Model: Peggy Soo

Early on in the year, I had the opportunity to work with the wonderful Peggy Soo for both my tattoo project and Zivity.

From her portfolio, I already knew she had a range of exquisite tattoos but she also brought along the most wonderful wardrobe selection!

From this 50′s inspired outfit:

To a beautiful black dress and vintage lingerie combimnation:

To her bullet bra and tights:

And definitely not least, the beautiful tattoos I mentioned before!

A great shoot and it was a great way to kick off 2011! If you want to see more of this incredible model; find her on Facebook!

• Independent Designers and their workspaces
• Fashion Retail
• Independent Boutiques
• Street Fashion
• Textile Industries
• Independent Craft Fairs
• Fashion Recycling/ Charity Shops
• Shopping Culture
• Beauty Industries
• Fashion Shows and Trade shows
• Fashion Related Advertising (Billboards, shop windows, etc)

Model: Sophie

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of adding a new face to my portfolio. The model: Sophie Larissa Vice.

Sophie has a gorgeous and unique look perfectly suited to the direction I’m trying to take my portfolio, which is a darker, moodier side of high fashion.

We had a range of outfits to play around with and throughout the afternoon we managed quite a sets in various styles.

All in all, another great shoot with plenty of results to add to my portfolio!

Thanks for reading!

Model: Rudigo

Last week, I had the rather unequivocal experience of working with Medium Format film for the first time. This is something I’ve dreamed of for years. When I found out I would have the Mamiya 645, I immediately started asking around for willing guinea pigs who would allow me to experiment and play around.

With Rudigo returning to Sheffield after the summer, it turns out I couldn’t have picked a better time. She volunteered and our 7th collaborative shoot very quickly followed suit.

I wanted to make the absolute most of the huge amount of detail possible in the huge negatives so I had a few concepts prepared. One involving sand and another involving charcoal. Time constraints prevented us shooting the charcoal, but we’ve already agreed that will be getting done soon! The sand; however, provided exactly what I wanted it to. Texture. Lots and lots of texture. Hopefully, once I have the rolls developed the grains of sand will do exactly what they’re meant to and pop straight out of the print in vivid, grainy detail. Of course, I still shot digitally alongside the analogue film, so here’s a peek at what I should see once they’ve been processed!

For another set, there has been a lighting technique I’ve been looking to run through its paces for a while. Put simply, it involves reflecting a ton of light off a huge surface and then back onto the subject. It worked and absolute treat. Bright, smooth and creamy skin tones with plenty of contrast in tact were exactly what I was looking for!

Of course, this being Rudigo, she had a big bag of tricks and plenty of ideas of her own. Since this shoot carried on straight after another, I borrowed my lighting set-up from that one and carried on playin with flare, trying to break as many photographic rules as possible in one day! Cue Rudigo pulling out a tartan jacket that I promptly asked her to wear backwards.

And a long-sleeved white shirt perfect for the ethereal lighting!

All in all it was a day of experimentation and playing around with lots of stuff for us both to add to our portfolios and of course it was a good few hours of laughs and flowing creativity as it always is with Rudigo! Another amazing shoot, another amazing day!!

A Personal Collection: Of Vivienne Westwood Shoes

A Personal Collection: Of Vivienne Westwood Shoes is an exhibition currently on show at the @Gallery at the Barnsley Civic. This show is an absolute must for anyone remotely interested in fashion and of course shoes. Everyone of the eighty plus pairs of shoes on display is a masterpiece in itself! The collection itself, spans several decades of the designer’s illustrious career! From seemingly simple black heels with auspicious spikes potruding from the rear to the infamous, incredibly high platforms that saw Naomi Campbell spilled on a Paris catwalk, there is certainly something on display to catch the interest of everyone.

The exhibition is a testament to all the talent that not only went into the shoes, but into the exhibition. Having seen the gallery many times, it has been completely transformed into an atmospheric temple to the footwear on display. The moody lighting, the photographs, the quotes on display and the video all stand to direct attention and emphasise the shoes themselves and each exquisite pair commands just as much attention as the rest! No small feat considering the sheer amount on display.  This exhibition is clearly a labour of love by the entire team at the Civic and even though I was involved in early stages, I can assure you the exhibit screams triumphantly of the work put into it!

I had the immense pleasure and honour of working to create the photographs for the publicity material for this exhibition and I must say, every pair of shoes I got to photograph is a wonder! Though I was working under the close and astute art direction of David Sinclair, the mastermind behind the exhibit, I was still granted enough creative freedom as to photograph the shoes as they spoke to me! I must say that the several months I put into this material are by far some of the most rewarding and genuinely satisfying that I have had yet! Though I won’t go into details about the work put into it in this post, I must reiterate the honour of being granted such a dream job!

The exhibition has been on display since May and only has a week left on show as it finishes this Saturday, the 17th of July! If it strikes your fancy, I wholly recommend paying a visit to the Civic before it finishes to take in this breathtaking display!

