Category Archives: bonnie rose

Six Things You Should Know about Me

Rachel from Postcards from Rachel tagged me this weekend in this post that has been going around the blogging community. I am very honoured that she chose me. Rachel is a former expat, lover of travel, married to her great love, and has two beautiful dogs. She also recently guest posted on A Compass Rose as part of my LoveWeek series. Make sure to pop over and send a hello for me!

Married Ten Years to my university sweetheart, pictured at the Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill, London.

1. What is the best advice anyone has given you?
Many words of wisdom have been spoken over the years, but I cherish the ones from a person whose life on Earth was cut too short. On my wedding day ten years ago a groomsman went around with a camera and asked for advice for us from our family and friends. My father’s advice for marriage was that if each person gave 75%, everything will work out just fine. We live in a world where people hold high expectations of others, hold selfish wants and desires, and think things should be 50/50. To go above the 50% in a marriage and give more of yourself to your partner, instead of desiring things, or wishing for what you do not have still rings true to me as golden advice for any couple. Thank you Dad!

2. If you could meet any blogger in person, who would you choose?
Honestly I have a very long list and if finances were not an issue I would travel the world to visit them all and then blog about it for all my readers. One of the first expat/travel bloggers I met online this year once restarting my blog was Chelsea from Lost in Travels. She has always been so friendly, gracious, and inspiring. I love how down to earth she is coupled with her love of life. I honestly see us meeting somewhere in the world to go on a trip together and would love if that happened one day. Chelsea I also have an air mattress with your name on it.

3. Who Inspires you?
As a creative I find inspiration all around in people and the world around me. However there are two celebrities who have been role models in my life since I was a young teenager. Audrey Hepburn and Angelina Jolie. They both inspire me in so many ways. From their career in film to their humanitarian work around the world. Their role as mothers and their iconic fashion style. I am inspired by Audrey’s early history during WWII with her involvement with the Dutch Resistance and the way she has inspired her children to carry on her legacy. I am inspired by Angelina’s personal journey from a rebellious teenager to a mother going through and elective double mastectomy all in the public spotlight. For Angelina to go through as much as she has and be judged by millions for any detail of her life and come out as strong as she is now, says a lot about her character. When I feel discouraged or struggling, reading about either one of these women inspires me to see the world anew.

4. What is your biggest struggle in life?
The art of balancing it all. Which is a struggle we can all face with different factors. For me it is balancing being a wife, being a mother, being a third culture kid and expat, being a creative professional and loving to work outside of the home. Finding a way to balance it all, have it all, and make it work has been a big struggle through out the years when a major factor is living a highly nomadic life where you are always starting over. What helps is knowing my priorities and having a supportive family and loving husband who encourage my passions.

5. Favourite piece of jewelry (other than your engagement/wedding ring) and why?
To be fair I wish I could say my engagement/wedding ring. However I lost my rings during our separation, only to find the wedding band some time later. Due to the unique shape of my engagement ring the wedding band I wear is a bit awkward looking on my hand. However I love that I at least have it still, since the engagement ring is long gone and it is the only ring that I can wear that feels 100% comfortable all of the time. My husband lost his ring in our home in Hawaii thanks to one of our kids so ideally one day we will both get new rings. Since I was not supposed to answer about wedding related rings I will say that my mum got me the Evenstar necklace that Arwen wears in Lord of the Rings. As a Tolkien fan from a very young age, I really love that she picked it out for me for my 30th birthday.

6. Favourite thing to do in your spare time?
I feel like I am always on the go. I am never far from a camera and seem to be doing something blogging or social networking related any time of the day. So when I truly have time away from all of that and time just for myself (to be considered ‘spare time’) I would have to say I love to write. More specifically in regard to a novel. I do not know if I will ever finish it or if it will be something I will ever share. I write for myself when I am inspired. Sometimes I am not writing chapters, but writing about the characters, the places, book themes, or anything that comes to my mind about the story. Just so that I can write and flesh out this world I have created in my mind. It is nice to have something just for me and as a lover of books its a nice place to get lost in for a awhile when time allows.

I am Tagging:
Amanda
Amanda
Patricia
Erika
Selena
Gillian
Melyssa

Pick Six to Answer for Yourself:
1. Who or what inspires you?
2. How did your blog come about?
3. Which blog are you in love with that you only found out about recently?
4. When you struggle in life, what keeps you going?
5. One goal you would like to achieve before 2014
6. Who has been your role model?
7. What is something you love about yourself?
8. A book you could or have reread over and over?
9. What hobby would you love to pick up?
10. Tell us something we may not know about you?

