fashion

Snow Deer & Winter’s Wonderland

ERWhittington 3 Comments

I was going to blog some shots of me taken in a desert next, but from one extreme to the other, I’ve decided instead to show some images from a much colder shoot, taken recently here in Oxfordshire. Snow galore!

I recently had to cancel my trip to Cambridge due to the snow, which was so disappointing and meant I missed out on a good wedge of work I’d carefully planned, not to mention letting down the photographers who’d been planning things with me, but what can you do… Luckily everyone was very understanding and thought it was a sensible decision (simple fact was that there would be a 99% chance I wouldn’t be able to get out of my road; can’t really argue with that, can you?!).

It’s all very well these gung-ho ‘I’m gonna make it however much snow there is! I laugh in the face of nature – nothing will stop me!’ attitudes from models and photographers on forums keen to show off their ‘dedication’, but with one very local fatality on the roads, the day I would have been driving – a girl in my year at school whose car went off the road due to the snowy conditions (I didn’t know her personally as it was a large school, but it’s such a sad story), I’m glad I made the decision to stay safe, and have luckily already managed to rearrange my trip to Cambridge for the next available weekend, 9th/10th March. It’s just one of those things that comes with the territory of living relatively out in the sticks rather than in a city, where things are probably gritted more consistently.

That said, a lovely, local-ish photographer I’ve worked with lots of times, Karen Jones (or purpleport profile here), came to my rescue at the last minute in her landrover, after I posted my last minute availability on my facebook page, driving to pick me up and shooting with me in the massive woodland that is five minutes from my house. (Those ‘sticks’ I was talking about? They have their perks!!)

We had fun trying out a few different scenes – open fields, close trees and a few things in between – going for a bit of a fashion-y/princess theme with long dresses, bodices and skirts.

(I think I need a deer to the left of the frame in the above shot, which reminds me: we saw one during the very first ‘blue’ set! I’m gonna steal Karen’s facebook snapshot of it to post at the end…)

Here’s the deer. What a cutie, poking its head up to see what was happening. It was quite far away but Karen had her camera around her neck and grabbed a quick snapshot before it sprung away out of sight.

And then, because I’m such a child, Karen let me pretend to throw snowballs at her at the end… 😉

 Dun dun derrrrrr…!

Running in Heels

ERWhittington 1 Comment

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! 🙂

Cracked Earth, Sleek Fashion and Tumbleweed

ERWhittington 10 Comments

Very excited to show you these, from my most recent photographic adventure with photographer J H. As you may have noticed, we do end up shooting in some fun places, and when I mentioned to J that I’d be in California in October he took the opportunity to visit too! I am having a bit of a dilemma here about which images to post first, but think I’ll go for the ones taken at Lucerne Valley dry lake bed. (Edit: I might be lying; I’ll probably post everything.)

J had in mind some images he’d seen of some dry, cracked earth, and I jumped at the idea, as I have never shot in a location like that before – one where you can literally see the ground splitting apart – and I knew it would make for some amazing shots! Luckily, we found an absolutely perfect spot and also managed to coincide our jaunt with a storm which was making its way in over the San Bernadino mountains, which made for the incredible sky you’ll see below. (No, it really wasn’t photoshopped in!). J has already posted a thread on PurplePort about the trip here, if you’d like to read his version of events.

As always, I’m very grateful to J for choosing me to model for him yet again, and in such amazing places! Some of these images are just so spectactular – a wonderful combination of landscape photography and figurative art. In this area we focused mainly on keeping the pose(s) simple while Jeremy experimented with perspective. I especially love the fourth shot here (which I then go on to post a million versions/crops of… sorry!… Help?) I think this amazing place deserves to be seen in both monochrome and colour. Any preferences though?

Previous to this set, we had visited El Mirage, another dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert, but one whose landscape is completely different. I really love how simple these shots are – in such a vast, empty space the poses are everything.. all the world’s a stage, etc., etc., and I love the dusty tones on the horizon. (Clothes provided by J.)

I like to call this the ‘Batwoman’ set:

And we also managed some quick nudes, despite having to chase the black fabric half way down the desert at one point. That wind was fast!

And finally, a quick set we did with some tumbleweed found on the side of the road. We were pretty determined to do this (dappled light = goodness!) and again the wind played its part; it took great restraint and gravity control not to be pulled around while lifting it up. They are surprisingly heavy. And utter wind traps. Pretty amazing little (big) things, tumbleweeds!

So, I’m afraid this has been another bumper blog post… I have been spoiled with images again (I also have square-crop versions of most, and the colour/mono debate is evident once more…) so please do declare your favourites with any comments! Thank you!

