monochrome

Mirrors

ERWhittington 1 Comment

Hellooo.

Hope everyone’s having a nice weekend so far! I’ve had some really fun shoots recently, including modelling (dancing/leaping) in a full authentic, beautiful Japanese kimono for a west-meets-east art project (it was sooo heavy; amazing to have worn and the images looked so cool, though they are non-publishable until Jan) and a stock shoot which involved blowing on glass doors, crafting with pipe cleaners, dry-leaf arranging(!), gazing out of windows with mugs of tea, upholstering and lying down on a bed of autumn leaves taking photos of myself with my phone. (Hence:

)

I’ve had such a nice day today so far, indulging in a marathon of recorded Merlins from Saturday nights and also going to hobbycraft with my Mum (yep!) to accompany her sparkly wool buying, and I bought a massive glass-fronted board from a nearby shop which will shortly be smothered with some amazing postcards I have amassed over the last year or so from art galleries and museums all over the world, since my current one is full. I will probably divide them into colour and monochrome and make two boards. I am also going to be asking very nicely for a few prints from some artists/photographers whose work I’ve admired online, since my lists of favourite images over on my Model Mayhem page (quick plug there; it’s recently updated…) are full of some amazing stuff I want to possess for my walls.

….Also, there is more dividing and conquering to announce: I have a new updated website! Well, it’s the same website, but with long awaited newness in the way of THREE new galleries. So with the addition of Pisces, Luxe and Video there are now 15 fully distinct galleries on my website. Take a look!

I already have ‘Elemental‘ for nudes amongst striking landscapes such as rocks formations and earthly arrangments, but now have ‘Pisces‘ for anything to do with water (pisces being the most wonderful astrological sign, obviously…). I really do love modelling in water, by it, near it… it’s so expressive, and makes me extra expressive too maybe… Meanwhile, I already have the ‘Figurative‘ gallery for studio work focusing on body form, abstracts and shapes in monochrome, but now also have ‘Luxe‘ for nude figurative work made in wonderful, glowing colour! I love the connotations of ‘luxury’, which is a mood some of those images suggest to me, but there are also more airy, bright, and whimsical nudes there too. Video is still being created and is self explanatory, including dance work as well as some ‘show reel’ style snippets such as the piece I recently blogged. Will do it soon!

What else…?

Oh yeah, I’ve agreed last minute to step in for a model who’s pulled out of a studio day at Eye for an Image Studio in Banbury on Sat 15th December, so you can book me there in 2-hourly slots to work on some fashion/arty/nude/dance/bridal/whatever you like imagery there if you like – just email me at ellarosemuse@live.co.uk. I think half the day has gone already, but there is still available time and I’d love to hear from you.

And here are some images recently sent to me from Neil Snape made in Paris way back in March. Neil was lovely to work with, and an excellent photographer, letting loose with this ‘raw’ mirror series, and I’m so glad I can now show these extra shots (I blogged a couple earlier, after the shoot: ‘Lionness Lightplay’). I think my favourite is probably the last one. Neil’s hoping to exhibit his work for this series in an exposition sometime next year.

Solarised

ERWhittington 2 Comments

Hoping the East Coasters are doing OK. Horrible time for all concerned. Wishing you light, heat and power!!

And here are some polaroids from the wonderful woman that is Zoe Wiseman. Zoe is so brilliant to work with – utterly laid back (we’d pause after every single shot to pull out the image, dip it in the bucket… and get excited each time, so it was a very leisurely pace… and cooling off in the swimming pool became the shoot itself!) but happy to direct too, and always has the models’ best interests at heart, which doesn’t go unnoticed. Half of the roll was of me and half of the very beautiful Meghan (in last shot), who will soon feature here more I’m sure as we also spent a whole load of time shooting together again, including UNDERWATER – that was a really fun challenge for me, and hopefully the images will be very special! We will have to see how the film comes out! Oh, the suspense!

Anyway, I love these! Some are (semi?) solarised, for an extra layer of coolness. Zoe was using a Holga with a Polaroid Back (polaroid Type 85 Pos/Neg film). She solarised the images by peeling the positive away from the negative before it was fully developed and held them to the Californian sun to create the funky stuff. Clever, eh?

Hands and Roots

ERWhittington 4 Comments

I have a thing about hands and feet. Especially hands. I love hands. (I love lamp.) When I look at other art models’ work I always look at what their hands are doing, and I’ve been told quite a few times that mine are very expressive when posing! Hands can be interesting in shots, to me at least; so I suppose it’s for the best (from a photographer’s point of view) that a tattoo artist refused to mark my thumb pad a couple of years ago with a little symbol I’d asked for, though I was quite annoyed at the time. Probably saved a lot of photoshopping over the years.

