Paride

I've had such a stressful day today, with all manner of technological mix-ups and running around doing errands, not to mention the horrors of packing a trip's worth of liquids into one tiny 20cm X 20cm plastic bag... This hair gets through a lot of liquid (mostly coconut-derived) and this body needs a fair amount of sun protection... I have sulkily succumbed to the practical solution of simply buying basic shampoo, etc., at the airport, once through security, and decanting my precious cannot-live-withouts into tiny pump bottles, etc (oh this is a boring blog post, sorry..!). Anyway, I also managed to shoe-horn in (pun ahoy!) a rather lovely receipt of some new (VERY colourful) trainers I'd ordered (annoyingly they have only just been released, and therefore happen to be quite expensive, but I felt like the splurge was worth it!), and have also updated my work-out wardrobe with some highly exciting new additions. There is basically little more exciting to me than trainers and dance/work-out clothes, at the moment.

Off to Germany tomorrow for my annual pilgrimage to the sunflowers and Black Forest. Looking forward to making some beautiful images there!

In the meantime, here are some brand new images shot by the Italian-born Paride (shot a couple of days ago, and made magical almost instantly afterward). A very short session (1.5 hours), and I was exhausted after a 20-hour day of filming the day before, but I love these pre-Raphaelie-esque gems, and look forward to working with Paride again soon!

Den Haag

Some fings wot I've done recently:

- Trekked a bit of Snowdonia with a photographer, to find a beautiful lake (and several school trips; patience was a virtue!!!)
- Attended a wedding and spontaneously made a 'music video' with a friend on the way to the portaloos. No, I wasn't drunk (I don't drink as I'm slightly allergic, though I did have one pimms; weddings are an exception!!) The evidence on my camera is highly amusing.
- Spontaneously shooting with an incredibly talented photographer in Woodstock, wearing a wig and accidentally causing damage-by-orange-smoke-bomb (the photographer went back and cleared it up!!)
- Wielding a couple of paintbrushes for a fortnightly community group I volunteer at; we have to be working on our own projects as well as interacting with the guests. My ridiculous 'landscape out-of-focus' was deemed appropriate for the Ashmolean (which is obviously a lie). I am going to do more though; painting is something I've been meaning to do more of for basically my entire life, and it's very relaxing to play with colours.
- Other stuff I can't remember - my life is basically a blur.
- Getting cast in some cool TV/film work (just tiny parts, but fun nevertheless).
- Re-starting my amazing (and brilliantly toning and exhausting) dance classes, which I've not been able to attend since Feb (when I found I had whooping cough, which lasted until my trip to Holland in April, after which I've just been travelling too much for modelling gigs, and which leads me to today's visual update....)...

Three simple studio nudes sent to me by Hans Miller, taken in Den Haag, Netherlands (where I stayed with the very lovely model Zoi).

Oh, and some more sensible updates:

I'm currently in possession of a couple of schedule gaps, due to cancellations, etc:
- CORK - Tue 19th August (and possibly one other date)
- SCOTLAND (Edinburgh/Glasgow/Fife/Dundee, ideally) - Sun 21st September (and possibly one or two nearby dates; flexible for now)
....Happy to hear from anyone interested, by email (ellarosemuse@live.co.uk) or via one of the portfolio sites, e.g. http://www.modelmayhem.com/881729

And finally....

I'm cleaning up my contacts in my bid to be (even more?) machine-like in my organisation... 

I'm often booked several months in advance (touch wood, I'm lucky to be extremely busy), and travel all over the world for modelling work, but in between my modelling-gallavants I sometimes have availability in between, or last minute possibilities, or even the occasional cancellation which leaves a gap to be filled. It would be nice to have an ultra-efficient way to contact those who may be interested in working with me on those days, and to keep the photographers and artists I model for updated on any plans which might be relevant to them. 

If you'd like me to contact me when next in your area, please EMAIL me directly at ellarosemuse@live.co.uk with the following:

- Your name/alias
- Your city/area
- Your website link (if applicable)
- A link/URL to your profile on a portfolio-hosting/networking site (MM/PP, etc.)
- Any other links or info you fancy throwing my way

...I'll then email you directly if I'm travelling anywhere relevant to you and generally endeavour to keep you updated.

