“There’s a wild wild whisper blowing in the wind...calling out my name like a long lost friend”
Maybe "boudoir" is not the right word at all...???
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Boudoir for me is about showing as little or as much as you
would like to. It could even mean you all cozied up in a full length coat J it’s about celebrating
beauty and art and drawing inspiration from everything that you find beautiful,
special and a little seductive.
My style is inspired by fine art and a bit of fashion and I
find inspiration in magazines like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and even in beautiful
bridal magazines. I love to envision the hair, makeup and that little smile
that every woman keeps hidden away! Each photo shoot is a collaboration between
myself and the client (read: YOU!)where we include the things she loves (as well as
anything she might only have dreamt about) to express her inherent beauty and
make her the star. I work to create images that moves her (and me) and hopefully anyone
who ever picks up the photos. It must stir emotion, create a fantasy or even a
legend.
Our “boudoir” photographs are usually taken in a beautiful setting, be it a beautiful sunset or against the backdrop of an abandoned warehouse or in a luxurious boutique hotel's garden or a stunning Victorian bathtub...
We capture these beauties in
light, surreal, gorgeous photographs instead of the cliche “whips and chains”
kind of photos everyone imagine when they hear the big “B” word. It should be spontaneous and fun and a way to
celebrate yourself and your life.
We do not photograph for “little black
books” hidden in the bottom drawer of your cupboard but rather photos that you
would not want to stop showing off.
Summer lovin'
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
White on white, crystal chandeliers, delicate peony blooms
and lots of lace and sequins…. this is what you see when you hear weddings… then
there is the meter upon meter of tulle, the
smell of vanilla cake and oh yes, all the love love love in the air…..not to
mention the slightly giddy groom and the gorgeous blushing bride!
Is this you?
Has the love bug bitten you too and are you strolling down the aisle in 2014?
All the wedding enquiries and all the beautiful love stories this summer is
making us fall in love all over again!
The Brutality of dance
Monday, 17 March 2014
Are you the woman whose life personifies the Brutality of dance? The
ethereal beauty laced together with the drama and the literal blood,sweat and
tears. Are you the mother or the wife who has to balance the dirty soles of “life’s”
slippers with the soft sweet pink of your dreams?
For YOU I am thinking of some soft, subtle photographs.... a day filled with endless ribbons and the softest cashmere, lots of lace and chiffon...
Come spend a day and let us create an album of all those marshmallow dreams...
turkey & me
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
or is it “turkey and I” ?? I am not entirely sure. I just
know what there are some places that are an “and me”! One of those places that
you never wash off, that sticks to your pores. Turkey is one of those, a place
that kept little shards of me…I was never too sure if I really did leave those bits of
me there (I was there more than a decade ago the first time) but yes, it has
been confirmed. It is “turkey & me”, it has always been.
It’s one of those soul
places that just keep you spellbound. Turkey was just so familiar… the
smells, the sounds and yet so very very different. Maybe because first I saw it
through the eyes of a ‘girl’ and now not so much.
So was it worth going back…YES... was it the same…NO…was it
truly special…DEFINITELY
PS: even though we were in pure holiday mode I still couldnt help myself and captured a few interesting images which I will post soon...keep your eyes peeled for " The cats of Ephesus" coming soon :) and maybe one or two picks of the beautiful Sultanahmed mosque which I love so much.
PSS: Don't you just love my awesome leopard leggings!!
PSS: Don't you just love my awesome leopard leggings!!
"THE CLOSET"
Thursday, 30 January 2014
“THE CLOSET”
If I could live my life in a fairyland, I’d live as a
mermaid. And it’s not because I have this burning desire to exchange my legs
for fins or to wear cool coral bikinis all day. It’s because of the romanticism
of it, the pure unadulterated “fantasy”.It is a bit of a random thought but I have been busy
creating a wardrobe for our {ethereal emotion} package and that’s exactly what
I want it to be… pure “fantasy”.
I have spent the last few weeks falling in love and into
great depths of despair looking for the most beautiful things out there. (The
despair mainly from coming across some surreal designer piece which inevitably
has a price tag the size of Everest.) THE CLOSET will be a mix of vintage and “wonder” and any pieces that will just
blow your mind, so the specs for this search is vague… and oh so specific!
I have always been enchanted by fairy tales especially the
Brothers Grimm who always included some good and evil, black and white and a
golden apple or two! And I find great inspiration in their tales especially
when shopping… look for example at the Twelve Dancing Princesses who needed new
shoes every morning after a night dancing underground!
Whenever I look at any piece of clothing or shoes or a
stunning accessory I try and spin a few tales around it… will it be good on a
blond girl during a sunset shoot, a raven beauty in a forest location or maybe
just out shopping (for THE CLOSET of course J
)or posing a couple at a derelict building site? If it ticks the boxes against
a few story lines it is added to the “must have” box and if the price is right
and they deliver even better.Now I also love to think green and love looking for some
vintage beauties especially when travelling, and then it’s such a pleasure to
come across some unique handmade items here in South Africa too.
So now thinking about it out loud “mermaid” might not be the best option… yes, it ticks the pure
fantasy box but that will mean no more pretty frocks or lacy little numbers…I might have to place this under revision and get back to you once
I have decided which fairytale is mine! For now I will have the luxury of
conjuring up a unique fairy tale for each and every photo shoot.
PS:After writing this post I actually felt so inspired that I
quickly raided my own closet for anything “fairytale”
like ( I was quite surprised as to how much I found…) but this is what I came
up with quickly … the lady and the lamp… and due to the lack
of “models” around I had no choice but to do this myself.
