Natural

Lavender Blue

ERWhittington

I had a really stressful dream last night in which one of my friends secretly borrowed one of my bellydance costumes (the mermaidy one) to wear to a club night. I was too polite to mention the graveness of the situation; delicate embellishment getting knocked around and ripped off in neon-lit tree houses, etc. I don’t know what she was thinking. I forgave her when I woke up. (Also, I fell in love with a man in a lift.)

Anyway, since we’re (well, I’m, anyway) in the mood for whimsy, here are some images taken by the lovely and talented Elle Hicks in one of my favourite locations of all time, the humble (but glorious) lavender fields here in England. Such a pleasure to be in their midst, even if we did have a bit of trouble at the start of the shoot that threatened to put a stop to the whole thing (I think the less said about that, the better!) 🙂

Make up by me as usual; clever prettiness by Elle:



Additionally, here’s Sir Fluffalot, much famed over on my instagram accounts (here and here), having been disturbed while reading. He’s a bit cross about that, clearly.


Naiad & Idyll

ERWhittington

Evening!

Hello to everyone who’s stumbled across this blog recently after the recent double re-publication of my ’10 Things You Might Not Know about Nude Models’ piece, over on DIY Photography and on Model Mayhem. I’ve been quite amazed by the level of positive response it’s had from both photographers and models, and have had lots of messages since asking for interviews and translation rights all over the intersphere… I’ll be honest, I’m a bit behind on messages as I’ve just been overwhelmed, but will get to them all as soon as I can!

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Slightly relatedly, I am planning some gentle world domination for the second half of this year, and, prompted by a suggestion made in one of the comments below this recent facebook update…

… I have started dropping pins in a google map, based on where I need to go in order to position myself in front of the lenses of those various members of my photographer/artist bucket list. I think some hefty inter-continental travel is in order, judging by the scattered placement. It’s good to get a clear visual of a possible itinerary. I have started to become increasingly independent from the ‘usual suspect’ portfolio sites over the last few months, as much as I value them, and I like the idea of maintaining a massive, global picturesque vision of possibility against the backdrop of a world map.

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I have some news: I’m creating a brand new website/blog for my writing (poetry and fiction), which I generally do under a different name (stray modelling articles such as the recent ’10 Things’ one aside!). It’s nerve-wracking and very exciting, and I’ll be revealing it to you here very soon – just as soon as it’s ready for public consumption. I really hope you’ll all like it and your support would mean a lot to me.

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And, finally for this belated blogtastic update, I have some brand new images to show you from the watery waves of a Cornish shoot. These images were shot by the truly lovely, and rather excellent, Imagesse, who is always a pleasure to model for as I know his mind is always racing with narratives as much as mine; a fact proven, unexpectedly, by the arrival in my inbox of a little story as well as the accompanying images.


“…so there I was, meandering along a forest trail beside a lazy river, my path lit by shafts of autumn sunlight breaking through the canopy. Gradually, the moving water developed a sense of urgency and soon my stroll was accompanied by the sound of tumbling rapids. Rounding a bend into a deep gorge, I stopped to bask in the peace and wonder of this place. Several minutes past when I thought I heard a voice above the sound of the falls.  There it was again, a soft female voice, singing a clear song.  Now puzzled, I turned towards the source of the sound. As I raised myself above my rocky seat, I was presented with a vision, the like of which I had never seen.  There before me, on a mossy perch beside the white water, sat a beautiful woman.  Clothed in nothing but her own skin, she seemed unaware of my presence yet at one with the river.  Spellbound, I watched her hands play with the swirls and eddies of the dark, peaty liquid.  Unable to move, unable to breathe, I realised this vision was a naiad; a rare and benign female nymph who belonged to this fresh water idyll. For those dreamlike moments, time stood still, until my reverie was disturbed by the crack of a branch snapping nearby. That distraction made me turn my head for but a few seconds, but when I turned back, that beautiful creature was gone.  All that remained was the trees, the rocks and the river.  The endlessly moving, river……”  

Scandinavia

ERWhittington

After this and this, I have another batch of images from Norway to show today!

These are more experimental, indoor (well, some are, and to be inside was a bit of a relief after all that mermaid-ing about in arctic winds, as thrilling as that was) and many of them, in my opinion, really capture the cool, glowy fresh light you get in Scandinavia.
by Mads Erik Husdal:

By Lars Andreas Dybvik:
(a couple of ‘behind the scenes’ scenes first!)

and by Hakon Gronning:

I’m off to Venice tomorrow, having got back from Vienna a couple of days ago. What a ridiculously exciting time it’s been, modelling at full throttle. I’m already taking bookings for next year (having taken one for August a little while ago already), and would urge anyone wishing to reserve some time with me in the UK or beyond to get in touch and start making arrangements. I’ll take just a few more bookings for this winter (November – Jan) – you can get in touch via www.ellarosemuse.co.uk.

