Category Archives: fashion

Fashion Bloggers at BFW

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Yesterday I brought you some sneek peeks from my camera phone

from the Bristol Fashion Week live bloggers show.

Today I am showing you a little bit of what it was like

being there with the other fashion bloggers.

Tomorrow I will touch on the fashion from the runway.

Stay tuned for my feature article at British Style Bloggers

on Bristol Fashion Week Spring Season 2013.

I have only been in the Bath area since Christmas.

So it was really great getting to meet bloggers from the area.

Better yet, getting to put a face to a twitter handle and blog.

Everyone was really friendly and I really enjoyed getting to meet

Fritha of Tigerlilly Quinn and Laura from Side Street Style

It was interesting still to see how the runway show here in Bristol

compared with Tucson Fashion Week in Arizona

and the many fashion shows in Waikiki, Hawaii.

In all the excitement there was something very comforting

about being back behind the camera at a fashion event.

Make sure to check back tomorrow for more about the fashion

that we saw on the runway at Bristol Fashion Week 2013.

** If you would like to use any images please contact Bonnie Rose at bonnie@bonnie-rose.co.uk

Bristol Fashion Week Live Blogging Event

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I met a lot of other cool bloggers today.

With the other Fashion Bloggers at BFW Blog Event today.

Sneek preview of the event before it begins.

Reception beforehand with cupcakes and drinks.

Spring is about a lot of colours and patterns!

The audience was filled with VIP ticket holders and fashion bloggers who were blogging live!

The main tent for Bristol Fashion Week

Monochromatic is big this season!

Hense my outfit choice. I had my cameras ready to go for the event!

The Live Blogging Event was so much fun and filled with a lot of energy from the models and the hosts.

So here I am before I left for the Fashion Event. I took time to curl my hair and it decided to rain really hard outside.

Here I am afterwards…can you tell how much fun I had? If you cannot, do not fret. I will be blogging tomorrow all about it!

Expect a lot of photos adn I will be writing an article for the Bristish Style Bloggers too! Hope you enjoyed the live tweets and the first photos from my phone. Just wait until you see all the great fashions for Spring 2013!

My favourite place to shoot in Hawaii

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Another Tuesday and I look back together with you

some of my photography work through the last few years.

Today I want to share with you one of my favourite places to shoot

on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

North Shore. It is also my favourite place to drive off towards

when we needed a little break from our busy lives.

It is the opposite feel of Waikiki which is bustling with activity and tourists.

Depending on the time of day and location

you can have the beaches practically to yourself.

It truly was living on our own paradise.

When I first started out with photographing other people

I went to the places I knew. Places where I went to explore, where I worked out,

and where we went to relax. So it only seemed natural to take model, Melissa,

to my favourite hideaway spot.

We started our drive from Wahiawa and once we got to the coast,

we drove north until we could not take my car any further.

You can head the rest of the way on foot.

With the big green rolling hills of mountainside

and the vast blue waters on the ocean side

it is a perfect harmony of serenity.

Hawaiian Life.

Love.

*All Photographs belong to Bonnie Rose Photography at www.bonnie-rose.co.uk
** Images can not be used without written consent. Please get in contact if you have questions.

London Fashion Week

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London Fashion Week: A Photographer’s Perspective
I have a special surprise for you today! A guest blog post by fashion photographer Gareth Gregg of SunshineLens photography. Gareth recently had the opportunity to work at London Fashion Week. I was so thrilled for him and asked if he take some time to share some of his wonderful photography with you all. He has graciously obliged and has taken a unique perspective and shared his experience as a photographer at LFW.

I hope you enjoy the sweet surprise and a great lead up to Bristol Fashion Week post which I will share with you at the end of the month!

Without further adieu I leave you with Gareth.

— Bonnie Rose

London Fashion week consists of two 5 day events each year that showcase collections by some of the world’s foremost designers. It is one of 4 fashion week events that run one after the other. For me I was just shooting London as do most. But for some they shoot the whole season leading to some very tired and grouchy photographers!