Styling, hair & makeup: dust & dreams PHOTOGRAPHY
Location: ...it's a secret...
{hope} Schutte family... part 1
Saturday, 25 January 2014
We had the opportunity to spend the day with this awesome
family in December and it was so great to photograph them. Genè is an absolute cutie pie ( who will clearly be a bombshell when she grows up… just have a look how she rocks those sunglasses already!) and Mornè & Gerda is such a stunning couple and not to mention the beautiful Bushveld Game Farm where we got to take these awesome pictures…living in South Africa is such a blessing and being so close to nature is even more so.
Isn't this just the cutest little crying "Ducky" face??
Isn't this just the cutest little crying "Ducky" face??
The Lady and the Lion
Thursday, 23 January 2014
To write a good blog I would say one should have some
writing skills, a burning passion for something… anything… and the desire to
share that passion.
I think having a few different passions doesn’t hurt either and then
knowing what to write becomes the most difficult thing. Maybe writing skills is
not a prerequisite after all but passion definitely is, and lots of it if you
have.
In my case it is that drive to freeze time, capture eternity
and not only that but to create that picture I see in my mind. To spit and
polish that image I see every time I close my eyes and to then find a way to
create it in front of the lens so I can
capture that instant in time.
Maybe that’s why I love styling a shoot so much. I can see
the image come to life as we go along and when I suddenly see it right there as
if it has always been, then I am totally smitten! And all the hours spent
brooding over the ideas, the clothing, the nail polish colour and the “look” becomes
real and all I then need to do is to sit back, let the story unfold and
freeze every frame.
I love seeing that shy woman turn into the beautiful vixen
she has always been. When she sheds her “shell” and she can feel the blood
pumping through her veins. Or you have this timid girl arrive in her jeans and
a tee and as soon as you pull out a sequin vest her eyes just light up and you
know that you might have to tear it from her little claws at the end of the
day. I want to
empower people with the photos I take. “ Strip them bare” to make them realise
how special they are.
Now this is why I PHOTOGRAPH… to capture the beauty in
someone without photoshop, just the real natural essence. To see that look in a
woman’s eyes when she leaves at the end of the day, the same look a lioness
has… a look of pure unadulterated power!
Lazy mornings and black lace
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Now I have been waiting a
really long time to post these!
The gorgeous Jenny had them
bound in an album as a Christmas surprise for her husband so none of the photos
could be leaked beforehand.
But I laid in waiting and was
ever ready to pounce as soon as she would give me the green light to post these
spectacular images of her.
Jenny is one of those women
who just don’t see the beauty that actually radiates from her. She is warm,
funny and so open that she is just a breath of fresh air – no hidden agendas
and no ulterior motives. And then I am not even mentioning that she is a mother
too (yes, with that awesome body!!) Jenny is a Brit who lives in Aus and married a
South African, a real multi-national power house.
Now you are probably thinking
that waiting from December to now is not that long to post these but no, they
were already taken in September. The morning before Jenny got married right
there on the beach we got to play around in her hotel room and this was the
result. Beautiful, soft, feminine...a lazy Sunday morning and some black lace.
Think
Jenny though I was a bit crazy balancing on a chair (I am kind of elf like in
length) trying the get the best light, the best spot, the best everything.
We only had about 45 minutes
and in between she still tried to sneak a peak of her groom walking in the gardens
below the balcony of the room we were in ;)
She was an absolute joy to
photograph and I am so proud to post these images and I think Mauritius will
never be the same… Oh and you must see that stunning rock on her finger!
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Really?? Right to your front door?
Saturday, 18 January 2014
We recently had some friends from Norway over and my jaw literally hit the ground when just before they left we asked for their postal
address and got a very cryptic note… a name, another name, the island’s name
and then Norway… and that was it – nothing else?? No post box, no street
address or number…. First I thought they clearly did not want our care package
but no, I was told “everyone on the island knows us” so the postman will bring
the parcel to the door! Really, you’ve got to be kidding me? To the door? With
no street address?
Now to give you a bit of an idea why I am so so confused… we
live inside a private reserve in South Africa and to get inside (to get home)
we need to show an ID card while a guard checks out the car and some cameras record
us (even on a bad hair day
unfortunately!) and to get a parcel delivered is an absolute nightmare to
say the least. Courier and freight companies won’t “post” to a post box (
that’s what we have) and can only deliver to a street address… something we
don’t have! So what’s a girl to do, you give the address in “street address
form” with GPS co-ordinates and just hope for the best and if you get lucky
after a few WEEKS and a few calls from the driver (who inevitably gets lost)
the package arrives… yeh!!
Now to get back to those friends….Susan and Nils is a match
made in heaven and we have known her for many many years and as long as we have
known her she has been in love with Nils and it was just continents that kept
them apart so we were thrilled to be at their wedding a few years ago and even
more thrilled to have them back in the bush with us for a few days. To connect
and especially to reconnect with people are so important and with them it was
like they never left and like Norway is only a few minutes away.
And you know what, not once did I pick up the camera… I was
way too enchanted about the stories they told about the magical place they live
in…. but hopefully one day we will photograph them at their home… Smøla.
Unfortunately our “ photographer” got it slightly out of focus but this is the only shot we have of all of us together… and yes, I had to stand on my toes so our faces could be somewhat together!
Unfortunately our “ photographer” got it slightly out of focus but this is the only shot we have of all of us together… and yes, I had to stand on my toes so our faces could be somewhat together!
