Pink and Rubber Fetish Fashion with Andy Dendy

Whilst I was in Amsterdam last month, I had the pleasure to work with a fellow visitor from England. (28 February 2010) Yes, Andy Dendy whom I befriended in Facebook via a network of photographers. He happened to be around that weekend because our friend, fellow model Nathalie van den Heuvel, was having a birthday session followed by a night at a fetish club! In fact, I met Nathalie for the first time during this trip though we have been chatting on Facebook all this time...!

My image of Andy was completely different from what I had imagined. On Facebook, he is always mentioning "going to the pub" so my vision of him was some loud white-van-man type whom I expected to show up staggering with a lager in one hand. I was wrong! Apart from being sober, Andy turned out to be such a sweet, gentle, funny and friendly guy, totally harmless. And he's such an awesome photographer. I like the fact that he takes photos from interesting angles like lying on the floor so I could look like a 6' tall leggy knockout... why can't more togs do that??? They can all learn from this!!!

We had the pictures taken at Alan's house in Amsterdam, a rather spacious and well-lit flat which is a perfect location for shoots. I've never done a shoot wearing Latex before, let alone trying one on till a few days ago at a shop for the first time, so I was ever so excited!!! They are also quite expensive so I never ventured out to purchase any. Luckily, Andy brought some over with him from England for me to try on... and WOW! I see what people mean when they say Latex is second skin! It is very comfortable and makes me feel so sexy!!!

We thought we'd warm up by doing a cute Pink theme. Pink wig with pink PVC miniskirt and matching top I happened to buy a few days ago when I was shopping with Nathalie. This is supposed to be happy, cute and silly, and I had so much fun! As with latex, I've never done a shoot wearing a wig before. I quite liked the idea and thought to myself I ought to get shot in wigs more often especially in interesting colours... also quite liked the bob!

The next two sets were down to the seriously mean femme fatale look, a sharp contrast to the bubble-gum cute pink theme... I chose the black dress with the high collar to enhance the Oriental look and put my hair up in a high ponytail holding a whip and wearing a pair of high heels with studs on bottom... then for the second set I changed into another black latex dress but this time with a zipper in the front to give me a cleavage effect (I know, what cleavage?). I put on a pair of hotpink pvc gloves and let my hair down... wow, I really do love latex! If I had all the money in the world, I'd have a wardrobe full of latex outfits in all different colours... black, blue, red, yellow... pink!
I am very pleased with the outcome of the pictures, Andy. Well done! I really do look 6' tall, scary and dominating. Hope to shoot with you again sometime... perhaps with Nathalie too! Many thanks!

Shooting in the Ruins with Steve Cottle

Once cancelled because of the heavy snow in January, this shoot was rescheduled, one which I was looking forward to. Having shot at the Brighton Group Shoot last summer, I was so impressed with Steve Cottle's work that we promised to shoot again soon . He invited me over to his turf in Bath (8 February 2010) where I stayed over at his parent's the night before for an early start in various outdoors venues nearby.

Despite being quite young, Steve is quite an experienced photographer having started with nature and landscape photography and having spent some months in South Africa on holidays. He is interested in expanding his horizons more, going into glamour and art nude, as well as some alternative themes, and takes his hobby very seriously. As we are both open to new ideas and enjoy experimenting, we just went with the flow of things. Steve was even thoughtful enough to pass on some of his ideas to me prior to the shoot with sample images, and this gave me hints as to the styles of outfits and mood we could achieve.

We were originally supposed to start with shooting in a derelict fortress right across his house. However, we were so excited about rescheduling the shoot that we forgot that it was the beginning of February! The fortress was an open area with no roofs or ceilings and maybe just one wall but it certainly couldn't shield us from the cold so we moved to another venue. Steve suggested a disused iron mill which was about half-hour drive between Bath and Frome.

Having arrived there, it was a tad better but freezing!!! Part of me said I was crazy and ought to cut the shoot short than risk catching pneumonia. Another part of me was telling me to shut up and get on with it. Hell, I travelled all the way there for the weekend so why not make the most of it? And I knew if I turned away, I'd regret it... and quite rightly so because the venue was oh so perfect... a disused iron mill from centuries ago, now a beautiful stone ruin surrounded by the gorgeous greenery of the woods. I have the images above to prove it!

