Ella Rose: the story

Dance in the Studio

2012-02-01T21:21:00.001Z

I had a fun day at a local studio, 'Eye For An Image' in Banbury, recently. The following shots were taken by TarMoo, who was one of the photographers who booked me there during the day. I really enjoyed it and think we got some great dance/movement shots in particular.

Some fashion-y bits from Pierus

2012-01-30T19:58:00.005Z

Hhhm. How many photos are too many for a single blog post? I always post too many (it's definitely true that there is more impact when a viewer sees fewer shots per set), and I might even learn one day to post more selectively, but since this blog is my designated place free of such rules and limits, I shall continue to overflood the area. On the plus side, maybe it shows that I can get a lot done in one relatively short shoot... (And not that I'm just really indecisive.) Yeah, I'll go with that.

Photography by Pierus, from a recent trip to Cambridge. Muchos appreciation to him for kindly sending these!

The last one reminds me somehow of an actor's shot.

And since I'm here... Here are some of the nudes we did as well - nice, simple shapery with lovely fine-detail lighting:

Bug Off*

2012-01-28T16:20:00.001Z

The following photos were taken by the excellent Cam Attree in and around a derelict old cannery. To see two previous posts from our time together, click here and here; this third and final selection is very different again.

* You'll notice an inventory of insect bites remains intact. 'Bug off' relates to the multiple orange bottles of insect repellant spray Cam and Mal Grant (who was shooting Merrique simultaneously) brought with them for us all to use. Most bug-infested location ever. I don't like using aerosols, but this stuff smelled really good - so sweet and fruity, baffling me entirely as to how it would do anything but attract insects. Anyway... I think it helped (and one of the bottles was very helpful for the rest of my trip after my Deet had run out...!)! Furthermore, for Christmas my Mum bought me a moisturiser by Avon which US soldiers apparently use for its little-known anti-insect effects. Feckin' mosquitos.

Natural Women

2012-01-26T12:13:00.001Z

These were shot on film by Steven Billups, mostly in a Mexican swimming pool. Steven's laid back, mellow character explains so well the beautifully gentle, delicate and relaxed atmosphere in his artwork. I've been a big fan of his water studies in particular, for a while now, so it was absolutely wonderful to work with him and be part of his imagery.

We were joined for some of it by Meghan Claire, who has the most natural beauty you'll ever see, and is an interesting and inspiring person to talk to too. We shared a room for the week and thought we would work well together, so suggested to Steven that he shoot us as a duo... luckily he agreed!

...Just looking at these shots makes me feel so relaxed. :-)

Magazine Appearances

2012-01-21T17:10:00.000Z

Thanks go to Mark Davy-Jones for alerting me to appearances of my face in various magazines. Practical Photoshop have been featuring me a lot for the last few issues, with big spreads full of my face over and over again (but, less interestingly for my blog readers, it's often the same pose/mugshot, showing photoshop techniques step-by-step for its avid, digitally-enthusiastic readers!) So I won't bombard this blog with the full number of pages, but just a few (from December and Feb issues).

Swirly:

Being cut away:

I've been busy packing today for my jaunt around Cambridge. The last time I went there it was to be interviewed to study English at the university. I wasn't convinced I wanted to study there, as I wanted to do a more modern, wide-ranging course, and in the end they rejected me anyway - think my question 'what dance classes are there here, do you know?' (directed at a professor of literature) wasn't received brilliantly. Ah well... Nice place, nevertheless!

In other news, my flights to Scotland are now confirmed and I'll be available around Edinburgh, Dundee, Fife and Glasgow between 9th-16th May. Can't wait to visit!

Luxury strikes again

2012-01-17T17:32:00.001Z

It's always nice to know what happens to the images I've helped create. Well done to Keith Cooper for being awarded a merit for this image at the SWPP convention. One of my favourite sets I've ever done, and I'm so proud of the results. Full set can be seen here: Luxury. Two more shoots are in the planning stages, the first depending on being able to find a specific natural setting at the right time of year.

Pottery, Petals and Peachy Sunset

2012-01-16T17:53:00.002Z

More from Mr Cam Attree. (A third blog post will come later, to show some final sets). None of these have been retouched skin-wise, so they come complete with wet sand stuck to limbs and the odd insect bite, but I still love 'em! Fun times! Can I go somewhere hot again soon please..?

In which I bang at the door

2012-01-14T16:59:00.000Z

Although I've been lucky enough to have been featured in photographic displays and art exhibtions, in and on photography and fine art coffee books, in calendars, on websites, billboards and promotional material, on a CD cover, in newspapers, magazines and commercial catalogues, I'd never managed to grace the front cover of a novel...

... Until now!!!

I'm very happy about this as you can probably imagine!

Holly of Jewelled Earth fame has only gone and done it again and come through on her mission to get me on a book cover - a first for her as a photographer too, so we're both very pleased (I could hear Holly's squeals of excitement via email!). Of her submission to an agent last year, two of her images of me were selected for two different novels, and both images were taken during one session in Oxford during which I flitted around, ran across a courtyard as though being chased, lay on the floor dreamily (or as though dead, depending on interpretation, and most amusingly to passersby) and posed tragically against the imposingly huge doors of the city's much-celebrated architecture. The latter was evidently the chosen narrative!

We only have one of the covers available to see at the moment, 'Gospa Od Sedam Brezuljaka' by Jean Plaidy (Croatia), which seems to translate roughly to 'Our Lady of the Seven Hills'. Image below:

The other cover is 'Les larmes des innocentes' by Joachim S Valdez in France, and mainly involves my feet (yes, taken during my enthusiastic efforts at playing dead)..! Will show that one when I see it.

Mosquito nets, Metaphysics and Mississippi Mud Pie

2012-01-11T21:20:00.002Z

Is there anything more delicious in a pot than Mississippi Mud Pie crunch corner yoghurt? (No, is the answer.) I think all my future blog posts should have a foodie theme; it's only right. Anyway, today has been rather indulgent; I spent most of it writing, updating online places, trying on my beautiful new wedding skirt to go with a shiny matching corset for bridal shoots (more to arrive in the post very soon!), taking photographs of my cat and dog as they lounged together (a rare sight; usually the cat tries to kill the dog) on my handmade crochet blanket, flicking through my new Spanish AS/A-level revision guide, looking at my new books on Nothing (a philosophy/science book crucial for a headstart on being able to delve into my new physicist-character's brain) and Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception, reading Ian McEwan's Solar and listening to Shakira's Sale el Sol. Ah, I love it when parcels arrive from amazon; I go through my wishlist periodically and create mini Christmasses for myself all year round... I recommend this habit greatly.

OK, moving on with some imagery...

These next few images are from Mel Brackstone (another Australian, yes!). These were all shot using a lensbaby. I flippin' love them. So soft and dreamy and I had a great time pretending to be up in the clouds ordering thunder, etc. Do check out her work if you don't know it; every time I look I find something new to admire. There's a lot of creativity there, and I particularly love the quirky compositions and narratives, plus some really accomplished and interesting self portraits.

Rich Caramel Chocolate

2012-01-08T23:56:00.000Z

I've just come home from watching El Espinazo del Diablo ('The Devil's Backbone). Not as scary as I thought it would be (actually not scary at all, mostly just very sad; it's set in an orphanage during the Spanish civil war. I felt very sorry for the ghost), but the spanish rustic hues made me feel like posting these, somehow...

No less than 178 files arrived on my computer via the magic of dropbox, from Brisbane-based photographer Cam Attree. As I told him in my email, he is a ridiculously and insanely good photographer. I would happily have used any of the 178 images from our shoot in my portfolio, so you can imagine how difficult it is to choose favourites to post here and elsewhere. I'm simplifying the matter tonight by showing just one of the locations we shot at; these chocolatey hued delights were taken in and around the bar at one of our hotels in the land of tequila and cacti.

Cam has just started a new business venture, 'The Model Experience'. Lucky models! Also, you can (and must) check out more of his incredible work at http://www.nudephotographer.com.au/

Without further ado:

Some similar poses towards the end, but so hard to choose the best ones; I just adore that lighting.

The House of Zebra

2012-01-07T22:08:00.001Z

I love these shots by Aussie photographer Malcolm Grant, taken in the fabulously legendary and historic sugar cane plantation house, dubbed 'Casa Dracula' by the Mexican locals.

More brightly, a yellow wall we found...

And two of my snapshots from this quirkily-decorated old house:

Every house needs a zebra watching over things.

Delicious

2012-01-05T16:10:00.000Z

Mmmm, my friend bought me chai flavoured almonds from the Christmas markets of Vancouver. Heaven!!!

I'm back from walking my two long-haired chihuahuas (well, one is my bro's girlfriend's, on loan and on heat... her male doggy friends can't handle it) and am now looking online for beautiful new updates to my bridal collection for shoots with a wedding theme. (I often model for wedding photography masterclasses as well as for individual photographers wanting to make their wedding portfolio the best it can be). I'm not a mad wedding fantasist, personally, but wow, this stuff is pretty. :) I've been updating my shoot collection a lot recently, especially with a few items that will drastically alter my look and style, for those imaginative shoots full of drama and theatrics. Can't wait to see if I can match these items to suitable shoots!

