so fun to work with them both, they're both lovely! and i'm so pleased with the first shots i've edited -

here are some behind the scenes

retouches from this shot still to come..

also myself and Jo Saville have got a new luxury shoot package on offer, which i can't wait to start doing!

i've got a busy week ahead, lots of shoots and fun things to do. and i'll hopefully be sharing the photos soon from last monday's shoot which i LOVE!!

Gorgeous Blogger Award

2010-02-06T13:03:00.004Z

Fritha Louise nominated me for the 'Gorgeous Blogger Award'! so sweet of you Fritha, thank you!

Here's what you do if you get nominated:
1)Thank the person who nominated you.
2)Copy the award and place it on your blog.
3)Link to the person who nominated you for
this award.
4)Tell 7 interesting things about yourself.
5)Nominate 7 bloggers.
6)Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

soo interesting(?) facts about me...
1) i love music and learnt to play the violin, piano and flute when i was younger. i wasn't very good at any of them though!
2) i also love to dance but not very good at that either.. i did ballet at primary school, i'd LOVE to do dance classes again at some point
3) i recently read this book and it had a massive impact on me. i would love to live like anastasia, in the forest with the animals. i'm a major hippy =D
4) i've written a bunch of songs that i've never let anyone hear.. maybe i'll get up the courage to share some of them some day..
5) i haven't been on a proper holiday in about 3 years.. i'm determined to go away this year for at least a week and relax! i'd love to travel all over the world, just need to save up to do it.
6) i'm a big lover of body art, with 5 piercings (4 of them are in my ears) and 3 tattoos. i will get more. i already have ideas ;)
7) art is very important to me as a way of expressing myself as i've always been shy, i find it really hard to show my true self through speaking. so thats where the photography, music and body art comes in.
(that was quite hard, trying to come up with 7 things!!! not very interesting..)

The 7 bloggers/blogs I nominate are:
1) Lucia from Miss Lulu and the Teaspoon Shortage
2) Colleen from Colleen McMahon Photography
3) Becca from QC Photography
4) Skye from The Heart Boutique
5) Priya from Priya Sonn
6) Frankie from Swell Vintage (fritha already nominated her but i couldn't NOT! =oP)
7) Susanna from Spanish Moss

back on track

2010-01-28T16:53:00.003Z

for the past week i've been sick =( bleugh
so i haven't really been up to much, i had to reschedule a shoot for monday which i'm really looking forward to. it should be a really cool, conceptual shoot, i can't wait to shoot it!

so the 365 day challenge took a bit of a backseat, seeing as i've been in bed for most of the week. but heres what i have done -

yesterday i bought a wacom bamboo tablet. i've been wanting one for a while and now i've got one, i can't believe i lived without it for this long!!! i know i've got a little getting used to it to do but so far i LOVE it! its so precise.. heres my first attempt using it on an old photo. i'm not 100% happy with it but i love how detailed you can get with retouching eyes!

also, i've started a new blog for my personal ramblings. i'm going to keep this one for my photography so if you're interested in the rest of my life, i'd love for you to follow me on there! - my new blog!

and if any of you guys have tumblrs, let me know so i can follow you!

1/365

2010-01-20T14:28:00.001Z

i started my 365 day project today! heres my first photo of the year long challenge.. i hope i can keep it up and be creative every day!!!

i had the BEST dinner this evening.

recipe

recipe (i made mini ones because i don't have anything to make a big cheesecake in)

i love raw food so much! over christmas, new year and my birthday i fell off the raw wagon a bit and i felt so drained and unfocused. its so good to be back on it properly now. i'm getting up every morning, doing half an hour of exercise and having a green smoothie. i feel so good! my mood is so much better when i'm being healthy like this too. and when i'm feeling positive, i work better!

oh and.. i love my new extensions <3 they make me feel so girly and want to pose even more than i normally do =oP

yummy and pretty

2010-01-19T22:30:00.002Z

random post...
what to do when you've finished all your editing and have a free day?
make things!!
i've slipped back into being kinda nocturnal (annoying as i was so good over the past couple of months!!) so i woke up late today.. i never feel very productive when i wake up late. i hate that sluggish feeling. so i decided to do some fun crafty projects
i made these cute hairbands and a hairclip. soo easy to make!

buttons sewn onto a hairband

a badge, clipped onto a hairband

and a ribbon bow with a button in the middle, sewn onto a hairclip

(excuse my lack of make up and messy hair!!)

of course, when making things you have to have yummy snacks!! so i made these raw oatcakes (raw oats, almond flour and maple syrup, dehydrated and served warm) topped with dehydrated apple, raisins and cinnamon. yummy!

i'm super happy because this girly has finally moved to london!!! so i can see her whenever i want <3
amber visited me last week and we did these fun photos together.

i really want to start taking more photos of everyday life. i've been reading loads of blogs with cute photos of everyday life and i'm always jealous of the photos! i was thinking about doing a 365 day project... i've wanted to give it a go for a while but always think i'll end up being really busy for a week and get behind and then not get back into it... maybe i'll start it tomorrow and see how i go! it would be a good challenge for me to get creative

sophistication

2010-01-17T16:36:00.003Z

this year i really want to develop a more sophisticated style of work. i want to transform myself and my business into something more mature, refined and respectable.
so right now i'm busy lining up lots of shoots to revamp my portfolio. i'm so geared up to get some new, really professional, slick looking work done! i'm really going to work on perfecting my photographic technique and my retouching.

this week i did a test shoot with Sandra Bermingham (make up) and Natasha Musson (model)
we did some beautiful, simple beauty shots - perfect for me to start work on improving my retouching. heres my favourite shot from the day

i did a couple of other shoots this week which were great fun and i met some awesome people. i recently watched the movie of the book "the secret". in the past few months i've seen great examples of the law of attraction really working in many peoples' lives. i really believe its a great way to live, the best attitude to have! since deciding what i want to achieve this year and feeling positive and determined, opportunities have started to pop up for me! its so exciting, i can't wait to see how it all pans out!

on the personal side of things, i've dyed my hair back to brown! i feel so much more glamourous and grown up with darker hair.. weirdly empowered! strange how something as superficial as hair colour can make you feel totally different!
before and after! i got extensions too <3

its all part of "the new me" ;)

another year older..

2010-01-12T19:48:00.003Z

today is my 22nd birthday!

this is what i made myself for breakfast

pancakes (made from banana and flaxseeds, dehydrated) with raspberry ice cream and maple syrup. amaaazing yummy raw breakfast!
i've had a really nice chilled out birthday today, went out for a lovely lunch with jo and went out at the weekend for a fun night out. it reminded me of how happy i am here in london and how lucky i am to have such wonderful people around me.

with the new year and my birthday i always reflect on what i've done. i feel like i've changed so much in the past year, i've learnt so much and have found a way of life that really suits me. now i can start to nurture myself
so, like i said in the last post, i'm going to create some goals to work towards this year.
heres what i've got so far.. (both professional and personal)

- get experience in film/tv work
- get back into doing really conceptual work, setting myself a project with a theme and deadline to work to...maybe once a month
- learn new creative computer skills
- meet more people who are into raw food, spend time with more people who are passionate about the same things as me so i can feed off of their positive energy and vice versa
- be more organised, have more structure & less clutter in my life
- have more conviction

i'm really geared up to get working on these goals now!! wish me luck ;)

happy new year!

2010-01-05T13:34:00.004Z

hello lovelies! hope you all had a fabulous time bringing in the new year!
i'm so excited to see what this year brings. i'm determined to go far with my career, i'm going to make things happen and most importantly, make the most of every day and love it!

today i'm finishing off some odd bits of work, then tomorrow i want to start sorting out a proper plan for the year, set out goals and start working towards them. i'll definitely share them with you once i figure it all out!

before christmas i did a fun shoot for submit & remix t-shirts.

it was such a fun shoot to do, i got to work with the lovely skye again! the t-shirts are super cool, i'd definitely recommend getting one! (as i will be!)

my new years resolution is to be fearless. what are yours?!

merry christmas!!

2009-12-23T14:19:00.004Z

its only 2 days til christmas!! can you believe it? where did december go?!

i'm back at my parents' for christmas. its lovely to have a break. although i have to admit i'm missing london at the moment. you get used to being able to just go anywhere whenever you feel like it and being at home in the countryside is the opposite! but its good, its giving me a chance to catch up with people, chill, watch movies, read books, etc.
AND theres cute little ratties in our back garden!

i did a little christmassy photo this morning. nothing special but i wanted to do something! seriously, i'm terrible at having time off! i get photoshop withdrawls.

anyway, i wanted to say a biiig merry christmas to you all! hope you have a lovely holiday, however you celebrate it.

next year is going to be full of exciting things i'm sure!!

my bun bun

2009-12-09T17:46:00.005Z

hello people of blogland

this weekend my little bunny, Buttons, died. it was so sudden, i don't know what happened. i'm gutted, she really was like my baby. i'm sure wherever she is now she's happy, hopping around and eating all the yummiest foods she can find. i miss her very much. she was an amazing companion to me.

RIP little baby

before that happened i shot some self portraits. some of which you can see in my new banner above. then i got round to editing this one last night.

i wanted to create an image that represents how i want to feel. an "ecstatic being." i want to be calm, full of love and happiness. when i shot this, i was actually happier than i've been in a very long time. i was feeling like everything in my life was coming together. i still feel that way and i am happy, its just been shadowed by losing buttons.

i'll be back soon with a more upbeat post =)

inspiration

2009-11-29T14:03:00.002Z

i just wanted to share this great little quote with you that i found a while ago. it really helped motivate me to go for what i want to achieve.

"The past has no power over me because I am willing to change.
I see my past as necessary to bring me to where I am today.
I am willing to begin where I am right now."

found here

enjoy and be positive!

30 days

2009-11-28T11:35:00.004Z

first of all i want to say a big congratulations to Jo Saville and her new husband Luke! yesterday was magical, I'm so proud of her and love her so much. I really couldn't be happier for them.

yesterday was also day 30 of my raw challenge. well it turns out it wasn't a challenge at all. i've loved eating raw. i feel so much cleaner, purer, lighter, healthier...like my body is starting to work the way it should. also the one thing i was really nervous about was how it would be recieved by my friends. but they've been really good about it, interested in it. so from now on i will be a 100% raw foodie!
i did eat some cooked food at the wedding yesterday though. i'm glad i did because it was a good way to compare how i feel with cooked food and raw food. the meal i had was vegan - soup and then a roast veggie dish. so it was the best cooked meal i could've had really. it was very yummy! but it did feel like there was so much less flavour than i've been having for the past month and it didn't give me the same energy as i've been getting after eating.
so i'm excited to be raw forever!!

i feel like this month has been the time for me to sort out my diet and from monday i'm going to start a new schedule. i find that when i've got lots of editing to do, i'll work a little bit then have a little break, then do a bit more work, have another little break. i'll carry on like that all day and it probably means i don't get as much work done as i can, i'm more stressed because i've got so much to do and so when i have the breaks, i'm not relaxing. i just spend an entire day stressing and working. literally from when i wake up until i go to sleep.
i've been especially busy this past month which is great, i'm so happy work is going well but i've not had much time to do the fun things i want to do. like go see movies, see friends, do fun exercise.
so from monday i'm going to start working a 9-5 day. with an hour lunch break. i think if i have that specific time allocated for work, i'll get it done a lot more efficiently. then at 5 i can stop all my work for the day and have time to relax and do whatever i want!
this will also mean i'll sort out my sleeping hours. i've still been working all night, til about 4am everyday this month. it seems to be a photographer thing, we're all nocturnal. but i really want to get more sleep and get more out of the day. especially now as it starts to get dark pretty early in the uk now.

thats my challenge for december!

team JO!

