Publications

Electric blue, rain, shapes; workshop & London exhibition

ERWhittington

In stark contrast to the blog post below, I will leave it completely to you to imagine how this image was created. It’s a weird, freaky one – I love it!

(Taken by the ever-eccentric-in-a-good-way Eric Kellerman at a Dobbelmen workshop he and his colleague hosted, during my visit to the Netherlands last month. It was really fun to see what weird and wonderful shapes and patterns we could create!)
I had a really blissful time shooting in France recently (images on their way..!) and was picked up by a taxi, once back in London, to rush to the evening private view for a painter’s exhibition I am currently featured in. I felt very jet set and glam (in my rain-sodden hippie dress and wet feet…. Upon arriving in London, a man even took it upon himself to mention to me that my long dress was going to get wet at the bottom(!). Ha.) Anyway, it was fun to spot 4 new drawings of myself I’d never seen before (I’m rarely allowed to view the results in situ…) and I was struck, as always, by the immense talent and vision of the artist across the whole exhibition. It’s lovely (and unsurprising) to see that at least one piece I modelled for had sold already.
Right, over and out – just a quick update. Gallons and gallons of images to come very soon; I’m herding them up gratefully to show on here from the incredibly generous and creative types who have pointed their lenses at me in recent weeks…
Actually, in other, tentative, should-I-mention-this news, I’m working towards a poetry collection on the subject of appearance/reality/identity/performance. Same old preoccupation… But I’m gathering a significant section of thought on the concept of ‘muse-dom’. It’s a lot of fun. I would publish things here but then that would mess up copyright/permissions, etc etc. (That’s the annoying part.)

Into the Deep

ERWhittington

I absolutely loved working with Clayton Bastiani on the Isle of Wight earlier this year. He is just so incredibly creative and it’s really no wonder that his images have been published on hundreds of novel covers all over the world.

I was thrilled to be booked with the aim of producing a few more for his novel-cover stock (though we also did some different things as well). As someone who is rather fond of books and stories myself, I find it very exciting to be able to find myself on the front of another person’s story, representing some aspect of an imagined world – it’s a similarly wonderful feeling to know that a complete stranger has a portrait of you hanging in their house (or indeed, perhaps a bronze sculpture!) – really quite bizarre and odd (I always wonder what kind of person they are, and what it would be like to meet them and also how odd for them it might be to meet me). It will be interesting to see what stories out there will be matched up to my image, and why… Anyway, I’d better not get too ahead of myself, but I’ll update on here with any news down the line… 🙂

I’m allowed to show four individual images here on my blog, followed by a composite grid of some of the other images. It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway: all images are strictly owned by Clayton Bastiani and may not be used/reproduced in any way without permission.

I should mention that Clayton wrote a ten-part series on photo creation and photo manipulation for Black & White Photography Magazine, the May edition of which featured the first mermaid image below. In the article Clayton explains all about how it was made, and you may be surprised to hear that I didn’t actually grow a tail especially for the purpose of the shoot (I suppose I’m just not that dedicated.. ;-))

Here’s a snippet of Clayton’s own words (from his facebook page), from when the magazine came out:

One of the driving forces behind many of my pictures is improvisation, finding ways to create images on a tight budget with minimum resources. This month I wanted to make a picture of a mermaid swimming in the murky depths of the sea.At the beginning of a recent shoot with Ella Rose I asked her to stand in the bay window and pretend to be swimming underwater. After the shoot I popped to the shops and bought a small fish tank and an assortment of plastic plants. Through trial and error and a little bit of torch light I spent a couple of days (in my usual to-ing and fro-ing manner) and created the following piece.


The Deep:



It’s always so kind of photographers to send prints to me after a shoot and I was really excited to receive an actual ‘moving image’ of this one; when you walk past it looks like I’m swimming in the reeds! Very magical! 🙂
Mermaid on Rocks:

Moon Dance:
Sword and Fire
And here’s a grid of a few more from the day:
A lot of the images above were created in the most unlikely set ups: a lot of hocus pocus went into them and so the results were such a fun surprise for me (even knowing what the intended outcomes were, via some pencil sketches!). 
You can look through more of Clayton’s work and purchase some prints of his fantasy and storytelling work from Stephen Bartels Gallery here.