The first set was taken in the main "hallway" where I decided the outfit have a fetish touch to it, school girl uniform with PVC thigh high boots! This was actually inspired by one of the images Steve had sent as an idea for the shoot. The background of the ruins was perfect for this outfit! We then went to the woods where.... brrrrrr.... we thought we'd throw in a lingerie set. Violet bra and panty set from good old La Senza. Yes in the cold! Sounds crazy? Well, I next ended up taking my kit off! The picturesque greenery was just too good to miss for some nudity....and of course some naughtiness as I do get a kick out of the thrill of risk getting caught by the public LOL.

To take a break from nudity and to give my body a tad of warmth, I got into my red basque and black miniskirt, shooting in and around the woods, the trees and another piece of ruin. Ruins are indeed a wonderful backdrop for any sort of themes including fashion, fetish and nude. Again, they were too beautiful to miss for a good "art nude" shoot so once more I stripped down and "thought of Japan" (as opposed to England) as I braved through the bitter cold whilst getting my thrills!

Just as I was getting into the swing of it all, we decided to call it a day, as it unfortunately began snowing. Such a shame but we had Steve's expensive camera and lighting equipment to consider as well. Looking back, I can't believe how mad I was to shoot in such a condition. Cold weather, though, has a positive effect on outdoor images, particulary nudes. Contraction of muscles whilst shivering in the cold enhances definition and tone to one's body which is ideal in photographs. And funnily enough, it adds colour to one's complexion. As such, I was very pleased with the outcome of the images!

Steve and I will be shooting again soon definitely once the weather warms up more, when it will be his turn to come down to Horsham. Time to do some research now for ideal venues nearby! If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Meanwhile, I would like to thank Steve for his time and for making this freezing shoot actually so fun!

Visiting Jessica Evans in Breda, NL

In case you didn't notice, I disappeared to Holland in the latter part of February to visit friends, celebrate Valentines and shoot some more. One of my favourite photographer is also one of my best mates, Jessica Evans, a sweet, genuine and fun-loving American living in the Netherlands. Certainly well worth a two-hour journey from Amsterdam to Breda!

Jessica is very dedicated to her work and is known for taking beautiful pictures and with very skillful retouching churns out images to perfection whilst making them look natural as possible. Also, she is another one which brings out the "cuteness" in me.... that's cuz the first time she shot me last year, all she could say when looking at her viewfinder was "OMG, this is soooo cute"! Hmmm, till then, I never thought about myself as being "cute" at least in the pictures... honest!!!

My primary reason for visiting was to see Jessica and "hang out". As we both live in different countries we hardly see each other so it was good to catch up and do the Ladies who Lunch at the local Subways! We then went back to hers and watched "Little Britain" but got bored with it so decided to shoot! Luckily I brought some stuff just in case and loaded my face with makeup in the bus on my way over. I so had to get into that pretty bra & suspender set I bought on sale at Agent Provocateur... except they didn't have any matching knickers in my size so I improvised by adding a pair of black thongs from American Apparel!

As the daylight was waning, we couldn't shoot much in natural light which would otherwise have been ideal. After trying in various places in her study with little success, Jessica came up with a pivotal idea: her en-suite bathroom! All covered in white tiles to lighten up the room, we figured it would do as she brought her soft-box lighting... How fun that was!!! And original too...cramming ourselves in the bathroom, squeezing her and the lighting equipment between the washbasin and bathtub with me posing... in a wetroom shower!!! And with very limited arm movements for me as the setting was so compact... ha ha!

In the end though, we were both pleased with the outcome. The boldness of the green and black lingerie contrasted well with the "clinical" white tiles in the bathroom. Even the shower in the background added some accent to the image without being obstrusive. Now, combine that with a cheeky smile, and there you have it! I'm always pleased with the results when working with Jessica...in fact quite a number of togs and models in the U.K. are very impressed with her work and have asked me about her. So there you go, girl, keep up the wonderful work... you certainly bringing out the smiles, the sexy, the sultry and the cute!

For more of Jessica's work, check out: www.pixiemeat.com