2009-11-26T21:17:00.002Z

i was supposed to be doing a shoot tonight, but timing complications meant we had to reschedule it for next week. so i've got a little extra time to blog!

a couple of weeks ago i did a shoot with Johanna Taylor and Jo Saville doing make up. it was so fun to shoot with both of these girls again, we have such a good time together. i think its because we've all got such fabulous names ;)
we did a couple of looks and had a good girly day!

behind the scenes

(not the best behind the scenes, but you get the idea!! we were too busy having fun =oP)

and some finished shots

i got a new tattoo yesterday!! i absolutely love it!

to me its such a beautiful way of expressing yourself. and i always make sure my tattoos mean something really special so that if when i'm older i might go off the design, i know that it will still represent something very important and that will never change.
so this one is representing me and my dreams in life growing, changing, sprouting new dreams... the writing next to it is "dream" in elvish
=D
have any of you lovelies got tattoos? i'd love to see if you do!

tomorrow is Jo Saville's wedding!!! I'm so excited to watch her get married, it will be a very special day. I'll be taking snaps of course!

fun fun shoot!

2009-11-24T22:59:00.002Z

last week i had an amazingly fun shoot with a fab team. marcus flemmings of TMP organised it all and art directed. i love working with marcus, he always makes me laugh and brings a great energy to a shoot.
everyone in the team had so much fun, joking all day and really enjoying the shoot. sometimes when you do this as your job, you can get caught up in the stress of delivering a service that you forget how much fun it is!

we got some behind the scenes shots

and here are some finished shots. the concepts were so fun to do and so pretty!

models - Raheela & Hema
make up - Erika Toth & Komal Iqbal
hair & styling - Nim Sira
art direction - Marcus Flemmings

i've got a crazy busy week this week, but i'll have some time to catch up with some retouching from some tests tomorrow, finally!
so i'll probably be posting lots of stuff up for you to see!

winter lifescape

2009-11-19T18:20:00.002Z

my work has been published again in Lifescape magazine! we shot this back in april - behind the scenes - so to finally see it in print feels awesome!
here are the scans

and the images so you can see them properly =)

model - Katy Maynard
hair - Amber-Rose Peake
make up - Jo Saville
nails & styling - Anna Victoria Rodgers

so i'm at the end of my 3rd week being raw. still absolutely loving it!
my latest discovery is THIS

(sorry for the terrible, blurry photo..i was excited to eat it and didn't check the photo until after i ate it..)
i suddenly thought if i mixed cashews and dates if might taste kinda cookie dough like. so i gave it a go, added some maca powder and cacao nibs and voila! the yummiest cookie dough! it really tastes soo good. i added it to some banana ice cream (made with a blended frozen banana and a splash of almond milk) its cookie dough ice cream!!
i'm using the rest of my dough to form into cookie shapes and will freeze them so they go hard.

i'm off to stay with my parents for the weekend tomorrow. i'm shooting a family portrait on saturday afternoon for one of my mum's friends. so a working trip but i'll have some time to really chill too. can't wait!

OH i did a new self portrait ^_^

channeling my inner gaga =oP

q&a time

2009-11-17T12:43:00.005Z

i love reading these q&a's on blogs! so as i haven't had time to retouch anything to show you yet, i thought i'd do another one for fun!

1. where is your cell phone?
on the desk, right next to me as always!

2. your hair?
blonde again! =D

3. your mother:
is loving and generous

4. your father:
is intelligent and shares a lot of the same passions with me (music, photography...)

5. your favorite food?
anything raw! but right now i'm a little addicted to banana ice cream

6. your dream last night?
for once, i can't remember..

7. your favorite drink?
tea! any kind. and i've just got a nutmilk bag so i can make nutmilks to go in my tea! yaaay

8. your dream/goal?
this one has changed this year. i've got a few. i'd love to be able to do amazing fun beauty shoots, sing beautiful songs and have people hear them and live the most natural, peaceful life in the countryside, helping others find their peaceful way to live. my career used to be my only focus in life but now the most important thing to me is my lifestyle.

9. the room you are in?
my bedroom

10. what is your hobby?
singing
making crafty things
making raw food
watching as many movies as i possibly can
reading blogs (does that count as a hobby??!)

11. what is your fear?
going through life stressed and unhappy. and my friends and family not knowing how much they mean to me. so i'll take this opportunity to tell them they are all AMAZING and i couldn't live without them.

12. where were you last night?
at anna's having dinner (raw pizza, thank you anna!) then home, editing.

13. something you are not?
pessimistic

14. muffins:
are something i haven't eaten since about march or april... i think.. and i don't miss them at all!

15. wish list items:
a dehydrator, and a little cottage in the countryside with a beautiful kitchen. i don't ask for much =oP

16. where did you grow up?
in a little village near lichfield, staffordshire, uk. i lived there all my life until i moved to london 2 years ago. its a beautiful place, so peaceful and safe.

17. last thing you did:
made a smoothie. yumm

18. what you are wearing:
comfy fleecy trousers, a t-shirt and a hoodie. have to be comfy when editing!

19. your tv:
is my escape from normality

20. your pets:
i have the cutest bunny called buttons. i love her to bits. she is my baby.

21. your friends:
are beautiful people. inside and out.

22. your life:
is exciting. i feel so lucky to have the support to be able to do the things i want to do and for all the opportunities i get. AND for all the lessons i'm learning and the amazing people i'm meeting along the way

23. your mood:
pretty damn good!

24. missing someone?
yes

25. vehicle:
i don't have one right now. don't really need one in london but i do miss being able to get in the car and just drive.

26. something you're not wearing:
vivienne westwood shoooes! <3 i love them but they are PAINFUL

27. your favorite store:
ikea. it makes me happy.

28. your favorite color:
purple...
and pink...
and blue... it changes a lot!

29. the last time you laughed:
yesterday, watching how i met your mother.

30. the last time you cried:
umm... i think there might have been a little welling up this weekend but i can't remember the last time i cried properly.

31. your best friend:
i have lots! they're all very different and i love them all exactly as they are.

32. one place you go over and over:
my corner shop. its a lovely feeling when the people who work there know you and ask you where you've been if you don't go in for a while.

33. guilty pleasure:
karaoke...at home...alone. its fun, ok!

34. favorite place to eat:
at home, or at anna's. but there are some pretty amazing raw vegan places in london.

35. where do you want to be in 6 years?
happy. settled down somewhere probably. all i want is to be comfortable, healthy and have a life full of love.

anyone with a blog, go for it and do these yourself then send me a link so i can read!

hallo!

2009-11-12T15:33:00.003Z

just wanted to do a quick post. i'm sooo busy at the moment.
i was away last weekend and i'm away again tomorrow til sunday... then away AGAIN next weekend so its making the weekdays in between quite hectic. theres not even enough time to sleep!
so i'll hopefully be able to blog and post some photos from my test shoot last thursday and do a proper update very soon!
oh and i dyed my hair blonde so i'll need to do a new self portrait soon!

ps. its day 15 of my raw challenge and i'm still going strong! even traveling and staying with people raw was easy! =D

when things go as planned

2009-11-03T20:49:00.002Z

i had a great shoot today with the beautiful chloe farnworth modeling and jo saville doing make up. it feels like its been FOREVER since i've seen jo! it was so good to be shooting with her again, it felt like everything was right in the world again!
we always want to do the same ideas and everything is so easy when i work with her.
here are some behind the scenes shots!

and a couple of finished shots.

i'm so happy with how it all turned out, it was so much fun!

day 5!

2009-11-02T14:55:00.004Z

first things first - happy birthday to my lovely dad!

i made him a little photo card =)

its day 5 of my raw challenge and i'm loving it! i feel so good. i find that when you eat raw you develop such a love and passion for fresh foods. walked past my fruit bowl the other day and it smelt amazing!
i went out for halloween on friday and all i drank was water all night. i'm not sure i've had a night out where i haven't drunk, since i started drinking... unless i was driving.. it didn't really bother me either. i felt so much better knowing i wouldn't feel dodgy the next day and when you're dancing and singing along to music, it really doesn't matter if you've been drinking or not, its so much fun whatever the case! so thats definitely something i want to stick with. i will probably still have the odd glass of wine (i really like the taste of wine and it is nice to celebrate that way) at special occasions but i'd be much happier just enjoying myself without any kind of influence. much better for the liver too!

i'm doing little headshots ever day on photobooth so at the end of my challenge i'll post them up and see if you can see a difference in how i look. i think my complexion is so much better already. so exciting!

i've got a busy week ahead with 2 test shoots and a client shoot. so there'll be some new photos posted very soon!

raw challenge day 2

2009-10-30T14:48:00.003Z

i'm on day 2 of my 30 day raw challenge and feeling goooood!
i always have so much more energy, straight away when i eat raw.

i wanted to share my main goals for this challenge.
- have more energy
- be more focused
- have better sleeping patterns (i never go to bed at the same time and usually i go to sleep in the early hours of the morning.. not good!)
- have clearer skin and lose a bit of weight
- feel calmer and deal with any emotional issues i have so i can be more content

i generally want to feel healthier and happier!

i found this great video on dealing with criticism when eating raw. it would also apply if you become vegetarian or vegan or stop eating any type of food for whatever reason. for me, this is the thing i'm most nervous about. i'm lucky that i have a very supportive family, in everything i do. but i know i'll come across some friends who will challenge me. i need to learn to not get defensive or upset by it and understand why they're doing it as none of my friends would ever purposely do something to hurt me! they're all lovely!
take a look at the video -

i had a great green smoothie this morning (spinach, apple and frozen berries)

which i drank slowly throughout the day and i've just had a massive broccoli raisin salad for my dinner.
i'm about to go to a halloween party! i'm a little dolly! (might draw on some lines on my chin so i'm a ventriloquists doll!)

what are you guys doing for halloween?

raw challenge day 1

2009-10-29T14:06:00.007Z

time for some random bloggyness

a little update on where i am with my diet/lifestyle. over the past few months i've had times where i've been really good and been raw. but then i'll go out drinking with my friends and end up eating lots of bad foods. (cheesecake..brownies... very bad when you're gluten intolerant!!) and i don't feel good as a result of it.
the master cleanse i did was great, i felt clean and like my body was working properly. but since then i've been eating some bad foods. i still really want to be 100% raw so i think if i set myself short term goals, it will be easier for me to stick to. so i'm starting a 30 day raw challenge today!
it will be interesting as i'm going to stay with friends a couple of times in the next month. i'll have to be well prepared for it so i'm not tempted by anything i'm offered on my travels. especially as one of the weekends away is a birthday party. eep! and i'm going to a halloween party tomorrow night..
i'll keep you updated on my challenge, maybe keep a diary of how i'm feeling every day and what i'm eating.
today i had an apple for breakfast
portobello mushrooms with cucumber and raw mayo for lunch
stuffed pepper for dinner

recipe

1 red pepper
sweetcorn
basil

1 portobello mushroom
cup cashews
handful of spinach
juice of half a lemon
pinch of salt
1 clove garlic
water

blend all ingredients apart from the pepper until smooth. add as much water as you need to make it creamy. add more salt and lemon depending on your taste
cut your pepper and put the cream inside.
top with basil and sweetcorn!
would be great topped with some pine nuts too!

later tonight i'm going to make hot chocolate with almond milk, honey and cacao, warmed but not boiled so its still raw. yumm

on a completely random note, this is quite probably the most awesome thing i've ever seen on tv in my life.

amazing!

ok back to the editing.. i can't wait to finish all the projects i'm working on so i can show you!!

Floatworks

2009-10-29T13:29:00.003Z

As with any job, being a photographer can be very stressful at times! I hardly ever have a time when I'm not stressed about something. So the idea of going to this Floatation Centre sounded like the perfect opportunity to escape all the things I have to worry about, even if just for an hour.

Its weird to imagine floating in a pod for 50 minutes, with 30 minutes of complete silence. I was worried I'd get bored but it was the most amazing experience.
I took a quick snap of my pod before I got in. You get your own room with a shower and a pod.

