Ramblings of a Model, Mother and Outspoken Weirdo

My Top 10 of 2011

Just thought I'd briefly blog my 10 favourite images of 2011. I have been so honoured to work with so many amazing people, and meet so many people and I have to say Catalyst Latex made my year, they're support of me has boosted my confidence and the work I have done for them has helped me become a better model. I have had many different hair colours, my weight has fluctuated as it always does. I'm going to try and not ramble too much so here we go, in no particular order....

1. This shot was taken by a lovely lady photographer Dawn Gilfillan at Mayfield Studio, she wanted to do some pin up shots of me so I just packed my case up with a massive selection of vintage style undies and got some fab shots. This is one of the best ones and this shot is also at the back of my current set of business cards.

2. This image was actually taken back in January by my friend and one of my favourite photographers, Richard Shepherd at Banana Studio. It was just after I'd dyed my hair blue and I hadn't really got the hang of it yet. The colours pop in this shot though and it was featured on the 'Hot Chicks in Star Wars T-shirts' blog.

3. In my purple haired phase, I did my very first shoot for Catalyst Latex with my partner Nicholas Gray, again at Mayfield Studio. It was all very rushed thanks to City Link who apparently can't read nor co-operate. However I love this shot and I felt really good about myself after these were edited and uploaded. Probably also helped by the fact we used a fabulous MUA, Alex Pretswell.

4. This image was only taken last month by another fabulous photographer I have worked with many times Mr Jonathan Keys. It's not actually the most flattering picture of me, but I am enjoying the attitude and it's probably one of my favourite black and white images of myself.

5. I was lucky enough to do a proper bridal shoot with a real faux groom and everything, this was done in York, with wedding photographers Tux and Tales Photography and my husband was Pete Von Stanton, probably the best thing I have ever discovered on Model Mayhem, I don't think I have managed to get any other shoots through that site. The photographer really wanted to create an 'alternative feel' wedding and I think we succeeded.

6. I finally got to work with a couple of photographers that I have appreciated from afar, well...online, for literally years. The first of these photographers is Sam and Gregg Jamieson of Wicked Heart Photography. They have shot amazing images off all the most well known North East burlesque artists and some of the nicest models. I have shot with them twice and they are such absolutely lovely people, they make me feel good about my posing and how I look and it gives you a high!

7. The second photographer who I hadn't really had a chance to shoot with mostly because our timetables never match up is Chris Harrison of Grime and Glamour. He is good craic, and I feel comfortable talking to him about what I want from images. I haven't yet done any studio shots with him but I would like to some time in the future. Our best images were from our first shoot on location got lots off odd looks from taxi drivers, I also got to meet Anthony Dorman who is a sterling chap and you should check out his photography also.

8. I did a super quick shoot with amazing photographer Brian James (aka Derk German) his images are powerful and he very much has his own style. It was a very enjoyable shoot although it last for about 20-25 mins top. Hopefully I can convince him to work with me again sometime preferably outdoors.

9. I have suddenly cracked out a few shoots with Sam Corban over the last few months, he's a cheeky wee scamp that boy, always singing, always dancing, always swinging a ring flash in your face. He didn't take many modelly shots at our group shoot at Banana Studio however he got this shot of me which I love and it's my main image on my Purestorm account and will remain that way until someone can top it.

10. Lastly but not leastly, I have enjoyed a couple of shoots with Meg of Spellbound Imagery. She is such a lovely gal and her family and pooches are fantabulous too. My favourite shot taken by her of me is probably one from the studio shoot in Banana, it shows off my tattoo really well and it looks like I am totally singing.