To balance things out, I gave half (really half; people who know me well will be amazed at this; I am a hoarder) of my long-sleeved tees and jumpers to the NSPCC charity-bag collectors yesterday. I can now open and close my drawers with ease. Turns out I don't need to keep old school jumpers, as much as I enjoyed my education, and the only time I actually wear 'smart office clothes' is for commercial photoshoots and potentially for TV/film extra work. I'm already on my way with the 'have less stuff' resolution!!

In other news, here's a shot by Drew Smith which won the MM picture of the day competition on New Year's Day. It was taken at a wonderful location near where I live in Oxfordshire, which I've used many times with various and creative results. I'd say it's due another visit!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T22:43:00.002Z

Happy New Year everyone! Hope things get better and better and reality is aligned with your bestest dreams (and certainly not the creepy dream I had last night about my poor cat being attacked... a little too much NYE wine, I think...) Hope everyone had fun last night, whether it was a big party for you or a quiet night in. I definitely invented some new dance moves with my friends in their lounge, and have now finally recovered. Felt ill all day (well, it's only once a year, isn't it?). :(

Here are some more shots from Ron Skei - somehow I'd lost the email he'd sent them to me in (ooops!!), and so I'm rediscovering them now. The prop in the first set is a chair/basket thingy. Cool huh?

...I'm off now to watch Adele (who reaches into my brain for her lyrics) on TV.

Models with Ideas

2011-12-30T16:03:00.001Z

Here are some new images from the wonderful person and host Michael Cordiez. I meant to show these ages ago but my 'to be blogged' folder is a little chaotic at the moment!!! Having spoken for a while, it was so nice to meet him in person and shoot together. We shot in various locations and had a great time mixing things up (the house we shot in was amazing. I had to take photos of it for my future-house-inspiration scrap-book). I love the soft subtleties of tones in the grassy ones in particular.

***

New Year's Resolutions: I've got ideas!

You'll be disappointed/relieved to know that my resolutions this year are slightly less numerous and detailed than last years (that was a bumper blog post!).

- Learn Spanish (it was a toss up between this and French, which I already know enough of to chat to locals, but am not yet fluent in. I was surprised at how much Spanish I picked up during 2 months of travels around Central America - often I was in places by myself where no one spoke English. Total immersion is definitely the best way to learn a language; it's so much quicker than an evening class. South America is high up on the 'where will I go next?' list, and I'm often in Spain, so really should have decided to learn Spanish sooner. I'm gonna get hold of an A-level Spanish guide to get the vocab and grammar most efficiently, then somehow win the lottery and go to South America for a few months.... (or just go... I met the most inspiring woman ever in a hostel in San Jose, Costa Rica. The usual questions you always ask hostel guests are What's your name? Where are you from? How long are you travelling for? She answered the last question with 'About 15 years.' She is 46 years old and had left the States two years ago to drive down through Central America with her stuff and two dogs in the car. She stays in one city/region for 4-6 months at a time, making a living by teaching English in local schools as she goes. She has no qualifications, just experience and enthuasiasm. She plans to continue south through South America and then (when her elderly dogs have died - this is how matter of fact and thought-through her plans are) she will fly across to Europe and onwards to Asia and across the globe. I mentioned how much I loved India in a conversation at one point and she said 'Oh, I'll be there in 7 years.' She literally has a 15-year-plan, having been initially inspired by an 86-year old women she met once who'd casually mentioned that she'd been to every single country in the world. She thought how amazing, and actually not impossible, it would be for her to do the same. I asked her if she didn't ever feel lonely or crave a home 'base' or somewhere to settle, and she said that the only reason she would change her plans is if she met someone and fell in love along the way. Coolest woman ever.

- Play the piano on Mondays (this is when I have the house to myself, so can make a racket in confidence. Also, I secretly know that if I play the piano once a week it will become something I crave doing more often, like I used to, and I'll hopefully I'll want to play every day and get as good as I used to be.). The diligent blog readers among you will note that I have FAILED to treat myself to piano lessons in 2011. How rubbish of me. Oh well, I'll try this instead.

- Have less stuff. De-clutter regularly and revel in my lack of stuff. Buy less new stuff. (Become a wonderfully liberated hippie living outside of consumerist chains.)

- Stop flirting with the idea of being vegan and actually give it a go. (I've been vegetarian since I was 8 - yes I have reasons, no my family and friends weren't/aren't vegetarian, yes I was a stubborn child; my reasons are compassionate/environmental/economical/socio-political/aesthetic; see some here - and know that veganism is more consistent with my beliefs. I never buy leather and am already weaned off cow's milk, having filled my fridge last week with soya, rice, oat, vanilla and almond milk to try instead. So far rice and almond (delicious) are winning. Oat milk is weird, FYI. I'm not sure I'll want to stop eating eggs though, or if I'll be a very strict vegan; I think it will be more a case of reducing the amount of dairy I eat, and sourcing it well where I can.

- Finish my second novel. Never again go away for 2.5 months without my laptop. Cajole my writing friends into that official 'writing feedback group' we so fervently imagine ourselves doing and frequently intend to organise.

- Learn more about the technical side of photography. (My new camera arrives soon.) Take photographs of the little moments and things. Take some self portraits.

- Read less non-fiction. 2011 has been a non-fiction reading year, for some reason. It just kinda happened. I love it, but will be getting back heavily into fiction in 2012.

... A few more, but that'll do for here!

***

Finally, the reaction I've had (in various internet places) to the images in my last post got me thinking. I wrote this in a forum earlier today:

'I consider myself a creative model and often work often on the more artistic side of things, across a whole range of genres. I love offering my own input during a shoot, posing myself within a lighting set up and 'expressing' myself with my movement and dance background. People who've worked with me will know that I also frequently offer my thoughts and suggestions during a shoot where a photographer shows me the shots on the back of the camera (I don't have much technical knowledge, but I'm very self-critical/ambitious and always strive to improve things from my side where I see that I can).

However, I'm wondering what people think about how involved a model should be with ideas BEFORE a shoot, during pre-shoot communication. I'm often booked by photographers with no specific plan for the shoot. E.g. 'we'll do art nude' or 'portraits' - vague, broad goals. Please don't get me wrong, I love these kinds of shoots very much, especially where simplicity of an image/portrait/nude is valued over over-complication, and am very grateful for all my bookings of this type, but in light of this shoot (http://ellarosestory.blogspot.com/2011/12/gypsys-jewels.html) being so incredibly well received, I'm wondering if I should offer specific ideas to a photographer more often, offering a list of looks/sets/styling I'd like to do.

I have a ton of ideas I wish people would try with me, that would be fun challenges which I think could be really successful and eye catching. A lot of my ideas are for the studio, which would be perfect for the next two wintery months. As photographers, would you be interested in a model approaching you (yes, for a paid shoot; I do TF very rarely, wonderful as it is - I realise this might pee people off) with a specific idea? Could it be a positive thing that would give that model value in your eyes, knowing you can contact her and ask if she has any specific ideas to contribute that might transform the shoot completely, especially if you shoot her in a way that no other photographer has before? I like the idea of challenging myself more as well as challenging the people I work with. ...Or am I barking up the wrong tree and getting too big for my boots?'

So far, I'm pleased to say, the reaction has been a resounding 'yes, pre-shoot ideas would be very welcome'. Good to know. :)

The Gypsy's Jewels

2011-12-27T19:07:00.001Z

Sometimes, you just need a play around.

I was having a portfolio slump and wanted to try something different, specifically something to show off a more 'gypsy', jewel-coloured, sultry look, and called on my good friend Holly, who, as luck would have it, wanted to practise her photographic talents on a willing subject. This was 100% a mutual collaboration; I'm swathed in silks, flowing skirts, sparkling beads, heavy pendants, heavy bangles, feathers, intricate masks and jingle jangles (I had no time to be selective and brought sackfuls of clothes/accessory joy, while Holly had laid out all her best adornery on her bed, ready for my arrival; seriously, between us we could host a pretty impressive treasure shop!!!). I stood in the piercing prickles of some beautiful sun-lit reed heads. It was blimmin' cold, that day, and I was in a massive rush and definitely clock-watching a little bit, having not fully packed for a backpacking trip I was departing for the next morning. This wasn't the first time I'd modelled for Holly (I think it was the fourth. See Winter Portraits and Gemini). Still, modelling for a photographer who is a. a friend, and b. a phenomenal model who I've also modelled nekkid alongside lots of times is an interesting experience. We both giggled a lot as I experimented with facial expressions. I think Holly did an amazing job with the light and glow. Check out her portfolio on Model Mayhem: Jewelled Earth. Apparently there are a couple more to come at some point, but Holly is by no means quitting her day job and these things take time... I'm very happy with these! Hope you like them.

My trusty Sony Cybershot compact camera broke on the very last day of my recent travels, after 5 years or so of rough and tumble. (How lucky that it didn't break halfway through my trip, I thought!!) I'm currently researching for a new one. As someone who loves and works within the realm of photography, I definitely feel it's time I owned my very own gadgety-goodness. I'm thinking of entering the dark and wonderful world of the interchangeable lens, and am currently leaning 99% towards the Panasonic Lumix G3. Exciting times!