My brief for LFW AW13 (we work a season ahead) was to work within the Courtyard space in Somerset House. Somerset house is a beautiful building which I guess you could term as being the main building for LFW. Within its large courtyard they erect a temporary building which houses the main Catwalk along with backstage and the Photographers media lounge. Within Somerset house itself you have various exhibitions, coffee shops, as well as other rooms for smaller catwalk shows.

Working within the courtyard space is prime spot and where most of the main shows exist. It is also fantastic for ‘Street Style’ photography. For this part of the fashion show the photographers brief is almost as important as shooting the shows themselves. It is either candid or posed and is an element of shooting catwalk that I love. I will show you a few of these shots later on.

For kick off im going to show you some pics from the Felder Felder show. I love this show as the clothes are stylish and elegant. The models were awesome, which of course gave way to some great shots:

I took these shots at the top of a three step ladder right at the back of the pit. As it is very high and you can shoot down upon the models, it is a cool angle to get some really awesome shots. At the end of the day though you are standing at the top of a step ladder which gets a touch tiresome. Seeing as I am a touch on the clumsy side, I could so see myself being launched into a sea of photographers. The following days I ended up placing myself much closer to the front. Almost on the floor it is a bit more chilled and I prefered the shots. Just personal preference. Here are a few shots from the Issa show of which I adored:

Here are some shots from the Jasper Conran Show. This was also awesome. They have laid a red plastic covering along the catwalk which gave a wicked effect:

When people ask about what it is like to shoot at London Fashion Week I talk about the dynamics between the photographers. Everyone gets on so well and makes the effort to talk to each other. However nothing gets in the way of the need to get a good shot. Quite often photographers will stand in the way of your camera. It happens all the time and you really have to be prepared to have an argument to hold your place! Funny thing is that all the time you hear this going on but nearly always it ends with everyone laughing a little and giving way to each other so we can all get our jobs done.

With the following sets of shots, which are from the David Nova show, I managed to get an absolute prime spot for shooting. As said before fashion week runs from Friday to Tuesday. On Thursday the photographers can go in and mark up their spaces. This gives you an opptortunity to lock in a space in the pit. It is essentially a square on the floor in the photographers area with your name on it. If your name is there and you arrive to find someone else is in your spot, you can ask them to move. It is a gentleman’s agreement between photographers. It is not like if they refuse to move you can go grab security. But it is just simply what you do. I did not have a space marked up but its rare that everyone is there at the same time. You can nearly always get a spot to shoot during the shows. As I was saying though, with the David Nova show, I saw the spot and grabbed it. As you can see from the shots I am pleased that I kept it!

I love it when they really do up the catwalk set. Look at the following shots and you will see what I mean. The blue strip lights at the back really shine off the catwalk and reflect giving a wonderful effect. I loved this show by Osman:

I mentioned earlier about Street Style photography. This is basically shooting well dressed people over fashion week. It is really important and as a photographer I love it. It gives you the chance to indulge in street photography without someone moaning at you because you have taken their picture. All these people want to be snapped. Best of all you can stop them in the street and get advise their posing to get the shot.

I really cannot wait till next year. Although I had the full pass some of the larger shows you still have to gain approval from the designers PR agency. Come September I will make sure I get some emails sent off, to get a pass and shoot some of the really big designers.

Big thank you to Bonnie for asking me to guest blog for her website!

– Gareth Gregg

*Images with courtesy of Fashionbite.

** Connect with Gareth at SunshineLens Photography.

***I do not own these images. If you have any questions please contact either of the above parties.

Expat Living: Highs & Lows

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It has been a busy week for this expat living in Bath, England.

If you follow my instagram you may have seen the budding flowers.

I am so happy about this that its hard to walk down the street

without snapping a photo of the signs of Spring.

I had been asked by an Expat Blog to do an interview about my life living

abroad and advice to other expats and those hoping to cross over the pond.

In this I realized that there is only really one thing that gets me down.

Life in England is a little more expensive than if we had chose to live stateside.

I have friends who own their own two story houses with basements and land.