Also, The Civic have created a limited edition run of postcards to accompany the exhibition. The high quality set features ten of the images I created for the exhibit including the four above. If you’d like a set of these postcards but cannot make it to the exhibit, please let me know via the contact forms on the site and I can arrange a set for you. The set is £5 plus P&P.

Raynbow Studio

Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that’s just irresistable. This opportunity came over a year ago when Raychel Perks of Raynbow Studio expressed to me her interest in trying some bodypaint. The experience was incredible, to say the absolute least, for everyone involved! The whole day was exciting and new and the results were just breathtaking. Of course, on the heels of such success, we absolutely had to do it again and then again and then yet again! This collaborative relationship between Raychel and I has not only made for an incredible collection of imagery but it’s built the foundation for a lot of great things to come.

Here’s a brief outline of some of the bodypaint specific work we’ve done since then.

The very first bodypaint session we did, involved a pair of concepts based around a Native American theme with Alexandra :

As well as a Cleopatra theme:

During our second session Raychel completely improvised an idea I had with ivy and then proceeded to turn Integra Fairbrook into a statue!

Our third bodypaint session with Rudigo saw Raychel take an aboriginal starting point and with a few twists and turns mould it into her own!

More recently, Raychel, again working with Integra Fairbrook, had the urge to convert her into a Na’vi from “Avatar”.

Very shortly after the Avatar incident, Raychel really wanted to try some UV bodypaint. We talked Madison Flint into the task and I must say it was rather spectacular to see in person!

Most recently, Kittiwake showed up for her bodypaint session with Ladybird fingernail polish! Some people might have considered that a mistake, considering the proximity of Raychel’s red paint!

In the end, over the past several months, we have immensely enjoyed making these images and I personally hope for a lot more to come. Though this post has focused on bodypaint, Raychel has done make-up on many occasions as well, but that might be a topic for another day!

What happens when you have 23 people taking a phot0 a day every day for 365? Well, you have the “NiceSmileSir” project!

Nice Smile Sir - Day 1

Personally, I have always been a bit frightened of the prospect of “365″ projects, but the idea of having 22 other people togo through it with convinced me! So here we are, already, on Day 12 and most everything seems to be going strong!

Nice Smile Sir - Day 6 - Violaceous Latex

The worst part of these sorts of projects is one of those tiny, niggling fears that makes you wonder if you can actually go through with it. However, the beauty of them and the ones undertaken by groups in particular is the sheer randomness that results! Don’t know what I’m saying? Just have a look at the Nice Smile Sir site! Like I said, it’s Day 12 and there’s already a huge assortment and variety ranging from completely random to the immaculately concieved. Colourful and dull. Just looking at the site, without clicking through to Flickr for the individual reveals, to me anyway, a wondrous menagerie of images!!

Nice Smile Sir - Day 10

Enough muttering and rambling! I do encourage you to bookmark the site and check back on the project at least every once in a while! I think even by the end of the first month, this project is going to have bloomed into something rather spectacular!

Portfolio Days With Raynbow Studio

I am pleased and rather excited to announce another collaborative effort between myself and the extremely talented Raychel Perks of Raynbow Studio. On Sunday the 21st of March and on Saturday the 27th we will be offering portfolio building  sessions at a discounted rate.

We are combining Raychel’s immensely talented creative Make-Up Artistry with my photography in order to provide high-quality portfolio images for both budding and experienced models. Whether your starting out or looking to update your existing portfolio, Raychel and I can provide the imagery you need.

The dates of this offer are limited to March 21st and 27th and there are a limited number of sessions available so book yours now!

Details include:

• Each 1 hour session include a 1/2 hour make-up and a 1/2 hour studio session.
• Make-up can be any style you choose. Go for something natural or pick something completely off the wall!
• Define what style of imagery you need for your portfolio. High Fashion? Beauty? Commercial? Glamour? Your portfolio, your needs, your choice!
• You will recieve 3 high quality images for your book.
• Each image will be fully retouched to a professional level.
• You will recieve full resolution files of each image, printable to 8″x12″ for print portfolio purposes.
• Images will also be provided at optimal web resolution for professional networkings sites and social media.
• Need more for your portfolio? Book consecutive sessions for multiple looks and images!

We are providing this offer at a discounted price of £40 (normally £75).

Remember, spaces are limited, so book your session now!

My Tattoo Project – So Far

Back at the end of September, I posted my open casting for people with tattoos to get involved with a project idea I had had spinning around my head for the longest of time. To be honest, I expected little interest, except maybe from some people I had worked with before. I really couldn’t have underestimated it more. The response from everyone has been utterly fabulous and in these short few months I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and photographing some of the most extraordinary and interesting people.

The project itself is far from over. I have a fair few shoots still lined up and I’m quite a way off from being finished with the concept myself, so hopefully, there will be a good many to come!

In the meantime, I figured it’s well beyond time I shared with everyone, who has expressed interest, a selection of the images so far produced in this endeavour!

I just want to, once again, express my complete and absolute appreciation to ever one of the wonderful people who have so far come to help me out with this project. You guys are brilliant!! Thank you!

Of course, if you’re tattooed and you like what you see here, well, you know where to find me!