Category Archives: www.bonnie-rose.co.uk

Self Portrait: ‘From the Ashes’

For those of you that will remember last year I did a Self Portrait Challenge to take one self portrait every week. It was a lot of fun and was something I was able to do while traveling through Europe as well. Being inspired by a few self portraits I was commissioned to do recently, I have decided to restart this again invite you all to be involved! I have created a link up which will start every Saturday and end every Friday night. You can link up to old or new self portraits as long as they are a self portrait you took of yourself. So set your self timers and get your tripods ready and I look forward to seeing your creative spirit come alive on the weekends. The self portrait ‘From the Ashes’ was one of the test shots on one of the self portrait concepts I was working on last week. I really liked this one and decided I would save it for this challenge. While I usually would have gone with the black eye shadow, I used actual charred wood from our back garden. A bit of inspiration taking from my sons who showed up in the house with faces covered in black one day. I took this one right next to our dining room window to take use of the natural light. I think the reason I like it so much is it reminds me of the Afgan girl photographed for the cover of National Geographic. Maybe it is because we both have hazel eyes. If you have not heard about Sharbat Gula‘s story, I recommend that you check it out.

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!

*Image original to A Compass Rose blog by Bonnie Rose Photography

Model of the Month: Ginger & Red Heads

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When I was living in Hawaii I was reminded continually that I was on a small island. You ran into the same people, in the photography world everyone was shooting the same models, and you had to search hard to find anything that in a photograph would not scream ‘I live in Hawaii’. Perhaps that is why I was surrounded by so many male photographers who shot only young females in their bikini on the beach. I was on a hunt for something unique and that was when I discovered Alysha. I believe I was specifically looking for models with long hair and it was her striking ginger hair that caught my eye. Living in an asian melting pot of cultures you do not see a whole lot of pales skin or red hair. We found out we were both here because of the military as her boyfriend was stationed on Oahu at the time. Instantly my head flooded with ideas for shoots and that is how my ‘Model of the Month’ project in 2010 began. I decided I would work with one model every month and see what body of work we could produce together. I would then release her ‘cover’ shot and my favourite images from the shoots.

This shoot was one of our last shoot togethers though you might remember seeing her from In the Middle of a Dream shoot, Living Doll Shoot, the Mermaid Cove shoot, and the Colour Pop shoot. We shot this series all from my living room with the aid of my Alien Bees lighting. I pulled out a few props and we worked together for a few fun portraits for an outcome of her cover shot. I basically chose my living room wall as the backdrop to make sure her hair just popped in the photographs. When our month did come to an end I was quite sad because we had so much fun together. The best shoots I have done are the ones where the model and I were close or had worked together before. It is something I definitely miss about living on Hawaii. The network of models, photographers, stylists, and hair and makeup artists is quite like a family. I loved having an idea to shoot and calling up someone I had worked with to get together for a shoot. I did end up calling Alysha again to cast her for a photo shoot for a magazine publication…because of her red hair. I have to say that is her most distinguishing quality about her as a model and it is why I wanted to work with her in the first place.

Side note: I am glad I made use of this wall because I have never spent so much time doing a DIY painting project before. This was our first home to own and where I could finally paint my walls. My husband and I of course fell in love with a labour intensive technique that involved not normal paint brushes but a metal spatula of many coats for a faux finish. It looked pretty but took days to complete.

Did you see the Behind the Scenes video

for making In the Middle of a Dream shoot?

In the Middle of a Dream from Bonnie Rose on Vimeo.

