Sunshine and Smiles

During the winter months I will always hope for better weather, a bit of warmth from the sun or a less harsh wind. Then when the summer comes I hope for a cool breeze or a sudden downpour. I'm never really happy :D

The pros to nice weather -
People seem genuinely more happy and friendly, last week on an outing to the beach I think we spoke to about 5 different people/groups of people. I could visit the beach all winter and not come across that many friendly people on one outing.

My skin is warm, its amazing to actually feel warm on a shoot.

The water is warmer, This is probably the best thing about summer - warm*er water. It means I can actually stand in it without fearing for my wellbeing. Nothing worse than standing in a stream  with water which has just come down from the snowy mountains above. Not cool - freezing.

The days last so much longer, a sunrise shoot is early enough for you to be "brave" with the locations.

The cons -

Harsh sunlight during the day - less interesting clouds and colours in the sky (apart from in the evening because i have seen some gorgeous sunsets this past few weeks).

Additional things to carry - bottles or water and sun lotion.

Sunlotion - Its something I NEED. I couldn't go out without it on and in my bag, my skin burns so easily. Plus I was reading an interesting skincare book and now know the damage that the sun does to us all, even in the winter. It kind of made me want to find a cave to live in so I could forever be youthful. Sunlotion leaves my skin a little tacky so if I lean against a wall or lay on a bit of grass then its all stuck to me pretty quickly. So I wipe it off and have to re-apply the lotion.

Bugs and bees - I really hate bees and things buzzing around, its so distracting. Feeling them land on your leg but trying to stay composed to get the picture is like mental tortue. The minute I have heard the click I jump up and down like a big baby. I was bit almost 2 weeks ago on my back and I can still see there the bugger got me.

The warmth - walking miles upon miles is something i'm used to, and I quite like walking around trying to find the next location. It means we get something different/special but also it gives me a good opportunity to get to know the people I'm working with and I can find out about their lives which is always interesting to me.

I could probably add to this because I've no doubt forgotten loads since starting this thread.

All the images in this blog are from a shoot I had earlier in the week with my buddy John Mcnairn.

Cx

Congratulations!

Well only a day after our Rachaels wedding my other buddy Sarah aka Valentina Velvet welcomed her little bundle (Jaxon) into the world. All the best to them both, can't wait to go down and see the little man and get a cuddle :D

Here are some shots by John Mcnairn from a shoot we had earlier this month, only just realised I hadn't posted them up on here yet... Silly me!

Rory and I had booked into a pretty hotel over the weekend for Rachaels wedding. We literally only had about a 10 minute shoot but its "easier" when you are in the right location. I had just got out the shower, no makeup on. We did another set which was nude with my reflection in the mirror which were my favourites but there was about 5 I really liked so I'm going to wait until the others are edited and post them in a blog of their own!.

Now its defiantly bed time!

Shoot with Lauren

I know most people who follow my blog will know me well enough to know that I occasionally take photos.. Or if you didn't then you will do after reading this blog!

I had been speaking to a local model for quite some time about arranging a shoot.. Despite being quite organised when it comes to modelling I'm the opposite when it comes to doing photography! Anyway the weather gods were kind to us last week and I thought that it would be a great opportunity to get this shoot sorted out.

A few days before the shoot we were discussing where to meet up, and it turned out that Laurens dad was my dads best man back in 1977 at my parents wedding. So our dads were best friends and grew up together. How cool is that?! We met up and I got out my parents wedding album and we had a giggle at how mental our parental figures hair looked, not to forget the crazy flared trousers.

Might sound kind of daft but I get really nervous before shooting a model, Its maybe partially down to confidence. I've been part of literally hundreds of shoots in the past but I find it pretty "easy" to model - not in the sense that its an easy task, just that I know what I'm doing and am confident that I will do what is needed.

I have to say Lauren was awesome to work with in that we got on so well it was just like a day out with a friend, she also took what direction I was able to give and came up with a few cool ideas herself which is always a bonus.