The Wool Company

ERWhittington

Despite roasting in a studio yesterday along with 5 other models for an exciting shoot involving ghosts, cliffs & scaffolding(!!!) I feel like autumn is considering stopping twiddling its thumbs today and sadly, yet beautifully, hitting us with some cooler air…

To get over this shock (and also because I was, quite frankly, knackered, after non-stop shoots galore plus the horrible news that my doggie suffered heart failure while away; she is now on 3 different medications per day, poor thing (and we are grappling with the trauma – for all parties – of having to shove little tiny pieces of ‘make-you-better-I-promise’ down her little throat), and she is dealing incredibly well with her gorgeous little heart beating at several million miles an hour to cope with all that’s going on in there; seriously, I know it sounds weird, but the X-rays of her tiny little body were adorable!), I decided to take a nap this afternoon and make the most of a recent purchase: welcome The Wool Company’s mattress topper.
Wow. My entire bed is anew. Not that there was much wrong with it before; but seriously, I feel like it has new soft, floaty depths!
Gorgeous, afore-mentioned piglet certainly agrees (click to enlarge):
(yes, I have a rose on my pillowcase!)
Anyway, back (more directly) to The Wool Company. I’m delighted to be able to say that I’m their ‘face'(/body), having recently shot for the second time around the moors and beaches of Cornwall, and finding their lovely website adorned with pictures of my mug and windswept hair. It’s such a huge pleasure to shoot for them and I’m already looking forward to next season’s photoshoot. After spending a couple of nights at the family’s farmhouse I felt very much at home, and loved chatting to Harry and Sarah in the evening about music and life as much as snuggling up to the wool capes and cashmere scarves on little bridges and next to lakes. Definitely my cup of tea, that sort of thing! 🙂
I obviously had to make the most of the discount I was kindly offered and purchased a few things of my own after the shoot, one of which I’m wearing below (clue; I look particularly happy in it!). I just think it’s so nice to own things that feel so beautifully made and of the kind of quality that has you dreaming of autumn/winter nights by the fire…
Some shots and screengrabs:

 And in other news, I duck into La Galleria in Picadilly last night after a shoot in London to have a quick look at the painting ‘Access to Justice’ by Andrew Brady, which I posed for (as Justice herself!). I was pleased to get a text from Andy just beforehand telling me he’d won the ‘People’s Choice’ award! The exhibition, ‘Injustice’, was run by London Legal Support Trust in association with Arts for Justice and you can see the entries here.

Here’s ‘Access to Justice’:

About the artwork:  ‘Painted especially for this exhibition, this piece is an  allegory for the way in which the disadvantaged in society find it difficult to gain proper access to justice. Justice here is represented by the figure on the right; she is blind, which traditionally represents her impartiality.The bejewelled figure in the centre represents those with money, influence or power; able to gain the ear of Justice while at the same time obstructing the figure on the left, who, with her threadbare blouse represents the disadvantaged. Making cuts to Legal Aid is one of the greatest injustices in our country today.’

Marian

ERWhittington

Back from Norway! Can’t wait to show some results here ASAP. I think my record for ‘coldest I’ve ever been on a shoot’ has officially been broken. You can’t argue with arctic winds. But the midnight sun is so spectacular!

For now, in between booking trains, listening to Dolly Parton and planning shoots for tomorrow and beyond (I’ve got a commercial healthcare booking tomorrow; quite a change from nude mermaid-ing in Scandanavia!), here are some romantic, soft portraits taken recently by (not the) David Bailey. This was such a lovely shoot, with soooo many images. 🙂 I think they are almost a bit ‘bridal’; and we are well and truly into ‘wedding season’ after all! Some are edited a bit, some not.

White, Yellow, Red & Blue

ERWhittington

I meant to show you these a long time ago (well, almost a year ago!), and looking at my schedule (and that of mother nature) it’s clear to me that Spring is a-Springing (let’s ignore the fact that it hailed today) so I’m either really really late with these or really early.

Either way, I am very much looking forward to the possibility of my some local outdoor shoots in April/May (let me know if you want to make the most of it this year by booking something in in advance!), where all of the below were taken by the lovely Kev Bretts. Sweet and casual was the order of the day.