My 2011 Calendar!

For any Ivory Flame megafans out there; I finally sorted my 2011 calendar - 'Colour, Opulence & Beauty'. Hurray! :-)
It's a bit late I hear you say. If I can explain myself - I did start putting it all together using international printers RedBubble (as suggested to me by the lovely Maria Eriksson) at the beginning of December, and then sent off for a test calendar, as I wanted to check the quality and that everything printed fine before putting it on sale. But then it took ages with Christmas orders and then the snow came and it was delayed in the post an extra week or so, and finally after waiting and waiting it arrived today, on the eve of the New Year! So if you order it now it'll hopefully arrive by mid January latest and you won't miss out too many days :-) If I do one again I promise I will get it ready to order way in advance! ;-)

Here it is! - http://IvoryFlame.redbubble.com

This is the first calendar I've made and it was really difficult choosing 12 final images for the final collection out of the many favourites I have, but I decided to focus on rich colours and stunning imagery that I hope will please and inspire viewers for each day of every month of 2011. I tried to include images that are not just of me, but great photographic visuals that people might enjoy looking at on their wall. It features nude, fashion & art inspired themes, with luscious settings and gorgeous styling, captured by some of the most incredible & talented photographers around the world.
There's a few popular 'classics' like the homage to Flaming June, the statueque 'woodland nymph' and my dream-come-true underwater shot (on the cover), as well as new photos from this last year including the beautiful Lilith by Zhang Jingna, an opulent feast with Rebecca Tun and corset adorned liasons with Madame Bink.

For reference, links to all artist's fantastic websites are below and also all linked with a short description of each picture on the RedBubble page.

January ~ Ruan Van Der Sande
February ~ Rebecca Tun Photography
March ~ Zhang Jingna
April ~ Stefan Soell
May ~ Max Operandi (with Rebecca Tun)
June ~ Chris Colquhoun
July ~ Alex Ingram
August ~ Ian Payne
September ~ Binkertson, styling by Nikita Sablier (with Madame Bink)
October ~ Dave Hunt
November ~ Stephen Perry
December ~ Alberich Mathews


~ Have a great New Year everybody!!! xxx ~

Rainbow Colour

I love these portraits taken by the talented Pierus at my local White Space Studios a few months ago. We got so many fantastic shots that day as always, including this one on my MM page. For these Claude had this pretty shimmering piece of rainbow fabric. It seemed to make my skin whiter and bring out the reds in my hair, resulting in such colour rich images. Beautiful fabric always makes such a handy & versatile prop to bring to shoots, reminds me to stock up on some new colours and styles :-)

Inspiration

These pictures are from December's Harper's Bazaar issue that's been on my coffee table over Christmas, thought I'd post them as I'm just fell head over heels for this golden treasure chest of a photoshoot. Such beautiful delicious photography, gorgeous modelling and incredible outfits - look at that coat and skirt in the second picture down, it's like grecian myth icarus meets narnian queen. Such a treat for the eyes!

Natural light, blurred backgrounds, cinematic haze, light through the hair, styling to die for, intricate detailing, mystery, sparkle, an element of fantasy, a glimpse into a story. If anything sums up what sort of work I just adore - this is it!

Photographer ~ Michael Angelo Di Battista
Model ~ Natalia Vodianova
Stylist ~ Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou
Artist ~ Dinos Chapman

Ruby Sparkle

I have to post these gorgeous corset pictures as they're so Christmasy with the shimmering garnet red and luxurious setting. This stunning creation is by bespoke corset designer Sparklewren, shot by photographer Sean Elliot when I was up in Newcastle earlier in the year. I have more images to share from this day, where I got squeeezed into the most incredible designs that nipped my waist down to a tiny weeny size, and will post them very soon. Will be shooting Jenni's new collections next year too so can't wait to see what she comes up with next, she uses such beautiful fabrics and intricate detailing.

More on her website ~ www.sparklewren.co.uk

I hope everone has a very Merry Christmas, enjoy the festivities and food!! :-)

Lighting the Nude US Book Cover

My book arrived! This is the revised US edition of Lighting the Nude, cover photo taken by John Evans. I found out about it earlier this year but it wasn't available until November. It's so lovely to now have a copy of my own! What makes it extra special is that it also features images of many of my favourite fellow art models, including Joceline, Ulorin Vex, Anita de Bauch, Rebecca Tun, & Maria Eriksson, as well as many superb photographers like the awesome Gregory Brown, Andre Brito and John Tisbury. It's certainly value for money at 384 pages, full of diagrams and technical information of each lighting set-up, covering abstract, modern, funky, erotic and classical, timeless styles.
My picture is entitled 'The Muse' with me credited as Ivory Flame, alongside a Tennyson poem and even a little note from John that reads 'I had a particular model in mind who I had shot before with beautiful red wavy hair, and I thought she would suit the mood I was looking for perfectly'. Ahhh, I am so happy. It makes me very proud to be on the cover of a lighting guide for this genre, that features so many talented people I admire. It'll be a lovely thing to look back on when I'm older.

If anyone if interested in buying the book, if you're in the US, you should be able to order it pretty easily from your local bookstore. For those in the UK, there are still a few copies left on the UK amazon site here (I bought mine from seller quatermelon) which avoids the hefty postage costs from America. I already had a few messages from people saying they've ordered their copy, which is lovely, thank you for the support as always :-)

Flickering Light

Is everyone is starting to feel suitably festive? Only 2 weeks to go! :-) I have to admit I'm feeling stupidly excited, adorning my windows with fairylights and baking xmas spice biscuits & the like. I'm trying to make the most of the build up, as I find sometimes the big day can sneak up so quick, and you haven't had much chance to get in the mood because of being so busy. I'm looking forward to getting my Christmas tree tomorrow, I have all my decorations ready. I also bought a plain wreath for my door and spent the evening decorating it with leaves, bows, paint, glue and general sparkliness. Super happy times! :-)

I hope people didn't have too many problems with all the snow, I managed to drive around unscathed, including trips for duo work with the Bink last week, but further north on my visit to Leicester I needed to be pushed up the icy hill where my Mum & Dad live, slightly scary but all good experience I'm sure :-S

The snow was fairly light in my area, but still so beautiful to look out at, especially very late at night, it has that quiet magnetism that makes you stand still and observe. When all the world is sleeping and the empty streets are silent and still, the white ground glows alive in the darkness, glistening slowly with tiny twinkles, and weightless flakes fly through the light of the streetlamps... that is a peace in the world, that feels such an honour to witness, like discovering a hidden jewel.

I drove to Oxford earlier this week and the countryside was like a wonderland. Every tree and hedge covered in a snowy coating, frosted branches draping elegantly from weeping willows with a backdrop of stunning blue sky. I met up with Ella Rose and we went to the Christmas markets, which felt really festive. Oxford is very atmospheric around this season, great to do some present shopping.

I also have a few images to share that have that wintry mood... these are some more from shooting with Rayment Kirby down in East Sussex (see my previous post 'Snakes & Ladders') including some beautiful moody portraits by candlelight and some amazing textured effects (not post processing!) He is a very clever phoptographer indeed, and a superb craftsman, mixing traditional photography techniques with modern technology and using whatever he can find/make/recycle for props, accessories and equipment.

© Rayment Kirby ~ www.raymentkirbyphotography.co.uk

Rayment has recently published a book with images from our shoot together with full details and diagrams on how to achieve varying lighting set ups around the home, using some great DIY techniques and handmade & post-shoot editing styles. So this would be a great guide for people looking for help in equipment and technical tips, as well as a source of creative inspiration. The link is here ~ www.blurb.com/books/photosession