Right, time for me to finish packing for France tomorrow!

In Vivid Paint

ERWhittington 2 Comments

Just a quick update… Things have been quite wonderful here in my world with the usual balance of endings and beginnings and new stuff and new plans. Amongst other things I’ve started putting the final pieces of the puzzle together for my upcoming trip to Scotland (4th-14th May). Pllleeeeease let the weather be beautiful! I was quite amazed by how quickly this trip booked up, to be honest; it made me think I really ought to go to Scotland more often, not least because I absolutely loved my last trip to Edinburgh. That said, there has been a cancellation and I am also doing my best to squeeze in any extra shoots people might want to arrange with me. I’m going to be in Edinburgh, Fife, Dundee, Perth, the Highlands, Glasgow, then back in Edinburgh. Do get in touch if you like the idea of having me pose for you and I’ll see what I can do.

I’ve had some great shoots recently, including a commercial shoot for a jewellery company in London, some dance/movement work, and a shoot which partly involved wearing moss and twigs! I do love the variety. I’ve got lots in my ‘to blog’ folder, as always; it’s overflowing, in fact, and I still find it so exciting to be able to share the work I’m featured in.

Another fun thing that happened recently was receiving a huge print of a painting by Nurhilal Harsa from Turkey, which I rolled out on my bedroom floor and gazed at in amazement. I imagine it will make a really good feature on the wall someday, as part of my quite eclectic collection of stuff.

The painting is based on an image shot for Digital Camera Magazine (full info here – it resulted in 14 pages and a front cover). The pictures here (sent initially to show me the painting) don’t do justice to quite how vibrant and striking the colours are, in my opinion; the blues/greens in particular are very bold. If you click on the link above you can see Nurhilal Harsa’s distinctive style. She says:

‘A strong, secular, humanist art is critical for Turkey and art can help everybody challenge limitations of understanding and consciousness. Izmir is a magical city on the shores of the Aegean Sea. I throw open my windows every morning and both the sea and sky open their arms to me, welcoming the day. Every day the sea and the sky are different and also the same. They can be serene or tempestuous. They are moody, like me. My paintings are emotional and vibrant, colorful and expressive.’

I am often contacted by painters who wish to paint versions of the photographs I post online, or by those who already have.

Copyright is a funny thing. The images taken of me, by default, belong (along with associated rights) to the photographer/artist. (When I post them here, it is with permission.) I agree, on each individual occasion, to pose for a person on a particular time or location, for them to produce my likeness and use it in any (legal, non-defamatory, etc.) way they like. It is thereafter not my right to have a say in what derivative work may follow on from the exchange for which I have been compensated, or to which I have agreed. Therefore, I occasionally find (often after the event) that I have ‘remotely’ modelled for someone I have never met or made an agreement with…

I’m happy to be inspiring people – it’s quite exciting to see the results, but I hope that good ethics can be remembered by those who use my likeness in this ‘remote’ way, and that for any kind of commercial use or public display/sale, permission must be sought beforehand, from the copyright holder (I can usually put you in touch with them; it’s no problem at all!), and that my role as the subject ought to be respected too. And yes, being sent a physical print really does make things a lot sweeter, from my point of view. 🙂

…So thank you, Nurhilal Harsa, for sending me a copy of your beautiful painting, all the way from Turkey. I really do appreciate it! I also hope other artists might be inspired to send on copies of their work to the models too, where possible and appropriate; it might be appreciated far more than you realise. 🙂

Article, and Gladiator

ERWhittington 3 Comments

I’m watching Gladiator today. Brilliant!

In other news, this article about me, written by David Bollt (creator of a great-looking model/artist site) is particularly cheering… Some incredibly kind words about my work, followed by my answers to some interview questions on what I love and dislike about this job… Some of the content was taken from an email I sent to a fellow model I met once,  on the subject of ‘balance’, as we were emailing at the same time as I was thinking about my responses – and we models talk! – but mostly it’s a bit ‘stream of consciousness’-y.

