Travel Diaries: A 2012 Snapshot Medley

This blog post has been building for a while... Now that it's December I feel justified in reflecting back officially on some of the opportunities I've had to travel around this year! The following are all snapshots taken while out and about... no actual modelling shots, I'm afraid, and most taken only on a phone camera, snatching moments where I could, so quality will (ahem) range...

Feel free to skip this blog post if you don't mind what I get up to in my spare time when travelling around!

First, there was Paris in March, with photographer Jeremy Howitt:

Books in trees - brilliant! (No idea why; if anyone knows, do tell.)

Dusseldorf in April:

 Just running by the Rhine... Too cool.

 Kunstpalast:

The avenue of weird, spindly trees I walked along about twenty thousand times a day to get anywhere. Some beautiful houses across the road, and green park on the left.

Followed by Holland - mostly Amsterdam:

Pretty train murals (a unicorn! And a German girl I hung out with briefly):

Pulling the bicycles out of the canals... this caused quite a stir!

Tulip museum!

A little courtyard a friendly local stopped me to tell me to go and look at. So I did:

Gorgeous cafe stop in De Negen Straatjes:

A mini medley from some of the excellent art galleries I visited in Amsterdam:

My favourite; the bright white and light just pings out of it!:

A hilariously girly hostel I stayed at for some of my time in Amsterdam - only girls are allowed to stay there! So obviously they installed a hello kitty toilet seat and the Sex and the City film was on in the lounge when I arrived to check in.

Classic windmill scene, courtesy of a photographer who de-toured me there en route to a shoot, and to see the AMAZING tulip fields, below:

 Flower market!

The most brilliant museum; Katten Kabinet, celebrating the depiction of cats in art and culture! There was a cat fast asleep on the reception desk, content and adored (largely by me):

(Those tulips I was banging on about...)

Swans on the canal at night!

Wonderful Edinburgh and Fife in May:

I met up with Roswell Ivory, once we discovered we were both in Edinburgh at the same time, and this is her snapshot of us gathering things to try on when shopping! Yes, I bought that disgustingly fluorescent dip-dye handkerchief hemmed sundress, and it is brilliant. Flower garlands galore, too!

Kilts, marching and bagpipes at the castle!

Supposedly a grave that inspired J K Rowling's 'Voldemort' character, Tom Riddle... (Yes, we did the Harry Potter walking tour...)

Complete with wands!

May is pretty impressive blossom-wise, it turned out:

Some interesting remnants of a crazy happening, taken during a woodland shoot in Fife:

Quick stop at Robbie Wraith's exhibition at Messums in London:

Followed by a very quick trip to Ireland:

I took this while out on a jog one morning - pretty!

 Eamonn Farrell's kitchen art... (love it; I hadn't seen this take on the classic slogan before!):

Followed by another trip to Paris with Jeremy Howitt:

The scene of a quite marvellous photo, taken during a long wait for the all clear:

At The Crazy Horse:

Getting back on the Eurostar in Paris. Such a nice station:

South of Germany, Black Forest for a couple of days mid-July with Steven Billups:

Pembrokeshire, Wales with Imagesse at the end of July:

This is a three-legged cat who jumped on my lap over breakfast at the B&B. She was very cute and impressively plucky!

Some of Perry's snapshots (including the otter I shared a posing pool with!):

And finally a trip to California in October:

(A few shots made with instagram, before instagram crashed, killed my phone and deleted all my data...)

Road trippin':

Vegas:

LA:

This was scrawled on a bunk in a hostel I stayed at in Santa Monica. Brilliant. I love that the author suggests I 'google' the country. Aaah, South America, I will get to you one day soon.

Just turning on the fire next to the hot tub, as one does:

Santa Monica Pier:

El Mirage:

Look how much it really is a mirage - looks like water near the horizon, does it not? It kept fooling me!

Road trippin' again:

Lycerne Valley:

Back in Hollywood (erm, these must have gotten a bit out of order):

That cracked earth again:

 View from my hotel room:

3rd Street, Santa Monica, home of dinosaur hedges, impressive street performers, and excellent spaghetti primavera:

Joshua Tree National Park:

Back at that hot tub:

These Cholla Cacti like to seek people out and kill them, basically. They're pretty though:

Giant creepy Marilyn:

Plane to Vegas:

It hits you immediately; you can gamble upon arrival. (No thanks!)

Route 66:

Hoover Dam:

Informative:

The Grand Canyon! Impossible to do justice, sorry! Amazingly amazing.

Dressed pretty strangely, but we didn't care:

Funny little place we stopped at for snacks, run by a German:

Vegas, land of immorality, neon fakery and interestingly decadent nights out:

Red Rock Canyon:

I found this couple having sex in the middle of the road one evening. They were pretty pleased with themselves. I am proud to say I did my best to pull them out of immediate danger. (Earlier that night the boy had bashfully told me he couldn't possibly express his feelings for me because he hadn't felt that way about anyone before, etc., and later that night he forgot the girl's name. I tried to give him an education about respecting women (and himself)... I do what I can... Vegas, eh? Jamie, if you're reading this, BE GOOD.) 