I thought I'd freak out a bit, not want to close the door to the pod, being a bit claustrophobic (you don't have to close the door if you don't want to) and not be able to switch off at all but with the relaxing music they play at the beginning and being in control of everything made me feel very chilled out very quickly. Once I closed the door to the pod, everything went very quiet, and it was the perfect temperature so I started to zone out very quickly.
The high salt content of the water means its impossible to sink (quite an odd feeling at first but very comforting)
Its very rare that we can really switch off in life and I think its important to take time to do something like this for ourselves. I know its helped me reset and stress less.
I definitely want to go back, and really recommend this to you guys! it would be a fab present to anyone who needs a break.

when I'm rich I'm soo buying my own pod!! not only for the relaxation but I kept thinking, this would be cool to do a shoot in!

sicky

2009-10-26T02:52:00.003Z

so you know how i said i was so excited about amber coming to stay and for us to take photos and have fun?! well... i got really sick and made amber sick too so we spent all the time she was here in bed, sleeping, watching movies and feeling sorry for ourselves. so no photos but we will do them when we get a chance next!

being ill has also made me get behind on my editing so i've got loads to do!

i did find the time tonight to do a quick self portrait with my new ring flash (a gift from anna! which i lovelove!)
i made a pretty background with some cut-off colorama, some poster paints and butterfly stamps.

then i goofed around a bit in photobooth. i'm loving michael buble at the moment!

oh..btw. i do this ALL the time. its my guilty pleasure.

when i buy my own home, i'm sooo having a room like this. its amazing!

photo by the tim walker (who else with a room like that?!)

yummy yummy things

2009-10-16T17:02:00.002+01:00

i made these raw "donut holes" to snack on today
they are sooo tasty!

heres the recipe - http://www.aniphyo.com/2007/05/17/anis-raw-food-kitchen-show-episode-10-donut-holes-2

i can't stop listening to this. i think i might be developing an addiction

oooh hes so dreamy

blog loving

2009-10-15T18:35:00.001+01:00

howdy!
i'm completely snowed under with editing at the moment, i can't even think straight! so i'm taking a break to do a little post about the blogs i love to read
i really really love reading blogs. they're like an escape for me. i love to get an insight into peoples lives (especially when its through photos), their thoughts, their creativity...
here are a few of the ones that make me feel warm and fuzzy and excited

sea of shoes
design is mine
a beautiful mess
design sponge
deMode

enjoy! if you guys have any amazing blogs you'd recommend, please post them in the comments!

i'm excited about the weekend because this pretty face will be here!!

we're going to do some super cute photos together, i'll post them on here when they're done!

now back to the photo editing, tea drinking and listening to john mayer <3

home sweet home

2009-10-09T15:04:00.006+01:00

for quite some time now i've wanted to do some photos of my home, inspired by the selby
i LOVE interior design so the way he combines that with cool portraits of people in their homes is so awesome. i love looking at things like that.

so i've finally gotten round to it! hope you like my little home!
oh and i lightened my hair a little, hope you like that too!

my flat is forever changing. i'm always moving things about, making new little arrangements! i can't wait to have my own big house and make it magical.

its day 7 of my master cleanse. its going so well! the first few days were really tough, i nearly went and got chocolate several times, but i stayed strong and i'm so glad i didn't give up. i've got lots of energy, i feel focused, my skin is clearer, i've lost a bit of weight (although most of it will go back on when i start eating food again) i just generally feel really good. i haven't been hungry at all either, apart from when i forget to drink the lemonade for a while, then just have a bit and i'm fine.
so i've got 4 days left and then i'll ease back into solid foods. i'm so excited to make lots of yummy raw things to eat and i'll share any great recipes with you. i just got a new recipe book so i'll be trying some things out from that.

i found this the other day (by simon cook). i can't remember where i found it but its soo cute and it seems appropriate!

i need to get back to my editing...

far too many things..

2009-10-04T12:00:00.005+01:00

that i need to blog about, i can't even remember them all!

where did i leave off... ooh yes, i needed to write about fashion week. i went with anna to meet the designer of the st erasmus jewellery that we shot a few weeks ago. the photos were meant to be up on display but unfortunately there was a delay with the postage of them and the prints didn't arrive in time. oh well!
anyway, pieter (the designer) was really sweet and we're doing another shoot for his new collection this week! so excited!
here are some of the shots from the first shoot

Model - Sherene McNichol
Make up - Sandra Bermingham
Hair Stylist - Kim Roy
Stylist - Jess Runciman
Creative Director - Anna Victoria Rodgers

i worked on a music video last weekend for Japjit Kaur. i did a bit of lighting and was an extra too. (if i'd known i was going to be an extra i would've put a bit more effort into the way i looked!! =oP) it was so much fun and i met some really wonderful people. one in particular was the music producer, Niraj Chag. he is extremely successful and to listen to him talking about the experiences he's had and his views on music was so fascinating. i feel so lucky to be able to work with people like that.
hopefully i'll be doing even more work on videos and films in the future. long hours but fun!
here are some behind the scenes shots from the day

this week i did 2 fun shoots. one with singer Aria Elle. shes so talented and such a sweet girl. she's bound to go far. i'll be posting those photos soon! i'm so excited about them!

and on friday i did a shoot with anna and sandra bermingham doing the make up. it was lovely shooting anna again and sandra's make up is so beautiful.
here are a couple of the shots i've edited so far!

other than that, i've been editing lots and lots. feels like all i do is edit. photoshop is my life. but i love it, so thats ok.

i'm doing the master cleanse at the moment. me and anna are doing it at the same time to keep us motivated. i'm really excited to see the results at the end of it as lately i've been feeling pretty tired all the time.. just not right, i've not been feeling myself. i'm showing signs of the detoxification so its working already (i'm on day 2) i'll keep you updated with it! you can read anna's blogs about it here

OH! i've just remembered, last friday i went to the central perk cafe in soho. its here for 2 weeks to celebrate the release of the special friends dvd box set. it was sooo cool!! really surreal because i lovelovelove friends and its set out just like the set. we sat on THE sofa. there were lots of props there on display, like the list ross made about rachel and julie, the crazy painting phoebe made... sorry these photos aren't great, i only had my blackberry to take photos with..

awesome!

ooh i've really missed blogging! i'll be better at updating now, i promise

film!

2009-09-23T14:29:00.005+01:00

here is the film i worked on. take a look and let me know what you think!

3emories from Constant Films on Vimeo.

my mum came to stay at the beginning of this week. we went to the natural history museum to see the new darwin centre - the cocoon. lots of bugs!

then had lunch at my new fave restaurant, vitaorganic.

then did some gardening on my balcony!

then went to see 500 days of summer which i LOVED!!! if you haven't seen already, go now! <3

the next day we went for a walk. lovely lovely times

ooh and i made us this YUMMY raw mushroom tart for dinner on sunday

recipe

fashion week and new photos post at the end of the week!

i went for a walk today

2009-09-18T22:22:00.003+01:00

it was quite lovely =)

i feel lucky to have this 5 minutes away from my flat in london.

i'm going to london fashion week tomorrow! excited!
new photos and bloggyness coming soon!

the making of a self portrait

2009-09-05T01:38:00.002+01:00

i just thought i'd share a little about what goes into my self portraits.
i have so much fun doing them, its a nice way for me to escape from any stress from work or anything else in life. for a couple of hours i can play dress up and just have fun in my own little photo world.

so i start with make up. sometimes i like to really be adventurous but in this case, i went for something pretty classic and simple.

add in some roses from miss frankie!

lighting & a background

...then some photoshop magic and voila!

photobooth!!!

2009-09-02T13:29:00.006+01:00

i shot a beautiful wedding this weekend and they had a photobooth there. it was the coolest thing i've ever seen! i want one in my home. it had a wind machine in there too!
i think its such a good idea to have these at events like weddings. the perfect way to get fun photos for a guestbook and to entertain guests (and photographers!!)
here are my photos from the booth, with my assistant for the day, matt

how fun?!
and here are a couple of shots i took of the wedding. it was such a beautiful day and i really enjoyed being there to capture it all.

oh and i spotted myself in the background of a few of the shots matt took during the speeches.

hehe!

last night i took some photos of the lovely frankie from swell vintage. she is so much fun to be around and so talented, everyone should go give her some love and buy her jewellery!
and she bought me and jo roses as a thank you for doing the photos. how sweet! i think a rosey self portrait is in order...

oh since when is it september?! this year is going by way too fast! although i'm kinda in the mood for christmas already

i like...

2009-08-22T21:02:00.001+01:00

just wanted to share..

2009-08-21T21:25:00.002+01:00

these cute flowers i just made!

i stumbled across this tutorial and thought they looked great!
i've been wanting to get flowers for my dining table for a while and this way, they'll never die!

st erasmus 1

2009-08-20T15:20:00.004+01:00

helloooo my lovelies
this week has been both bad and good so far. but the bad turned out to be good so i'm happy!
on monday i was meant to be doing a shoot for an amazing jewellery designer - www.st-erasmus.com/
so i went to the shoot, the girls started on the hair and make up and then after i'd eaten a gluten free, dairy free bar, my lips started to swell and my throat felt a bit scratchy...uh oh.. i started to feel really rough, then my ears went swollen..followed by my whole face! and my head was all itchy. i went to lie down, hoping i could rest for a bit and be ok to shoot. but no, there was no way i could've done the shoot in the way i was, so everyone went home and we rescheduled for wednesday. i was sooo excited about the shoot so i was gutted! but i wouldn't have done a good job if we'd done it on monday.
we did the shoot yesterday and it was amazing! i can't wait to show you the photos!! it worked out better as we were all happy and well! and we also had been able to get better props for the shoot, it worked a lot better than it would've done otherwise.
the team was fantastic, everyone did the BEST work!! as soon as i can show you the photos they'll be up here in a flash!

on tuesday, while i was still recovering from monday, i did a self portrait with one of the pieces. it was quite a challenge to do it as i really wasn't feeling great and my energy was soo low, but i felt like i had to take advantage of this opportunity to do a SP with such a beautiful, unique piece of jewellery. i wanted to give something different a go too. something a bit dramatic, with some movement in it.
heres what i came up with!

part of my inspiration for it... i love her <3

when the 3 jo's made pretty things happen

2009-08-11T17:51:00.003+01:00

the other day my friend told me my blog was depressing. ha! he was referring to my rant the other day.. it wasn't meant to be depressing!

anyway, today i had a lovely shoot with jo doing make up as usual and johanna talylor modeling.
we did a quick, simple look for johanna's book and then we moved onto something a bit more creative which was super fun! me and jo played around to create a headdress and then jo worked her magic with the make up. i think she did a beautiful job, different to anything she's done before.

i've got a few creative shoots lined up, i can't wait to do some different things!
i'm feeling really positive about work now. i'm excited to explore new things...=D

oui oui

2009-08-07T00:03:00.002+01:00

i just got back from this

it was a beautiful film. inspiring.
i'm totally in love with audrey tautou. so talented, beautiful, charming... i've been watching a lot of her films lately. i've really been getting into french films too. i can't wait til i can watch them without subtitles!!!

confessions and contemplations

2009-08-04T21:25:00.005+01:00

i feel guilty. i've not been good at blogging recently. i really want to blog all the time, but i just don't feel like i have anything to tell you. anything interesting anyway!

so i thought i'd do a little post, update you with how i'm feeling.
the thing i love most about doing my blog is that its a great outlet for my thoughts and feelings. its therapeutic.

i'll start with a raw update. i have a little confession.. i have eaten cooked food over the past couple of weeks. its been harder to keep up..or get going because i've been going away, staying with friends and family and i've got a friend coming to stay this weekend. its soo difficult to stick to it when you're staying with people, they're making meals and its hard to turn things down. i don't want to seem ungrateful. especially as this weekend, my friend's mum had bought a load of gluten free food for me, which was so lovely of her. i have to admit, the food this weekend was very yummy.
another thing i'm finding a challenge is the way people around me react to it. a lot of my friends just think i'm a crazy hippy. others are interested to hear more. but most think its a bit weird, don't understand why i'd want to live this way and don't believe how good it is for you. its quite hard not to get snippy with people when they're criticising what i'm doing, saying its stupid and pointless. especially because i am really passionate about it, it means a lot to me. i'm learning to just let those comments slide off me and not to let it discourage me or damage my friendships in any way. i completely understand people not getting the whole raw thing, its not for everyone, i'm not going to be shoving it down people's throats..i don't mind people challenging me about it if they're genuinely interested in learning more. i just want the people around me to be supportive. and if they can't do that, just not say anything.
so thats the down side of raw so far.
i did however have an amazing night last week, at a raw food party. i went with anna to peter pure's raw party. there were just 15 of us there. peter was so interesting, i learnt soo much about superfoods. its incredible how beneficial they are to us!
we tried out a load of different superfoods in the form of tea, juice, crackers and dip, fudge, and my favourite - chocolate frappuccino!
as well as the amazing food and education, it was lovely to be in a room full of people interested and enthusiastic about raw food.
anna and i left the party feeling really inspired to make a real change and be healthy!!
now i really want to get into raw, 100%. i'm wondering whether i should go easy on myself this weekend though, when my friend is here. i think its best that i start 100% when i'm not going away anywhere or having anyone to stay so i can just concentrate on myself. then in the future, when i'm settled into it, i'll be fine keeping it up when i go away or have people to stay.