Finally for today... 2012 is going to involve plenty of national and international travel. I am kicking this off with gentle jaunts to BRISTOL on Jan 3rd and CAMBRIDGE circa 18th Jan. To take advantage of this availability, you know what to do... I'll regularly be announcing new trips, so please do keep an eye on this blog/my facebook page/the casting calls on portfolio hosting sites. Or just email me, if you like to keep things simple: ellarosemuse@live.co.uk. (Are you getting excited by all this bold type? Good.) :)

Herding Cats

2011-12-22T12:29:00.004Z

Everything was in place, and still the camera was lowered from the photographer's eye.

Zoe: Stephanie. Ella. What are you two doing?

Me (calling down from the top of the steps): Just kinda, ya know, making shapes together...?

Zoe: No.

Stephanie and I: No?

Zoe: Uh-uh. (Shakes head.)

Stephanie and I: Oh. OK then. Normal posing (less symmetrical; less comical/excitable) is resumed. Results below. (....I loooove these pictures. How cool to get all of us models in the same place at the same time in front of a lens, to commemorate what a fun and productive week we had. Zoe Wiseman, woman extraordinaire, rolling around all over the floor, legs improbably askew as she took these, did such a fantastic job of organising things and I'm so happy to have worked with her. All the ladies in the images below are wonderful people and talented models I was excited to meet, and come from all over the world (I'm the only one from England, representin'!). You might want to click the images to enlarge them!)

*********

An interlude, while I have your attention:

JAN 29TH - Studio day in Banbury!! Photoshoots with me (art/fashion/dance, etc.) will be bookable by the hour, at £55 all inclusive (me and studio). These events are always fun and high-energy. Contact Martyn Davis at Eye for an Image for info; please be quick!

*********

Later on, I worked twice with Zoe one-to-one, wandering around the grounds of our accommodation. The heat was intense, so the photography was punctuated by dips in the pool. Each set was very quick, with a lot of moving around and finding new places as we went along. You can read what Zoe said about things here, over on her internationally-growing website, www.figuremodels.org.

In other news, I have fiiiiiinally got my brand new 2012 diary. This yearly ritual now requires the search for the perfect postcard to cellophane (yes, a verb now) onto the front, in light of the apparent lack of beautiful page-per-day diaries on the market. I found a good 'un, you'll be relieved to know, and will be scheduling in the many national/international trips I've been mulling over and scribbling down so far on loose bits of paper. Cool, huh? Email me for bookings at ellarosemuse@live.co.uk

Tones and shadows

2011-12-18T18:21:00.000Z

These were shot by Robert Farnham, in a swelteringly hot desert location (seriously: there was a meltdown. Half way through, the shoot was postponed and continued later. Robert wasn't the only photographer who had to do this!... Things were just about bearable for me, being unclothed, but I was definitely starting to boil and jumping in the pool was a very necessary occasion... later shoots ended up being specifically designed around watery locations, which resulted in absolute bliss all round.)

I really love his compositions here, and the rich blacks in the staircase. It's also nice to show a bit of 'bodyscape' work, which hasn't been on my blog for a while.

Thanks Robert! :)

Just a little somethin' for the weekend

2011-12-17T14:02:00.000Z

A little, totally spontaneous, unchoreographed motion piece Mark Bigelow shot of me wiggling around and shaking my hips... Limited by time (just two takes here and I asked him to do it just the day before... haha, thanks Mark!!) and limited by space, but it's so much fun to experiment with video and I love it! Hope you like it!

'Shapes and Fantasy' - new 2012 calendar by Rayment Kirby

2011-12-15T20:35:00.000Z

Click on the image below...

(Sepia-toned nude artworks featuring Rebecca Tun, Joceline Brooke-Hamilton, Ivory Flame and I.)

Lynn Creek Canyon

2011-12-08T16:51:00.001Z

Hello!

This is just another quick update, probably the last before I get home to the good old UK on 16th Dec and inflict upon my readers post after post of exciting new photos I have received by email over the last couple of months! I feel so lucky to have worked with some incrediblely talented photographers recently, whose work I have truly admired for a looooong time. I definitely feel like I am achieving things I never thought possible, in terms of modelling - working with people from all corners of the world who I did not (note there is no apostrophe on this Costa Rican keyboard, so everything is sounding a bit convoluted and formal) imagine I would meet let alone get together with as equals and create some cooool stuff. I still feel like I have way more to do though and am looking forward to some shoots I have coming up which will show that I enjoy expanding my range and thrive on new challenges.

Kicking off some updates then, here are some images I received from the brilliant Christopher Ryan. These were taken in Lynn Creek Canyon Park in Vancouver a couple of months ago. Film, as seemed to be the medium of choice in that part of the world. Thank you Chris for a great day and I hope to visit again sometime!

An Update from Guatemala!

2011-11-16T22:46:00.001Z

Well hello lovely blog readers! I've had a few concerned emails asking if I'm still alive, and this is to say that indeed I am! Just thought I'd take a little time in the middle of my global gallavanting to update you all with some recent images, taken by the wonderful, kind hearted and generally excellent Ron Skei a couple of months ago. I currently have a Guatemalan boy sitting directly behind me, watching my every move (or rather, watching my every keyboard stroke). I have no idea why. Apparently I am fascinating. I hope when I upload the following images he isn't scarred for life or, most importantly, doesn't call the authorities... So wish me luck...

(...Just checked, and yep, he's still here. Ha.)

OK, anyway... Here are a few shots we did together. I love them! Hope you approve and that this might tide my readers over until I return to more comfortable computing conditions in December!

I think the first shot is my favourite - I love the abstract body shape, as if I've just been washed up from the water. It was such a nice, relaxed shoot - we initially just thought we might go swimming pre-shoot, then ended up shooting at the beach too. The double exposure shots were also really fun! A perfect introduction to a very successful and enjoyable week of modelling, from which I hope to be able to show more results soon!

I will almost certainly be showing some images from my travels (my colourful snapshots!) once I'm home, on top of the modelling ones. I'm seeing some BEAUTIFUL things and having an amazing time, snorkelling with nurse sharks, seeing sea horses in the wild, liberating baby sea turtles, swimming through caves with Mayan skeletons inside, checking out ancient Mayan and Aztec ruins. If you're a friend of mine on facebook you'll also know that I recently lamented the lack of a photographer when I swam around beneath a hot waterfall a few days ago! I am so lucky. Every day is action packed! I'm also somehow learning spanish, presumably through some kind of gradual osmosis, necessitated by the complete lack of english-speaking people here (fair enough) and helped by a 12-day speed learning course I put on my kindle! I'll be back in the UK in time for Christmas and available for plenty of bookings after that, as well as taking bookings for the European trips I'm arranging too. Just bear with me while I have limited internet access - I might be a little slow at replying to messages at the moment. They say a break from the internet is a good thing though, eh?

Back soon...

A wee Scottish plan!

2011-10-12T15:55:00.001+01:00

Imminent exotic travel aside, I am also very excited about my recent plans to visit Scotland. My trip is already shaping up nicely, with 4 (and a half) provisional bookings already in my diary for my May 9th-16th visit! Here are my thoughts so far on where I'll be heading...

About flippin' time I made it up to Scotland - this will be my first ever visit!

Lost Watch

2011-10-08T23:35:00.005+01:00

Last night I realised I've lost my watch. My twenty-first birthday present from my parents. White gold. It has a mother-of-pearl face and tiny, delicate, shell-like links in the bracelet. I'm pissed off with myself, but mostly, I'm resigned. This is the second time I've lost it in a month after it being faithfully on my wrist every single day for four years.

It fell off only a few weeks ago on the morning I flew to Vancouver. I cried in the bus terminal like a nutcase, with everyone around me wondering what on earth was wrong and gathering to help me search for it as the sun rose at 5.30am. I wished I wasn't going anywhere at all if it meant I would lose my watch. Then, half way across America, I got a text saying it had been pushed through our letterbox in an envelope with a note from our post lady, who I now adore, saying she'd found it on our driveway. I got the clasp tightened, after that, but even so, that didn't stop it disappearing again yesterday.

But it's only ever the most important things that you lose, isn't it? That has to be the way things are. You can't lose something that doesn't matter to you - there would be no point. Losing the people and things you love most are reminders that you can't, if you're wise, depend on anything staying the same; that nothing and no one truly belongs to you. When you have important things, you know for a fact you'll lose them at some point. My default reaction is to decide never to care much for any one thing ever again, to rely on and trust only myself for constancy of any kind. But a life spent thinking like that would be shit, wouldn't it? Isn't the whole point to abandon yourself to life and the things and people you love, despite knowing you will never truly 'own' them, that they might disappear at any given moment, that they are, ultimately, individual and separate entities from you and you can't really ever know truly what they're going to do next? But if you force yourself to get used to these things or people being gone, and learn to live defiant and free from such neediness, what do you do when they decide to come back?

Photo by Rayment Kirby:

Forgive me for being sentimental... Joni Mitchell's 'Cactus Tree' is in my head and I'm ill for the first time in roughly a billion years. (Did I mention I've also lost my voice? Urgh.)