Link to article on Model Society.

Or content below:

The Muse: Ella Rose, Nude Modeling, Dancing, and Writing

Ella Rose: Nude Model Magazine Article
Images of Ella Rose shine like gem stones in the portfolio of one talented photographer after another. Ella is a golden thread that weaves itself through the artwork and photography of many renowned creative talents. Her images radiate a warm natural light, and she seems to feel perfectly at home expressing herself as a nude model.
Although she has a romantic spirit, Ella is also very practical and manages her modeling career with discernment and great care. Ella is a very rare type of fine art model, who has turned her passion for modeling into a ongoing source of personal fulfillment, as well as a thriving full time career. One of her biggest challenges, is balancing her passion for modeling with the many other things she is strongly inspired by, including dance, writing and music.
Nude Model and fine art model: Ella Rose
Ella thrives on adventure and new experiences. She has a poetic way of relating to the world and savors the magic of special moments. Her modeling is a diary that she shares with the world. Her images are a record of her travels, her self expression and spirit.
“You might have wandered around the streets of Paris, but have you posed nude at 3am with the Eiffel Tower as your backdrop? You might have driven past some stunning vast deserts or dry lake beds, but have you laid down on the cracked earth with a view of the stormy sky above, or negotiated your way through heat, cacti and rocks in the name of photography? Have you got up close and personal with ancient, enormous rainforest trees? Or bathed in a bed of bluebells in the English springtime? When I look through my portfolio it’s just a huge catalogue of some amazing moments I’ve been lucky to experience.”
Ella Rose is a wonderful example of how fine art modeling and nude modeling can make the world more beautiful. Her images portray a distinct feminine beauty that is light, graceful and natural. Connoisseurs of human beauty enjoy her work, savoring artistic modeling at its very best.
Ella Rose: Fine art model and nude model
Q: What effect do you want your work to have on people?
I want people to find the images I’m in beautiful, interesting, or powerful. I also want them to be inspired in some way, to create something themselves, to know or feel something new about humanity via what I am projecting.