Fancy Dress Shopping!

Getty Museum (much needed after Vegas):

Et voila! You have made it through an insanely long blog post. I'm glad I got it out of my system! Congratulations, and I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Underwater Fires

I have so many images queuing up to be shown here as always but am interrupting that flow with some excitement caused by this morning's inbox arrival - some underwater adventuring shot in California by Zoe Wiseman.

I loooove these. Wow!!! Thanks Zoe!

I think I may have referred to this shoot already on here, mentioning that it was a fun challenge - my first underwater shoot. Meghan Claire (who features alongside me in most; we were also joined by Carlotta Champagne and Titania) was great at pulling me down, as I have the world's most buoyant butt, I think. The flowy hair and dreaminess of these, with the bubbles everywhere and upward reflections, and the light daggering and darting down through the water in ripples just makes these so amazing. I think my favourites are the ones in colour, and I also love the chaotic group shots at the end, with limbs and torsos all entwined at different depths and distances from the camera, with magical creatures falling beautifully in the foreground and far away mermaids swimming past alongside.... :-) I so want to try some more!

I'd love to hear your favourites!

Do a Good Thing; WaterAid shoot

Hello all!

It's time for some annual do-goodery, and this year I'm making myself available for a shoot sometime between now and Christmas, with all of my modelling fee going towards WaterAid (see info about them below).

I'll be hoping to hear from photographers between now and the end of this week, and it will be on a bidding basis, whereby you let me know your offer of budget and shoot proposal, and I will pick the most suitable offer.

Email me at: ellarosemuse@live.co.uk

In a nutshell, please state in your message:

1. The price you would be able to pay (for WaterAid) for a 2-3 hour shoot (and let me know if you'd like to go for 1, 2 or 3 hours). It's totally up to you what you say you can offer, but as a guideline (in case it helps) my normal UK rates are £45 per hour or £150 for four hours. I imagine I will get widely varying offers, so it's up to you what you state, and I'll pick the best offer.
2. A list of dates you would be available on, between now and Christmas.
3. The type of images you would like to shoot - just a vague idea so I know what you have in mind. (I'm available for all my usual styles: fashion, portraits, art nude, dance, wedding, lingerie, etc.)
4. Your location; I'm based in Oxfordshire so will probably need to prioritise offers in the south east, though not necessarily.

Other info:- You will need to arrange the shoot location yourself, whether it be a studio or home set-up location. If you'd like to shoot with me longer than 3 hours, that's great, but I will probably (guiltily) need to pocket the extra money myself, just so you know. :-)
- Being (technically) a paid shoot, you will not be required to send me any of the images you edit after the date, though as always it would be appreciated if you wanted to.
- In return, you get kudos and a good feeling. And some brilliant shots!
- Think that's it! :-) 

Get in touch!

******************************

Here's some info about WaterAid, from their website:

Vision

WaterAid's vision is of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation.

Mission

WaterAid transforms lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world's poorest communities. We work with partners and influence decision-makers to maximise our impact.

What we do

WaterAid enables the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water and sanitation. Together with improved hygiene, these basic human rights underpin health, education and livelihoods, forming the first essential step in overcoming poverty.

We work with local partners, who understand local issues, and provide them with the skills and support to help communities set up and manage practical and sustainable projects that meet their real needs.

We also work locally and internationally to change policy and practice and ensure that water, hygiene and sanitation's vital role in reducing poverty is recognised.

Our values

Inclusive
WaterAid aims to be inclusive in all that we do. We work with economically poor and marginalised people who often miss out such as women and girls, those living with HIV/AIDS, minority ethnic groups, older and disabled people and those who face discrimination. The needs and voices of the communities we work with, our staff, volunteers, partners and stakeholders shape our policy and practice.

Always learning
At WaterAid learning is central to our practice. We continually evolve to make sure that our work is sustainable, innovative, relevant and effective.

Collaborative
The water and sanitation crisis will only be solved by collaborative action. Our engagement with other organisations, communities, staff and supporters underpins our success. We value their diversity.

Accountable
We believe that we should be accountable, responsive and transparent to those we serve and those who support us.

Inspiring
WaterAid is a passionate champion of the role safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation play in improving health and education and reducing poverty.

Courageous
We set ambitious goals, raise challenging questions and speak with courage and conviction. We are assertive yet humble and respectful.

Running in Heels

A big hello to Tony and Jennifer Ornstien, who are currently upside down in New Zealand, flown south for winter! The following shots were taken by Tony in and around their house. I like the blur and voyeuristic aspect which some of them have - they're a bit strange and interesting, glamorous and gritty! Lingerie outdoors, statues facing the other way, running in the leaves... I love them. (Dress, belt and shoes provided, lingerie and warm coat my own!)

Having worked with Tony a few times previously (this blog post, 'Bedroom Glamour', was very popular!), I was very kindly given a collage of prints from previous shoots recently. I really appreciate having physical prints of some of the things I get up to! As for Tony and Jennifer, they currently have a corner in their house for me! :-)