The Trees...

2011-10-03T17:07:00.002+01:00

...They called me to go and model for Dave Aharonian, and what an honour it was! We were very excited to be able to make stuff together for his Rainforest Nudes project (see his incredible website if you happen to feel like being blown away). I just adore his technique and finishes; the pure quality of it needs to be seen in physical prints. We had 40 frames available and about 1.5 hours. Luckily everything just 'clicked'. I hope you like these as much as I do.

Any favourites?!

Also, Dave took these on his iPhone a few mins before we left the house:

...And, just to lower the tone a bit, here are some shots of me on the ferry (also iPhone-snapped - there's just no escaping it, is there?), documenting the perils of long hair in strong winds. In the last one, I was actually being attacked by my own hair. Nice of Dave to help...

Turning the Wheels

2011-10-02T14:37:00.001+01:00

Sometimes, you've just got to cartwheel across the grass. It's an overwhelming urge, especially when you used to do gymnastics (I spent hours and hours doing 'round offs' in the garden. Cartwheeling and hand standing always makes me feel about 8 years old).

These were all taken on the Isle of Wight by Mark Davy-Jones, whose whimsical, sometimes 'twisted', style of post processing is brilliant, and who I'll hopefully be working with again at some point next year. Mark and his lovely wife kindly fed and put me up overnight amongst their gorgeous maine coon cats (sadly I failed to entice one onto my bed at night).

I'm modelling here alongside Miss Kayleigh Lush, who you'll have seen on this blog before. Click to enlarge as always...

Flights of Fancy! (& SCOTLAND & IRELAND tours 2012)

2011-09-29T19:44:00.006+01:00

I feel like I've spent 80% of today on the computer looking at options for various flights for working trips and upcoming backpacking trips. I'm pleased to announce that, having consulted with my diary and the weather fairies, I have set aside

*9th-16th May 2012*

for my first ever trip to Scotland.

On the itinerary will be EDINBURGH for sure, plus a few other places, e.g. DUNDEE, FIFE, KILLIN, GLASGOW... Please get in touch to let me know where you need me to be!

I will also be travelling to INVERNESS and generally gallavanting NORTH WESTWARDS to the HIGHLANDS, which I've heard so much about and can't wait to see.

Looking forward to hearing from you if you're interested in this!

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I'm also planning to visit Ireland, focussing on DUBLIN and the surrounding area. Preliminary dates for this are 19th-23rd May. As above, get in touch if you'd like me to model for you! :)

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I was lucky enough to go to Vancouver, Seattle and San Francisco recently. This was my first ever trip to Canada/USA, so it was really exciting! I stayed with a friend from uni who has emigrated to Vancouver, then we travelled south together for fun and adventures. Here are some holiday snapshots (probably poor quality as I've just experimented with a 'batch re-size' thingamajig) and my camera's just a (now covered in Yosemite Park tree sap) cybershot compact, but I love these!

One of many ridiculously picturesque ferry rides around the BC area (during which an australian thought I had an australian accent. Bizarre).This one was to Sechelt.

The shot below was taken by a man who happened to be heading the same way as me in Vancouver after the ferry, so offered to give me a lift, and ended up touristing me around Stanley Park and Granville Island along the way as he had some time to spare! I like canadians.

A dog I saw and demanded a photo of. Mutual drool.

Back on the ferry again. This time to Vancouver Island.

And back to Vancouver. I can see why my friend landed here and decided to stay!

'Have a balanced day.' Love it. This man was incredible, making people out of rocks, spending hours (or sometimes minutes, as we saw when I took this photo) balancing the tiniest points of rocks on top of others, feeling them in his hands with his eyes closed first to glean their exact point of gravity. Mesmerising.

This ice cream is the biggest ice cream I've ever eaten. This shot documents it AFTER I've eaten about two thirds already. I actually had to throw it away in the end. My friend and I couldn't finish it between us. Mango and Peach dollops. Delicious. (Ice cream delirium accounts for the closed eyes, perhaps?)

Some chocolates given to me by Michael Cordiez. We enjoyed the free-floating flower shaped ones which sat on top of all the others. :)

Museum of Anthropology.

(I can only imagine the philosophical depths the person coming up with the above plaque had to go to in order to surmise this bold fact)

Near the Columbia Sky Tower in Seattle:

The market in Seattle sells the most tongue swizzling array of dried, flavour-infused pasta. Yum!

San Francisco:

I made friends with the cable car driver in exchange for a few snaps of me and my friend:

Ghiradelli square... The most DECADENT hot chocolate was had here:

Motion shot! Quick reflexes needed to grab this one..:

'The Crookedest Street'. For someone who is used to streets as snake-like as these here in the UK, with the GRID SYSTEM being the exotic entity to me, I found it funny that this curvaceous route has become a tourist attraction in itself:

My friend had heard that a world-renowned gospel choir sings at Glide Church in San Francisco every Sunday morning, so we decided to go along to one of their services to listen. It was half sermon, half performance - a heady mix of extreme joy and inclusive, liberal love. The perfect way to start a Sunday morning!! A sneaky, very blurry, happy clappy shot:

Yosemite National Park. A deer!

Could it be more perfect?!?!

A MASSIVE highlight of the trip for me - real live rainbows caught in the mist of these waterfalls. 100% worth the steep hike. Really incredible; I don't think my shots do it justice at all. Everyone should go there.

Some useful bag-carrying Germans we found...

A bona fide good man. This fella, Derrick, found my friend and I hitch hiking after we missed our connection (by being seven minutes EARLY, I kid you not) and drove us an hour and a half in the opposite direction when he'd just gone out for gas. Apparently he'd nearly died that morning (a propane accident) and wanted to re-pay some good karma for living! I wish I'd recorded his hour-long speech about morality and ethics and being the best you can be for those around you. Quite an honour to get a ride from him. 'My mama always said, be nice to women. You never know when you might need 'em!'

Alcatraz Island:

Depressing isn't it? I bought a book written by one of the prisoners above (Darwin Coon) and read it cover to cover during my 4-hour flight delay on the way home. The Alcatraz audio tour, btw, which everyone has to do if they want to visit the place, is brilliant. Definitely recommend it. It's even won awards, apparently.

The recreation yard:

Alcatraz gardens. This was so moving; the prisoners took real joy in helping out on these when they were allowed, being productive and creating something. The gardens still exist; Alcatraz Island is known for its wildlife and birds.

Just your average sign on an American bus:

First ever Ben & Jerrys to the left:

Our street, where a man was shot the day before we arrived:

Coolest bookshop in the world, famous for its support of the more radical/banned authors. I wandered around inside taking millions of photos of their free-thinking ways... then found a VERY cool and inspiring book to read that afternoon...

...Yeah!!!!

...and then revelled in this literary glory by paying a visit to the BRILLIANT Beat Museum:

'Oh God, how my toe itches!' - the Beat gang loved a bit of immediacy in their art:

Fresh Zing

2011-09-24T22:16:00.005+01:00

I'm back in the UK! Woop! Gotta love those long-haul flights, especially when they decide not to bother putting your suitcase on the plane (ahem, delta airlines, NOT impressed!)... The conversation at the baggage reclaim desk went as follows:

Me, in London after a four-hour delay (during which I read an entire memoir of an ex-prisoner at Alcatraz cover to cover; pretty intense!), a re-routing from New York to Minneapolis, terrible vegetarian food, definitely not enough leg room and not really enough water to drink: 'Excuse me, my bag doesn't seem to be here.'

'Help services' man, glancing at my passport: 'Oh yeah, your luggage didn't make it onto the flight.'

(Un-elaborating pause while I stare at him...)

Me: 'Riiiight. What am I expected to do, in that case?' (I am extremely polite, despite my piercing glares)

'Help Services' man: 'Fill in this form. We'll then post your bag to you.' (NO APOLOGY OR EXPLANATION! (Until I, reminding myself of my mother slightly, say 'Will I be getting an apology of any kind?' to which Mr Blasé finally replies 'sorry madam' and 'sometimes that happens. They don't tell us why.') HUMPF!)

Anyway, so far I'm amazingly un-jet-lagged, so am spending a few mins addressing the ever-present and imminently overwhelming backlog of stuff to put on this blog of mine, before I address the rather exciting pile-up of emails I need to reply to. I'm hoping to cram in as many shoots as possible before I go away again in 3.5 weeks. Lots of Canadien/American stories to follow in due course (camera-computer cable pending), some with photographic evidence of the more artistic variety... but first... presenting what I call 'fresh zing', a development of a theme, by Rebecca Parker. So fresh and so clean (with cool lens stuff going on with trees and grass):

And something Rebecca found from a previous shoot:

Two To Tango

2011-09-06T00:00:00.003+01:00

Just thought I'd show off a few shots from a recent shoot with Jeremy Howitt (I think this was our fifth shoot, but I may be wrong) and Kayleigh Lush, before I go away for a while for fun and holidays.