on the work side of things, its a bit quiet. i'm feeling a bit..different lately. i can't think of the right word for it.. like i'm in limbo.
i'm not feeling as enthusiastic about fashion photography. i'm trying to figure out what to do next. i'm not sure what the right path is for me anymore. i'm tired of doing the work i've been doing over the past couple of years, the passions faded. i'm not feeling sad at all, just unsettled. i don't see it as a bad thing that i'm not as excited about doing fashion. its a natural development. over the past few months i feel like i've changed A LOT. i've discovered new passions and my mind is changing. lately i've been wanting to create a lot, not with my camera and computer but with my hands. making crafty things. its been really enjoyable to sit and paint things, sew things or stick things together. also, the more i spend time in the raw food world, the more i love it, the more i want to immerse myself in it.
i think my priorities and goals are changing..i just don't know what to yet..
which is kinda exciting. but at the same time a bit unnerving.
its weird when i've been trying to forge a career for myself, quite a specific one.. and now i'm not so sure that its right for me. don't get me wrong, i still absolutely love photography and love fashion photography. i'm just not entirely sure its the right path for me, the right industry for me.
thats all i can really say about that for now. i'm figuring things out as i go.
right now, my heart is swaying towards creative, fine arty things. the kind of work i started out with.
hmm.. i'll let you know when i figure it all out.

i can't possibly do a post without a photo (especially such a long rambly one)

heres a raw chocolate cake i made earlier. it wasn't perfect but it was yummy.

cake -
almonds, brazil nuts and hazelnuts
cacao powder (raw chocolate powder)
raw honey (it would be better to use dates if you can)
goji berries
coconut oil

blended up and molded into cake.

topping -
grinded cashew nuts
cacao powder
raw honey
splash of water

served with banana.
i've got no idea about mesaurements, i just threw things in until it looked and tasted right!

things that made me happy this weekend

2009-07-27T12:14:00.003+01:00

blank train ticket... don't ask me why, i just like it.

joshua radin gig. he sang sooo beautifully. i was hypnotised.

spending time with family

hehe my brother will hate me for putting this up but i love it!

theme park fun!

catching up with friends

new harry potter movie

CUTE bag my mum got me! <3

i'm a little flower girl <3

2009-07-21T21:41:00.005+01:00

i did a new self portrait today, with flowers on my head! i collected them from a field round the corner from my flat the other day when i was jogging. not so effective for the jogging when i stop to pick a load of flowers =oP

tomorrow i'm going away for 5 days. i'm going to see joshua radin tomorrow night in oxford with my brother and his girlfriend, then going to stay at his, on thursday i'm going back up to my parents' house for the weekend for my mum's birthday (which is actually tomorrow, so happy birthday mother dear!)
i'm excited to see my auntie and cousins who will also be there and catch up with some friends from back home.
so of course i need to take some raw snacks with me so that i don't get stuck without food when i'm out and about.
i made some raw chocolate fudge. yuuuummmmmmmm! i've tasted a little bit already, i couldn't resist.
its soo easy to make!

ingredients -
raw chocolate powder
raw honey
pinch of cinnamon
chopped up almonds
grated coconut

mix it all up, put it into a container lined with cling film and then place in the freezer to harden. seriously, tastes amazing! i've cut mine up and coated them with coconut (which helps them from sticking to my fingers and making a mess!) i'm gonna put them in in a jar and carry them with me. to be honest, i doubt they'll last much longer than my train journey to oxford... they taste so good!

swell vintage

2009-07-19T13:21:00.005+01:00

i can finally show you the photos we shot for swell vintage jewellery!!
i'm still finishing them off but the lovely frankie has unveiled a few on her blog and has given me the green light to show you them so here are my favourites...
i'm so pleased with how they turned out. frankie's jewellery looks beautiful!

models - Skye Victoria Kelly-Barrett & Rosey Dimmick
make up - Maria Papadopoulou
hair - Amber-Rose Peake
lingerie - Josefine Wing at Mint Siren

team photo! (minus frankie =( who was taking the photo..)

it was such a fun shoot. an amazing team to work with!

second day of being 100% raw and the biggest thing i've noticed is i feel so much more positive. my mind feels really active. all i wanted to do last night was clean! my bathroom is now very shiny...
xo

i have to share this with you!

2009-07-18T17:51:00.003+01:00

i've just made the most delicious raw dinner

"cheesy" nut balls and marinara sauce

"cheesy" nut balls -
cashew nuts
lemon juice
braggs liquid aminos
a touch of water

blend the ingredients up, then form into balls and place in the fridge to go harden a little
i left mine quite chunky but this would be nice really smooth too.
i can't give you exact measurements because i was just throwing stuff in until it looks the right consistency!

marinara sauce -
red pepper
sun dried tomatoes
fresh basil
pine nuts
olive oil
garlic

again, blend up until smooth.

and serve!
its delicious! the nut balls were an experiment and definitely a success! so creamy =)
the only thing is, they're very filling!! i can't actually finish it.. so go easy on your portions =oP

going 100%

2009-07-18T13:47:00.007+01:00

from today onwards i'm going 100% raw (apart from the soy milk i have to finish off in my fridge!)
i bought a new blender (my old one died) and a water filter and a load of fruit and veg this morning.
i'm totally geared up to be super healthy =D

although, theres one non-raw thing i'm not giving up. TEA!! no no. tea isn't really bad for you and i'm a little addicted to it. i couldn't live without it, theres nothing like a cup of tea to make me feel comforted. and i'll have it with nut milk that i'll make. (cashews make the yummiest nut milk! just blend with water)

last night i made some raw chocolate mousse with frozen banana slices. soo good! and put half of the batch in the freezer so now i have chocolate ice cream. i really prefer it to normal dairy ice cream. and its healthy. i still can't get over that.

i'm going to save up for a dehydrator so i can make yummy breads, pizzas, burgers, crepes etc.
i cannot wait!!!

today is the start of new, healthier, happier me!

dead letter office

2009-07-16T17:42:00.004+01:00

i had a super fun shoot today with a great band called dead letter office

they are such nice guys, i had a lot of fun. check out their music and if you can, get on down to one of their gigs! i'll be going to see them on the 7th august, it'll be awesome!

here are some behind the scenes shots. they were all so funny about having their make up done. apart from harry, he quite liked it! hehe

ben with toothpaste round his mouth! hehe

some fun team photos! i need to do more of these!

and a little outtake i thought was cute

so now i don't have any more shoots planned for a while. i've got ideas for shoots i want to do so as soon as i've got through all my editing, i'll be arranging some amazing shoots. i can't wait to get stuck into doing creative stuff again!!!!
xo

who needs pro equiment...?

2009-07-14T22:16:00.004+01:00

when you've got a hair dryer and an old curtain?!

hehe my replacement for a wind machine and and light gels. just goes to show, you can still get cool effects without spending loads on equipment!

todays shoot was with the lovely teresa.
jo came to do the make up. i've not seen jo very much lately and i miss her! so it was lovely to see her today, and she did a perfect job on the make up as usual.

the first finished shot from the day

i'm thinking of getting a lensbaby - http://www.lensbaby.com
anyone got one/know if they're worth getting?
=)

GetItWithMe

2009-07-12T14:12:00.004+01:00

i've had a very very fun weekend. on thursday my best friend from back home came down to stay. we had a lot of giggles, had a great girly night out. it was so lovely to see her and catch up.

we had silly photobooth fun too <3

god, i love photobooth!!

yesterday i went to the launch party for GetItWithMe

its anna's husbands new business for shared purchasing. its a great idea and i'm sure it's going to be a big success! check the site out. it should be all live today!

oh and i snapped anna's kitty all dressed up for the party. how adorable is she?!!

i really really want to get into pet photography. but how the hell do you get into it? are there websites i can advertise on that are good for that kind of photography???!

well howdy!

2009-07-08T15:03:00.005+01:00

i'm now a bunny rabbit. hope it doesn't scare off any clients =oP

well saying that.. i've been doing some soul searching over the past week or so. i've been quite stressed out with work recently so i've made a decision. i'm not really going to be taking on any paid jobs for a while. i only want to do shoots that are really creative and artistic. i feel like i've lost the artist in me so i'm only going to do work that inspires me. obviously if theres money in it, thats a bonus but i don't want to do anything that i wouldn't be happy doing for free. obviously i've got to pay the bills so i'm looking for a job to do that. and i'll shoot in my free time.
my work will probably change a lot over the next few months and there'll probably be less of it. although it probably won't affect the amount i put online as i do a lot more work than i show, but because a lot of it is the same kinda stuff, i don't put it up
so thats that.

its been raining on and off in london today. i've got my camera and a light set up ready for me to do a rainy self portrait on my balcony if it rains again!! probably won't though, just because i want it to.

i love it when its rainy and i don't have to go anywhere. i feel so safe and cosy in my little flat. my favourite thing to do when its raining is have a cup of tea and a few biscuits to dunk! and then read a trashy magazine =D or watch a good movie

some of my photos that i took for Baruch have been published in this months issue of Pride magazine! i'm really pleased. they look great in there and Angela's interview is very sweet. so if you can, go buy it!!

(my scanner is still not working so i can't get a better image of it yet..)

i haven't been eating too healthily lately. and i've been feeling the effects. i have such a lack of energy when i don't eat well. on monday i ate raw all day and felt soo good! i was so productive too. i did a load of editing, went for a jog in the rain (very refreshing!)
made a cute (very simple) bracelet -

did some tidying and cleaning and did a painting.
i also made this cute coffee cosy which is from the craft class i did at christmas time. its so cute!!

one of the raw meals i made that day was this -

chopped up cauliflower (to emulate rice) with tomatoes, pine nuts and gluten free soy sauce. it was yummy! would be even yummier with mushrooms.

ok i'm yabbering on a bit now. i'm excited for the weekend because my best friend (who i've known since i was 3!) is coming down to stay tomorrow. we'll have lotso fun. i plan to take lots of photos
=D

Mission Statement

2009-06-27T23:33:00.002+01:00

i feel like my work has kind of stopped moving up lately...more just going in a straight line. thats not good enough. i need to go back to my creative fine arty roots and shoot something truly creative! sooo the plan is (once i've finished all the editing i've got left to do...)
arrange a bunch of test shoots, plan them down to every last detail, have a story for each one. spend lots of time making sure they're all perfect. have fun working with new people and find interesting, challenging locations to shoot in.
most importantly i plan to..
BE CREATIVE and UNIQUE!

Moonwalk

2009-06-27T23:18:00.003+01:00

yesterday evening, i went to the mass moonwalk at liverpool street station. quickly arranged via twitter and facebook, looooads of people turned up to celebrate the awesomeness that was michael jackson
it was a pretty cool way to show how much he was loved and how his music will continue to make people happy.
i grew up listening to and worshiping his music, always a favourite of mine. i remember making up my own dance routines to his songs in my bedroom! i'm gutted that he died so young and before he could return to the stage.
he was a true legend. RIP

a bit of jazz perhaps?

2009-06-25T01:48:00.003+01:00

so i took a little break from my editing tonight and had a sing song
the first one is a beautiful song by grace potter and the nocturnals, called falling or flying. i'm also attempting to play the guitar =oP oh and sorry about it cutting off at the end.. i've pretty much got no space on my computer so it does that sometimes when i'm making videos and i was too lazy to do another one! haha

and this second one is the classic summertime. my dad showed me an amazing perfomance of it by mica paris this weekend so i thought i'd give it a bash! of course i am noooowhere near as good as she is. i'm not much of a jazz singer. but i had fun doing it! so this ones for you, daddy!!

hope you enjoy them!!
xo

a little break

2009-06-24T15:17:00.003+01:00

this weekend i went back up home to my parents' house for a little weekend break and to see my dad on father's day!
it was soooo good to get away from london and all my work. i caught up with some friends and had a lovely chilled out time with my family.

this is my mum's bunny, barney!

the view out the back of my house. i miss it soo much when i'm in london

my mum cut my hair for me on sunday! and then i dyed it yesterday. i need to do a proper new self portrait with my new hair, but i'm snowed under with editing right now so i can't =( but as soon as i get some time, i'll do one

on monday i did a little shoot with a lovely girl, sacha, who went to the same high school as me. i'd always thought she'd make a good model so i arranged to go over to her house when i was home this weekend to take some photos. she lives in a beautiful house and has lots of fields around her and a little forest by her too. she's got a couple of horses too so of course i HAD to take some photos with them =D i'd love to do a proper editorial with horses. or elephants. or giraffes. not asking much is it?!

back soon with more new photos!
xo

sparkly nuns!!!