Thanks! :-)

Les Coquelicots dans La Pluie

New images made in France, where I stayed at Don and Trisha McCrae's photography school/B&B. Much recommended. I modelled for a couple of days while Don taught/assisted, and on the final day, before I left for the airport, we went on a very determined hunt for some poppies. It rained, but there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity, and Don kindly obliged. Lens Babied for dreamy effect...

I'm off to Wales tomorrow, and after saying at the beginning of the year (to myself) that I would be travelling less and focussing more on other things, in reality I'm modelling as much as ever. It's hard to turn down jobs and great opportunities. I don't think it's in my nature to just do 'one thing' though, as I was discussing with someone the other day, so I'm carrying on with my usual style of aiming in several directions at once (and gathering more plans as I go). I think it's OK if that also involves jetting around and frolicking in front of creative-ly wielded lenses/paintbrushes, though; upcoming plans (beween now and October) include Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Cornwall, Scotland, Vienna and more, alongside ongoing/new projects in my 'local' area of the south/midlands of England.

Unrelated (and you may have seen this on my facebook page recently):

For a possible new project, I'd be interested in hearing any (sensible, non-pervy) questions you have for art (/nude) models that you'd quite like the answer to; anything you've wondered about, however specific or vague, practical or philosophical. Please email any questions to ellarosemuse@live.co.uk (I don't mind if it's anonymous) and I'll respond to acknowledge receipt. Thank you!

Fruit, Fog & Romantic Pleasure...

Until quite recently I'd never posed alongside a male model except for during fully-clothed commercial/wedding work. The idea of doing nudes had vaguely interested me on and off, but I was intrigued by the possibility of doing so without creating a body of work which is overly sexual or, well, porny. Having looked around for inspiration in the world of photography I found surprisingly little that inspired me - there's a lot of modern erotica, some of which is beautifully done, but very little which is more classical, like the kind of thing you'd see in the work of certain painters or sculptors (obviously there is also plenty of explicit erotica in any medium, old or new, but I was looking for something else). I began to see it as a challenge...

I wanted to see if I could create something sensual, loving and intimate without being too erotic; depicting pure love and romantic pleasure, desire and playfulness... all while still keeping a mood of innocence. And yes, the line is so fine in part because it is so vague and perhaps dissolves completely on too much consideration.


Having been in touch for a while with Joel Hicks (who currently stars in the brilliant Harpic ad on TV, amongst many other things), we decided to see if we could find a photographer who might be interested in shooting us together. I asked ManCave, who I'd shot with twice before, if he was interested; and he was, so we made a plan. I waffled looong involved theories (about love versus lust, etc. etc.) at them both, and I couldn't be happier with the results! ManCave planned these classical sets and arranged everything beautifully, and Joel was absolutely perfect in both looks and professionalism. His facebook page is here, and is well worth a 'like' in my humble opinion; he's inspiring both within and without his modelling work, and competent male models are massively under-hired in the freelance world.


Anyway, to the images....

Quick plug: We think we worked quite well together and make quite a good combination, so just in case anyone is interested in booking us as a duo this summer, possibly in a beautiful outdoor location (Joel happens to live on a 13 acre plot in the Midlands, which incorporates a fully-equipped studio as well as the lake, ponds, stables and wood), please let me know. I'll be available to model there alone or along with Joel, for commercial/wedding images, classical or a mix. The opportunities there mean some really amazing images could be made, and as a photographer himself, Joel is also able to mentor any beginners.


Thanks for looking!

I must be a mermaid

'I must be a mermaid. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living'. 
- Anais Nin

I was so glad I'd decided to pack my raqs sharqi costume (which I generally call my 'mermaid' outfit) for my trip to Norway. I can't imagine a better scene in which to show it off than at this rocky coast in moody weather; the colours worked so beautifully. I wrote a bit about Norway on my last blog post so I won't repeat myself here - but here's a little update on some edits I've kindly received!

By Hakon Gronning:

By John Erik Setsaas:

:-)