Jeremy wanted to photograph a tango theme. Both Kayleigh and I have varied dance experience, but neither of us had properly done this particular style before; I took one class once! Everyone knows that this is the dance of love though - passion and drama are what it's about! We did this shoot in Brighton, and there were many, many people walking past constantly, who were suitably blasé about us (mostly).

Kayleigh is wonderful to work with; I highly recommend her to photographers looking for a versatile (and tall) art model with fantastic dance skills. For this shoot she was playing the masculine role, and did a great job of being strong and supporting me. (We'd worked together before; I will blog some very cool images from that shoot another time!) We had lots of fun trying to work out the anatomy of the positions as we did them; whose leg should go where, how best to place our arms, tension in the hands, etc... For some of the poses we tried, we worked out that it was best to swing into them or for Kayleigh to catch me as I fell into a position for the shot, so you can see my foot tipping and hair blowing in some, etc. It made the tension and passion more real. Other more investigative/ambitious poses ended up with both of us falling on the floor in a heap of giggles and a knee-in-sternum position which should never be repeated by anyone ever.

Anyway, without further ado, and with thanks to Jeremy again for a fun challenge:

Fertile Lands

2011-09-04T18:09:00.004+01:00

These were taken by Imagesse in Gloucestershire. The lavender field in this first shot was one of many streaming, dazzling, potent beds of rich colour, which were just incredibly beautiful. The bees thought so too; I posed amongst a constant buzz of them, busily going about their pollen parties by my feet.

The rest of the shots here were taken in a corn field we found nearby; the weather had started to crack just as we were finishing our very impromptu session; my fertility dance worked - fat drops of rain fell out of the sky! (Notice the strip of lavender field in the background of the colour shots)

Mmmm... lavender...

So yeah... Check out the lavender cupcakes I made. They were AMAZING, quite frankly (despite the haphazard icing). I felt a bit bad stealing a few sprigs after the shoot, but only took a tiny little bit, honest... And they had plenty. (BAD morality; I strongly disapprove of this type of rationality in general...)

Also, in other domestic news, I might as well shove on here some snaps of a blanket I made over the last few months. Turns out crocheting is addictive, and highly highly highly therapeutic. True to form, I wanted to include most colours that exist and ended up making it a bit more ambitious than a normal person's 'first crochet project' might be (this blanket is bigger than king-size). I have no idea what it's for (it's not really the type of thing I'd put on my bed or in a bedroom in general, more something I'd nonchalantly sling over the back of a chair in one of my many future living rooms, for that hint of country rustic charm, ya know?). Excuse the many photos, but I'm proud! This blanket got me over a break up. It's so relaxing and nice to make something with your own hands, bit by bit. It is the blanket of love. (My cat agrees - see below; any potential for spinsterhood delights him). I've started a second one already, but with far fewer colours, thankfully, and a rather snazzy triangular design. Think I've got the rainbow out of my system for now.

If there's anything else domestic and utterly unrelated to modelling I feel the need to tell you about, I'll be sure to let you know. I did make a victoria sponge earlier with plum jam. FYI.

Feature in PHMag

2011-09-01T09:10:00.004+01:00

I'm featured today in issue 11 of PHmag. 8 pages, featuring a long interview from me about why I love modelling and what I think about it all... plus images of me by Erotic Photographer of the Year Gregory Brown, John Evans and Richard Lund.

It's a special 'model' issue, featuring 10 other art models from all over the world, with interviews and pictures. I'm in some pretty incredible company there, so it's a real honour to have been asked and included. Go and have a look at the beautiful photography (you can read it online)... It's fun to read the thought processes behind what other models think about why they pose for art; interestingly, there are a lot of similarities in what we all say!

http://phmag.ca/index.html

Some snaps from my computer screen (you can click the images to make them bigger and read the interview):

The Gentle Fall

2011-08-31T16:08:00.001+01:00

(Note to American readers: this post is not about autumn!)

Some new work from Collin Lyons, who was fantastic to work with; high energy and buzzing enthusiasm. He even made me halloumi salad for lunch before we started, despite my train getting in late. Collin had this enormous piece of sheer fabric, so we played on my apparent freak-ability to throw fabric wildly in the air then pose serenely within the same split-second while it fell in front of my skin. We did this over and over again, fascinated by the range of shots we were getting on the back of camera; each time the fabric did something completely different, depending how I threw it and how it felt like floating, and at what point Collin caught its fall with the click.

Rabbits

2011-08-30T08:30:00.000+01:00

Paul Bartholomew has sent me a few more shots from our short shoot at the ruins/river/forest location near me in Oxfordshire. He's a great photographer; check out his stuff at the impressive site 1x.com, where the last portrait below has just been published.

I really love the light and bokeh in these, and how natural the portraits are. For the set in the blue skirt, I was imagining being in a fairytale, lost and distressed, or calling on my animal troupe to help me with some quest, so naturally began channelling rabbits and other small woodland creatures through my poses... Good to have a story in your head! :)

2012 Travel Plans,Contacts and Coral Rain Jackets

2011-08-26T14:51:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone. Two new images from Gary Sandy, then an update on my travel/availability...

I have a very limited number of bookings available in August (over the next few days!), September and December. I'd love to hear from anyone who'd like to work with me before the year is out - get in touch ASAP to fill up my diary!

2012

Yes, already - I'm planning ahead and getting my contacts in order!

I hope to be touring a lot of the UK and Ireland in 2012, and travelling internationally. I expect to be venturing afar for modelling trips at least once a month. If you haven't already, please do email me directly at ellarosemuse@live.co.uk (no worries if you have no specific plan in mind at this stage!). I can then send you an email when travelling to your area.

Please email me:

Your location (Lancaster? Cambridge? Kent? ...Dusseldorf? ...Kuala Lumpur? ...North Pole?)
+ a relevant link to your work (whether on a portfolio-hosting site or on your personal website)

+ any information about references (e.g. contact details for models or people in the industry who've worked with you before, or preferably a profile page where I can see some left by models)

+ any other information that would be helpful, such as whether you would be able to help with accommodation (entirely optional, subject to exquisite references and gratefully received!) or even a rough idea of how long you think you might like to shoot for.

... No need for rambling prose or huge levels of detail, unless you're waffly-inclined like me; just a simple contact is all I need. You will then become part of my massive, ultra-organised, world-dominating database of people I can bear in mind to get in touch with when visiting specific areas of this marvellous world, sometimes at the last minute when there is an opening in my schedule.

...Thanks!

2012 plans so far (par exemple):
March/April: Scotland & Ireland
Europe (Germany, Holland, France...).
India, Hong Kong and Japan if I'm lucky.

...Wherever you are, I can probably get there and might be going there anyway! I have a car, a discounted rail card and a passport which likes being stamped.

P.S. Tell your friends!

Running, Rivers and The Sweet Nectar of Divine Divinity

2011-08-23T21:10:00.010+01:00

I've had such a busy, productive day today, getting lots done, but the two things I'm most pleased/excited about are:

1. I went for a run this morning. I've been meaning to go for a run for roughly a million years, but never quite worked out how to go about it. I know, I overthink things. The thoughts flittering around my mind are those such as: where would I run? Is it better to run on tarmac or grass? Will I be able to do it? By what date, exactly (and this is my ambition surfacing), would I be able to qualify for and enter a marathon? Which charity would I choose to run for? And then the more immediate concerns, such as, how do you make the transition between walking and running without looking as though you suddenly think you might be being chased? (Seriously though, I never see people begin to run - they are always already running, as though they came out of the womb doing it and haven't even stopped to consider other methods of getting about.)

And anyway, I know; who cares what you look like? I actually don't, but I am reminded of a comedy sketch I once saw about that moment when you're walking in the street and realise you need to be going in the opposite direction. Do you just immediately turn around with no apparent acknowledgement of your error, the comedian wondered, or do you slap your forehead, shake your head at yourself, rolling your eyes at passersby so that they too might acknowledge and share in your foolhardiness, admitting, by your dramatic display, that it's not the normal thing to just turn swiftly and change direction, and invalidating each and every step you've taken thitherto in the current trajectory as being wrong and misguided and wally-like? (I am very slightly mad and once, when walking to school, started pigeon-walking (you know, where you take tiny steps so that the heel of one foot touches the toes of the foot behind; no, I was rarely on time for school) then, intrigued by my new foot pattern (the alleyway was particularly monotonous), started mimicking my feet with my hands as I walked (a kind of 'air walk', if you will), before realising there was a girl innocently walking in the alley behind me, quietly bemused. I immediately resumed a more conventional walking motion, hands back down, strides at a more practical length (pigeon walking is quite wobbly when you're in a rush), and hoped she might think she'd merely imagined my non-conformist methods of getting to school... Apart from this episode in my life, I am frequently told I have a nice walk (again, 'nice walks' strike me as bizarre, but no more tangents for now), so should/could possibly, in theory, have a nice run. I also won a lot of races at school for sprinting and was always chosen to compete in the county sports day, but I'm showing off now (and it's irrelevant).

Anyway, yep, I went for a run. I ran up and down hills; mostly up, in hindsight; on grass and on tarmac, and on a lot of mud. It was fun! I was terrible (I'm flexible, strong, but lung power has room for improvement), but I'm promised by my younger brother that this is an inevitable and temporary affliction of beginner adult runners. I'm wondering now whether my body will change shape, if I keep this up, and how strange that would be, considering I haven't changed body shape since the age of 15/16. We shall (literally) see, I imagine.