Major Discovery : Lime Crime Lipstick

13:17 Posted In fetish , latex , lip service , lipstick , neon , northumberland , orange , purple , tattoo Edit This 0 Comments »

I have to admit I don't know much about make up, I don't really own a massive lot, I can't generally afford to invest in Mac etc all the time. I was lucky enough to get my grubby mitts on a couple of Lime Crime lipsticks, if you have heard of this company, you are absolutely missing out. I own 'Airborne Unicorn' (a gorgeous matt lilac colour) and 'Cosmopop' (a nudey peachy colour)

I only wore Cosmopop once in a recent shoot with Sam Corban at Newcastle College, sadly didn't get any pics which show how awesome this lippy are, but the lipstick feels so rich and amazing to wear and the colours remain vivid for ages. I'm a bit gutted that I didn't get 'My Beautiful Rocket' instead which is a bright Neon Orange shade and is probably something I am much more likely to roll with. However that probably would have been a bit too much with my neon green fruity number from Catalyst Latex.

I have worn Airborne Unicorn for a few shoots not but I personally don't think that any of the images really capture what a delightful shade of purple it is. This shot was take at Cambois Camera Club which I was invited to model for a couple of weeks ago. I actually re-used an outfit which I had shot in November with Mr Corban again. This image almost shows off my lipstick.

This last image was taken by Richard Hanley, it was a great shoot, the wind was crazy and it was absolutely freezing, this wasn't one of my favourite images from the shoot either but it does show off the lippy really well. Also wearing a virtually vintage Lip Service dress which is about 3 sizes too large.

All ladies must give Lime Crime a bosh, especially fantastic for photo shoots where you have mental and kooky outfits. They also have some new glosses in which look like the badgers nadgers. They aren't the easiest to thing to get your hands on in the UK, there are some US Ebay sellers who post very reasonably to the UK.

Popping my Wicked Heart Cherry

05:26 Posted In alt , lingerie , mayfield studio , moody , studio , wicked heart Edit This 1 Comment »

So recently I got to work with someone I have been dying to work with for years now since I first saw their images of the likes of Madamoiselle Boo, Katy Kamikaze & of course Anna Fur Laxis, who am I talking about? Of course the wonderful and amazing Gregg and Sam of Wicked Heart Photography.

Their work is so clean and colourful, they make every woman look as stunning as each other (I haven't seen any images they have done of blokes but I'd imagine they make them look pretty hot too!). I actually shot with them on the 26th of September but I am getting a bit behind with my blogs. Again this was a shoot where I wasn't asked to bring anything specific just some 'Alt' gear which actually when I looked at the photos I failed to do.

We did this shoot at Mayfield Studio, shot there plenty of times now. By far the best rental studio in the North East. Most central and best owners. No drama. Also at the studio that day, Chris Harrison was shooting, I got to do some images with the lovely Loki Winters and I got to meet Derk German, I blogged my shoot with him last month.

Sam and Gregg pretty much work together, having constant laughs and they compliment you so much you feel virtually super human, I had such an amazing time shooting with them. It was very comfortable and very informal and I think the images pretty much speak for themselves. I am waiting for another set of images from them that are all bendy and latexy and I can't wait! :)

Groupshoot-gasm!

07:48 Posted In bananastudio , modeling , newcastle , photography , portrait , studio Edit This 0 Comments »

Got to shoot with some lovely photographers at a shoot I arranged towards the back end of last month. Amazing film photography fanatic Jonathan Keys, all round funny man Sam Corban, stunning lovely lady Meg Franklin of Spellbound Imagery and my boyfriend Nicholas Gray.

We booked a four hour slot, three other models came too (Rosa La Rouge, Bronagh Todd and Princess Pandora). For the most part the mood was fun and upbeat and most people got to work with most people, and I'd like to think it was beneficial for everyone's portfolios.

This is probably my favourite image of the day, from Sam Corban, he was mostly there for the craic rather than to get images, he was very much doing a behind the scenes kind of deal but I am really happy that he got this shot of me, it's probably one of my favourite images from 2011.

I ended up shooting with Jonathan quite a bit too, sadly his film had got all soaked so he ended up shooting a lot of digital which isn't his fave. I like my moody facial expression in this shot it kinda looks like I am saying 'What of it???'.

Meg I have only really shot with once before. Me and Nick popped down to play around with her home studio but we didn't really do many pictures. They had an retro mic at Bananastudio so I decided to give it a bosh, I sang for about 5 seconds before I started to blush.