While that looks nice in photograph, I would not give up my tiny washing machine and

drying my clothes over the heater to not seeing the views I have outside my window.

With our 10 year Vow Renewal coming up, I look forward to sharing those views

as the backdrop to our ceremony and photographs.

I have however found out that life does not have to be so expensive in England and

hopefully within the next couple of months things may start becoming more smooth

as we continue our transition into our new home here in Batheaston.

Anyone interested in seeing a house tour of where we live?

While I was out with my friend Libby yesterday having one of the best Chai lattes,

we discussed going out weekly to try out different venues in our Bath area.

Which would be great because there is somewhere special that I hope to share

with all you blog readers next week.

Speaking of surprises.

I was suprised this week to find out that I was chosen to be a VIP blogger

for Britain Style Bloggers at Bristol Fashion Week.

I added the official button on the side bar and wil be tweeting on Twitter about it.

Look for the hashtags: #BFWSS13#BristolFashionWeek

Until that awesome time later this month I have a special guest blogger

to share something special with you. Something else to look forward to next week!

Thank you to all the new readers and if you found me from Across the Pond

Thank you and I’m glad you came this way.

Photography: Looking Back at the Beginning

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Continuing on in my series of looking back at the photo shoots that brought me to where I am today, I go on to
my first fashion shoot with models on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. On an island in the Pacific there are many
people like me who are not all that tall. It quickly became my first initial filter for looking for new models to
photograph. I added to that list of criteria models who were just starting out and did not have a lot of looks in
their portfolio. One of the first few models I found who met both of those items was Polish born, Karolina, who
was currently working as a nanny in Hawaii. After messaging her on model mayhem I met her for coffee to go
over the ideas for shooting and from there we met up on the day.

This was the one of the images from Bonnie Rose published in the Look Hawaii magazine.

Goals, big or small, along the way help to push us and shape our endeavors in life. One goal I set out with
Karolina was to see how many different looks we could put together in the short hours of the morning. We
literally brought everything we owned that might work and laid it out nicely on the grassy hillsides of a local park
new my home in Mililani. Aside from losing my newly aquired iPhone a few times, we were able to work
smoothly from one look to the next with the aid of any other stylists or assistants. Do not get me wrong, I would
have gladly loved another extra hand and creative on location with us. Working with in our means we were able
to achieve the goal I set out and acquired several new looks for the start of Karolina’s modeling portfolio. She
went on to work with many other creative photographers on the island and soon was jet setting off around the
world to continue her work. It was a very modest shoot and I believe nothing was bought for the shoot. I say
this to then tell you that one of the images we created went on to be published in a Hawaiian magazine, featuring
Karolina as a new up and coming model. I learned that day and later on in retrospect that all it takes is action
and a creative drive and you can start a spark that will go on into a fire.

In this case that spark went on to work with several other models and clients in a very short period of time. I
pulled from both the online modeling community in my local area and personal contacts that I had already
established. I would like to touch on my work with someone from each of those groups whose images were
some of the first in my new career path. Phoebe was a former roommate and a friend I had made several
months back when living out on the Kailua side of the island for the previous summer. She is a natural beauty
and I had gotten her to model for me once before as a hair model for my work with extensions. She brought
with her a few choice outfits and together with my youngest son we went out to shoot on Kailua beach and
around my favourite running ground of Lanikai Loop. Due to the fact that we were both quite familiar with the
area I had not set out specific spots to shoot at in advance. We walked around to our favourite areas and I
photographed her as we went on. One of my favourite shots from the day was an outtake photo with my son,
Maddox. One or both of my kids sometimes were with me shooting since my husband was often busy with his
job in the military. These images with the models are some I treasure because it ties in both my love for work
and my love for family.