2. The second thing I am unbelievably, perhaps unreasonably excited by, is the fact that I've FINALLY mastered making masala chai like I used to drink in India. Being prone to foul moods whenever I remember and think of the lack of it in my life, this is a massive cause for celebration. Now I know exactly how to do it I can whip up a brew whenever I fancy one. This makes me incredibly happy. (I still need to go to India ASAP though, even just for the Thalis.) ...Pestle & mortar-crushed spices (cloves, cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns, cardamom, dry-roasted ginger), a tablespoon of indian tea, milk and water in a pan boiled up, sugar..... luscious frothy, sweet heaven in a glass.

Oh, and I have some new photos from Drew Smith, taken in Oxfordshire recently. Thanks Drew! :)

Studio Invention

2011-08-20T22:29:00.000+01:00

I love working outside on location, playing off the environment and getting inspiration from new places, but sometimes it's fun to work in a studio, using props, blocks, wind machines, gel lights, flash and all that jazz to make good shapes and cover a lot of ground (more metaphorically so than when out on location).

I really enjoyed a recent shoot with Manuel Odabashian at Adrian Pini Studios in London and have some cool results to show. Thanks must also go to Andy Milne, who helped out on the day.

I'm showing off some core strength in these first few, hanging out in my favourite yoga pose... :)

A portrait and nude study...

...Then I'm zooming around with my veils. I love the moment captured in this last shot!

Maiden

2011-08-17T18:03:00.003+01:00

This is one of my favourite recent images, taken by Birmingham-based photographer Paul Bartholomew.

The location was a ruined hall in Oxfordshire, which sits by a river and small forest, in which this particular shot was taken. (I hope to show more images from the 2-hour shoot later and have already seen a couple more which I like very much.) The headdress I'm wearing here was kindly donated to me by the styling team at Chanticleer Brides, whose 2011 collection 'back to nature' I modelled for last year. I thought it was so sweet they let me keep it, and I've been waiting all this time to make the most of it. Below is also a softer make up look than I usually do; warmer hues and almost no mascara, with an emphasis on porcelain/creamy skin which this shot brings out really well, I think!

Please click on the image to enlarge it...

Just a little interlude from one of the most exciting days of my life...

2011-08-14T17:49:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I went up TWICE in a glider in exchange for performing a dance gig at a gliding competition event. If you've never been gliding before, I would massively recommend it - I was surprised to find out how affordable it is too (we checked the rates for if we ever want to go back!).

The first glider I went in was a very modern, sleek one. Each of us dancers took a turn to ride sitting directly in front of the pilot, strapped in with a parachute on our backs. The 'run up' on the ground is very short - only 5 metres or so, then you're in the air, ascending with such incredible speed and gradient that you're 1200 feet within a few seconds. It's a scary, whooshing feeling, being catapulted up into the sky like that, and amazing to watch from the ground!! When you're up and flying high, the pilot releases the steel winch cord; there's a bit of a 'bang', which the instructor remembered to tell me about it one instant before it happened(!) but from then on it's just pure peace and gliding, searching for thermal pockets. It's so quiet up there, not like in a helicopter where you have to press buttons to be able to communicate with the pilot right next to you. The gliders themselves are tiny, and light enough to catch the air under their wings even when sitting on the ground (hence a picture below of me swizzling one around by the wing, lining it up for the winch).

We were only supposed to get one flight each, but the members of the Shenington Gliding Club were so generous (and we were all so enamoured by this 60-year-old red glider), we were offered another flight in that one! No parachute this time!! It was an open cockpit, which made all the whooshing on the ascent even more fun, and for me (claustraphobe) even more enjoyable, having nothing clamped close around your head. It's such a beautiful glider - definitely my favourite. Once up in the air, I was allowed to take control and managed to steer us about a bit and dip and rise. So cool. I also really liked the fact that you sit side-by-side with the instructor in this one; easier for him to point and tell you stuff!

(Yes, I have alphabet leggings.)

After all the hanging out a thousand or two feet up in the air, my bellydance troupe performed two successful sets for the club members. Here are some snaps from 'back stage' (a little caravan we were provided with as a dressing room):

(Mmmm, baklava...)

After this rather wonderful day and evening, I was then dropped off back in Oxford and managed to meet up with some friends for cocktails. I highly recommend pear & cardomom. :)

Red & White

2011-08-13T11:12:00.001+01:00

Some gentle, romantic/bridal lingerie for a Saturday morning. These were taken by John Colson, who is lovely and who I'll be working with again very soon. We had fun creating these - I love the dreamy style and the vibrant reds.

Gotta run... Off to ride in a glider!!! Eeek!! (I'm performing a dance gig at a national gliding competition this evening and we get a quick flight each as part of the payment!!). Will try to take lots of photos. Hopefully I'll live to tell the tale so I can go out partying later this evening... A fun day ahead!! :) :) :)

The Windowsill

2011-08-08T13:33:00.001+01:00

Windows can be so interesting in photographs - the shape, symbolism and aesthetic as well as the natural light they let in.

David Amphlett recently sent me a couple more from a shoot we had earlier this year. I love these. No post work (except borders); developed from film:

Wings & Rocks in the Land of Pirates!

2011-08-05T12:01:00.003+01:00

Yet another blog entry today, and already a few more ready and waiting in the pipeline... don't say I don't spoil you..! :)

Today's offering comes from a weekend trip to the stunningly beautiful West Cornwall I made at the end of June, working with Perry (of Imagesse photography). I am thrilled with some of these images. When Perry mentioned before the shoot that he would quite like some kind of 'wing' theme, but wasn't sure how possible that would be, I immediately thought of Isis wings, which I've modelled in and danced with before (they're an oriental dance prop), and ordered some of my own in time for the shoot. I chose some large silver translucent ones, which I thought would shimmer in the light and look delicate enough to let it through in certain conditions - I personally prefer them to other colours I've seen and used before, but you can get them in all different shades to suit your skin tone; traditionally you would match them to the colour of your costume. I love the permanent pleat structure on them, too, which can look a bit like the veins on a leaf (or, er, a wing). As a prop they can be difficult to work with in windy conditions, as they literally feel like they will take flight at times, so balancing in delicate poses isn't as easy as it would otherwise be. They also reflect a lot of light (which I think is a good thing). I am so pleased with how these came out and think Perry caught some absolutely jaw-droppingly beautiful scenes, some vivid colours and along with the reflections in the water, it was definitely worth the 5.5 hour train journey each way!

When I got off the train in Penzance, I was immediately greeted by pirates. Someone had joked to me previously 'watch out for the pirates' but, bizarrely enough, there was well and truly an official 'pirate day' celebration, or something going on that weekend. (That's as much as I could get out of the cute little girl who befriended me as soon as I arrived in the hostel with Perry; she even followed me in to the bathroom, showing me her eye patch and pirate dress, which she was concerned wasn't a real pirate dress, but which we agreed looked pretty all the same... so I had to give her a task to do, asking her to take my bottle of water to my bag in the reception area, to distract her so I could pee in private. SO cute!). The entire area of Cornwall seemed hungover from the night before, and there was mess everywhere as though a bomb had dropped, and people gallavanting around in costume. Quite a contrast from the serene, natural scenes Perry and I were shooting at!!

Anyway... With thanks to Perry, here are some of the results from a drive around different parts of West Cornwall, from beaches, to rock formations, to stone circles:

P.S. I nearly forgot to thank my 'support group', without which I would perhaps not have made it down to the beach in those first shots at all!!!!! In order to get down there, we had to climb/scramble down a very steep rock face. This was nothing for Perry, who does mountain climbing in his spare time (but who admitted the route was more precarious than he'd remembered from visiting the area when he was younger), but for me (in my Diesel flip-flops, as brilliant as they are), it was a little panic-inducing. There were some people climbing up and down the narrow bit who took it upon themselves to pass my bag down to Perry then direct my feet into specific places so I could get down. I said to Perry afterwards that I should just have waited a minute or two longer and they probably would have passed me down between them like a sack of helpless spuds... Hahaha. (I am adding the 'Damsel in Distress' tag to this post, I think.) Nothing like a bit of early morning fear to get a good set of photographs. Since then (bearing in mind my backpacking trip later this year), I have purchased some more suitable footwear... All good practise, eh? :)

I have, since this shoot, worked with Perry again in another stunning location (to be blogged soon I'm sure!), and hopefully there'll be a third shoot together sometime in the future!

Practical Photoshop again

2011-08-04T12:51:00.004+01:00

A photographer I worked with recently has kindly informed me that I'm in the current issue of Practical Photoshop. There are a few pages but my favourite feature is the one below, the results of a competition from the previous issue, in which readers were invited to create their own digital artworks using a portrait of me. It's kinda strange to think that so many people I've never met were staring at my face in such detail and working on ideas for what they could do with it, and interesting to read some of the thoughts behind their work. Click to enlarge.

