What would you like me to blog about?

Hello all,

I see this blog mainly as a place to showcase my latest images, week by week, showing various images from each set (which you don't get to see if you only follow my work via my portfolio sites) and describing the fun and adventures I have while making them, as well as letting you in on any news I have and my thoughts about modelling (and sometimes even life in general...  if you're really lucky... ;-)). I also write it with the knowledge that I won't be modelling forever (I imagine!), and it's fun for me to look back on shoots I've had and remember the moments and details that I might otherwise forget. It's really fun having my own little space in web-land, where I can mark out my modelling journey in a chronological and visual way.

I'm also frequently amazed at just how many people tell me they read this (although maybe I shouldn't be surprised, considering how much I sometimes feel I relentlessly advertise it... sorry!), and really appreciate hearing that photographers, models and other people who have an interest in art find it inspiring. I've had some amazing messages from people (photographers, artists, models...), which go way beyond 'Hey I've noticed you're naked a lot. I love that', and make me feel that I am really achieving something special by doing what I do!

So, I wanted to ask:

What do you want me to blog about (in addition to showing my latest images, of course)?

I'd love to hear your ideas and thoughts. Maybe you have a question, however vague or however specific about my experiences, or maybe you'd be interested in a blog post on a particular topic or theme. Or maybe you want to suggest something I could do differently with this blog. I'd like to 'open up the floor' and hear from anyone with any requests! Hopefully I've fired your imagination! If so, you can contact me here with your thoughts /requests (maybe adding a subject title 'blog ideas') or you could also contact me via formspring, which is a feature I have on my blog already (there's a little box on the right hand side), enabling readers to ask anonymous questions.

I'm really interested in making this blog a little more interactive and making it the best it can be for my readers! For similar reasons, I plan to do away with my 'Ella Rose' fan page on facebook and keep my 'Ella Rose' profile page only, which allows much more interaction in both directions, so I've been encouraging people to add me on there if they want to keep in touch that way and had previously only 'liked' my fan page. The link for that is here. It makes sense to me to only have the one page and keep things nice and simple!

 Two images for today from Clive Welch, who says 'I inevitably gravitate to a style of work that has no label – glamorous. Not `glamour`, glamorous. In the real world there is a huge difference: glamorous is stylish, tasteful, creative, sexy, sensual and beautiful.' I like this ethos.

Gemini

Last year, Holly (aka Ivory Flame) and I took a little trip to Stratford-upon-Avon and had a nice, relaxing time feeding the ducks, looking at sparkly antique jewellery shops and generally being tourists. Holly's a blossoming photographer as well as the awe-inspiring model everyone knows her to be and I've modelled for her quite a few times over the last couple of years, as well as alongside her. So it seemed silly not to take advantage of our hotel's very stylish bathroom!

I should probably mention that the following images were only taken on an iPhone, so nothing too serious(!) and you can see some of Holly's 'proper' photography here, but I love the strangeness of these shots and find them really interesting. We literally did them in about 5 mins, in between watching the wondrous Keith Branagh-version of Much Ado about Nothing (both of us have this listed as one of our favourite films ever, and we were in Shakespeare land after all so it seemed right - sadly there were no actual plays on at the time that we could fit in to our schedule) and the pea and mint risotto that changed my whole attitude to risottos (I now love them; I think I was previously scarred by a soggy bland version I ate in halls at university. The trick, dear reader, is fennel seeds.).

Anyway, here we go:

...Holly, this is for you! (And also for me. :-)) The song at the beginning of Much Ado:

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh nor more;
    Men were deceivers ever;
One foot in sea and one on shore,
    To one thing constant never;
        Then sigh not so,
        But let them go,
    And be you blithe and bonny;
Converting all your sounds of woe
    Into. Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no mo,
    Or dumps so dull and heavy;
The fraud of men was ever so,
    Since summer first was leavy.
        Then sigh not so, 
        But let them go,
    And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
    Into. Hey, nonny, nonny.

:-) :-)

Sunday 'me time'

I meant to show these a while ago, and I think they make a nice contrast with some of the recent images I've blogged here. The following were taken on film by Tony Ornstien, who booked me quite a few times late last year (read a previous post here). They're very relaxed and almost candid (I was genuinely quite engrossed in the magazine I was reading) and not at all 'try-hard' or overly posed, which I like.

'Ooh, that's weird!'

... These words from Gregory Brown, when you've just struck a particular pose, are always to be taken as complimentary feedback! This is my 101st blog post, and features some brand new strangeness from a recent shoot at the Battersea studio (taken on the same day as the images in the previous post - John and Greg worked in alternate bursts). I'm just going to go ahead and post 24 images here. Hope you like them!!

...And looking back!

I should probably have listed some of my 2010 achievements before rushing into my New Year's resolutions all guns a-blazing in my last post! Here's a quick round up of some highlights of last year:

- Published in Gregory Brown's fine art nude book 'Instrumental Nudes'
- Week's holiday in Spain with the boyfriend. Lots of fun, tinto veranos and racing like 3-year olds in the pool (it's all about the made-up swimming styles!)
- Finished my first novel and somehow (seriously, I can't believe how lucky I was every time I think about it!) got signed by the first literary agent I approached. (Still hoping for publication, but I'm relaxed about it - my job is to get on with the next one!)
- Lots of fun photoshoots with creative people. I am proud of the number of repeat bookings I got. On one occasion, an enquiry for a shoot turned into 5 sessions in as many weeks.
- I had quite a few poems accepted for publication, and one of them was nominated for the Single Poem category of the Forward Prize.
- Spent a whirlwind of a week in Dubai visiting a good friend, and went to a beach party where Zero7 (who make some of my favouritest ever music!) and Armen van Helden (and others) played. Crazy place!! Amazing heat. And wealth. :-/
- Joined an Oxford bellydance troupe and also went to an all-day festival in December, attending workshops taught by teachers from all over the world!
- Ventured into the weird and wonderful world of extra-work, filming for an episode of ITV drama Lewis. I was also VERY NEARLY cast as the body double of the leading actress (Rose Byrne) in the upcoming X-men film, due for release in June 2011. (Unfortunately, she's a bit skinnier than me in the flesh... but it was flattering to be considered all the same and fun to spend a day flitting around Pinewood Studios - and be paid for it!)

I had a little informal break from modelling during the last 6 weeks or so and am now back for bookings between now and the end of March, so I hope to hear from anyone interested in working with me! I did end up doing a couple of shoots last month though, I confess, one of which was with Gregory Brown and John Evans again. I've also been asked to go with them to the south of Spain for a week in March, which I'm really looking forward to! John's sent me some shots from the other day, below. He had a little furniture series going on:

Greg's also promised me some images, so I'll update again soon! Happy New Year everyone!