‘Crushed’ Bridal Self Portrait

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'Crushed' Self Portrait by Bonnie Rose Photography © 2013 All Rights Reserved

There are fifty days until our tenth wedding anniversary and vow renewal ceremony in the Snowdonia region of Wales. Final travel arrangements are being confirmed and my to do list is being prioritized. There has been one task that I have been putting off until ‘closer to the date’. My husband urged me this weekend to finally try on my wedding gown. It has been perserved in a box, inside another box for safe keeping since our wedding in 2003. In the last ten years it has been moved six times and lucky has never been lost or damaged. Taking the gown out of the box and feeling the smooth duchess satin, I was reminded just how much I loved this gown. I had fallen in love with the idea of it once I laid eyes on the blue sash gown by Amsale in my Knot magazine. Since it cost as much as my entire wedding budget I found a seamstress in town to make a replica for a fifth of the cost. Other than choosing to keep the sash the same colour of the gown it was a perfect comparison. I honestly could wear this gown every day for the rest of my life because it is that beautiful to me. I could never sell it and would love to see my future daughter wear it one day. Be it as a wedding gown, or repurposed for a baby.

Another reason I had been putting off trying it on was that there were three issues before me. Aside from having only worn it once ten years ago I have had two kids since that time. I also wore a full bridal corset that I no longer own as I sold shortly after the honeymoon. The third is that since Christmas I have not been eating a strict paleo diet and can tell that the carbs from bread, porridge and potatoes (chips/mash/roasted) have gone right to cover up my abs. When Ryan exclaimed, ‘Wow, its tiny!’ as he held up the gown for me I started to get worried. I stepped into it and held the bodice up to my chest as the final test awaited us. Could we get the zipper to go all the way up?

I cannot tell you the answer to that as the zipper broke in the process and my excitement about putting on my favourite gown plummeted with it. I attempted to make a status message or send a tweet about it but then canceled it as I was too heart broken. In six weeks and a couple days I am planning on wearing this gown and now I not only have to figure out where to get it pressed but how to fix the zipper. Not to mention I need to get a corset, keep all carbs away, and stick to Paleo until after we return from Wales.

So here I am with a a dress out of its perserved box and I will admit I am crushed that I do not know if I can now wear it. The practical part of me is saying that Ryan’s DIY idea of fixing the zipper himself will work out and that I will most definitely shed the carb baby I’m currently carrying before we get to Wales. The dress will fit. I hope to hold onto that shred of optimism

I will be honest that the last couple of days I have been pretty down about it. I lacked the motivation to take this photo at all and it took me two sessions of it on Tuesday to get my shot. The first time around I ended up just laying on the bed with my gown still on and taking a nap. The toll of it not fitting was not conducive to working with my creative needs. However, I got a few shots I liked in the second go around thankfully.

I like my self portraits to come across like paintings and this photograph I feel fits the bill. I love the gown, I am crushed that it will no longer zip, and my hair cascaded down in front of my face to hide the tears.

Self Portrait: ‘Unanswered’

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I took today’s self portrait before breakfast while my thoughts were focused around the basic human need of interaction with others. We were not put on this earth to be alone. While I love my personal time away from the world if I had no one to share it with my life would be void and without purpose.

I owe my fondest childhood memories, the stories that span across Europe, to my parents. The good and bad days of the past have formed me into who I am today. I have been told I got married as I was just a few months shy of turning twenty one. When I met my husband at Uni I had that moment of clarity that we would spend the rest of our lives together. Why wait years down the road to experience an inevitable life together. I always wanted a family to experience a world of travel together like I had with my parents. So we began our family and eventually found our way to return to Europe.

Sometimes it can be hard to keep the lines of communication open. Life can get busy and the world can push itself forward ahead in the priorities. However sometimes it can be as simple as remembering to make sure that ‘you’ are plugged in.

Self Portrait: ‘Awaits’

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My husband said I have a lot of photographs of me looking out the window.

Perhaps he is right. I look out my windows frequently through out the day if I am inside.

Partly for the view and partly because it is a great place to think

as I envision hopes and dreams for the future.

I recently moved our smaller white IKEA bookshelves

from the boys’ room downstairs into the look window nook.

It has become a new favourite place of mine

of where I can sit to write, brainstorm, and just meditate.

Do you have a favourite spot to which you go?

*Photograph belongs to Bonnie Rose Photography www.bonnie-rose.co.uk
**Cannot be used without written consent, please contact for more information regarding photographic services.

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

Ask B: How did you get involved with photography exhibits?