I like the fiery red 'girl with a pearl earring' take on the portrait, and the goth one makes me think it could actually be fun to do a shoot in that style... I am very pale, after all, and quite good at looking haughty, etc... I also like the one with the Burj in the background - although I can't say my own holiday snaps from Dubai came out anything like that!

...

In other news, anyone who enjoys dabbling in a spot of 'iPhoneography' might be interested in a talk award-winner Gordon Fraser is giving soon in London... Flyer (with my face on!) below:

Book & Award

2011-08-03T12:57:00.000+01:00

I'm honoured to be in Rayment Kirby's new fine art and 'fantasy nude' book Shadows and Shapes in the Imagination, which also features three other models, Joceline Brooke-Hamilton, Ivory Flame and Rebecca Tun.

You can buy or preview it here!

I've also just had an email from Keith Cooper, who has won a gold award at the SWPP July monthly competition with this image:

Pink dress

2011-07-29T20:44:00.001+01:00

I've admired Gary Sandy's photography for a while, having seen lots of his beautiful, glowy new work popping up on my facebook newsfeed every now and then, and we'd communicated over the last couple of years about shooting together. Last month we managed to get a date together and do some fashion/commercial/look book-style stuff! I wanted to look 'fresh' and youthful and just a little different from my usual, dreamy, romantic style - we thought we might do some quirky/contemporary make up for some of the shots, but the make up artist scheduled to come along didn't make it in the end, so I had to do it myself and the shoot nearly didn't go ahead at all (the weather was forecast to be terrible, so we were texting each other at around 3am, trying to work out whether to do the shoot or not)! Anyway, because of this last minute confusion, the photoshoot ended up being quite a quick one, but Gary is great to work with, didn't mind me carrying my mug of tea outside with us at his farm (I'm the slowest tea-drinker in the world), and I hope we get to do something together again at some point.

Below are some shots from one of the outfits/sets we did. There will be more, but I'm too keen to show these off already! The dress was kindly provided by Gary.

August is my last full month of modelling in the UK, then I'm off modelling and backpacking around various places on the globe intermittently until mid-December! At the moment, I'm not completely sure what I'll be doing next year and I probably won't know until Christmas time-ish, but if I'm still modelling I hope I get to do more stuff like this!

...And here's another one Gary's just edited... 'The lynx effect':

Hope you like them!

'How I became a madman'

2011-07-27T16:28:00.003+01:00

...and other quotes/poems I've enjoyed recently... (Did I mention my obsession with appearance versus reality? Yes? Good.)

Kahlil Gibran:

'You ask me how I became a madman. It happened thus: One day, long before many gods were born, I woke from a deep sleep and found all my masks were stolen -- the seven masks I have fashioned and worn in seven lives, -- I ran maskless through the crowded streets shouting, "Thieves, thieves, the curséd thieves."

Men and women laughed at me and some ran to their houses in fear of me.

And when I reached the market place, a youth standing on a house-top cried, "He is a madman." I looked up to behold him; the sun kissed my own naked face for the first time. For the first time the sun kissed my own naked face and my soul was inflamed with love for the sun, and I wanted my masks no more. And as if in a trance I cried, "Blessed, blessed are the thieves who stole my masks."

Thus I became a madman.

And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness; the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us.

But let me not be too proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief.'

Oprah Winfrey (yes, this blog post is pretty varied):

'I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become.'

Oscar Wilde:

'Most people are other people; their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.... Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.'

(Photograph by Imagesse; proper blog post with many landscape nudes to follow soon!)

Three more from Ravenshaw

2011-07-25T10:37:00.000+01:00

By Rebecca Parker:

and a headshot by Tim Pile:

Faerie Queen

2011-07-16T18:20:00.002+01:00

My new website is finally online!

Ta da!!!!
www.ellarosemuse.co.uk

It's by no means finished and I already have a LOT of brand new photos to add to it, bits and pieces to edit and sort out and general perfectionism-type tweaking and tampering to do (I also really need to work out how to make the contact form work!), but I decided it was silly to wait until some magical moment when it became 'perfect' before uploading it, as a) people keep asking me where my website is, and b) there will never come such a moment. I also intend to update it fairly regularly, so it will always be a work in progress in a sense.

The beautiful image on my homepage was created by Pat Brennan of www.moonmomma.co.uk. I was absolutely blown away when I saw her interpreation of a photograph of me taken by Keith Cooper. I had waffled to her vaguely about the possibility of something twinkly and unique, having admired her enchanted style for a long time, and she knew exactly what to do. I couldn't be more thrilled and grateful! Go and visit her website if you haven't already!

I have twelve individual, themed galleries on my new website. Please go and check it out!

The following shots, taken by Rebecca Parker (Moonmomma's daughter!) at Ravenshaw, near Birmingam, will go into the 'Faerie' gallery. Becky came along to a shoot I did with Tim Pile and also did the make up for me here (and the headdressing).

(Tangent: I was so inspired by Becky's incredible, enormous make up palettes... again... that I've just gone and ordered my own from ebay. There's a Hong Kong based shop on there which does the most incredible range of professional quality make up at incredibly cheap prices. I am so excited, having just ordered 96 colourful eyeshadows in a range of shimmer/matte textures, 88 nude/brown eyeshadows, 66 lip colours and 28 blushers. Considering how slimline and light the palettes are, with their glossy lids with mirrors inside, this will, believe it or not, probably weigh less than my current more mis-fitting make up collection, and possibly even take up less space.) I absolutely love having my make up done by other people, not because I'm not skilled at it (I'm pretty good at it, having had years of experience doing it on myself), but because it's always interesting to see what choices other people make when considering your face and colouring. I would never think to use peach eyeshadow on myself as I generally suit cooler tones better than warm ones, but Becky made it look incredible.

Tim and Becky are good friends and often shoot together nowadays; I think they make an excellent team. Their complementary approaches mean they can help each other consider fresh ideas without overlapping too much and getting the same images. Becky is interested in portraiture and beauty (amongst other things), focussing on the emotion and expression of the model, while Tim has a wonderful eye for the larger picture, spotting locations with eye-catching potential and using shapes and perspectives to create a scene in which the model can insert herself. They are both great to work with and the location, a peaceful never-ending garden with bridges, lakes, reeds was simply beautiful. Such a relaxing place to be in.

Anyway, I very much hope to be able to show some images from Tim soon, to show what I mean, but, for now (finally, I'm getting to the evidence) here are some from Becky which show me as a bit of a faerie queen. :)

:-)

Ghost & Grapes

2011-07-14T21:24:00.000+01:00

I love images which show movement blur - to be honest I've never been a huge fan of the 'stop motion' school of photography. I much prefer to move around like a mad thing and hope some kind of shutter release makes some kind of cool ghostliness happen. The following (very experimental) images were taken as part of the second shoot I did with Keith Cooper at Cheltenham Film Studios. I think they're really cool - I'm barely even in some of them, so they're nice and 'anonymous'. I love the bright freshness and vibrancy of the colours in the first few, then the muted, soft, pale hues in the second lot. The piece of silk fabric I'd brought along (hand-dyed from Cairo, dontchya know) looks a bit like flames, flying up in sultry licks.

Here we are then:

We also did some Roman/Greek/Latin-esque images against a be-lettered piece of fabric Keith had brought along to use as a background, avec grapes and some of my be-coined dance pieces. A productive shoot!

Irreality

2011-07-11T17:17:00.004+01:00

I had a very interesting shoot with photographer Barry Barker recently. We shot in his home studio, its walls covered in photographs and artistry. Barry is inspired by various artists and wanted to create some soft boudoir images, like this one...

...and then some more surreal body shapes using a mirror on the floor and his clever background, painted on the wall and floor of his studio den, to create interesting shapes and perspectives. The colour nudes are taken with a fish eye lens. (Good job I don't mind being distorted; this wide-angle, hemispherical lens makes everything a little 'surreal', with any body part which comes close to the camera look enormous! Hence my hand, feet and knee in the colour shots below...)

It was really fun to move around the mirror, bending and twisting and making weird shapes to be exaggerated by the lens. I really enjoyed it and Barry also took some on film (the monochrome shots below) which I think work really well too.

All I want

2011-07-05T11:56:00.001+01:00

Rebecca Parker has sent me a new image from our shoot last year. :-)

'All I want' by Joni Mitchell:

I am on a lonely road and I am traveling
Traveling, traveling, traveling
Looking for something, what can it be
Oh I hate you some, I hate you some
I love you some
Oh I love you when I forget about me
I want to be strong I want to laugh along
I want to belong to the living
Alive, alive, I want to get up and jive
I want to wreck my stockings in some juke box dive
Do you want - do you want - do you want
To dance with me baby
Do you want to take a chance
On maybe finding some sweet romance with me baby
Well, come on

All I really really want our love to do
Is to bring out the best in me and in you too
All I really really want our love to do
Is to bring out the best in me and in you
I want to talk to you, I want to shampoo you
I want to renew you again and again
Applause, applause - life is our cause
When I think of your kisses
My mind see-saws
Do you see - do you see - do you see
How you hurt me baby
So I hurt you too
Then we both get so blue

I am on a lonely road and I am traveling
Looking for the key to set me free
Oh the jealousy, the greed is the unraveling
It's the unraveling
And it undoes all the joy that could be
I want to have fun, I want to shine like the sun
I want to be the one that you want to see
I want to knit you a sweater
Want to write you a love letter
I want to make you feel better
I want to make you feel free
Hmm, Hmm, Hmm, Hmm,
Want to make you feel free
I want to make you feel free

Joni, the 'universal treasure' is occupying all my head space at the moment. For fans, here's a video of her in 1970, singing 'All I want' as she was still creating it - amazing how different the officially released version is from the video below. It was originally about a specific break up ('All I wanted our love to do' instead of 'All I want our love to do', etc). So moving.