Lastly, shooting with Nick is always easy, we just bounce of each other. BAM! Got the shot what next. One of the best things of having a boyfriend as a photographer is the honesty, he can tell me if things are unflattering and tell me which way to move to make it better. However Nick wanted to take some corporate style images, I don't believable I look like the slutty bitch of the office. At least I tried.

One Blustery Day....

08:17 Posted In church , latex , modeling , northumberland , photography Edit This 0 Comments »

A couple of weeks ago I did a brief and blustery shoot with lovely chap and talented photographer Richard Hanley. His work is amazing and I highly recommend that you check him out. Another bonus about shooting with Richard is that we live in the same village in south Northumberland which made this shoot particularly easy for me.

I live literally in the middle of no-where and public transport is rubbish to say the least, it's so out of the way of Newcastle I don't really like to ask for lifts either so it's nice to work with someone who lives just around the corner, and can pick me up and drop me off without me needing to feel guilty.

Again it was a shoot where I didn't really have anything in mind for the shoot, I took a pink latex dress which I had on loan from Catalyst but other than that I wasn't too bothered.

We drove about a mile and a half from the house to an interesting church, with a graveyard and quite a nice view so that was where we decided to shoot.

The weather was overcast and very windy so equipment was a concern and costume changes were cold but I am really pleased with the results also got a good winter coat shot of me which I've been after for a while.

Boudoir Times With Mandy Charlton

04:25 Posted In boudoir , lingerie , modeling , newcastle , photography Edit This 0 Comments »

I got to have a little trip to work with Mandy Charlton last week in her brand spanking new studio which you can now 'Like' on Facebook, you can also rent this studio by the hour which is good, I don't think there can be enough of studios like this when there are so many student types in the North East.

She asked me to go and do a boudoir shoot, which is sometimes something a gal can give her man as a gift, possibly for Christmas or just before their wedding, bit of a sneaky peek at what they have to come on their wedding night.

If I'm honest I struggled, I was trying to put myself in the frame of mind of someone who never gets in front of camera, someone who is maybe camera shy but I'm a model and normally I'm requested to model, I leave Dani at the door and I become Dee La Beau. I wear my confidence cloak and stride in to what ever shoot I am required to do. I don't think I performed my best at this shoot, I can only hope that Mandy got what see wanted from this photo shoot. I actually think I would have managed with the faux shyness better if I was doing implied nude, I hate my naked body.

The studio has a black background and a white background which sounds quite basic but the space is huge and the dressing facilities are really nice and there are tonnes of props to play with. Also nice to work in a studio that isn't embroiled in 'Studio Wars'! You're s

afe with The Photography Studio and Mayfield.

If you're looking to treat yourself or your partner to some pics of you looking all sexy and beautiful you should drop Mandy a message, lovely lady, great banter and I assure you she will make you feel comfortable.

College Time With Corban

14:35 Posted In modelling , newcastle , photography , studio Edit This 0 Comments »

Few weeks ago I got to shoot with fabulous Mr Corban again, he's a top bloke, I wasn't on top form for this shoot however, I felt quite poorly and my wisdom tooth had been giving me jip for ages. It was quite nice and laid back though we had the college studio space to ourselves and there were very few people milling around. Gary Barrett hung about for a bit of craic though, which was nice and I'd worked with him a week or so earlier.

I didn't really know what I wanted, I was all bloaty and pre menstrual so I didn't feel to hot actually, I felt like I looked preggers. I did however have some cute panties from a company called Bunny Jump who deffo deserve some facebook likes, I also have a pair of Portal pants from them which I haven't had a chance to wear yet.

I also have this Doctor Who Tardis t-shirt from Threadless which I constantly go on about in my Hide Your Arms blogs, I already got a pic of it in a shoot with my Nicholas, but I enjoyed switching it up and wearing it with a mannequin in a pig mask with Sam Corban. Sadly you can totally see my bra.

My fave images of the day were probably some ones which make me look a little bit like a prostitute but who doesn't love a bit of red and latex.

Get to shoot with Sam again next weekend and I might get to assist him sometime in the week, I always look forward to having a laugh and bouncing about. He also sings and dances which is pretty much look for in a photographer!