And now for something a little different...

I shot with Chris Rout again recently, for the first time in a few years. Chris is mostly a commercial photographer, whose images always have a 'fresh, clean' look about them. We completed several sets on the day, including Chris' commercial/lifestyle images, and then we moved onto 'something a little different.' I've been trying to step outside of the box a bit more this year, in order to extend my marketability... well, many of these are a little out of the ordinary compared to the images you may be used to seeing of me. Here goes!...

Arty stuff...

Nude stuff...

Gratuitous bum shot...

Umm... Weird fashion...

I initially uploaded photos from all the sets Chris and I did on the day. Somehow, many of the fashion shots and commercial images just didn't look right on this blog, amongst so much art nude (which is the focus of my profile here). So, you can find other images from this shoot on my main portfolio, and this is just a taster. (Sometimes, less is more).

Out of Africa

OK, I confess. These images were definitely not taken in Africa. They were, in fact, taken in the Peak District at sunset. But I think several of them have such a sense of atmosphere that they could have been taken in Africa! At least, to my mind.

These were shot on a short evening trip into the Peak District, just for fun. I was accompanied by Dave Ayerst Davies and Ken Clarke. I've worked with Dave many, many times over the years, and we are considering offering photographic courses in the Peak District, complete with model and professional advisor, who can teach you to get the best out of your camera in any conditions. Dave has a background in motorsport photography, and when you are shooting cars coming around the track at 200mph, you really don't get to choose the lighting conditions; consequently, you simply have to learn to make the most of what nature has to offer, and use your camera to its best advantage. The art of shooting a nude model is, by comparison, an easy task (for a start, they move much slower than 200mph) and so Dave can be relied upon to get great results, whatever the weather conditions!

Ken Clarke is a dear friend, who started out his career as a plasterer. He went on to construct film sets, and he boasts a very impressive list of film credits to his name (I only wish I could say the same of my acting CV), including 'The Shining' and all of the 'Star Wars' films! He went on to apply his skills to the art of life-casting, and has produced some beautiful art works from moulding the human form (I have sat for some of them, and have one on my bathroom wall). Ken is also a keen photographer, so during his visit to the north, we treated him to an evening walk in the Peak District accompanied by our cameras, and I couldn't resist doing a quick shoot in the beautiful evening light.

This whole series was accomplished in under an hour, as we had to make the most of the setting sun. I just love the warm, soft glow the light creates at that time of day. It's amazing how much you can achieve in a short space of time with the beauty of nature, and both photographers got some great results.

The first set of photos are by Dave, the second by Ken.

Above images by and copyright of Dave Ayerst Davies

Bottom three images by and copyright of Ken Clarke

Not That Innocent

In rather stark contrast to the innocence of my beach shoot, here are some more images by 'sensual, provocative, erotic' photographer John Tisbury. I've mentioned before that I think this description is a perfectly accurate description of John's work - somehow even his portraits (which are amongst some of my favourites from this set) look 'raunchy.' John has just deservedly been announced as a winning artist in Erotic Art Signature Competition 2010, congratulations, John!

Some of these images are what I would consider fairly close to the edge in terms of content I will model. This is one of the reasons I wanted to work with John to create these photos - I'm often asked about my limits, and I've tried putting it in words on many occasions, but still, words can be misinterpreted. So, in terms of answering the question 'what are your limits for photography,' these images will hopefully go part-way towards answering that question. There are poses amongst this set that I would definitely not model under different lighting conditions, or without an element of trust with the photographer.

I love the quirkiness of the doggy-bag, I've been saving up that little prop to shoot with for ages.

Scottish Summer - (Innocence)

I absolutely love visiting Scotland. I love the scenery, the clean air, the sense of space, the winding roads, the wildlife. I love the beaches, the accent, and the people. If it were not for my career and my family, and I could choose to live anywhere in the world, it would undoubtedly be Scotland.

So, that bit of gushing over and done with, I had a lovely (though all too short) visit to Banffshire last week to visit friends amongst other things. The only thing that was slightly less than perfect was the weather, which prevented me from achieving some of the things I had set out to do. Nevertheless, on route back down south, I paid a customary visit to a good friend in the coastal town of Montrose (quite probably my favourite Scottish town). As soon as I began my journey back from Banffshire, sod's law kicked into action and the sun finally, rather shyly sneaked out from behind the clouds that had kept it hidden all week. This allowed me, at last, to fit in a photo-shoot on the last day I was north of the border.

Dave Ayerst Davies and I paid a visit to a small sandy beach called Lunan Bay, just south of Montrose. It's a beautiful beach with steep sand-dunes, we had visited there a couple of years ago and taken these photos here, and here. We went in search of the anchor featured in those images, which, over the passage of time had completely disappeared into the sand, and only the very tip was left above the surface, never to see the light of day again.

We made use of the comparative solitude of the beach and the good weather, and photographed in the dunes, in the sea, and in a sandy cave on the beach. If only every day could be like this one!

(Feel free to comment on favourites - darned if I know which I like best!)

'Yesterday'

'Somewhere, Beyond the Sea'

'Sorceress of the Sea'

'Sandy Cove'

'Sandy Sprawl'

'Reach for the Rocks' (Mono)

'Reach for the Rocks'

'Beached'

'Prowl'

'Sandy Sprawl' (Mono)

'Corner Cove'

'Sand Eel'

'Wheeeeeeeeee!'

All images copyright of Dave Ayerst Davies