The best kind of photos

Happy memories in their blurred warmth.

Snapshots @ LFW

I also went along to the Canon cinema at Somerset House for a film screening of a short fashion film with a friend from Tarred & Feathered. Directed and written by Aoife McArdle, "Italy, Texas: Wild Souls in the Hot, Blind Earth" tells the story of the inhabitants of a small town called Italy in Texas. To be honest I'm not usually a big fan of fashion films: slomo shots of a girl twirling round and flicking her hair about, but I really enjoyed this one. The bare-foot wild souls living closely with the animals, exploring their youth and freedom in small-town America appealed to my own hippie soul. Plus it was beautifully shot with great cinematography.



View the full video at 55DSL.

Mary Katrantzou at LFW

On the eve of London Fashion Week 2013, I had the opportunity to shoot the Mary Katrantzou showcase from the photographer's pit at Somerset House. In partnership with Vodafone VIP, the show brought together Katrantzou's favourite pieces from her Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter 2012 shows, before her new collection a few days later.
It was a great experience to be able to shoot from the pit at the end of the catwalk as I hadn't done any work like this before. There weren't that many of us so we had space to move about, but I can't imagine what it's like when it's full! Each photographer/company had their little rectangle where they could stand marked out in masking tape (which was about laptop size) with their name written on in preparation for the coming shows.

View more of the S/S and A/W '12 looks that I photographed here.

Mary Katrantzou is known for her prints and there were lots of them!

see more photos

Getting into the Christmas spirit: Making a wreath

On Sunday I decided I would make a wreath to hang on the front door for Christmas. So I went off for a walk through the forest with a carrier bag and some secateurs to collect some things to make it with. Below is how I made it:

Empty your finds onto some newspaper and try and catch some of the many spiders that will run out as you do so. I chose a variety of leaves; conifer, holly, fir/pine, something hanging over the fence from next door that had nice red berries on...

I made the frame from dark green chicken wire (perfect) that my mum managed to find in the shed. Roll it so it's kind of cylindrical, then bend it into a circle and push one end into the other, securing with more wire. I also stuck some thick twigs through so it wouldn't pull apart. Then just start pushing bits of foliage into the frame, starting with the thickest, and adding bits with the berries last. Finally add some pine cones to break up the green and add some extra interest. I used some green garden wire to fix some bits in place.

Finally add a ribbon and hang on your front door! This was the only ribbon I could find; it would be better with some Christmassy red gingham ribbon. It turned out quite big, but luckily we have a big door knob. You can fix it with some wire so it doesn't roll round or drop off. 

Quite proud of my creation!

Anya Hindmarch A/W 12

It's not often that an ad campaign captures my attention or imagination so fully, but when I spotted Anya Hindmarch's ad for her new 'Tiny Tim' bag (which actually has tiny flashing LED lights fitted!), I was instantly drawn to it. On her website, Anya says the collection was inspired by the excitement of Christmas as a child, and I think the photographs convey that so well. The colour palettes, the metallic jewel tones, the carefully selected objects, the retro sweet tins and toys, the attention to detail. I don't know who the photographer/art director was, but I'd love to know! I just love them all.

I can't wait for Christmas.

Old News

I got Tumblr.
Below is some kind of horrendously jumbled together visual representation of what you'll find there: my own photos, some of my nail art, some reblogged fashion things/poems/quotes/other and Michael Fassbender.

Recent Bakes

Some tasty treats I've made recently. 

My brother's 21st birthday cake - carrot cake with honey cream cheese icing which sadly has to miss nuts and raisins to appease family members (recipe from Peyton & Byrne's 'British Baking' book). 

I finally got to do some foraging for blackberries in the forest, but there still weren't many out. I was planning on making a crumble and some other things but only got about 100g. I made some of those American style pancakes with them, but didn't use them all because as I washed and cut them in half, there were too many larvae type things wriggling out. Urgh. I made sure we didn't eat any of those little nasties. I used the basic mix from Lorraine Pascale's recipe.

Banana Bran muffins - recipe from Stylist magazine. Moist banana sponge with slices of banana and a sprinkling of seeds on top.

I'm loving the Great British Bake Off this year. James to win! Everything he makes looks so good.

Benjamin

Last week, on the hottest day of the year, I did a little test with a beautiful boy, Benjamin J (Tomorrow Is Another Day). So lovely to work with and he barely bat an eyelid when I asked if he'd mind having a giant millipede on him! You can see a few more on my website and there'll be more up soon once they are complete...

Thanks to Eva and Nico at TIAD.