Q: What inspires you? And what does it feel like to be inspired? 
Being inspired is a feeling of being energized and excited. Anything can inspire me, in real life, or my imagination. On a photo shoot, a photographer with ideas, something they want to try (whether that be a new lighting technique, a post processing technique, a mood or atmosphere, process or goal) can be inspiring, or music in a studio, or landscape or the location. I am probably most inspired when doing something that is new to me, in some way.
Q: What is the most rewarding thing about modeling?
There is so much I love about this job. I have never been able to picture myself working for someone else in a conventional setting (and for me I am largely unable to do something unless I have first envisioned it; a fact that comes into its own when learning new dance routines; it’s a matter of the brain getting there first, then the body), so ultimately, the fact that I am self employed, in control of my own schedule, able to plan my working week how I like, is so liberating and wonderful.
Secondly, I get to be creative. I get to play an array of different roles for the camera, explore aspects of myself, womanhood, character, narratives and stories. I get to look back at images of myself when I’m 95 and think ‘huh, that was cool – I remember that day!’ (and being frequently immortalized by someone who has been commissioned to paint the most prominent members of our human society is very high up on that ‘proudest moments’ list!), I get to inspire people and be the catalyst for their own creativity and watch them surprise themselves with what they can capture. I also meet an amazingly wide range of people under the umbrella of ‘artists’; and, seriously, I have met some incredible eccentrics, some more down to earth, some meticulous techno geeks, people with crazy energy and huge enthusiasm, others more calm and gentle, some drifters, some dreamers, people who have influenced me in ways they might not realize.
Q: What is the most difficult thing about modeling?
I think, for me, the most difficult thing about modeling concerns a question of ‘balance’, and that’s something I’m sure many people in all walks of life can relate to. Aside from the fact that, as any full time model can tell you, the ‘admin’ side of things takes up so much time (I am always a bit behind on emails simply because I get so many (which I am of course grateful for), and there always seems so much to do, seeing as I am my own manager, PR, booker, PA, website creator, travel agent, schedule planner… etc., and that’s alongside the actual photo shoots, which themselves are alongside real life!), I have so many other interests and dreams I want to simultaneously pursue (music, writing, languages, dancing, creating…), that I’m continually reassessing my life/work balance and trying to better arrange my time between different hobbies. I’m a very disciplined and organized person, so I generally do OK with time management, but I recently decided to stop and look at things in relation to who I am as a person and try to arrange my time and priorities to reflect that and give me the best chance of feeling fulfilled and getting the things done that I want to do.
Modeling can be all consuming. I have learnt not to particularly try to impress others; I can’t say I ever particularly did try to do that, but I am more aware of the ‘not trying’ now. It would be extremely easy to get sucked into doing ‘more and more’ and ‘better and better’, more ‘shocking’ stuff, in a way that is not positive in the context of my own life. I’m proud of my portfolio and definitely take pride in my work, but I have never felt I’ve reached my full potential with it or done everything I could. (Perhaps that’s a good thing.) Modeling has a very addictive aspect (for someone like me who has an ambitious personality) – it would be so easy for me to say ‘forget the novel, I’m gonna show everyone what I can REALLY do!’), do some extreme self-marketing, shoot with everyone whose work I admired, get some killer shots, make tons of money… but whenever I start having thoughts like that I remind myself that what I’ve done is sufficient as it is and it’s unfolding well at a natural pace, I’ve been part of some excellent images already, that modeling is not solely who I am, and that it’s OK not to feel like you’ve DONE everything possible if it means I am also able to spend time on other things I love, so for me, modeling less than I quite easily could and taking control over those urges is my way of putting some perspective into practice after thinking about what I want to have achieved in 6 or 12 months time.
Finally, balancing creativity with the fact that modeling is a job, is also a difficult trick to conquer. I don’t take bookings from photographers whose work (or personalities) I really don’t like (this has nothing to do with where they are along the beginner-experienced spectrum; it’s only a question of taste/intention) simply because it’s not worth the money to me to have a bad experience doing something I love. I don’t want to jeopardize my enjoyment of playing the role of a ‘muse’, so it’s something I am conscious and careful about. It’s a difficult issue though; you can’t pay bills with pretty images, and I know that I am lucky that I can pick and choose what bookings I take to an extent.
Ella Rose nude modeling and fine art modeling
Ella Rose is a professional (traveling) model. She is primarily an art model but experienced in dance/movement, nude, fashion, lingerie, sports/fitness, commercial/lifestyle, wedding, beauty, portraits and artistic/classy glamour modeling. Ella is also an accomplished writer with a BA (Hons) degree in Philosophy and English Studies. You can also find her work at Model Mayhem.
See more of the Ella Rose modeling portfolio right here at Model Society.
Also be sure to visit her website: http://www.ellarosemuse.co.uk.

Lilies and Vanity

ERWhittington 2 Comments

Hallo! I modelled for the following images in Dusseldorf a while ago with photographer Vernon Trent – a mixture of film and polaroid. So nice to see the results, and I can’t wait for my next trip to Deustschland! Vernon and his lovely lady friend were very nice to work with, and I have always found Vernon’s photography beautiful. 🙂

I really like the fifth shot.

Also, I recently wrote an article about ‘vanity’ in the context of modelling. (Loyal blog readers might recognise some of the content.) It was published a couple of days ago on the front page of Model Mayhem, and had a great reaction. I was expecting some snarky comments along the lines of ‘why does she think we’d want to read about that… Who is she anyway?’ etc; forum reactions are unpredictable (and I have experience of this from writing for the Guardian; you get such a mix!)! But I have survived and am pleased to know that people are relating to what I say in great numbers. Over on the facebook page of MM it’s had a crazy amount of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’, and I’ve had some really nice messages about it. I have no idea if non-members of Model Mayhem can read the article, so here it is in full, for the record:


Recently, a friend I hadn’t seen in about five years asked me whether, doing what I do, I ever feel caught up in the concept of physical appearance. I replied that, actually, I think I’m far less vain these days than I ever might have been and somehow manage to ignore the media obsession with “perfection” and “irreality” almost completely. So, here are some scattered thoughts on the subject…

Model: Ella Rose; Photographer: Max Operandi
Vanity
When it comes to modelling, I have a mental list of things I’m not interested in doing. It’s the closest I have to “terms and conditions,” I suppose. For example, I won’t knowingly wear real fur. I won’t take part in anything I deem potentially offensive (religiously or politically). I won’t pose in ways I feel are overtly sexual or gratuitously explicit. It’s a pretty standard little list (I realize these things are quite subjective, but that’s largely the point), except for one thing I include: “vanity.”
Despite the fact that my images are often described as “pretty,” “soft,” or “romantic,” and despite the fact that I recently responded to a flattering comment with the words “Don’t forget I only show the pretty ones,” I am not scared of looking unpolished, “imperfect,” or “unpretty.” This is what I mean by saying that I don’t want to do “vanity.” I am interested in emotion and expression – and HONESTY. This means I’m not afraid to explore the areas of humanity which aren’t so pleasing to the eye. (I’m rarely taken up on this, but that’s OK.) I’m also happy to be completely unphotoshopped in photos (and often am). I’m totally happy with my body, which is completely different from subscribing to the idea that it is “perfect”–it isn’t–for example, my bones are such that I will always be pear-shaped. Which brings me to…
Self-awareness
Self-awareness is the thing. I’m aware of my strengths and my weaknesses. I’m aware of angles which make me look good and angles which definitely don’t. I have a massive amount of body awareness. I can isolate muscles most people don’t know they have. One of the things recommended to new models who want to “learn to pose” is to practice in front of a mirror. I confess I’ve actually never ever done this, but I usually have a good idea of exactly what a pose is going to look like. I think this is to do with my dance background more than anything, and then also from noticing what works and what doesn’t when I’ve looked at the images after a shoot. It’s always fun to see the images on the back of the camera during a shoot, as you can see how the lighting is working for what you’re doing, what kind of crops/compositions are happening, and what’s going on in the background. But what I mean is this: I generally have a good idea of how to work with my strengths. I’m aware that I’m not perfect, but I’m also aware that I can look good, and that I’m lucky to have a healthy body which functions well and does what I ask of it, so I think it would be a bit hideous of me to complain or worry. I think this realization, along with my modelling, has made me completely comfortable and happy in my own skin, so much so that vanity isn’t even an issue.

Model: Ella Rose; Photographer: Iain Thomson
As well as my body, I also have a lot more self knowledge about my face, and confidence about which angles work best for it. Seeing your face on camera repeatedly means that such awareness is unavoidable (even if I did only realize the other day that I can raise one eyebrow); I can also recognize a few of my fellow model friends only by a tiny part of one of their features. There is a detachment that comes alongside such intimate knowledge, which is essential for modelling. At the beginning, when shown a picture of myself during a shoot, I would comment on the angles or proportions of “my legs,” or “my chin,” whereas now I am equally likely to say “the legs,” or “the chin,” which sometimes makes photographers smile. (Just the other day I was looking at a shot of myself in a two-pose double exposure and, pointing at one of ‘the figures’ said “I like that she is actually touching the other person,” which is extra weird, thinking about it.) Anyway, before I talk myself into an existential crisis, here’s the crux of it: while knowing their body and face so well, good models must simultaneously become more objective about what image is being presented via the camera; I can now see myself as a sequence of shapes putting forward an overall mood or expression. And such knowledge is inevitable, when pictures of yourself are thrust at you so often; after all, the camera, consistent to the end, doesn’t lie.