2009-06-17T23:00:00.002+01:00

last night i went to see sister act in the west end with my friend, alex. it was AMAZING!!
i can't describe how happy it made me. the film is my joint favourite film (with gremlins 2 =oP) so i was nervous and excited to see the west end production of it, knowing none of the same songs were in it. the story was slightly different too. i loved it anyway and everyone in it was amazing. hilarious. definitely a great show to go see. the sets were really great, the whole production of it was brilliant.
here are a couple of photos take on my blackberry, and alex's iphone!

i was feeling a bit stressed out today about work and totally craving cupcakes as people keep bringing them to shoots here!! and of course i can't eat them because of my gluten allergy. so i decided to try making raw cupcakes
made from almonds and cashews, and dates all blended up together, then i made frosting with some lemon, a touch more almonds and cashews (left over from the cake mix), raw honey and coconut oil. i put them in the freezer to harden.
the first one wasn't too solid so i had to eat it with a spoon, but it was very tasty!!
the second one was perfect. definitely got rid of my craving for cupcakes! and healthy too!

i need to blog about my shoot yesterday with sonia, so i'll do that tomorrow hopefully. i've need to sort out the little movies we made of it!
xo

randomnessss

2009-06-15T22:43:00.004+01:00

ok so i said i'd do a personal post on saturday..but that didn't happen because i'm all over the place at the moment!
i'm feeling a little bit fluey at the moment (hope its not swine flu!!! i'm sure its just a cold) so i can't concentrate on my work and i've got no energy. it makes me sad =(
so i'm going to take a break from trying to edit and have a cup of tea and write a little blog

the other day i went round to anna's house to chill and make inspiration boards together. anna told me about these and they're such a good idea. apparently lots of successful people make them and they seem to work for them! anna's an amazing friend for things like this - she's always inspiring me to be positive and look into ways of being healthier and more educated about everything in life. something i think is very important. we should all be as open minded as possible.
anyway..basically, you get a big piece of card and go through magazines, cutting out words and pictures that represent things that you want to achieve in life. they can be short term, long term, professional, personal - anything you want! all my goals in life kinda fit together, i don't really separate my work ambitions from all my others i guess because i don't see it as work! (lucky me!!) so i just made one for my whole life
so here are a few photos of my board. its not finished yet but its a good start

obviously photography and fashion are a big love of mine. i love the glamourous lifestyle and also love the totally unglamourous backstage life of fashion.
i really want to move to paris for a bit and learn to speak french fluently.
theres a bit in there about eating raw which is now something really important to me. the brands and magazines are some of the ones i want to work with in the future. gotta love karl lagerfeld in there too! he's amazing =oP

i haven't really traveled much yet and its definitely something i want to do lots of in my life. i found this cool map of the road route from LA to Vegas which i'm hopefully going on next year with my friend! can't wait!!

even just making this gave me a boost of positivity and seeing it every day will hopefully keep me optimistic and driven to achieve my goals.
i'd definitely recommend doing one! plus its fun to cut things out and stick them on like you're in primary school again! =oP

anna also made some yummy raw food for us to feast on throughout the day
my favourite was this - banana ice cream with chocolate sauce on top. yummmm

i've been experimenting a bit this week with my raw food
i made a raw pizza the other night. you're meant to dehydrate the base for a few hours but i don't have a dehydrator yet so i tried to do it in my oven...but i think it would take too long and i'm very conscious of running up a big electricity bill!
so the base was a bit moist still but it was yummmmy!
made with pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, basil, onion, garlic and a bit of olive oil all blended up, with raw red pepper marinara sauce on top (yummy!!) and raw vegan cheese on top. oh and marinated mushrooms

i have to admit... it was VERY garlicy. i think i put far too much in. especially considering it was in both the base and cheese and its raw so its even stronger! so thats something to consider for the future. but it did still taste really good.

oh and the cheese was my favourite part!! if anyone out there wants a good vegan cheese substitute, i soo recommend this, its so easy to make and tastes amazing.
its cashew nuts, garlic and lemon juice. you can blend it all up until its a paste (i used my juicer to grind the nuts really finely) and then form it into whatever shape cheese you want. it tastes soo good. if you don't put the garlic in, it would taste like lemon cheesecake. i'm definitely going to try that with some kind of raw ice cream at some point soon.

other than that, i finally went to see star trek at the cinema last night. it was amazing! i absolutely loved it!! especially scotty's little friend. he was cute!!!
and today i went to see the hangover. it was hilarious!!! probably the funniest film i've seen in a long time, if not ever. just silly and a good laugh.
i'm hoping to go see terminator sometime later this week
(i have an unlimited pass to the cinema which is why i'm going so much!!)
i was coming home from the cinema today and it started to rain, thunder and lightening. and i had no umbrella. uh oh. it suddenly went sooo heavy when i got off my train. everyone around me was hanging around wondering whether to wait it out or just make a run for it. i decided to do the latter.
this is the result

it started to hail halfway down my road. not good. it was so heavy, i couldn't actually see!! it filled my eyes! i've never been in rain like that. i was SOAKED
oh well, it was kinda fun. and sooo satisfying to get into dry clothes!!!!
xo

all is swell!

2009-06-12T18:50:00.003+01:00

i've had a very hectic week!
monday i had an awesome shoot with lovely model elena fernandes, my best friend and amazing hair stylist, amber rose and a very sweet make up artist - siobhan furlong.
we just had a really fun, chilled out day trying out ideas, no pressure to produce anything specific, i had soo much fun!
heres a shot of amber and siobhan working their magic on elena

and a couple of finished shots from the day!

tuesday i had a shoot for swell vintage jewellery
the models were the lovelylovely skye and rosey dimmick. i've shot with skye a few times before but i haven't seen her for aaaaaages so it was so good to see her and catch up! the girlies were also wearing lingerie from mint siren
amber did the hair and the make up was by maria papadopoulou
here are a couple of behind the scenes pics! and i'll post some finished shots up when they're done!

then wednesday i had a shoot for a fab singer, gabriella ellis
she's got an amazing voice and is sooo lovely, i'm sure theres big things ahead for her! the music on her myspace at the moment is a bit different to what she's going to be doing. she's moving more into electro stuff so needed some new promo shots to go with the new sound!
jo was back to do the make up! i haven't seen her for about a month so i was very excited to see her and loved working with her, having the same ideas! oh how i've missed her!
we had a lot of fun shooting, her friend was here to film a bit of the shoot and take some behind the scenes shots. so i thought i'd film a bit of it too! i don't know why i haven't done it before...

so now i've got a million photos to edit!!! i've got a busy weekend ahead of me
i'll be back to do a more "personal" blog tomorrow
xo

random q's!

2009-06-04T15:34:00.006+01:00

i've been reading a few of these on some of the blogs i read so i thought i'd do it!

What is your current obsession?
raw food

What's for dinner?
raw avocado soup! i just made it and it is DELICIOUS!! and so quick to make!

What's the last thing you bought?
apart from a load of fruit and veg, a cute FCUK top from a charity shop

What are you listening to right now?
a playlist full of jenny lewis, vanessa amorosi and ben's brother.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
LA. i want to live there one day but i've never been so i really want to see what its actually like!

Which language do you want to learn?
french.

What's your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
hmmmm probably this dress. i LOVE polka dots!!

What's your dream job?
photography (obviously!) or being a singer for disney..they always have such nice songs to sing!!

What's your worst habit?
i forget to reply to some e-mails. i really need to keep on top of that!!

Do you admire anyones style?
katy perry

and camilla belle (the most beautiful girl i've ever seen in my life!)

Describe your personal style?
umm i don't know really. maybe a bit cute and hippyish...but sometimes more simple style.

What are your favorite movies?
gremilns 2, sister act, amelie and australia.

What inspires you?
random things like beautiful scenery, a song, a little pattern in something. my friends inspire me to be a better person and make the most out of life

Do you collect something?
photos that inspire me. i have a couple of folders on my computer probably with about 500 photos that i think are amazing. i collect more every day.

What do you like most about yourself?
that i don't take myself too seriously

xo

amaaaazing!

2009-06-01T17:01:00.002+01:00

i've been on the raw diet for 3 days now and i'm LOVING it!
i've noticed my skin has already cleared up loads. its so quick, its amazing!
today i started the day with a green smoothie. i've been reading this book, Green For Life which is such a interesting read. its amazing what drinking green smoothies regularly can do for you. it can cure long term illnesses, make you look younger, stop cravings for bad foods, give you lots of energy and just generally make you healthier.
so i made my first one today - spinach, banana, apple, lime and water all blended up.

it was good! not quite as refreshing as the juices i normally have in the mornings but it was nice! you can pretty much put anything in it as long as you have a good amount of greens in it so i think i'll try a bit more banana, maybe lemon, just to make it a bit nicer to drink.
i also made some raw pecan cookies today. i found this great website with lots of raw recipes and decided to make these simple cookies - http://www.aniphyo.com/category/recipes/

they are soo tasty!! it confuses my brain because they taste like they're full of bad fat and sugar but they're really healthy. yay! all they have in them is pecans, dates and orange juice. its all mixed up and put in the freezer to harden them. so easy and yummmmy!

yesterday i did the race for life to raise money for cancer research. the weather was beautiful but a little too hot to be running in! it was great though! i tried to run it all but as it was so hot, i just couldn't so took a couple of walking breaks.
it was amazing how many people were there. really overwhelming to read the signs on peoples' backs saying why they were there. it was especially heartbreaking how many people had lost loved ones this year.
i'm so proud to have been part of it and really really grateful to everyone who sponsored me!!

i also did a self portrait last night. i wanted to get something that looked a bit like a still from a movie. kinda "atonement"-ish
i really enjoy doing more emotive portraits.

xo

raw

2009-05-30T22:49:00.003+01:00

i had a really nice day today with my lovely friend, anna. the weather was beautiful so i went over to anna's and we sat in her garden all afternoon having a good old chinwag.
anna also made us some really delicious raw chocolate mousse. it was sooo good! and its soo good for you too!

"noo i've got chocolate round my mouth!" hehe sorry anna!
and a yummy lemon, lime, kiwi and apple juice. perfect for a lovely summery day

anna's been eating a raw food diet for a few weeks now and seems to be really loving it! i've been interested in eating raw for a while too, reading a lot about it.
i find it really interesting how much of a difference it can make to the way you feel (emotionally and physically) and look.
so i've decided i'm going to give the raw way of life a go.
no time like the present!
i've been veggie for over 2 years now and for the past couple of months i've not been drinking dairy so the transition shouldn't be too difficult. i've also recently discovered i have a gluten allergy so that means i can't eat a lot of cooked foods anyway. it makes perfect sense for me to give it a go now.
theres definitely a misconception about raw food being bland and very restricted but theres so much you can do with it and you don't have to deprive yourself of a varied, pleasurable diet so if you're interested in healthy eating/living then look into it!
i'll probably blog a bit about the raw diet - how i'm feeling with it, and if theres a great recipe i'd recommend trying.

i definitely recommend trying the raw chocolate mousse!!!

recipe (what i remember from what anna did and looking around online!)

ingredients -
1/4 cup dates
1/4 cup cashew nuts
1 avocado
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup water

blend it all up in a food processor until smooth. don't be alarmed by the avocado. it makes it all creamy and yummy.
it really does taste amazing and is so so good for you

hope everyone is enjoying the gorgeous weather!
xo

happy things

2009-05-30T01:39:00.002+01:00

firstly and most importantly, this photo makes me HAPPY!!!

i love karl

moving on.. i can now show you the photos i took of Isabelle Purdew (the wife of the owner of Champneys Spas) a few weeks ago. they were a surprise present for her husband for his birthday which was last week so i wanted to wait to post them up until then
here are my favourite shots from the day

make up - jo saville
styling - louise ellis

it was a really enjoyable shoot. we travelled to tring to isabelle's house which was beautiful! she really looked after us so well all day, it was a pleasure to have her as a client.
her daughter, raffy was soo sweet and worked really well in the photos. she especially loved playing with jo's make up kit! there were some ruined lip glosses by the end of it, hehe

other than doing lots of editing, i've been thinking a lot about my future plans. i've decided that if i can get it all sorted, i'm going to move to paris for about 6 months sometime soon. like i said in my last post, i really want to learn french properly and i'd love to see how the industry is there. i'm going to see if i can find an assistant job. that would be amazing. i'd learn soo much and i feel like now is the right time in my life to do it. so thats all very exciting! i just need to figure out how i'm going to do it!! and get learning french!

i'm back for more blogging!