Self Portrait: ‘From the Wings’

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Another weekend has begun and with it another Self Portrait Saturday. For today’s Self Portrait I share with you the self portrait entitled ‘From the Wings’. Often times it is easy to feel like I am waiting for something else or something new to begin. Being a Third Culture Kid and living in a highly nomadic world, I am use to a cycle of things ending and new things constantly on the horizon. I believe as a mum too it is easy to feel a bit lost in the shadows taking care of everyone else. It can also be a place of reflection where we seek answers from someone greater and ask for direction towards the brighter future. I love playing with different lighting situations and took this portrait looking out the window of our front door.

DO YOU LOVE SELF PORTRAITS?

I try to do one every week and post on a Saturday.

If you would like to link up with me, add this button to your blog. I would love to see your photography!

Hats? I wear many different shoes!

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Today is the sixth day of May with the Blog Every Day in May challenge. Feel free to join in and if you catch this anytime through out the month feel free to just jump right in.

Day 6, Monday: If you couldn’t answer with your job, how would you answer the question, ‘what do you do’?

This question may be as easy to answer as ‘where are you from?’. Which my means my answer will be not simple, nor short. What ‘I do’ has evolved with each location we move to and can change from month to month. Already as a wife and a mum of two, I wear a variety of ‘hats’ as they say. However I really think the expression should be ‘I Wear Many Shoes’ because as a female I do have an obsession with shoes. As I am a photographer, I have decided to be ‘less wordy’ today and just share with you in photos of what ‘I do’.
In no specific order here is what ‘I do’ and the many shoes I wear:

I currently work from home. I blog and will be starting as an editor at GirlGoneInternational.com

I am a travel photographer and really enjoy writing about being a TCK, an Expat, and Travel.

I really enjoy being a portrait photographer for children and families.

I work as professional portrait and wedding photographer with a background in fashion photography.

I am a trained cosmetologist and up until this year worked in salons.

I also love doing creative work outside the salon with other photographers.

I do makeup for makeovers, brides, models, and photo shoots.

I am also trained in makeup artistry which is fun for creative looks like this or for flawless look for brides.

I am an assistant on shoots. Really I just love being creative and being a part of the creative processes.

I model. I’m joking. I have ‘modeled’ but more for fun and to create some fun projects with other photographers.
These were created by the lovely Jacquie in a conceptual boudoir project as a hairstylist.

I am a wife and I work daily on our marriage. I am planning our vow renewal for August.

I go on long walks on the weekend in the country side with my family. We are kinda obsessed with country walks.

I am enthusiast of natural alternatives when it comes to what we eat and beauty regimens. I love Coconut oil.

I am a traveler and a global nomad. I feel most at home on an airplane or in an airport headed to a new destination.

I take creative conceptual self portraits. Which means I look really crazy to people passing by but all for the sake of art.

I cultivate the love of art, history, and culture in my sons. Pictured here at the museum in London, England.

I read and promote the love of books in my sons. We read together and they read ‘chapter books’ on their own.

I may be doing something more on to this in the months to come but basically I am just a person that includes ‘living life’ on my list of things that I do. I live live life by loving those around me and enjoying every moment!
Q: What do you do?

#BlogEveryDayInMayRead about Day: |1|2|3|4|5|

*photographs found here either belong to Bonnie Rose of Bonnie Rose Photography © 2013 All Rights Reserved | www.bonnie-rose.co.uk

Self Portrait Saturday: ‘Hold to Memory’

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This morning as my boys came into our room asking when breakfast would be ready,
I was clinging to the remnants of the dream from which I had been awoken.
Next came little fingers playing on their daddy’s mandolin
and from there any further sleep was but a dream.

Inspired by my morning here is this week’s Self Portrait.

Do you take self portraits? Or do you participate in Self Portrait Saturday?

Comment below I would love to take a look at your photographs.

Have a great weekend my blog friends and make sure to check out

the Huge March Giveaway! You could win big!

*All photographs belong to Bonnie Rose Photography. If you are interested in any of my body of work or in booking a session please contact bonnie@bonnie-rose.co.uk

Self Portrait: ‘Lost in the Noise’

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For my Self Portrait this week I decided to focus on my weakness.

This year that is working with a fairly basic camera compared to my D700.

Working in low light situations and having a lot of noise has always

been two things to which make me feel most uncomfortable.

So this week: Deal with the noise.

I embraced it and played with it and accentuated it.

It may not be most beautiful portrait. It may be flawed.

But I am accepting the beauty in the noise.

Self Portrait Saturday: ‘Shades of Self’

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Liebster Blog Award

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Let me start by saying a big thank you. This weekend I was nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by Casey at True Colo urs blog. Thank you Casey for thinking about me and for nominating my blog.

