I've left it a little late to put together a 2011 roundup post but better late than never! I had a lovely Christmas spent with my family & my fiance's, drinking lots of ginger wine and generally taking some time off to relax. 

However, I'm super excited about 2012 and getting back on track with my work. My first year of being self employed has flown by but I'm so pleased I made the decision all those months ago. It's still quite daunting but being able to do a job that I absolutely love is completely worth it.

I've worked with lots of amazing people this year as well as being lucky enough to have a number of publications. I helped organise & took part in 24models24hours (a 24hr photoshoot for Children in Need) and released my first book! All of this allowed me to travel up & down the country & meet some very talented creatives. You can read about all of this in previous blog posts so I won't bore you with it all now!

So, for my last blog post of 2011, I thought I'd put together a little 'My Year In Pictures' (if you go right back to the beginning of this blog you'll notice I struggled to keep up the 'My Week In Pictures', new year resolution maybe?!) from my instagram feed.

A big thank you to everyone who's supported me this year, I can't wait to see what 2012 brings!

The lovely and (ridiculously) talented Sheena Holland recently opened a shop in Derby. Having a love for all things vintage, I couldn't resist popping along on the opening day to snap some photos. I may have been back numerous times since too... but shh!

Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area, or have a look at Sheena's website to drool over all the beautiful headpieces and jewellery! 

My 'Vintage Lace' bridal fashion shoot has been featured on the lovely Bridal Musings blog - thanks Elizabeth! 

You can see the full feature here.

Back in August I teamed up with Natasha Jane, Invitation Only, Caroline Jane Bridalwear and 4 beautiful models to produce a bridal fashion shoot under the theme 'Vintage Lace'. As the shoot was to be published I've had to keep the images under wraps.. until now!

The shoot has been featured in the December/January issue of Your West Midlands Wedding (photos of the magazine will be online shorlty). Here's a few of my fave shots from the shoot -

Hair by Hedshed, make-up by Jade Crean

As we held our official 24models24hours book launch yesterday, and released the 24 final images today, I thought I'd better post my 12 images here too!

To see the full 24 images please visit the 24models24hours facebook page, if you'd like a copy of the book you can purchase it through blurb.

So far we've raised over £300.00! Pretty exciting! See our JustGiving page for more details. 

My editorial 'Oh. You Pretty Things' has been featured in issue 2 of Tantrum Magazine (pages 36-45), to see the full feature visit their website

Yesterday I worked with Amy Allwright, Fran (of A Dozen Eggs) and models Anna James and Amy Whitebrook to photograph products for Amy Allwright's website.

The shoot took place in a beautiful farmhouse (which we were incredibly lucky to be able to use!), here's a couple of behind the scenes photos snapped by Fran:

You can see more behind the scenes photos plus a lovely little video over on A Dozen Eggs' blog! 

I was recently interviewed for issue 3 of NeverLazy magazine, you can see the feature & read the interview in full here (pages 60-69): www.neverlazy.net/magazine

Last weekend I took part in 24models24hours, a Children in Need fundraiser organised by Ewan Mathers and myself.

Here's a trailer for the event, the full film will be online shortly.

The final 24 images will be unveiled at an exhibition and printed in a book. More info coming soon... 

My photo set 'Flor de Muerto' has been released today in the second issue of Dot.Dot.Dot. Magazine - click here to see the featured images (pages 58-63). More images from the set will be on my website shortly.

The other week I blogged about my second shoot for London based fashion label, Beatrix Brown. The photos are now online so I thought I'd share a couple with you!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had a stand at the Open For Business 2011 event which took place yesterday.

It was a great day and lovely to meet lots of new people, as well as seeing people I already know from the creative community here in Derby. 

I thought I'd share a couple of snaps of my stand - I'm really pleased with how it turned out! It's the first time I've exhibited my work in well over a year, so it was a good experience not only to present my work but also to put the whole look together. I've definitely got the bug now and want to create more elaborate displays!

Here's a small selection of the final shots from the A/W shoot for AIRR Clothing. Keep an eye out for their new website which is launching soon! 

Just under a week ago I travelled to Wirksworth to photograph AIRR Clothing's autumn/winter collection. The weather was perfect once again, if not a little too warm & sunny for an A/W shoot, but we made it work!

Ayesha, of AIRR, had put together some gorgeous outfits for both models and we shot on the lovely little streets of Wirksworth - as well as inside a local cafe and book shop. All of this resulted in quite a variety of images which I'm really pleased with! 

I also took along my trusty instax to get a few shots, you can see three of these below! The final images will be online in due time so keep your eyes peeled. Thanks to my fantastic team for all their hard work; models Anna & Helen, MUA Laura Harrison and Ewan Mathers for assisting (and buying us ice cream!)

Earlier on this year I posted my first blog post about working with the London based fashion label, Beatrix Brown. Luckily for me, Joanne kept in touch and when she had some new pieces ready to launch, she sent me an email!

We managed to book Cromford Mill as our location - which suited Joanne's ideas for the shoot perfectly! Teamed with the beautiful weather we've been having recently, the shoot was a great success. Here's a couple of behind the scenes snaps, the final photos will be online soon..!

Thanks to Ashleigh Turner (MUA) and Lawrence de Gruchy for assisting! 

Quick blog post to let you know that I'll be exhibiting at Open for Business 2011, on Monday 10th October, alongside 75 new local businesses - click here to see a full list of exhibitors. It's free to attend & open to everyone, see you there!

After speaking to the lovely Lucy of DotDotDot Magazine, I decided to submit a set of work for the upcoming issue. The theme was colour and after wanting to do a Day of the Dead themed shoot for ages, I thought this was the perfect time!

However, I wanted to mix the style up and not recreate the darker images which have been created in the past under this theme. Working with super talented MUA Siân Revill and model Kate Brazier, we created a bright modern take on the tradtional Mexican celebration. 

Here's some behind the scenes shots, the full set of images will be released once the magazine has come out. Watch this space...

Siân's face chart

Kate all ready to go!

Just wanted to write up a little blog post about a project that's been in the pipeline for a couple of months now.. 24models24hours! Thought up by good friend of mine (and talented photographer) Ewan Mathers, the idea is for myself & Ewan to shoot on the hour, every hour from 8am til 8am and for each shoot to be with a different model in a different location (all based around Derby). 

The event will take place on 29th October 2011. 

The final result will be a book & exhibition. If you're interested in finding out more, or getting involved please visit the facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/24models24hours/273312346013085

We're looking for models, make-up artists, hair stylists, designers.. you get the idea! So please get in touch if you're interesed in the event. We're holding casting days on the 12th & 14th September.

I recently worked with Amy Mingkwan, who is a very talented textiles designer. We actually went to college together and although we kept in touch, we hadn't seen eachother in a few years so the shoot was a lovely excuse for a good catch up as well as the opportunity for me to photograph her beautiful work!

We also borrowed some furniture from Derby based business Beau Shabby. 

Here's a little sample of the final images, you can find out more about Amy & her work on her blog.