This last week or so has been really nice – ultra sociable and busy, as I’ve been putting the effort in to trying new things and meeting new people (since 5 of my friends have moved away from my area in the last month or two; and after super life changes I really felt I needed to make my own changes!!). It’s been fun. I’ve started two new dance classes (ballet/stretch and tap, both of which I hadn’t done in a while, though the ballet teacher said to me ‘goodness, we’ll have you on pointe next week’, which was brilliantly ego boosting and made me feel like the proverbial three-year-old being patted on the back, beaming; yes, I’d sneakily pretended to be a near-beginner. I know; bad of me.) and advanced tap (with amusing burlesque style moves), which is just ridiculously fun, militant and fast paced with no mercy – very good for cardio. I’ve been out for drinks a few times, including once with a friend I hadn’t seen since primary school (but who had given me advice on Mexico last year, since she’d been living there), invited Holly Ivory Flame over to come blackberry picking & nattering with me around the woods near my house (foraging!!! Love it!), and I’ve even joined a ‘meet up’ group and met an amazing (and mad) group of girls last night over a cocktail or three, with book club talks in the running too (all the current book clubs in Oxford seem to be reading incredibly boring books, so we agreed we’d veto those). AND I’ve started a new blog, more writing-based and fewer pictures-of-myself-naked orientated; a series of epiphanies about ‘growing up’ and ‘things I think I know’ about life, truth, art… etc.; that way, I get a writing platform and you lot don’t have to read quite so much of my un-industry-related waffle (like this) here (though there might occasionally be some overlap). Win win. I might link to it on here sometime soon-ish, so that if you want to follow me there as well, you can. I’ll let it grow a bit first though.

The following set of images were taken on film by photographer Steven Billups, during our visit to a ruined castle near Pforzheim in Germany. Steven is great to work with and I think these are very gentle and peaceful. One of them sold quite quickly after they were developed! I like the movement of my hair in the last. Showing lots from the same set here, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the ones we made in the beautiful Black Forest.

Any favourites?

*Now taking bookings for November and December, to finish this year on a creative high!*

Please email me at ellarosemuse@live.co.uk if you’d like me to model for your project. Here is a snippet of blurb from a casting call I posted recently:

I’m available for:

– ART & PORTRAITS: where mood, texture and emotion rule
– NUDE: ranging from abstract, tough strength in the female form, beautiful dream-like outdoor work, soft and sensual studio work, powerful and vibrant movement to dance
– WEDDING: I have my own dresses from Victorian to modern; perfect to boost a photographer’s wedding portfolio
– CASUAL/COMMERCIAL: I’ve got a great wardrobe, from snuggly warm knitwear for beautiful glowing portraits, to sports clothes for fitness/stock shots, glamorous and sophisticated evening dresses… and I can smile on cue with no awkward grimaces in sight!
– STYLISH GLAMOUR/BOUDOIR: I have an excellent range of lingerie with varied colour and textures, and have a classic look perfect for shots which are more classy than seedy.
– WORLD/DANCE: Did I mention my highly eclectic wardrobe? I’ve been a gigging bellydancer and along with my travels have amassed an array of eye-catching garments/costumery for extra-special themes.
– TUITION/WORKSHOP DEMONSTRATIONS: I’ve done a lot of these, with national photographic bodies as well as very highly regarded photographers, so am completely comfortable and relaxed in these settings.

I love to work with photographers, painters, designers and artists of various media, whether they be amateur hobbiests or experienced industry professionals, working indoors or out (I’ll happily recommend studios), for exhibitions, publication, portfolio building or commercial projects. Other than in studios, I’ve worked in ancient forests, lakes and waterfalls, derelict buildings, ruined manor houses and beautiful modern hotels, against famous city landmarks, in cobbled colonial streets and in flower gardens, in the sea, on the beach and in swimming pools, up mountains, in snow, on rockfaces and on the tops of cliffs. I am represented by commercial agencies here in the UK, but take most bookings directly.

I have worked with world-class, award-winning photographers, yet many of my favourite images were shot by beginners with a drive to create something special. My goal is to inspire, to bring into being something that will last and which I can be proud of, and to be the catalyst for expressive and eye catching artwork. When working with me you’ll find that I’m confident enough in my strengths to deliver, while collaborating and listening to you with the aim of bringing your ideas (however vague or particular) to life. I welcome new ideas, concepts and experiments whole-heartedly.

Thanks for reading! 🙂 That email address again: ellarosemuse@live.co.uk.