The Liebster Blog Award rules:

Each person tagged must share eleven things about themselves.
They must answer the eleven questions the tagger has made for them.
They must then choose eleven fellow blogs to nominate. The nominees must have under 200 GFC (Google Friend Connect) followers and be told in a comment on their blog.
Lastly they must then think of eleven questions to ask the bloggers they have decided to nominate.

Eleven things about myself:

1. I am a dual citizen because I was born and lived in England to American parents.

2. I am a Third Culture Kid (TCK) because I lived in many different cultures and countries outside of my parents’ home culture during my developmental years as a child.

3. I have gone through cycles of eating strictly vegetarian vegan and raw food. For the last year and a half my husband and I have been keeping our family on a more Paleo path, concentrating on protein and vegetables.

4. I have broken my left arm on four separate occasions but the last time I was in 8th grade. Knock on wood I am done with broken bones for this lifetime.

5. I grew up participating in community theatres and majored in theatre at University. I am still very passionate about acting and directing.

6. I used to do horseback riding as a child in Italy. Two Christmases ago my husband got me the gift of getting a new riding helmet. I hope to get back into it someday.

7. I love to write and I am working on a novel.

8. I love doing photographic projects. While in Hawaii I did a fashion photography project with models of the month. Last year I started a Self Portrait project and I am starting it again this year.

9. I live by the notion that life is short and time is precious. I lost my father in 2007 in a cycling accident when he was run over by a car whose driver was driving under the influence. There are some things completely out of our control. For me, my family time is the most important.

10. I am Hairstylist and make up artist trained in airbrush makeup and hair extensions. It is something I got into back in 2003 and what got me into pursuing photography professionally.

11. I am currently only fluent in English though I know enough to Italian to travel in the country, enough German to eat, and various words and phrases in French and Thai. With moving so frequently as a child and going to school with english speaking students it was not as easy to keep languages that I picked up. However as my bookshelf can attest, I am always eager to keep learning!

Questions for me from Casey at the True Colours blog.

1. If you could be anything, what would it be?

If I could be anything, I would love to be a companion to the Doctor and travel in the Tardis.

2. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

I would love to live in Austria. It was one of my favourite places to vacation as child growing up and I am always craving Germknödel.

3. Where were you born?

I was born in Oxford, England and have dual citizenship with USA.

4. What is one of your hobbies?

I work as a photographer but I also take photographs as a hobby. I am hardly ever seen without some sort of camera on my person.

5. Why do you blog? I have blogged since 2005 and my answer since that time has probably evolved over time. As of today I blog because I love it and I love making new friends. I have never been one to think that you cannot build a life lasting friendship online and have several to prove otherwise. I do love sharing and writing, but if it was not for the friendship aspect I do not think blogging would be as fulfilling.

6. Where is your favorite place that you’ve ever been? Oslo, Norway was always been the one childhood memory I draw on when asked that question. I went to Phnom Penh Cambodia a few years ago and would also have to add that to my list. Both places made a lasting impression and would warrant return visits from me.

7. What is one major goal you have for yourself this year? This is the first time in my whole life that I do not have to move, nor have an impending move to another country on the horizon. My goal for 2013 is to work on establishing roots for my family here in Bath, England so that we can then again focus on traveling around the world.

8. Is there 1 thing you wish you would have done as a kid that you didn’t? I do not like to live with regrets, everything is circumstantial and I believe certain doors open or close for the right reasons. However I do wish I had the means and the know how to take more location specific photographs and journal better and more consistently I had such a nomadic childhood and memories fade. I would love to be able to pick up a scrapbook and say here I am at such and such and show you a photo and then turn to the next few months and show you where I was at that time. Now a days with digital cameras, smart phones, and social media apps make it so much easier to document. I am working with my own boys (5 and 8) to document the world around them for their own memory books.

9. What is your favorite month of the year? I really love three: November, December, and January. I love all the holidays, birthdays, and family activities that fall around that time period. We also celebrate a lot of cultural holidays from different places in the world where I have lived and so its a very cultural enriched time at our house.

10. What is the most important thing you hope to accomplish in your lifetime? To have continued to raise a wonderful family and see my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. That our family just grows and continues to be a family that loves to travel and is open to new cultures and ways of doing things. I really believe that is one of the best lessons you can teach the younger generations. I have seen too many people in the older generations that have sadly missed out on that fact.

11. In one word about yourself, what word best describes who you are? Passionate.

Eleven “Up & Coming” Blogs that I Nominate:

(in no specific order)