Veronica is a model that I came into contact with by word of mouth from Karolina. This would be my first
example of how word of mouth, especially on a small island like Oahu, can be quite beneficial for finding people
to work with and future collaborations. I contacted a friend and make up artist of mine to join on the shoot and
the three of us brought together our ideas for the fashion shoot. My husband and I had scouted out previously a
spot in the hills of the Mount Tantalus loop that overlooks Honolulu. Dhyana did Veronica’s make up while I did
her hair and laid out the outfits between what the model and I had both brought. What I really loved about this
shoot was working with Veronica in the beautiful Hawaiian backdrop. Oahu has been really great to me and
one of its most beautiful gifts is having such diverse backdrops. Quite a few male photographers only shoot on
the beach, however I have really enjoyed seeking out many varied locations which you will see in the
continuation of this series of looking back.

The images featured in this post are from the photo shoots with Bonnie Rose Photography on Oahu, Hawaii.

Models: Karolina Caro, Phoebe P, and Veronica Smith.

Hair & Make up Artists: Dhyana Leung (of Face, Art, Beauty) and Bonnie Rose

Five for Friday

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Dress: Primark; Belt: Bebe; Jacket: Kohls; Necklace: vintage consignment

1. I love being a mum in England. All the little things about my English childhood are becoming the memories that my boys will remember about their own. Ronan’s first two years of school in England were the same years I spent in primary school in Norfolk. I love sending them to school looking sharp in their school uniforms. They will learn to spell words they way I do like ‘colour’ and ‘flavour’. Instead of knowing the names of states, they will know the countries and capitals in Europe and to which ones they have traveled. They will continue to learn more about the history of the royal monarchy. Then of course the memories like the country walks, just like my dad used to do with me. The english birthday parties, the royal jubilees, and bonfire nights. Accents. I had an english accent twice, and one day they will too.

2. If my husband had to go away on a business trip, we would starve. Okay that is not necessarily true. I do know how to cook. Italian is my go to theme. Of course picking up a pizza does not constitute real Italian food unless it involves a short stop over in Napoli. However my husband does cook and I love to tell him how much I love his food. I can look into our european fridge and exclaim ‘We have nothing to eat’. While Ryan can look into our european fridge, whip something together, and it tastes amazing. From being a boy who ate canned vegetables to becoming an Expat man that cooks with a vast variety of organic vegetables he is like an artist. I may be biased. Lets be frank, I’m married to him and still get butterflies when he looks at me. There are many ways to my heart, and his cooking is one of them.

3. With as many times as I have had to say ‘goodbye’ I have a hard time parting with items in my wardrobe. I have at least five things in there that I owned back in high school (I graduated 2001) and still have quite a bit of my clothes from living in Hawaii. (because you know those tank tops are going to come in handy in the rainy cold english weather) Over the years I have gone through my wardrobe and gotten rid of things. Although I hold true to the fact that clothes must get together and multiply behind those closed doors. Then of course I have my (mostly black) clothes for working in the salon that have a little hair dye here or a bleach stain there. Clothes that would be okay to keep for work, but I could probably get rid of them just as easily. To be fair as hard as I am about my clothes I am sure I do not have half the clothes many fashionistas have in theirs. I would like to streamline my wardrobe to to only my favourites that I wear the most often. Must add that to my 2013 ‘To Do’ list.

4. I have started watching a new television programme with my husband called The Americans with Keri Russell, Mathews Rhys, and Noah Emmerich. The show centers on Russian sleeper spies operating in the USA in the 1980s. I got hooked after the pilot. I am hoping it does well and continues to progress as it has started. I get nervous starting new shows in case they get cancelled. Let me not forget Ringer with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ioan Gruffudd or Pan Am with Christina Ricci. Has anyone started watching this show?

5. I am sure much like blogging, there are things we do out of passion that suffer the ‘highs and lows’ through out life. Photography I love. I was doing so many shoots in Hawaii and so much so that when we got to Arizona I was still editing work from over there. Then came a few more moves and fast forward to just having moved to Bath, England. Back at starting my business again. I would not do photography as a job if I did not love it. So I pick up hobbies to keep the inspiration and motivation going. Tomorrow will be my first self portrait for 2013. I had such a great time with this in 2012, and I hope you find it fun too. Anyone who wants to participate in Self Portrait Saturdays can and let me know so I can follow your work too.