Enchanted Forest

ERWhittington 3 Comments

Hello! Back from my trip away and raring to go again in this beautiful English autumn. I had an excellent trip but I don’t think I’ll ever shake off that wonderful feeling of coming home. I’m so glad I appreciate my country still, even after loving so many other places.

My inbox is bursting with an influx of photographic gems, some delivered drip by drip (mini blog posts bubbling away gradually) and some in big, unexpected shebangs of glory – every photographer is different – but now I have so many I want to show! It keeps my portfolio changing.

These were sent to me recently from a photographer I worked with in Scotland in May. I have already put one in my portfolio. By Calandra, from the ‘Kingdom of Fife’, headdress mania:

The last image I am calling Fairy Steps. Nearby was an area covered in wreaths, lanterns and coloured ribbons after some kind of Green Man ritual, so it felt like a very special place!

Update: two more!

Paint, Feet, Magalazine Cover!

ERWhittington 3 Comments
Sorry for being a bit quiet – things are a bit crazy in my personal world at the moment with a massive upheaval caused by having to very reluctantly remove myself from a situation I’ve been in for 8-and-a-bit years (my entire adult life thus far), and I think I need to clamp my head together to keep all my thoughts from spinning off in different directions. Incredibly annoying to find that I can’t harness myself into writing at the moment, having put aside time especially; seems I’m best at writing when things are peaceful, not dramatic, and otherwise I have the attention span of a self-doubting, mourning-for-something-that-seems-only-to-have-existed-in-my-head-anyway hamster. 
To ‘make up’ for this, I have been buying myself jewellery and being frivolous; spending more on one piece (vintage, rubies, pearls; rose gold being my weakness) than I ever have before. I really want to buy myself a ring next, but we shall see (and currently the ring I want does not exist). I actually rang my Mum from the shop (a little place in Oxford which makes me very happy) for reassurance, asking if I was mad to be spending so much on the very opposite of what I’d gone in for (I went in hoping to find a silver/white gold SIMPLE pendant), and she said it was fine… haha… and that at the very least, gold was an investment… (And I remember my old painter friend telling me gold was the way forward, not that I’ll be buying any big chunks any time soon!!) so obviously my little burst of jewellery buying was highly rational and clever… Jewellery has always been very meaningful and emotionally important for me, especially when either inherited, or ‘worn before’… or bought for me… or bought as a gift for myself… who am I kidding – I just love it. And I don’t really shop very often. (There I go again attempting to justify my splurge!).
Anyway, this is my personal blog, so I can write what I want, but while the urge to express upset and rantings is one I can definitely identify with, I always find it a bit of a shame when people bare their souls online/on facebook etc rather than among friends in person. So, here are some updates I should have posted a while ago, from my ‘to blog’ folder.
First, a painting by Kristian Mumford, recently shown at the Loreto Art Exhibition, 113×78 oil on linen (courtesy of John Evans, who photographed the original image in a crumbling mansion): 

By Holly at Jewelled World, yet another book cover featuring… well, my feet again. Haha. It amuses me greatly that my little tattoo seems not to have been edited out by the relevant department at the publishing house; the absolute testament to the fact that no one ever notices it. I will have to see this in real life to be sure. Well done Holly!

Finally, my mug on the cover of Digital Camera Magazine recently, shot by a competition-winning reader up in Manchester. We had a great day; there were lots of sets and beautiful images made that I really wish I could have seen finished versions of after the shoot, but trust me that there were some absolute beauties! My hair and make up was stunning, I thought, and done by Zan, who was excellent!

I’ve also been told I’m featured in a book out at the moment, ‘Practical Photoshop: Creative Projects’. Someone spotted it in WHSmith for me (thank you!), so I emailed the editor and he’s kindly sending me a copy. I’ve got some lovely shots in waiting which I’ll be excited to show soon, but bear with me if I do disappear for a little while. Thanks for reading!

Paris by day ~ Travelogue!

ERWhittington 2 Comments

As promised in this Paris-by night post, the day-time evidence of recent Parisian frolics (with photographer J H) is here!

We went for a black-and-white colour scheme with a fashion travelogue feel; some posed scenes incorporating some recognisable sights plus some obligatory casual cafe breaks… Although a little cold at times (here’s hoping the June visit will be a little warmer!), we had a lot of fun wandering around and getting through our book of metro tickets, then setting me up to pose in front of such picturesque and famous skylines! I basically wandered around in an ‘I love Paris’ daze, I think, and enjoyed the sophisticated-to-playful outfits (I think it would have been a crime not to make the most of the merry-go-round when modelling in a short playsuit!).

Quai de la Tournelle:

Ile de la Cite et Ile Saint-Louis:

Le Jardin des Tuileries:

Some funky disco:

Trocadero:

And finally, the hotel rooms and my room’s balcony:

 

… Thanks again to J for such a fun and productive trip! 🙂