Living The High Life

People often ask me what I do in my spare time. For the past year I have been renovating my new house in Chesterfield, which is progressing gradually and beginning to look like the home I have in my head! So when I'm not working, I'm generally doing DIY up a ladder, frequently wearing a pair of grubby decorator's overalls and (if it's hot) a bikini underneath.

I spend a lot of time up ladders, so I was very happy to have the opportunity to climb one recently in a studio in Kennington for a shoot with Stuart Bentley. It's like home from home!

'Living the High Life'

Image copyright of Stuart Bentley

Bandage My Brokenness

Over the years, I have done many shoots with Dave Collier (Mugshots UK).

Shoots with Dave are always enjoyable, and we've produced a wide variety of images (such as 'Tesselation' from a shoot in 2007, 'Beam Me Up' in 2005, 'Let Me Rest' from 2004).

I particularly enjoy working with a concept in mind, and for our last shoot together in June, Dave had brought along a tube of bandage. I had a lot of fun posing with this simple idea, and the subject matter provided some expressive images that I had fun creating.

I think there are more from this series, and I hope to eventually compile them into a collage like this one, entitled 'Musical Chairs.'

In the meantime, here are a couple of favourites from our most recent shoot with the bandages.

You can find more of Dave's photography on his website (linked above) or on his deviantArt account.

'Bandage My Brokenness'

'Recovery'

All images copyright of Dave Collier

Bright Lights

I've done a couple of group shoots this year at Bright Lights studios in Draycott, near Derby.
Group shoots seem to be more popular in recent years - possibly as a result of the recession, as it is a good way for photographers to split the cost of hiring a model and a studio with others, whilst still gaining access to good facilities and quality models.
It can be a challenge, trying to maintain variety of poses and originality whilst working with several photographers within a short space of time, but it is a challenge I enjoy (keeps the brain working!)
The following shots were a wonderfully pleasant surprise to me, because I don't always expect to see photos from these group shoots, so it's an added bonus to me when a photographer takes the trouble to send or show me photos from our shoot.
I worked with Paul Turri at one of the group shoots at Bright Lights, and he was kind enough to send me some images from the day. I was really pleased with how these turned out, as they represent to me a very accurate portrayal of 'how I see myself.' There were so many great images from this shoot that it was hard to choose favourites, so here are just a few. You can see more of Paul's photography (without the banners across the images) here.
(I no longer have the piercings visible in these photos).

'I Am What I Am'

'Window Dancer'

'The Pianist'

'Window Dancer 2'

'That's The Way It Is'

'Writhe'

All images copyright of Paul Turri