Model: Ella Rose; Photographer: Jewelled World
It’s possible to pose so much, for example for eight full days in a row, that when you get home you find yourself noticing the way your cat is sprawled out on the grass outside and think, “Oh, good pose; nice shape; good leg angle.” At these times, you wonder if you’re more than a little mad, but that’s OK. I know at least two people who pose in their sleep. (Incidentally, I always appreciate people who, like me, sit weirdly without noticing, just because it’s comfortable, with legs stretched or curled in unexpected possibilities. I get particularly creative in the cinema.)
In some ways, I am probably less vain now than before I started modelling. I wasn’t massively vain then either, but I worried more about what people thought of my appearance, which in my opinion is closer to the true definition of vanity. I remember the first time I got on a train for a shoot with zero make up on (as I only had time to do it on the train). My younger self would have found this perversely exciting, a sort of thrill, but mostly terrifying, since people would see my ACTUAL FACE. I now realize that A) I really don’t look different without make up on, it’s just that my features aren’t “enhanced,” and B) even if I did look rough, gross, half-dead, etc. (although see “A”), absolutely no one would care or even notice. It’s silly to think that they would. I’m just another stranger in the street, not out to impress anyone, and that’s fun.

Model: Ella Rose; Photographer: Rebecca Parker
I have always thought that most people are beautiful if you look at them properly. What’s beautiful to me is character and a person’s story. If you can see that in the way they hold themselves, in little details about their manner and in the movements they make with their unique features and structures– if they have grace, kindness, un-selfconscious openness, an endearing awkwardness, stress, fear, vulnerability, humor, slight hints of emotion, history–the things which make up a life and leave traces on their physicality, then a person holds massive interest for me. There will always be “bad” photos of me existing out there in the unforgiving world of the internet, and sometimes these can simply be learned from, but maybe the truly “Zen” model would not fear them so much as understand that, just occasionally, “imperfection,” when coupled with self-confidence, can make a shot.

….And soon I’m getting around to looking at some questions I’ve had posed to me for an interview for an excellent website, getting ready to let loose on some more of my thoughts about this modelling business… Such a compliment to be asked, and you just can’t shut me up at the moment.

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!

Public Service Announcement: a Book!

ERWhittington 1 Comment

I’m so excited to have in my hands the fruit of several months’ coordination and the physical result of some extremely generous and kind photographers. I’m holding (well, not while typing, I suppose, but it’s here on my desk) a collection of some of my favourite images taken over the last three years, during which I’ve been practising my happy deviation into a life of art modelling.

I’ve mentioned before that I thought it was sad not to have many actual prints to show for my hard work, unlikely adventures and gloriously fun modelling frolics so far, and that computer files didn’t really cut it; and that I had decided to put together a photography book for myself to look at when I’m old (or anytime between now and then…). I’ve now managed to finish this project.

The book focuses on just one theme; it uses shots from one of my twelve website galleries, ‘Faerie’, and collects 29 natural, gentle, romantic and pure shots of me as the nude, female figure in a loose ‘garden’ setting; in tall grass, entwined in trees, in pools of water, surrounded by flowers, in faerie queen headdresses, in pre-Raphaelite forest guises, in the cool, shady dappled light of Mediterranean gardens and against huge, jurassic plants. I’ve never made a book before, so this is a great feeling, and just so wonderful to be able to own!

I’m so grateful to the photographers whose images are printed in this book, and although this was definitely created just as an indulgence for myself, as something to keep, I do have permission to make this book available for others to purchase. If anyone would like to buy themselves a copy, some money from each book bought goes to Amnesty. If you agree with me that physical prints are sooo much more satisfying to look at than online virtual ones, and you like the idea of owning a version yourself, having it adorn your bookshelf and perhaps provide some visual and artistic inspiration, you’re welcome to preview it online and see what you think.

Huge thanks to the following. Click on the links below to see more of their work:
Rebecca Parker
John Evans
Paul Bartholomew
Rayment Kirby
Voyages2004
Jeremy Howitt
DB Images
Dave Aharonian
Keith Cooper (website pending)
Imagesse
Robert Farnham
Gregory Brown
Michael Cordiez
Sean Buckley
and Pat Brennan

…I hope you like it. I’m so glad I finally did this and am already thinking of making a second book sometime in the not-too-distant future… Just need to choose a gallery/theme and start to gather my favourites!