Dehydration.

When it isnt raining, its pretty obvious that in the summer a lot of true Brits like a drink. got to keep themselves hydrated and its possibly that many will have a few too many drinks. As most people know, alcholic drinks aren't particularly hydrating as they de-hydrate you, causing you to drink more. Possibly the reason they are so popular in the summer (as clearly nobody goes out drinking in the colder months *cough).
I realise that it is infact only just reaching April, but it appears the sun is out and the weather is warming up pretty early this year. Of course, this means that the summer drinking has also started pretty early this year.
Here are two shots I've taken already this weekend of the hydration methods preferred in the delightful sunshine.

This first image was taken at a lunchtime when on a visit to my Grandparents crib. I kept the persons face out as i think the hands on their own tell enough of a story (plus the fact it is my 13 year old brother). The dirty fingernails show that the person has been working hard and so it must be a well deserved pint of beer.

Taken in the evening after a meal out with family, this image clearly shows an empty glass. My dad must be re-hydrated again now. I like the little pattern left on the glass by the "froth" after the pints been guzzled down. The colours in the image are very different to the one above, they are warmer which shows that is the evening.

I do have quite a fondness for both of these images though obviously the first one tells you more of a story as you briefly learn about the person.
Hopefully as the summer goes on I'll get a few good shots of some poor drunken fools ;D

the sky's the limit..

I haven't ever really found photographs of the sky particularly interesting.
I most definately have never understood how so many people can be so fascinated by it.
However today I took two pictures whilst stood around waiting for my Dad to finish waffling on to some ol' fellow I don't know and I'm actually rather liking them.

I like these two images purely because the tree doesn't take over the entire frame. The colour of the blue sky behind is so vivid as well it makes to subject easier to view.
The two different pictures are of the same tree and Im not entirely sure why but I seem to prefer the second image, it seems better to me somehow. I think its the way its been framed more than anything?!

Self-portrait.

More often than not I get stereotyped as being an emo.
Emo is a genre of music based of rock than is expressive and often contains confessional lyrics.
A person can be stereotyped as being emo for many such ridiculous reason such as wearing a lot of black. However the stereotype is usually described as being depressed.
Because of this I decided to do a shoot showing myself as the stereotypical "emo".
Which, may I add, I am not.

I have edited them both in the exact same way, simply by removing the colour and increasing the contrast but decreasing the brightness of the image. Therefore it is much darker with a more "matt" sheen to it.

Admittedly the dress code isn't very emo however this was only done as a bit of a mess around. Make-up looks a little weird too, it isn't smudged enough for my liking.

Photography at the courts.

I had an idea for a shoot that i really wanted to do, involving a judge from the local courts. However when researching in to photographing judges I have found out taking a picture in a court building or even on their premises can result in being arrested and possibly prosecuted. This isnt really a path I would like to follow.
So its possible that I might actually have to re-think the full of my idea. I really want to photograph a judge, get a picture of him looking smug or moody and cruel.

Menna Doris,

I have to say, this was possibly my best ever shoot. So, so incredibly pleased with the outcomes I got.
I forst got the idea of hiding somebody from a photographer called Arnos Rafael Minkinnen, one of his self portraits to be precise.

I liked the way Arnos had photographed this image so subtly, his arm and leg is almost hidden. the shape of the trees are quie surreal which help to hide the subject in the portrait.

This image then inspired to base my portrait on this above image with a minor twist that there would be a hint of ET in there as well. A specific scene in ET, shows the little alien hidden amongst a hige number of teddies and dolls to hide him from the parents, I decided this would make an interesting photo with a young child.
There was my location portrait dilemma solved.

Menna Doris Cooper, my superb little model is absolutely gorgeous and great fun to photograph.

This is the original style image i wanted to create and I am pleased with how it looks on both film and digital. To be honest, she does look a little happier on the film image.

she was never going to stay still for very long was she? It is a bit to much to ask of a small baby..

I'm sorry, I dont care what anybody says, Menna is gorgeous.. Just look at her little face! This is by far one of my all time favourite images.

this image wasnt shot as part of my shoot, but it was taken on the same day. I love how close she got to the camera and yet still totally unphased by it. unlike me, I would have ran away long before this.

Forest.

Again, these shot were taken simply when testing the lighting for my shoot with Beck. however anybody and everybody will gree with me that this boy is gorgeous?!
I do love Forest.

Unfortunatly I have had to blog these images as screen shots as it was taking far too long to uplaod them otherwise.

For this image, Forest wasn't posed at all. He was simply stood talking to other people in the room. However I like the natural stance and the unposed look of the image, theres a nice feel to the image even though it has been set up.

This second image it is obvious he was posed. I love the expression on his face, its sorta' plain, but at the same time mysterious.

Grandad.

It took me years to pluck up the courage to stay in a room with my Grandad on my own. I was petrified of him when I was younger, right up to the age of 15. And i'm only 16 now.. though to be fair im 17 next month.
If I had to go anywhere or do anything with my Grandad I always made sure that somebody was there with me.
Admittedly he never made it easy for me to get over my fear of him. For my dads 40th birthday, he had a fancy dress party and my Grandad went as the hulk. That wouldnt have scared me had he not jumped out at me from round the corner and scared the livin dayligts out of me.
When I was eight years old he made me get on a tractor and drive it round a field while he was sat on a trailer behind me. When I didnt know what to do he never heard me ask so I just jumped off and ran away - thank goodness tractors dont go very fast!
My brother was the total opposite and adrored my Grandad spending as much time with him as possible. These days I do my best too aswell. With weekends away, whether it be with or without tractors around (they're a big thing in our family), holidays and just staying over at the weekends.
Over the past year he has helped me more than I could have imagined. Both him and my Nan and I bloody love them both. God only knows where I'd be without all the help they've given me.
Pure lovin' for ma Grandad :)