Its very strange/ but nice actually being in control of a picture and being able to focus on the photography. When I do self portraits at home it usually goes something like this -

Do hair and makeup - 30 mins- 1 hour
Clean or tidy up shooting space/ move lights into the right room/ find camera and all the bits I need - 20 minutes.
Decide which outfit (or nudity will work) - 15 minutes of trying on everything I own - whilst making more of a mess.
Set camera and lights up - including the composition I want
Then  I take about a 30-40 practice shots and move the lights about and twiddle with the camera until it produces something I'm happy with - 8 times out of 10 I struggle with this part and end up giving up. I lack the patience I need when working with myself, as a model I occasionally work with "faffers" and I 'm always really glad they are putting the effort in to ensure the shot turns out as well as it possibly can.


Have to say Rory and I had an awesome day at Rachaels wedding on Sunday, the weather was about as beautiful as Rachael! Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Cameron!

xxx

Changes!

 Thought I would post a blog with these pictures before I run out the door to attend the gorgeous Rachael Lyons wedding - for anybody who doesn't remember this stunning model here is a shot of us from when we were away on tour together back in 2011. By Steve Gabbit in Leeds! I hope she has a fantabulous day, the sun is shining which is usually a good thing but I wont be envious with her having to wear such a big dress on a day like today!!

So massive congrats/good luck and all the best vibes in the world <3 p="">
Its amazing how much happens in lives in such a short space of time, the other beautiful model we were away with - Valentina Velvet (as pictured below)...

Currently looks much like this - 

She is having a baby!

So much excitement in these chicks lives right now :-)

Just mad thinking we were all "carefree" girls such a short time ago (I kinda still am hooray). But its amazing how much changes in lives, I still count our tour as one of the funnest things I've done while modelling/ with my life. Going off with 2 almost strangers and spending a week together travelling around was amazing. I will always love them both!

Anyway back to "normal" - here are some nudes by the talented Paul Hirst from a shoot we had recently at a location close to me. The sky was so blue that day :D I love these shots, so thanks to Paul for sending them over to me.

Right now time to make myself pretty.. I know I'm going to be covered in sweat before I even get to the car!!

Woops..

I almost forgot about my blog!

Eeek. Things have been a little hectic recently :-)

So apologies for not updating on here as much as I should. I recently got a polaroid and have been tinkering around with it - Must scan some images in. I have to admit Its kind of cool but overall I think the colours look pretty shit - Anything a polaroid can do a decent digital camera can do so much better (and it doesn't cost £20 to take 8 pictures). I've still got some film left though so will try some more with it. kind of wish I had bought a pretty frock with the £60 we have invested into that little "experiment" :-) though!

I have some other polaroids from a shoot I had a couple of months ago out on location up North - Which I keep forgetting to get scanned.

Anyway - pictures!

Here are some shots by Ross Wilson from our recent shoot, this was actually shot in a pitch black room with Ross using a small torch as a focusing aid. I do like the definition on the body :D

Just got some pictures back from a shoot I had last year - By Laura Tilliman.

Here are a bunch of self portraits.. I was bored one afternoon/evening and decided to do some. I'm quite frustrated with the new wireless trigger though, its really not as good as the old 2 piece system I used before. Maybe its just the batteries needing replaced - who knows!

Finally here is a massive bunch of shots from my "beach day" with Jamie Howden a couple of weeks ago, we had planned on getting me in the water and spending the entire day at the beach but the weather had other plans and we ended up going home just after mid-day and shooting some quick sets in his garage studio instead - I'm quite glad we did because I really like those shots.

I have Sarah/Artemis coming up to Scotland to stay with me at the end of August, we have been booked for a couple of shoots together which I'm REALLY looking forward to. We never got the opportunity to work together last year while she was here so it will be awesome fun!

Anyway thats about it, I'm off out with John again on Friday and have my fingers crossed the Wimbledon finals finish fairly early as I'm off to shoot with Stuart and Si on Sunday evening.

Back to game of thrones for me :D

xx