Love And Light

https://www.facebook.com/loveandlightshopchepstow

This beautiful little spiritual shop in Chepstow, stocks the most beautiful handmade, reiki infused candles. In all shapes, all sizes, all smells, and all colours.
I have had nothing but wonderful service from them.
The lady who owns the shop and is behind the creation of all these gorgeous candles is Simone Jones.
She's been awfully accomadating for me, taking all beeswax from her candles, to make them vegan friendly for me, and recently I was honoured enough, to be asked by the shop, to photograph a new range of glass candles that were now being made. 

Below are my results.
It's been along time since I did any sort of buisness/product shots, but I think I captured the magic of these creations here. 

Top tips to staying on top of your photography...

Fellow Photographers!
Here are three top tips that I live by, when my photography's struggling.

Tip 1

Anything can be your subject!

Just because you're finding models hard to come by,
Or maybe times already stretched thin.
You can photograph everything and anything.
It is super important to keep shooting. To grow and expand your skill, you can't stop.
Photograph objects in your house.
Take photos of flowers.
Chase your pets through the house, until they pose for you.

(A section of snake skin from Osiris, my corn snake)

 

And if you find yourself with a weekend free, take a trip to a local animal sanctuary. Some small food donations or money in their pot will almost always guarantee you a free-roaming wander through their grounds.
Visit some flower gardens,
Or a pretty mansion with cheap entry.

(Otter babies photographed on a day out.)

 

Just keep shooting.

Tip 2

Your photography is for you!

That doesn't mean you can't share it on social media. But once you reach the point in your self when you realise that you do photography because you enjoy it and not to please others, you'll enjoy it a lot more.
When I made this transition, because I was only working on things I wanted to, my photography really, really improved.
You're not over analysing your work and what 'the public' will think of it.

(Model; Jadene Van Dyk)

 

Tip 3

Work with people who inspire you!

When you have time and resources to shoot with models/friends, make sure you choose people who you know are going to give their up-most to the shoot.
People who are going to push you to your limits.
And also people who are going to enjoy it.

There's nothing like coming away from a photoshoot with that buzz!
A fuzzy, warm feeling, that magic has been created on your camera.
So always have fun with it...
Otherwise what's the point?

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My next blog will be a review of #tvk10 TheVeganKind monthly subscription box.
This one was a good one, so fellow vegans keep your eyes peeled for that!

Stagnant

Whilst every other area of my life is flourishing, my photography has been stagnant for some time.

I really need to get behind the camera more.
I've been practicing a lot with nature photography which I enjoy,
But it's the imagery I used to create with people that I miss.

Hopefully soon I'll be back in the presence of some models.

Alice.

Whilst my body is craving a long soak, in a hot bubbly tub; my mind is lost in the woods somewhere. My mind still stuck in the books I've been reading.

Model; Myself (Jade Addis)
Photography; Pink Photography

“I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” 

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland



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Next time, I'll delve into the wonderful world of lavender. You might want to check back, because it's going to feature my lavender biscuit recipe! ;)

The Wise One

Traipsing off into some of my favourite woodland, we created magic! The sun was setting, filling the trees with interesting light and shadows. I called it 'The Wise One.'

All the golds and brown in out outift reminded me of owls. The majestic, and wise creature of the forest. This shoot was mainly an excuse to get my isis wings out and breathing. 

Set; The Wise One
Model; Jadene Van Dyk
Photographer; Razorlust (Jade Addis) Photography

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Next blog; Vegan Oat Cookie Recipe!

Pocahontas Summers

"Grandmother Willow: What do you see? 

                                                     Pocahontas: Clouds... strange clouds. "

Spring is almost upon us, and summer is following not far behind. Rushing in with blazing suns, and scorched grass. The scent of barbeque smoke, and wild flowers ripe on the air.
 This is the beginning.
This is the re-birth.


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Coming Next; Homemade Body Scrub tutorial.

Jewellery Shots

These are some really old photos I took for CuriologyOnline Jewellery. The model is the beautiful Kate Downes, and she's modelling an ethically sourced Cat Skull and Snake Vertebrae. Both pieces are now owned by me, and I love them both.
This was my first ever shoot made with the intention of trying to sell a product. I think they came out really well and showcased the jewellery. I think it helps that we both thought the pieces were so beautiful, and it was easy to tap into that.

Fight!

I am a huge animal lover, and believe in no animal testing in any form. I used to be a part of Lush Cosmetics, and this was great, as I could spread a message, and had a job I loved. Through this work, I was given the t-shirt that features in the images below. When I left Lush I was gutted, and I really missed talking to like-minded people, but also educating. I realised I could do this through my photos. This is where the below set came from. Simply entitled 'Fight', I wanted a glorious combination of nature and a man made setting. I think I found this at Tintern Mill. A lovely little village-esque place, with a beautiful nostalgic feel...surrounded by valleys and hillside walks.

Everything clicked here. I really felt that magick spark, I love to experience at photoshoots. There was hardly no noise except for the rushing river below this wonderful archaic steel bridge. It was fantasticly peaceful, and we were only interrupted by a few dog walkers ;)

Model; Jadene Van Dyk. Wig; Geisha Wigs. T-Shirt; Lush Cosmetics.

Flowers.

Maybe I'm feeling reminiscent of Spring, because I feel the need to post some of my flower photos.

Books.

Books are very important to me, and they inspire a lot of my photography work. I love getting lost in a good book, with a pot of tea and a warm fire. Almost nothing beats that.

I've decided in honour of this love, as a dedication to books - all year, I'm going to be doing a project on my favourite books, and putting them in my photographs. I don't just mean photos of the books of-course, I'm going to try and get creative with this project further on in the year.

Here is my first photo for this project;

Model; Jadene Van  Dyk

Book; Neil Gaiman; The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite authors, and this book is the latest one I read by him...I adored it! It was so atmospheric! And that is what I tried to play on a little in this photo. When the protragonist is visiting his 'witch-like' neighbours, there is this feeling of contentness, warmth and joy. This is how I feel when reading, so I tried to convey that here. 

'Books were safer than other people anyway.'

- Neil Gaiman

Travelling in Time.

Sometimes ir's nice to take a trip through history. Model Sophie Harris and I, did just this, when we headed to a medieval fair in Caldicot Castle. Sophie donned a wonderful steampunk outfit, and for a few hours we got lost in castle passageways, sword fights, and falconry birds. It was magnificent.
 We were there for a photoshoot, of-course! And I can say with certainty, that both of us were 100% in the zone. This was the first time we'd ever worked together, and something clicked into place. The rainy day clouds disappeared, and the sun shone through the slitted windows just for us.

Something I thoroughly enjoyed about working in castle grounds, was playing with the light shafts, and shadows. I think the shot below, is a wonderful example of where this worked wonderfully.

See?