Skateaway - 2

Here's another shot from our walk yesterday around the Winter Wonderland in the Old Market Square.

There still weren't that many skaters on the rink. With the big smile on her face, this girl was certainly having a great time, especially as she just about had it all to herself.

She was whizzing around with her blonde hair flowing and her Christmas cardie flapping in the breeze. I've seen lots of Christmas jumpers, but never a cardigan. Maybe she's a trendsetter.

Moody

My final photo of Carla, from my wonderful shoot with her the other day.

Nothing much else really to say.

Blondie

Here's another, more edgy look of model Carlo Monaco, but still as beautiful.

I think there's a slight look of Debbie Harry in this shot. Maybe it's the blonde hair, the pout or the cheekbones.But the camera sure does love her, even in my amateurish shots.

The Star Maiden

I had a very enjoyable photoshoot this afternoon with professional model Carla Monaco.
Especially as it was a birthday present from Gail and a friend of ours.

They recently asked me what I wanted for a present. I gave this some thought, and really didn't want the usual DVDs or CDs, and other typical things you get as gifts. But a couple of weeks ago, a local photo studio called CoCo advertised a shoot with this lovely lady. I've always wanted to do a shoot with Carla, ever since seeing some photos of her that had been taken by pro photographer Damien Lovegrove.

So I thought this would be a great opportunity of combining the two things.

She was a dream to work with. Very patient, great posing and just a lovely personality, which I think comes across in my photo.

Jamming On The High Street

There was some live music in the air this morning in Beeston, as there was some promotion of the next Oxfam day, which happens in two weeks time.

Some of my Oxfam friends were standing outside the shop, handing out flyers and trying to sell some tickets. Their endeavours were being helped by my musical friend Emma Bladon Jones, and this young lady, Lucia, who had a fine voice. I was talking to her father, who was proudly taking photos of her as well.

She, Emma and plenty more artists will be performing at different venues across Beeston and Chilwell, for what is turning out to be the best one yet.  I for one can't wait.

Tuning Into The World

Day two of our break from work, but another day of not clicking my camera's shutter button. So here's a shot that I took last week during a walk along the canal near where I work.

The woman was completely oblivious of anything going on around her as she was so wrapped up with listening to music and texting on her mobile phone.

Happiness

This is Gemma and her fiancee David.

We all went to a local beauty spot today where Gail and I took some photos of them at different locations around the park.

Despite the cold weather, we all had a great time and I think we got some good shots of the happy couple.

Never Too Young For Rock And Roll

I know there's sadly controversy these days about photographing children in public, due to a few people spoiling it for others, but I just couldn't resist taking a shot of this rock god of the future.

Did John Bon Jovi's dad dress him like this when he was little I wonder, or Bryan Adams'? Either way, I'm sure this 'little dude' was having a great time at Beeston's carnival.

A Blonde And A Bike

Another evening, another model shoot. This time it is of up and coming model Emma.

Here's a shot only using natural light, in the garden belonging to Alan, who's studio we were using. I  just love the way the evening sun shines through Emma's hair. Just like you see sometimes on the shampoo adverts.

We then went inside the studio, and learnt a bit more about lighting, and how it can be used to make different effects. Such as the photo below, where Emma was just shot from the side, which adds to a sense of mystery to the scene.

Forever In Blue Jeans

Gail and I spent a very enjoyable evening at a local studio, shooting the very delectable Nicole.

There was only three of us, so we all got a fair go at snapping our model in the three outfits that had been picked.

This is the first one. I think she looks a bit like a young Olivia Newton-John, when she appeared in the 1978 movie Grease playing Sandy.

I took this shot using my OMD. I've hardly touched my Nikon D3s since I got the little Olympus. I'm very happy with the camera and think that I've taken quite a few reasonable shots with it now. Maybe I just need to keep improving my photography, so I get more good shots.

Cuddles

Here's Jade, a model that Gail and I shot tonight at a local studio.

A lovely girl. Petite, happy and very photogenic, as you can see.

She is actually naked here, but I like the idea of Jade cuddling this furry cushion. I wanted to use a big teddy bear, but alas the studio didn't have one.

All Fingers And Toes

On Wednesday Gail and I went to do a boudoir shoot at Michael Lau's studio with the lovely and exotically named SINderella Rockafella.

We were meant to be there for 5.30, but it took us two hours to get there, even though the city centre is only some five miles away.  All the roads were gridlocked. It couldn't have been all down to the snow that had been falling since the afternoon.  There must have been some accidents or breakdowns in several places, as the traffic just wasn't going anywhere.

Eventually we got there and got sorted out. On these sorts of shoots, I usually take my Nikon D3s, but for a change, I thought I would see what sort of photos I could produce using just my Olympus OMD.

I think Michael is a little envious of my camera, as he said that he would like one himself, but wouldn't be able to justify the expense.

Anyway, here's one of the results, with just a little tweaking in Lightroom. SINderella was great to work with and very adaptable, even though she has been modelling for less than a year. She clearly has a successful career ahead of her and presently has over 10,000 likes on her Facebook page.

Sweet Sixteen

As well as Oona, last night we had the delightful company of Nikki. She is also a model, but was there as a photographer. We had met before, as she did a shoot with Alan our teacher a few weeks ago, where she dressed up as a rather fetching WW2 WRAF.

I caught her here coming out of Alan's small studio. When Nikki saw my camera, she stopped and stood smiling, so I could take a photo or two.

She's a lovely person and will make a great natural model when her modelling career develops.

Memories

Headbanger Wednesday today, and Stewart has called the shots this week, before he sets sail on yet another cruise. He and Julie seem to have more holidays than anyone I know. And what a tricky one he's set; health, wealth or happiness within a flower. Thanks for that Stew!

Anyway, here's my shot of a pansy that I took soaking up the sun's rays in Woodhall Spa. I really like the colour, as it reminds me of strawberries and cream. A pudding that makes me happy. All those tasty, sweet strawberries surrounded by a dollop of thick double cream. Wealthy in a way, as I can afford to treat myself, and healthy, with the nutritional benefits of the summer fruit. As long as you don't pour too much cream on that is!

Do pop over and have a look at Stewart and the rest of the teams' blogs, to see how they have interpreted the challenge. And do enjoy this classic song from the 1960s


Gail and I attended another lesson in studio lighting tonight, although being a sunny (and dry) evening, we spent a lot of it outdoors.

Our model for the session was called Oona. She is a experienced model, so she found going into poses very easy. Looking for something different, I got her to sit down and stare distantly into a tea cup, as though she was remembering a happy or sad event in her past.

It was an enjoyable evening. Sadly for us the last one. But we are on the lookout for another photo course that will hopefully be as valuable.

What A Poser

The bride has a couple of grand-children through a previous marriage. The boy; Leighton loved having his photo taken. He asked me several times throughout the day to take his photo. Especially when were were back at the family home.

He also seemed quite relaxed with posing and somehow knew what to do. Almost as though he had done it before; even though he is only about seven. I would just say to him stand there and he would quite happily strike a pose for me. I think that I took more of him than I did of the bride and groom!

But as you can see, he is quite a photogenic little boy, and was more than happy to stand in various places for different poses. I'm sure his parents will be pleased with the shots I've done. Unfortunately his sister, who is a lot younger wasn't so forthcoming. Especially at the registry office, where she wouldn't smile, or sometimes turned her head away. She also seemed to like rubbing her eye with her finger.

It was also nice to shoot a youngster without the fear of an angry parent assuming that I was up to no good. I'm sure there are less photos taken of children these days than there used to be. Especially those of children playing outdoors, as seen through the lenses of photographers in more carefree days.