Suvo Mitra

I recently discovered these shots, taken by Suvo Mitra, on his website. I couldn't resist the urge to ask if I could use them here and in my portfolio and am very grateful that I'm allowed to show them off. I love them!

'Swan Song', 'To the Distant Beloved' and 'Winter Journey'

I worked recently with Patrick Allen, photographer and classical recording engineer/producer with Opera Omnia Productions on two CD covers. The two CDs Patrick needed images for are Schubert's Schwanengesang/Beethovern's An die ferne Geliebte and Schubert's Winterreise. The theme was 19th-century romance; unrequited or unnattainable love. I love modelling for historical themes - the emotion, costumes and history of it all. I made sure to think wistful, yearning, formal, damsel-ian, lace-filled thoughts as I pondered upon my fine gentleman lover who may or may not have had a trusty steed.

Below are some shots from the day (some of which involved Patrick standing on his roof while I appeared unattainably through the window...and me standing unattainably on a ladder amongst the blossom of a beautiful cherry tree), followed by four draft mock-ups of potential CD covers which Patrick has very kindly allowed me to show already.

The Sea, The Sea (I ran by it)

And I ran a little bit IN it, which was nice. Being by the sea makes me so inexplicably happy; I deeply envy those who live near it and as if it's just some other landmark or view. The ocean excites me sooo much; partly in a perverse way, since it terrifies me slightly (think of the ghosts down there; the sailors who gulped their last watery breaths alone; the bones; the deep, thundery laps of water rolling over itself and the bus-sized creatures who lurk, glass-eyed, past each other, having changed very little since the dinosaur age; the creaking sounds of ships and debris; the hunting noises and the dull squawks of the gulls over the water.... See, I even love sea gulls). Being at the shore-line is always magical. So you can see why I was quite excited to be working with John Kent down in Bournemouth recently.

We worked primarily on some stock images; running down the beach - lust for life, that kind of thing. My calves hurt a LOT the next day. I'd forgotten how running on sand can take its toll, especially if you don't warm up..!

Then, I spent some time spinning and twirling under an arch, wearing pretty clothes. I do love my job!

The final installment

... Of images from my shoot with photographer Mark Bigelow featuring Ivory Flame. I love these images - it was such a creative, productive shoot! :)

Click here to view some 'backstage' shots of the day. :)

Mark will be exhibiting a variety of work as part of Oxford Artweeks 8th-16th May: find out more.

Allinthemind

Simon Young is one of those photographers I just had to work with. We spent a full day in Gloucestershire at some brilliant locations with some lovely make up (by Simon) and in beautiful evening light. Rob, who I'd worked with previously, acted as assistant extraordinaire, prime reflector holder and distractor of passers-by, and also dedictated grass-gatherer to protect my feet from sinking in the squelchiest mud imaginable.



My Mum's Victorian-style wedding dress, as worn in 1979 and brought to life with a dash of Florence and the Machine (Simon thinks) and Wuthering Heights (I think):



More:

The iPhone and the Cello

When I was contacted by Gordon Fraser for a booking, two things struck me as particularly interesting about his proposal. Firstly, he wanted to take photographs of me using nothing but the camera on his iPhone (no Nikon? No Canon? What a maverick!) and, secondly, he wanted me to pose with a cello that would shortly afterwards be thrown from either a roof or the window of a four-storey building.

We shot, for the iPhone project, in a village hall. Any photographer who has used one of these for a shoot before will know of the distinct challenges they come with (the most basic of which being the almost inevitable lack of a featureless wall to use as a backdrop), but Gordon made excellent use of the surroundings. See how cool the floor looks in the shots below!

Here are a few from the day..... All captured and processed within the iPhone.

Cello:



Movement (some taken while I held a hip shimmy for motion blur only in that area):


Tutu:


And finally, some nudes. I really love the angles and warmth to these as well as the lighting and the slightly mottled effect on the skin in some of them:



Thanks Gordon!

You think it's just a normal day...

... Just hanging out in the studio with Mark Bigelow, standing on one leg, playing with shapes and silhouettes against an azure sky, merrily enjoying the space and the urge to explore the possibilities of oriental fingers...

Little (until afterwards) do you realise a little Ivory Flame-shaped ninja floating into the scene and hovering quietly behind you, ominously gravity-defying and waiting to pounce. This is actually how she entered the studio, you may assume.

(Dear Holly: This is the image I was talking about today.)



Seconds later, I got my own back (kind of):



Fun times!


... And still a LOT more to come from different sets.

This might sound immediately weird to anyone who doesn't know instantly what I'm talking about, but some of these images remind me, for some reason, of little sand pictures of lizards I once bought in Tenerife.