2009-05-22T23:42:00.003+01:00

oo i do apologise! i've been a bit busy lately and barely had a chance to sit down and write on here.
but, with a kick up the backside from the lovely Colleen i'm back! hehe

soo where to start?!
well i went to paris last weekend, which was much much fun! i've completely fallen in love with that city
i went to photograph my friend's sister's wedding. we also had a couple of days to sightsee. it was so nice to get away and have lots of time to walk around and really see paris as last time i was there it was a bit of a mad rush!
it was lovely to be able to spend time with my friend, munnie too. we went to primary school together and we don't get to see each other very often these days but whenever we do, its like we saw each other yesterday. she's a bestfriend for life.
we met lots of french guys at the wedding and they all seemed to enjoy trying to teach us french! hehe
i did french at a level so i do know a bit but i haven't really practiced it for a while so i'd love to get back into it.
i'd love to live in paris for a bit, see what the industry is like there and become fluent in french. i feel so comfortable there.
here are a couple of pics from the trip

me and munnie pretending to look out from the top of the eiffel tower!

and the view from the top of the eiffel tower. it was soo high up and so beautiful, but freaking cold!! i didn't care though

an awesome busker in montmatre! he had a massive audience and his music was amazing <3

today i had a really great shoot for a lookbook for a designer. her clothes were AMAZING. i seriously can't wait to show you guys the photos. i just have to wait til the designers ready to unveil the collection.

i've been practicing my guitar too! getting a lot better i think. but its destroying my fingers!!

its worth it. i could literally sit for hours playing and singing.
speaking of.. i made another video. its a song that was on grey's anatomy a couple of weeks ago. its by one of my favourite artists, ingrid michaelson and when i heard it (teamed with the tragic love scene) i cried. i'm such an emotional wreck when it comes to music. haha
the song is soooo beautiful and sounds a lot different to how i play it so please please go listen to it. you can probably find it on youtube. its called turn to stone.
i hope you like it..i really need to stop pulling silly faces when i make mistakes! hehe

oh and thank you all for being so sweet about my last video!! i had some lovely comments which made my day =)

i'll be back soon for another post
xo

my little guitar adventure...

2009-05-04T00:40:00.003+01:00

this week i got a guitar. i have plans to decorate it with a henna style painting thing...it'll be the prettiest guitar ever!
i'm teaching myself how to play it. i've always been quite a musical person - i did music at A level. i used to play the violin. not very well.
i also did performing arts at A level and i sang for that. soo i must have gone mad as i've made a little video of me attempting to play the guitar (what i've learnt in a few days!) and singing too... i'm very shy about my singing
eeep
this song (may it be by enya) is meant to be played in a completely different time signature.. well its got multiple time signatures which i of course can't do when i've only just started learning so if you do happen to know it, it will sound a bit slow and weird.
anyway, i hope you like it!! ignore my mistakes! haha

i also had a little self portrait session yesterday =)
kinda looks like i should be a folk singer...!

xo

my photobooth life

2009-05-03T21:34:00.003+01:00

the end.

i should probably do a video one of these at some point...

3 memories

2009-05-01T18:55:00.002+01:00

i've been working on a short film these past couple of days.
last week we did a test shoot for it and this week we filmed it properly. its been sooo much fun and a really great learning experience. i was working on lighting the scenes. film is definitely something i want to get into and this experience has really got me excited about doing more!

i took a couple of stills today -

i can't wait for it to be all edited! i'm going to be helping out with the post production too which will definitely be interesting.
the whole team who worked on the film were amazing and we had a laugh all throughout filming.
i'm so excited to see the finished product!

xo

music & photos - a good week!

2009-04-30T16:44:00.003+01:00

last week i had a good week of shooting and relaxing with friends in hyde park (my new favourite pastime!)

this week on monday, my brother came down to london and we went to see ingrid michaelson play at the bush hall in shepherds bush. she's one of my favourite singers so i was soo excited to go see her live. it was a beautiful concert. her voice is so pure and she's such a sweet, funny person too.
my favourite part of the show was at the end, when she came down off the stage to sit at a baby grand piano and sang her version of "can't help falling in love" without any amplification so everyone in the hall went deadly silent to listen. then in the chorus parts, everyone softly joined in. i was in heaven.
my brother took a couple of photos of the night

this is a shot of the hall the gig was in. sooo pretty. i'd love to live in a place like this!
oh and heres a photo of me and my brother at the gig! we'd just bumped heads before this photo was taken so we have slightly strange laughing expressions.. (taken on my blackberry)

listen to her music here - http://www.myspace.com/ingridmichaelson
she's wonderful

i love these songs -

yesterday i had a great client shoot in tring, hertfordshire. the photos are a surprise for the client's husband so i won't post anything up here yet just incase (although the chances of him ever seeing this blog are pretty much zero...)
i'll post them up when i can, along with all the details of the day and some behind the scenes shots.

xo

its finally here!!!

2009-04-18T21:59:00.003+01:00

i've had the best day ever!!

this morning i had a client shoot - a make up artist's portfolio, which went really well.
then i scuttled over to the viva veggie show in victoria to see the Lifescape stall and pick up a copy of the magazine!
i got there and saw covergirl, anna having her photo taken by a lifescape customer! so of course i stole his idea and took one myself!

as soon as i saw the magazine, i was sooooo thrilled!
the photos all look so good (if i do say so myself!) and i'm so proud of everyone involved. to have a photo on the cover of a real printed magazine is a dream come true and i'm so happy that its a magazine that promotes so many issues that i'm passionate about.
the viva show was great too. loads of interesting stalls and lots of yummy veggie and vegan foods to try out. the lifescape stall was next to the vitamix stall (an amaaazing blender)
they were making smoothies, soups and ice creams for everyone to try. i had a smoothie and a soup and oh my, they were TASTY! i want a vitamix soo badly!!
then raj, the editor of lifescape came over and said she'd just recommended my services to a company who makes hemp products so i went over to their stall to say hi, gave them my details and they gave me a bunch of free products, including hemp chocolate which is yummmmy! i'm eating it as i write this.
i also got to meet a couple more people who work for lifescape which was really nice. its always good to chat to people who share my views on the whole veggie/vegan/ethical lifestyle.
so all in all, it was a very successful day!

me with the cover!

here are some shots of the pages with my photos in the magazine. (my scanner isn't working so i had to just take photos...)

raj wrote the sweetest things about me and jo, i can't get over how nice this is...
"jo b is a veggie photographer with the sweetest disposition you could imagine. not pushy and just downright easy to be around."
raj - you are too sweet!!

i am so so happy right now. i can't express how grateful i am for all these opportunities i'm getting. i'm so lucky to have so much support from everyone too. it really does keep me going when i'm feeling overwhelmed by the huge piles of work.

this week coming is going to be an exciting and hectic one. monday i'm shooting a cover and beauty spread for an online mag, tuesday i'm being director of photography for a short film, wednesday i'm going to look at some clothes with anna that we might use for a future lifescape fashion shoot and then my friend is coming to visit, thursday i'm shooting a beautiful girl i know from back home who i'm convinced could be a top model! then i get a few days to rest/edit. should be good!!

oh and please go pick up a copy of lifescape if you can! its sold in the UK in borders and high street whsmiths and in the US in borders. its a great read!!!

xo

photographing a bunny rabbit..

2009-04-17T17:28:00.000+01:00

this is my lovely bunny, buttons. she's pretty much the coolest bunny ever.
so i though it was time we had a little shoot together.
heres the process...

explain to her what i want to do...

no no, the camera is the OTHER way!

hmm not quite...

yay!

hehe

lifescape shoot no.3

2009-04-15T18:18:00.004+01:00

today i had a funfun shoot for the next issue of lifescape (this months issue should hopefully be out by the end of the week/the beginning of next week..there was a hold up at the printers! i'm dying to see it and to show everyone!!!)
today we were doing a beauty spread, focusing on nail varnishes.
the looks were all quite bold and colourful <3
it'll be a while until i'll be able to show you the finished shots but for now, take a look at the behind the scenes

make up - jo saville
hair - amber rose
model - katy
assistant/fashion editor of lifescape - anna victoria rodgers

perfect work done by all. and the editor is very happy with the shots. yay!

the cutest couple ever!!!

2009-04-10T12:50:00.003+01:00

this morning i did a shoot with my lovely lovely make up artist, Jo and her fiance, Luke.
they're getting married in november and i can't wait to take the photos!!
they're so so in love and its a pleasure to see them together. i'm so happy for them.
its kinda odd because this is only the 2nd time i've ever met luke, but me and jo see each other several times a week so i'm always hearing about luke and feel as though i know him really well!
anyway, these shots are to promote Ooh La La's couple photoshoots. the website is very nearly ready to go up, i'm so excited!
here are a couple of shots from today

anyone interested in a couple photoshoot can e-mail us at joandjo@oohlalabeauty.co.uk
xo

one of those weeks...

2009-04-08T21:23:00.004+01:00

soo i was really excited about this week as i had a fun shoot planned on monday, an amazing shoot planned for tuesday, today my best friend was going to be coming to stay the night.
but things just don't seem to be working the way i want this week.
last week my ankle starting hurting. i haven't done anything to it, that i'm aware of but its gradually gotten worse, to the point that it was really painful to walk on. so i had to postpone my monday shoot. (and because poor jo had a horrible fluey cold!!)
then on tuesday i had a shoot with a great team of girls. everyone put so much thought and effort into it. we had planned on shooting in hyde park as the model is from belgium and her hotel is right next to hyde park. so we did all the hair and make up, got in the first outfit and went to hyde park. we'd been shooting for about 1 minute and a scary looking woman in a suit came up and asked who was in charge of the shoot. soo as the photographer, i guess i'm in charge! scary suit woman told me that you have to have a permit to shoot in hyde park (even if you're not making any money from it) and then asked me if i'd like to pay the permit charge there and then...i asked how much it was and she said she's not sure but its hundreds of pounds...uh oh!! so we all asked if we could just pack up and go now and not have to pay it. luckily she said that was ok. but then we were stuck for a location to shoot in.
it was a bit disappointing, especially as i had a very specific look in mind for the photos and being in central london, theres not much choice in the way of parks or greenery.
but we worked with what we had and still got some good shots.
here are the behind the scenes photos..(we're a very professional team =oP)

and a finished shot

model - Saskia Knaps
make up - Jo Saville
hair - Amber Rose
styling - Louise Ellis

then, today my friend and her boyfriend were coming to stay on their way back from their holiday but they broke down and their phones didn't have any battery so they had to go straight home instead. *sigh*

on a random note, my brother also does photography. he went to snowdonia, wales recently and took some photos. this photo, i think is stunningly beautiful!
i'm going to get him to give me a big print of it. i'm not really one to be excited easily by landscapes and this just blew me away!

http://www.a-briggs.co.uk/

oh and my ankle is now wrapped in one of those elasticy bandages and is feeling much better for it! hopefully i'll be back to normal very soon

i'll stop moaning now. i've got some very exciting things lined up and i'm so lucky that its all working out!
xo

self portraits

2009-04-01T02:35:00.002+01:00

i find that when i get a bit worn out from all the editing i have to do, the one thing that really lets me unwind is doing a self portrait.
i guess its because its just for fun and theres no pressure to please anyone else with it.

if i don't have time to do a proper self portrait, then i'll just muck about in photobooth. <3

wind machine?

2009-03-30T18:13:00.003+01:00

i had a really fun shoot today with sophia ann price.
she wanted to get some new commercial shots for her book and also some lingerie shots.
we had a big laugh all day long, it was such a fun day.
we wanted to get some wind blowing in her hair but as there wasn't anyone else at the shoot to help out and hold the hair dryer as we normally do, we had to improvise and attach it to a light stand! very pro, eh?!

sophia kinda invaded my flat with all her stuff!

heres one of the finished commercial shots

sophia also has recently started doing make up so we did a shoot last week to get her some photos for her portfolio. jo also came along to do some make up. we had 2 great models - elena and daniela

model - daniela
make up - jo saville

model - daniela
make up - sophia ann price

model - elena
make up - jo saville

i've decided to take part in the race for life this year.
last october a close friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer and that really made me realise that cancer does effect everyone. its now a cause very close to my heart so i'm really hoping to raise lots of money for the charity.
my friend, thankfully is doing well, so i want to take part in it to celebrate the fact that it doesn't have to be a death sentence.
so if anyone would like to sponsor me, i'd be extremely grateful!
you can sponsor me by clicking below

xo

happy happy

2009-03-25T17:11:00.003Z

i'm still incredibly busy with editing but i'm starting to get through it at a good pace.
i'm feeling really grateful that i'm getting all this work and that i'm able to do all the exciting things i've got planned. theres soo many people out there supporting me and i'm so lucky to have that!

me and jo did a photo yesterday for our new website for Ooh La La which we are working on. we had a lot of fun taking the photo. it was quite cold outside and the wind kept blowing our hair in our faces so we ended up just giggling all the way through!
we got a lovely shot in the end though. here it is!

and we've put up a little page on the website while we make the rest, just so people know we're here!
oohlalabeauty.co.uk/

my shoot with felice went really well the other day. she was lovely and it was good to meet someone who's doing the same thing as me and see how she works.
heres a shot she took of me which i edited

for mother's day i couldn't see my mum so i sent her some flowers. she sent me a photo of her holding them! don't they look lovely!

i went to cardiff this weekend to visit my friend jenny (who i've known since i was 3!) which was really nice. its good for me to get away and really leave my work behind. i don't really have many days off. even if i'm not shooting and don't have much editing i'm always emailing and planning shoots so it was good to take a break. i'm trying to do that a bit more often these days so i don't get really stressed like i have done in the past.

oh and i found a heart shaped crisp

it made me happy... i'm easily pleased.

xo

aaaah!

2009-03-18T10:26:00.002Z

i've been sooo busy over the past couple of weeks, its been crazy!
i've mainly been doing A LOT of editing. i've still got loads to do, but i'm taking a break from it this morning to update you.

at the weekend i had a really nice day with Anna. i went up to her house to take a couple of photos of her husband, Nat, for his website. then we went to lunch, had a look round the shops, watched a documentary about aboriginals, then half of the film, australia, then we all went to dinner at a thai restaurant. i'd never had thai food before and it was yummmmy! it was really nice to have a day to relax and not think about all my work. i definitely need to do it more often!

on sunday i had a shoot with the lovely Rowan. he was on channel 4's shipwrecked a couple of years a ago, so he told us all about that. he's such a nice guy and had loads of energy. up for any ideas me and Jo had!
here's one of the shots -

the weather was gorgeous but it made it hard for Rowan to open his eyes properly!!

on monday morning i had a meeting with my friend, Phil. i know him from back home and he's going to help me and Jo set up a website for ooh la la! we're so excited about this!! its all being designed right now and hopefully will be up soon! i can't wait!
Phil also wanted a shot of himself to go on his website - http://philipjohn.co.uk/

isn't he a happy looking chappy! =oP

then my lovely mummy came to stay with me. yesterday we went shopping, had lunch in john lewis, then went to see phantom of the opera, which was very good!!

tomorrow i'm going to cambridge to meet fellow photographer, Felice Fawn - http://www.felicefawn.com/
we're going to take photos of each other and have a generally fun, photo geeky day! i'm really looking forward to it!

other than that, the juicing is going very well! i'm doing it every morning and eating so much more healthily in general, as well as exercising as much as i can fit into my days. i should be looking and feeling much fitter soon!!
xo

its juicing time!

2009-03-02T15:47:00.002Z

working with lifescape has opened my eyes up to a lot to do with healthy living. i've learnt so much already about beauty products and food.
i just got a juicer so that i can be more healthy and make my own fruit juices.
so today i made my first juice. apple & cucumber. it tasted sooooo good!
the juicer came with a recipe book full of lots of tasty looking jucies so i'll be trying them all out.
i just need to stock up on fruit and veg!

with the juicer i can also make sorbets, pasta and nut butters so i'm excited to have a go at making all those!

i'm so pretty >_<

2009-02-27T21:35:00.002Z

trying out my new face mask that i got from raj and anna at lifescape!
i look like a cave woman...but it feels nice!

a teeny baby!

2009-02-27T17:18:00.003Z

today i had the loveliest shoot!
Jo's fiance's sister recently had a baby girl and they wanted to get some nice photos done of them all together. little Mackenzie is such a gorgeous baby. i looked after her while the make up was being done and she was so sweet, cuddling into me!
i didn't want to give her back!!

heres a little behind the scenes shot of the outdoors photo we did. jo had just finished fixing sian's hair.

and heres the finished photo. i photoshopped some nice hills into the background as the ugly pylons were spoiling it!

heres the original image

lifescape...again!

2009-02-26T11:00:00.007Z

i'm super excited as this week i shot the cover for the next issue of lifescape magazine
i feel so happy that i'll be seeing my work on the cover of a real magazine, in the shops! wooop!
the shot we did was so glamourous. the perfect covergirl look. i can't wait for you all to see!!
"miss eco glam" anna was the model, jo did make up and amber did hair. such an amazing team. the make up was so beautiful - blues mixed with warm apricots and the hair was so luxurious and bouncy. we got the hair dryers out to create some wind blowing action!!
here are some behind the scenes shots...you'll see the finished image when it comes out really soon!

i don't look sane in this photo....

then yesterday me and jo did a shoot with raj, the editor of lifescape.
she wanted some nice photos of herself to send to her husband, who she doesn't get to see very often. its such a lovely idea to get some gorgeous photos taken of yourself to send to a loved one.
we did the shoot at anna's house - such a beautiful home! when we got there, anna made us all freshly juiced apple juice which was delicious! (i'm on a health kick now and have just bought myself a really good juicer)
then raj had her make up done and we shot everything in anna's bedroom. very glamourous! i'm so jealous!
heres some behind the scenes shots..

anna's adorable kitty!

and a couple of finished shots

as a thank you for our work, raj and anna gave us a bag of eco friendly beauty products! theres some great stuff in there, i'm so excited to try it all out!

last night me and amber went to dinner in leicester square and then went for a walk around soho. soho is my favourite part of london as theres so much energy there. so many different people and theres always something going on. i bumped into a friend who i used to work with at anna lou of london which was nice! i love seeing people i haven't seen for a while. its always good to catch up.

so life is generally really good right now. i feel like i'm getting everything together. me and jo have got some plans for projects we want to do and we feel like theres big things around the corner for us (if we work hard!!)

xo

lifescape

2009-02-12T15:44:00.003Z

this week i did a shoot for Lifescape magazine - http://www.lifescapemag.com/
we were doing simple shots of anna wearing various eco friendly clothes and then we did creative beauty shots of nhuc.
jo saville did make up and amber rose did hair.
it went soooo well and we're all really happy with the results! lifescape are happy too which is the most important thing. the shots are going in the next issue, which comes out in march. i'll let you know when its on sale and where you can get it!!! i'm soo excited!
i wish i could post the finished shots but i have to wait til the magazines out
so for now, i'll put up some behind the scenes shots!

we're already planning shoots for the next issue! i'm soo excited!!!
xo

let it snow!

2009-02-02T21:27:00.003Z

yay for lots of snow!!
i can't remember the last time it snowed here. definitely can't remember the last time i went out in it and had fun!

me and matt had fun making snow angels and a snowman! we called him bernard.

i love how snow kind of makes the world stop. makes all your stress go away. everyones just outside having fun or inside snuggled up warm!

busy busy busy!

2009-01-31T15:27:00.003Z

i've had the busiest week ever!!
i've been doing sooo many shoots and have so many photos to edit, its insane!
at the beginning of the week i did 3 makeover shoots for TMP models, with Jo Saville doing make up. then in the evening of the same day i did a shoot for 2 music artists, Ash King and Aggi Dukes. they're lovely guys, great fun to work with and very talented!! i think they're ones to watch! they were saying they want to get the shots in indian vogue or some other magazines which is really exciting!! i'll post some pics up when they're ready

i've also been doing a couple of model portfolios and some portrait shoots.

last thursday i shot my first wedding! i was quite nervous before they got there but once i was there and started shooting them getting ready i found it really enjoyable and felt really happy to be part of their special day. it was lovely watching the ceremony and hearing the speeches. and it was a great experience for me to learn how to go about photographing a wedding and i'll be much more confident at the next one i do.
there was another photographer there who gave me some tips. he was a real help and became my friend for the day!

yesterday i did a shoot with Skye and Jo, with beeaaauuutiful jewellery made by the designer, Finch - website

heres a couple of behind the scenes shots -

and a finished shot

you can see more finished shots here

i'm moving in with skye and amber (and skye's friend) very soon which i'm really excited about! we're looking for places to live at the moment. i can't wait to live together so we can do shoots whenever we feel like it!

i've got another busy week ahead of me so i'll post more photos soon!!!
xo

Oh Paris! Je t'aime!

2009-01-20T23:35:00.003Z

i had the most amazing time in Paris!!!!
i got home a couple of hours ago. i'm exhausted but i really want to write this now while i'm still so excited about it and its all fresh!

so me and amber got the eurostar from st pancras to gare du nord. it felt like quite a quick journey.
when we got there we went down to get a travel ticket for the metro for the 2 days we were there. it was a bit scary talking to our first french person but she knew what we wanted so that was easy!
then we went down on the metro and went to our hotel. i found it pretty easy to navigate round the metro as its just like the tube in london.
our hotel was in montmatre.
this was the view out our window - pretty parisian buildings

and this was the view from the top of the road where our hotel was. sooo beautiful!

the first thing we went to see was the arc de triomphe
it was raining so we looked a bit like drowned rats and it was going in our eyes!

not the best photos...but it was beautiful, even in the rain.

next we went to the eiffel tower, stopping off to get some chocolate crepes on the way! yummm
we were soo excited to see it! it was amazing! i loved seeing all the details, standing underneath it, theres swirly bits.

we didn't actually go up (we were scared and didn't really have enough time) but i definitely want to go up next time i go.
this time, i was happy just seeing it from the ground. it gives me something to really look forward to next time!

next we walked down towards the louvre. by the time we got there it was quite dark. it looked beautiful with the lights.

we took a couple of photos and then went back to our hotel. we did plan on going out for a meal to celebrate my birthday but in the end, we were so exhausted from all the walking round that we just snuggled up in bed, ate our sandwiches we'd brought with us and watched the bbc channel on the tv! we went to sleep quite early and got a good nights sleep.

this morning, we got up and checked out of our hotel and went to find some breakfast! i had a pain au chocolat and amber had another chocolate crepe (this one was a lot bigger and fuller than the first one we had!!)...

then we saw the moulin rouge! i love the big windmill!!

next we went to notre dame cathedral. its such a stunning building!

we went inside and both lit a candle, wrote a prayer for our loved ones to put in the prayer box.
i'm not religious AT ALL, but i felt really overwhelmed when i was in there. i think it was the atmosphere of being around so many people, all praying for people to be healthy, safe and happy. i got really emotional and i even prayed for a close friend of mine who has been very ill recently. praying is very unlike me! i don't think i've prayed since i was really little when i didn't really understand what it meant. i wasn't expecting to feel like that at all. i feel like it was such a wonderful experience.

then we went back to the louvre to take some more photos in the daylight.

we wanted to go in but its closed on tuesdays =( it seemed like they were cleaning it...
we also made a little video!

next, we went to the champs-elysee to look at the shops! we went in louis vuitton (what a beautiful building!) and saw soo many things we dream of buying!

a photo of a metro station

then we went to find chanel!! chanel is both mine and amber's favourite designer. we were walking up the road to the flagship store, which is also the building where it is all designed, and we saw karl lagerfeld get out of a car and walk in!!!! we couldn't believe it! we jumped around in excitement and shock!! for anyone who might not know who he is (like my parents =oP) he is the head designer of chanel now.
he's such a surreal person to look at...i think he looks like some kind of super villain... unfortunately it all happened so fast we couldn't get a photo of him.
so we went in chanel and had a look around at all the beautiful fashion. then took some photos outside.

then we went back to the station to get our train home!
very sleepy on the train...

so thats it!
i had a wonderful time and can't wait to go again! =D
hope you like all the photos!!

xo

ps. i didn't take my proper camera, just a snapshot so none of the photos are meant to be super perfect but i like them anyway! i'll take my slr next time =)

21

2009-01-16T20:11:00.003Z

on monday 12th it was my 21st birthday!
weee
i had a lovely night with a couple of girlies last saturday...

jo got me the most amazing present - a copy of Vogue from the year and month i was born! how awesome!

and then i went to manchester so i could celebrate my birthday there. we went out for a few drinks and some food. i had lots of fun!

and i got a geeky bunny from the lovely Matt! awww. meet MoMo!

i'm home with my parents now, i go back to london tomorrow morning, shoot on sunday then on monday i have my real present/celebration....PARIS!!!! i'm going with amber for one night and it will be amazing! i'm so excited!!! i'll take lots of photos, thats for sure so there'll be a big long post on here next week telling you all about it

eeeep!
xo

what a good day!

2009-01-09T20:59:00.002Z

today i had a shoot with Stacey, a new model. Jo came and did some wonderful make up and i'm really happy with everything we did today.

i'm in a very good mood now as the shoot went so well and i'm spending my night editing photos, dancing in my computer chair to random music and eating marmite on toast. yummmm

(excuse the terrible photo of me...)

last night i went to dinner with my friend at the rainforest cafe restaurant. its like a jungle, with trees, mechanical elephants and gorillas. awesome! i had rasta pasta which was very yummy. i didn't know we were going to such a crazy place for dinner so didn't take my camera. so i'll just have to go again another time.
we were waiting for our food to come and we spotted Bill Oddie, the wildlife guy. we all thought it was hilarious that he was eating there. it still makes me giggle now. hehe

xo

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T01:19:00.003Z

I hope everyone has had a lovely christmas and new year.
mine was really relaxed - perfect!
2008 was mostly really amazing for me. i met soo many new people and made wonderful friends. there have also been some really hard times towards the end of the year so i'm happy to say goodbye to 2008. bring on the new year and exciting, happy times!

i just thought i'd share a couple of random photos...

a behind the scenes shot from my first ever shoot in london in october 2007

what a difference (a little over) a year makes!

christmas presents...>_<

going for a walk in Somerset with my family

my cute bunny, Buttons!!

soo i'm looking forward to getting back to london and doing some great work with new people!
i think 2009 will be a good year =)
x

Meeting Marvin

2008-12-16T23:00:00.002Z

Yesterday I had a shoot with Sonia Yasmin Ali and Jo doing make up.
Sonia brought along her little puppy, Marvin to pose for a couple of shots! He's the sweetest little puppy ever!! He was very well behaved and posed very well! I didn't want him to leave at the end of the day =(

we also did a beauty shot and a fashion shot

marvin didn't want to be left out of the shot!

in the evening yesterday I went to the German christmas market in Hyde park. there was a lovely festive atmosphere there. I wanted to take some photos to post on here but, me being a complete melon, I forgot to put my memory card in my camera! so I might go back after christmas before it goes away to take some shots.

today I did a new self portrait for my website
hope you like it!

I've got another shoot with Analiese tomorrow so there will be more photos tomorrow!!
xo

updates

2008-12-15T23:29:00.002Z

oooookidokey.
so last week I did a fun shoot with Analiese Ava Rodgers, with Jo Saville doing make up. She's such a lovely girly. I'm doing another shoot with her this week.
I needed to get some example shots for my wedding photography which I'm trying to get up and running. So Analiese brought her wedding dress with her and we did some beautiful simple bridal shots. I'm going to be doing some more examples over Christmas with a couple of friends of mine so I'll get some coupley shots then.
here is Jo doing the make up

heres a photo of me shooting Analiese (thanks Jo!)

and here are a couple of the finished shots

see more info on my wedding photography here

we also did a couple of different fashion shots

then this weekend I went to the new westfield shopping centre in shepherds bush with my friend, James. Then we came back to mine and made cupcakes and mulled wine. yummmm!

(the cupcakes went a bit wrong and caved in a bit but they still tasted gooood!!)

I had a shoot today with Sonia and Jo which I'll do another post about tomorrow when I've got some photos to show you!
xo

ooh la la christmas special offer!!

2008-12-08T19:40:00.001Z

new hair!!!

2008-12-06T23:34:00.001Z

yipeee

oh christmas tree....

2008-12-02T18:49:00.003Z

its december!
woop!
i had a lovely weekend putting up my christmas tree and watching christmassy movies.

i can't wait for christmas this year. i'm looking forward to seeing all my friends at home and spending time with family, taking lots of photos!

i made a christmas garland for elsie's craft class today.

i love making all these things! they're all such cute projects! theres loads that i haven't done yet because i haven't got the supplies but as soon as i get the things i need to make them, i'll be crafting away like mad!
i'm going to be making a couple of christmas presents tonight. so much fun!

amber was staying with me for a few days at the beginning of the week. she bought me a christmas present but didn't get a chance to wrap it up before she left so she said i could just have it now. she got me these adorable snuggly socks and some very comfy trousers. perfect for cosying up by the christmas tree to watch a movie!

we also had a bit of a creative night. she wanted to try out some hair styling ideas she had so she did this on me and she also took the photos! i retouched these for her =)

works been a bit quiet lately, been doing a lot of retouching.. but i've got a shoot next week when i'll be doing some wedding style shots and some other fun ideas!

xo

fun times in Bath

2008-11-25T19:34:00.003Z

this weekend i went to Bath to visit the lovelylovely Amber! i had such a good time. we had a really relaxing weekend. the weather was really bad so we stayed in a lot, snuggled up, watching tv and talking, looking through magazines, getting inspired for shoots!!
we went out for drinks saturday, stayed in sunday, then had a bit of a walk around on monday. i took some photos and amber had a go at taking some photos too!!
heres a photo of the abbey. it was really dark and dreary but i quite like this photo =)
i don't often take photos of anything other than people so it was nice to have a different subject for a change.

heres one of amber at the train station

and one she took of me at the train station!

hot chocolate to warm us up!!!

i've finally got my website up and running again!!
i should have some new work up there soon so keep an eye out

my website

xo

interview

2008-11-14T16:11:00.002Z

this week i was interviewed by a fellow photographer on deviantArt. i was honoured that she asked me and have gained a few fans over on there from it, so thank you Tania!

my interview

i've also been hard at work editing and have nearly finished editing my photos from my shoot for Baruch.
here's a little collage for you to see!

one corner of my living room has become a bit of a creative warzone this week as i've been doing various projects for elsie's craft class.
a made a couple of things yesterday but i don't want to post photos on here yet as one of the things is for my friend's birthday present and i don't want her to see before i give it to her!
i'm going up to liverpool tomorrow for her birthday party so i'll post some photos when i get back!

one of the projects in elsie's class is all about self portraits. one of the challenges was to take loads of different self portraits on photobooth and then make a collage of your favourite ones. i enjoyed this because i'm not used to taking lots of silly photos like this for a real challenge. it was fun! here's my collage =)

xo

crafting!

2008-11-10T20:23:00.002Z

today is the first day of elsie's online craft class, which i'm taking part in.
so exciting!

today we're making journals with customised front covers.
here's mine!

elsie is encouraging us to write in it each night and to write something personal. its not a diary so it won't be documenting my days but i can write little notes and emotions in there for me to look back on. a way of expressing how i feel and what i experience. i'll be putting photos in there too as photography is such a huge part of my life, i couldn't not include it. i'll share a couple of pages with you in a few days.

i'm soo excited about this class. i'm having so much fun already.

i also did a little self portrait this afternoon for fun.

i've been listening to music by Ingrid Michaelson today. she has the most beautiful voice and such individual lyrics. have a listen to her music on her myspace

xo

yesterday was the best!

2008-11-06T18:07:00.002Z

yesterday i had a really fun shoot with Skye and Jo
we did a few different beauty looks. they all looked stunning on Skye. Unfortunately one of them was lost as my computer did something to the files and now i can't open them.. they were definitely all on my computer and i could open them before i deleted them on my memory card. oh well.. we'll just have to do it again sometime soon!
take a look at some behind the scenes shots...

i know i picked the right job if i can do it sitting down and wearing slippers =oP

and some finished shots!

after the shoot, i couldn't resist jumping in front of the camera and taking a few silly shots!

now i'm super busy with editing and i've got a shoot on saturday so i want to get as much done as possible before then...
xo

halloween & a birthday

2008-11-03T17:12:00.002Z

i had a nice quiet halloween. we stayed in, carved out my pumpkin, watched Dead Set and then watched Stardust. and of course we got into costume first! it was really nice. i was planning on going to a party but its been a tough month and we weren't really in the mood to party...
take a look at our halloween night in

then on saturday my mum, dad, brother and his girlfriend came down for my dad's birthday.

i cooked a yummy meal and then we went out to see We Will Rock You, which was awesome. every time i go to see a musical, i really want to be in it. *sigh*

i've got a shoot this wednesday which i'm really excited about. i think we'll be making some really gorgeous photos! yay!!
x

jazz anyone?

2008-10-30T12:34:00.002Z

on monday night i went to the famous jazz club, Ronnie Scotts. unfortunately i didnt get to go in and listen to any live musicians (didn't want to spend £20 on something i wasn't sure i'd enjoy!) but we did go and sit in the bar upstairs for a couple of drinks. the bar is gooooorgeous!!! the atmosphere is so calm and the decor is beautiful. the bar staff were also really friendly. i think they have live music in the bar on other nights, just not monday. so we picked the wrong day to go! but we loved it so much, we decided that we're going to go again next weekend for a proper night out.
i've also decided that i'm going to have my 21st birthday party there. i want to have a theme of 1920s cocktail... so everyone will look super sophisticated and it will be perfect for a jazz bar.

then i had a shoot on tuesday with the lovely felicity. jo did the make up, as usual and i also had a girl observing me and helping me out for the day.
she took a lot of behind the scenes shots so when she e-mails them to me, i'll put them up on here for all to see!
heres a finished shot

this week i signed up to an online craft class - elsie's online class
i'm so excited to get started on it in a week or so. i'm really looking forward to making some nice personal christmas presents and just generally being creative.
i'll post some photos of some of the things i make on here for you to see!

oh and i got my pumpkin this morning. look how diddy it is!! how sweet. i'm gonna carve it out tomorrow and make a really goofy halloween pumpkin. yay!

feeling good

2008-10-26T09:40:00.001Z

i'm amazed! i've been on my new healthy eating plan (actually eating lots of fruit and veg!!) for just a few days now and i've noticed such a big difference already.
i feel so much more energetic and stronger. i've been doing yoga every day which is something i used to do and it really works for me. i can feel my body getting stronger and fitter every time i practise it. i'm really loving this new lifestyle!
i can't wait to feel the benefits in a month or so when its really had time to take effect.

this weekend i also spent a lot of time organsing and tidying my flat. i really feel like i'm starting to make a good home for myself. i couldn't resist going to ikea (my FAVOURITE shop!!) to get a few new things.
i bought a lovely new snuggly rug for my living room, a cake tray, and some other bits n bobs.
heres my living room after my big sort out

tomorrow i'm going to Ronnie Scotts to catch up with a friend from Anna Lou. we've been wanting to go there for a few months now so it should be really nice to go and have a relaxing night. i'm really looking forward to seeing what its like and hopefuly hear some beautiful jazz!

x x x