I only really got into Joni Mitchell 2 or 3 years ago when I happened to hear 'Carey' on the radio. I almost had to stop the car to listen - I recognised it immediately as being something I'd heard a local folk singer Fiona Simpson (whose name has also stuck unusually in my head) sing at a country pub in Chalgrove, Oxfordshire, where I used to live, and prayed my head off that the radio DJ would announce the name of the singer at the end - I had no idea it was Joni Mitchell, who I knew of but hadn't really listened to before. I must have been about 5 or 6 when i heard Fiona Simpson sing 'Carey', so it's pretty incredible that I recognised the melody on the radio so clearly from a childhood memory - a testament to the brilliance of the song. 'The wind is in from Africa, last night I couldn't sleep, you know it sure is hard to leave here Carey, but it's really not my home...'. All her lyrics are such vivid stories full of details and life. A wonderful woman who's done so much for music.

A day in the studio...

2011-07-02T20:44:00.000+01:00

... with Carl Grim and Hannah Ashlea. Both are such a pleasure to work with. I know by now (after multiple shoots) what to expect from Carl - massive amounts of energy, ideas and verve. He came with a list of ideas and a bag full of props. Hannah is someone I'm totally comfortable working with and a thoroughly lovely person. Our figures are quite different, which makes for an interesting combination, and I LOVE her current hair colour (as I keep telling her, gushingly). While I'm 'plugging', I do love working at WhiteSpaceStudios in Chesham. It's a great, versatile space and Pete, the studio owner is very friendly and helpful.

Right, here we go:

The rope shots have got to be my favourite - they were so cool to do. Jumping is fun.

Queen Vashti (AKA 'Why wear normal clothes when you can wear Aladdin trousers?')

2011-06-29T20:02:00.003+01:00

The link to this video was sent to me a couple of days ago. It's a recording of a dance performance I took part in a few weeks ago at a theatre in Oxford. My improvised solo is last, but watch it all the way through! Sadly, the quality doesn't allow for some of the more intricate movements (smaller shimmies layered over other movements, etc) to be particularly visible, but you get the general gist of the prancing.

The track is called 'Vashti' and is a bit of a feminist feast - Queen Vashti features in the book of Esther in the Bible and is most noted for her refusal to appear at the King's banquet (other interpretations say she refused to dance for the drunken king's entertainment there), choosing instead to host her own party for the women on the same day. She was subsequently banished, and lost her status as queen (she was succeeded by Esther, who was presumably more obedient).

What are 56 photos between friends?

2011-06-29T10:26:00.001+01:00

Welcome to another bumper crop edition of photographs taken in Spain by John Evans and Gregory Brown! What a brilliant, productive week it was! You can read more about this trip (and see many more photos in many, many different settings here on my blog) here, here, here, here and here. This is the final batch.

Where there's a second model in the shots, it's Hannah Ashlea (I had another fantastic shoot with Hannah and different photographer recently - some exciting stuff to come soon!).

As always, I'll alternate between the two photographers' work below, while trying to create a semblance of coherence and connection between the different sets and across locations...

By John Evans:

By Gregory Brown:

By John Evans:

By Gregory Brown:

By John Evans:

By Gregory Brown:

By John Evans:

By Gregory Brown:

:-) Outtakes to come at some point, I reckon...

P.S. The book Gregory and John made from this trip, 'Andelusianudes' is available for purchase here.

Innocence & Scheming

2011-06-20T17:09:00.001+01:00

I meant to blog these a while ago - two photographs taken by John Rudd at WhiteSpace Studio in Chesham, of Ivory Flame and I together. I love the combination of our expressions in this first shot; that's one of the coolest things about duo work, I think.

I also love the shapes we made in the following shot. We were both being perfectionists after spotting this one on the back of the camera after a bout of 'you do something and I'll do something over/under you'. We wanted to create a sense of flow through our limbs.

Thanks to John for allowing me to show these.

Out-And-About Glamour

2011-06-16T17:45:00.002+01:00

The word 'glamour' has become such a walking-on-eggshells word. My new website, which I promise is on its way (I have had some concerned emails questioning the fact that my website is down, which is hugely flattering - always nice to know it's being looked at) will include a gallery (one of 12) called 'Glamoureuse' - a nod to glamour and also away from it, in the sense that everyone who sees my work will know that I don't do 'page 3'-style stuff - it's just not my thing. I find it boring (I bet the 'page three' brigade would find my style interminably dull, so no hard feelings I'm sure) and I doubt I'd pull it off anyway without a quick fake tan, etc. Anyway, glamour is cool. I like glamour. I like the version of glamour that's in my head. (My head involves glamour which is probably a little bit 70s; soft, pretty, sensual and elegant.)

Par exemple, here are some images I meant to blog a while ago, from the most recent Yerbury Boudoir Academy seminar I modelled for (copyright Faye Yerbury):

By Jean-Marc Gargentiel (a photographer attending the course):

Also, while I'm here, here's some bridal stuff we did the same day:

By Faye Yerbury:

And by Trevor Yerbury:

Lady of the manor (AKA 'Rich bitch')

2011-06-12T22:08:00.000+01:00

Check out my retro 'Ab Fab' hair do, courtesy of Jennifer, photographer Tony Ornstien's wife. These were taken as candids, mid-movement, as I frolicked and strode around the manor gardens in Oxfordshire...

And a headshot indoors:

Front cover - Practical Photoshop

2011-06-12T19:29:00.000+01:00

I'm currently on the front cover of the very first issue of 'Practical Photoshop', a new magazine full of tips and know-how for the more digitally-inclined photographer. It looks like it's a brilliant magazine, so I'm proud to be on/in it. Below is the cover, plus some of the (many) pages I'm shown on. It's out now - go get it (if you want it)!

I think I've been neglecting the more 'commercial' side of my modelling over the last year or so. I have got some absolutely brilliant artistic/figure nude projects coming up between now and the end of the year which I'm really excited about, and I'm proud of my artistic portfolio and how far I've come since I started 2.5 years ago, but I'd like to redress the balance between my 'art' and 'commercial' modelling too. I suppose the best way to do that is to show more images of me in a commercial setting, so people know that I can do it just as comfortably as the artistic stuff. It's fun to give a big grin to the camera and be light and happy for lifestyle shots and to have these two very different prongs to my modelling... spike. :-)

Luxury

2011-06-08T13:36:00.003+01:00

There is something so luxurious about this set I did during my second shoot with Keith Cooper. I love the decadence and contrasts of the red and gold fabrics against my skin.

Click to enlarge a photo...

Sorry there are so many (but hey, I do describe this blog as the place to see more images from sets) - took me ages to limit it down to these favourites. I'd quite like to upload them all to my website (currently being made over completely!) and/or portfolio but have to choose just one... Whaddya reckon?

Some low key stuff we also did:

A Vintage Bridal Series

2011-06-04T19:52:00.002+01:00

My 1970s Victorian-style wedding dress has had quite a few airings over the last few weeks! I often model for BIPP and SWPP's fashion, bridal and portrait workshops, and thought I'd throw this dress into the mix one day rather than wearing one of my modern wedding dresses, just to get a different style for the photographers attending (it's also nice and warm to wear, due to the material and sleeves, which is always a bonus!). For that particular BIPP workshop, the excellent wedding photographer Kevin Wilson was teaching. He was enamoured by the dress and asked me to model in it for a series of G F Smith 'Inspire' events around the country. He also asked me for another model who could do the fashion workshops (led by Mark Lawrence) simultaneously during these days, so I recommended my friend Ivory Flame for the job, knowing she would do it well and repaying some of the jobs she's gotten me by way of recommendation in the past.

I've now worked with Kevin four times, in Aylesbury, Birmingham, Duxford and Maidstone, with the final event in Leeds next week (I'm shooting with Mark for that one though; Holly and I are swapping roles for a final twist!).

Here are some of the images he's taken of me over these events. I made sure to vary my hair very slightly for each event. I think his use of tones and compositions are absolutely beautiful, helped here by some rather stunning locations (Holly and I were surprised on one particular day to find we'd be modelling in front of war-time aircraft. I'm particularly wistful in these; the narrative being that my husband is lost to war. It was easy to get in the mood; the Air Museum in Duxford has a sound system playing sirens and bombs.. a very surreal and eerie place in which to work!). Click to enlarge as always...

Birmingham:

Duxford Air Museum:

Maidstone:

I was also sent a few from some of the photographers attending. By Joe Gilbert:

And by Steve James: