A Year Ago Today!

Well, here it is, folks!

2nd July 2012. My blog's birthday! Happy Birthday Blog!

I've had a wicked year personally, as you can probably read back (if you have a lot of time!).

In the past 12 months I've:
- bought a new camera
- bought a new lens
- acquired a portable(ish) studio and lighting
- exploited my make-up brush wielding genius of a friend.
- worked on films
- assisted other shoots
- worked with various models, MUAs, artists, actors, designers, film crew, authors and a director!
- executed several personal shoot ideas and concepts
- shot live gigs
- taken stills for film
- made some moolah doing what I love
- filmed someone on fire with my camera (no, I didn't put them out either)
- forced Ceri Williams to pose for me.
- painted Ceri Williams
- exposed Ceri Williams sexy shoulders on camera
- worked with THE Ceri Williams
- turned Ceri Williams into an unforgiving diva
- shot some gangsters
- won a (reasonably dodgy) competition
- been in other blogs
- cut off nearly all my hair to raise money for the Little Princess Trust
- shot my brother... O_o
- time-travelled
- let a stunt-woman (notorious for making things go boom) ride my beloved bike, Angus.
- shot too many weddings!
- gotten a lot of people half-naked
- received fan mail \o/
- made some clothes?
- climbed trees
- acquired a cat
- shot a rather iconic dress
- found a ghost
- broken some houses
- had photography assistants
- avoided security guards like a ninja
- been gifted with new studio-lights, filters, a new lens, a VERY EXCITING piece of kit that I can't tell you about as it'll ruin the surprise and a VERY good tripod all by amazing friends. Thank you millions.
- turned a boy into a maybe-girl
- taken pictures of myself (*sings* "you're so vain.... you probably think this... blog is... about...")
- run two competitions
- bled a vampire (to come)
- shot catwalk
- stalked someone at a train-station
- been interviewed
- set myself some targets for 2012
- posed topless! :o
- achieved all but one target so far (and the last will be happening in Oct!)
- scared some locals in Hindhead
- shot a bald princess (to come)
- started my lovely new business
- made lots of lovely new friends (models, MUA's, designers and the like!)
- taken on several regular business clients
... and posted (now) 42 posts all about it all!

All this while, you brilliant folk have followed it all on Facebook, Twitter and on this wonderful blog.

I have, in that year had 11377 views on my blog which is about 270-ish views per post! So thank you all so much for following my progress (at least I hope it's progress)!

I can't believe that it's been within just one year that all of these things have happened!?

Though it would explain why I've not slept much. :)

Post-wise, I have coming up to start off the new blog-year:

Post-shoot, now editing
- A Little Princess Trust shoot
- A 'Vampire'-related shoot (non-glittery)
- Live bands
- Me again! (*sings* "You're so vain...")

To shoot soon!
A sci-fi themed shoot, to put it vaguely...
... and many many more left to do (but if I told you, I'd have to kill you).

Anyway, I can't stop... apparently I've got some editing to do (see above) and I have private work to finish before I get to do mine!

Cheers for sticking with me and thank you all so much for all your support so far, you guys! Ahhhh!

\o/ *in happy place*

x

Callum Hawthorne: My Model Brother

Callum "Pretty-Boy" Hawthorne (or "Biebs" as Martin and I have taken to calling him since his Justin Bieberesque haircut) is my younger brother.


A 13-year-old football and althetic boy-prodigy, Callum is not very much like me.
(I wheeze a lot when moving around)


Our Mum and I have suggested modelling to him a couple of times and he's not been particularly interested, though last time, he did say that he'd give it a try. We think it may be because he's now got a lovely girlfriend (Amber) who is also in support of the idea and she's gorgeous so her opinion carries a certain extra sway.


So Saturday 21st January, I picked Callum up from Mum's and we headed over to Basingstoke.


Now then, I was a little concerned initially that he would feel too awkward in front of the camera and either wouldn't relax or wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. I have to say actually, he surprised me. He was very good at taking direction and, even though it was coming from his sister, of all people, he managed to take in everything I said. Quite a feat for a footballer as I understand that they are generally not accustomed to having to process their own thoughts.

We started off easy with a headshot, so here he is:

Unfortunately, yes, he is that pretty. I haven’t edited out a truckload of spots or had to ‘shop out a huge monobrow. He genuinely looks this good all the time.

Git.

Now then, I don’t know about you but I struggle with the fact that he’s only 13 (14 next month). I see some of these and he looks about 17 to me. Scary stuff.

I think this would be a good opportunity for me to add some of his baby photos in a big-sister-like, humiliating way but alas, I haven’t any handy. Maybe later.

2 bashes of cyan tint added here with Photoshop “Variations” for the interested.

I think it looks more like a ‘fashion’ image that way.
.

He’s only 13 and, as I said, he’s a football genius. Well… genius probably isn’t the term. Football… erm… talented person…. Something something. He’s also, pretty darn clever (…sometimes. He is also clearly blonde). He’s doing very well at school. He has a really pretty girlfriend (who, might I add, could also easily be a teen model). He’s very tall (important to some). He’s got a good mind-set for his future. He’s into… not excruciatingly terrible music… not great either but I’m sitting here thinking, I can’t think of any reason that this boy is not going to succeed in life. He’s got high hopes, but all the means to achieve his goals (and not just the football ones!). He works for what he wants. He’s 13 and he chooses his diet to suit his lifestyle, he exercises and works hard to be (even) better at his sport, he looks at what he needs to do now in order to be where he wants to be in 3/5 years’ time.

Anyway, this next shot is my favourite (I think). We did some jumping! Mostly him but I won’t lie, I was excited. And even though he felt a bit stupid, and doesn’t really like these photos… I had to put one of these up ‘cause they’re a big hit with the people that have seen them already AND I just love it, quite frankly:

Wahey!

I’m jumping again. o_o

Next we went outside. Funny really as someone was parked in my ‘usual spot’ (usual = used once before) and so I had to make Callum stand in some bushes to take these photos. Quite a funny sight for the neighbours, I’m sure…

My brother doesn’t like this one either but I have to put it up to prove that I once made him laugh.

(He really doesn’t find me funny. Can’t think why. Jealousy? It certainly can’t be because I’m not… )

Also, he has a sickeningly handsome smile too.

And then to finish off, we went indoors and sat on the couch where he mostly watched football over my shoulder. Ha ha.

These were nice though, I thought.

Anyway. That’s my brother. We’ve sat and had a chat about his options and what sort of thing he’d be up for doing and he’s decided he’s going to go for it.

Plus, his Mum says he’s handsome so it must be true. XD

Keep your eyes out for Callum hopefully coming soon to an advert/poster/catalogue, etc. near you. I suppose one of us has to make it big somewhere!

Then in due time, there’s also my other brother, Matthew… but believe me, you’re just not ready for him. O_o;

The 'Big Day'

As of the day that I have received my very first digital SLR camera. Ordered on Thursday 30th June 2011. Arrived at 10:45am on Saturday 2nd July 2011. Canon 7d. Beautiful. This is when everything gets a million times better for me.

Whilst the 350D was a great camera to learn with, I found the restrictions closing around me rather quickly when I started getting a bit more adventurous and wanted to do more with my camera. The more I got smothered, the more I lost my 'keen' for photos. I decided I was going to save up for a while and buy a better model before trying to do any more with it.

So I shelled out £1200 on a Canon 7D. My first digital SLR camera! Chosen for it's prettiness and it's 8fps shooting (I've missed out on a lot of epic action shots in the past two years... realised it was something I really wanted to dabble in more). I could not contain my excitement when it came. I might have welled up a little bit when I first saw it laying there in it's box. Totally new.

There it is. Straight out of the box. Body only. It's beautiful, isn't it? Makes you me want to cry.

I then preceeded to look at it for approximately 45 minutes before actually getting a lens on it and playing. Though, once that bridge was crossed, I then forced my other half's brother outside to play 'keepy-ups' with his football out in the garden while I took photos of him and played with the settings.

I couldn't believe how the camera just purred away taking pictures when I got it onto high-speed continuous shooting... I thought Adam was going to cry by the time I let him finish kicking that ball but he held himself together rather well. XD

I've still got a lot to play with on this camera though at the point of writing this blog entry I have already done 4 photoshoots, been on a film set and have another couple of shoots set up for tomorrow.

Want to see some images from it? Next blog for you then!