The heron meandered around the algae smothered pond for ages, long enough for me to switch to my telephoto lens and get really close up to the details on the feathers and eyes.

Although I missed his quick sweeps to opposite corners of the pond I managed to catch him nibbling on a fish.

I loved the small unique details of this aged place, although many times as I began to get close I saw a spider moving and ran away. Heck no absolutely not, I can just about cope with a cobweb. *shudders*

I love the vintage feel of a wooden panelled door and iron locks and handles, it seems like such a classic image of "the olden days".

I really like the lens flare on this - I just love the colours. This is an old steam engine I believe, having lived closed to this place my whole life and visited on many occasions you get used to what's inside and stop reading the information plaques and just see it as "yeah that spinny thing there" or "the green un-functioning thing in the corner". I only wish this wasn't as close as you can get to it so I can get photos of all the intricate bits and pieces.

I really like the old wood of the attic space. And the old post sacks stuffed with, something so you don't smash your head on the low beams. Can't say I've ever done that but in the past I have ached from laughing at my dad hitting his head. While I tried (and failed) to get a photo of the windows the other side of this wheel my dad took a few candids of me [x] [x] oh how suave!

Yay! A successful low shutter speed photo! I used the brickwork and a wooden beam in the foreground to show off the moving parts rather than having a slightly confusing blurry photo. These are the only moving parts of the mill, in the background there is a water wheel which grinds wheat on Wednesdays and Sundays [source]. Here is a still image from the website [x]

I really like this photo because of all the scratches and marks on the window, and the hint of the lovely spring afternoon and community. Although, it was quite awkward when the man looked up and saw me. Such subtle, much running up the stairs.

I grew obsessed with the unique and aged windows of this place with every window I saw, I just couldn't help myself.

This is my favourite window photo I think. The backlight totally blacks out the walls and makes the window panes and view more interesting, with a little help from saturation of course.

I was and am quite impressed with this photo as it's the closest I've gotten without macro, while still being in focus. There was also a butterfly to the right here but she didn't open her wings so photos weren't all that great, hopefully another time.

I love this one because of how well you can see the detail of the wings, with the sunlight shining straight through.

I really like the rugged texture of the window panes, and the colouring as it aged and became more "minging" over time, only giving it more character.

I hope you like this small collection of pictures, maybe over some more time I can go back and find some more nooks and crannies. I would recommend going there for a little family outing. It does cost to go inside the mill [x] however the outside architecture and gardens are equally as beautiful. Sometimes there are events in the neighbouring field, like the Tolkien weekend - also high praise for families with markets, crafting, food, plays and fancy dress opportunity.

As always let me know your favourite images and hit me up with some of your favourite photography bloggers for me to check out for myself.

Hey hey hey. This one's for my fellow students, as I assume like myself you are being driven insane by a mass of homework and revision - all to prepare for exams on the horizon. (if you listen closely you can hear me screaming)

Although (finally) in my last year I hold no strong voice on how to revise. Nobody really does. It's all down to each individual and what kind of learner you are for which revision technique will work best for everyone. Here's a test so you can find out what kind of learner you are. I'm a visual learner which made perfect sense as I often picture my notes when I'm not allowed to physically have them in front of me.

A very popular technique is making or buying index cards and putting the most important notes onto them to review and remember. My friends and I use a lot of coloured pens and highlighters but the layout of the facts is all up to you but remember, it's absolutely not all about the aesthetics of the cards but the clarity of the information on them.

Teachers always tell me the best methods that research says to use when revising. Read at least 6 times, read aloud, re-write and repeat. Get friends and family to test you - especially ones who aren't in your class and have no idea what you're even studying. Apparently the best way to study is 20 minutes at a time with 5 minute breaks. But if you're like me you just get in the zone and power on longer than 20 minutes, however, you must take breaks. Not only to let the information absorb into your memory for a bit but also to slow down form powering into stressville.

As well as using index cards try to transfer your notes onto larger sheets - one friend of mine loves going as big as A3. If you find it difficult to remember tons of new study notes, mind maps may be the key to improving your memory. The theory behind mind mapping explains that making associations by connecting ideas helps you to memorise information easier and quicker.

If you are revising and like to listen to music to fill the void of everlasting silence, play some music without a beat as it doesn't distract you from reading, writing and obtaining the information. Although we all love to sing and tap along, if we're focusing more on the lyrics and the beat, we're not focusing on the information we so desperately rely on to pass. Oh how I hate being tested on memory rather than my actual intelligence.

For more revision tips and some giggles read this. And please sense the hint of sarcasm in some bullet points and don't take it all too seriously, especially number 5!

And remember - if you feel yourself going mad or actually start having breakdowns (it's okay, we've all cried over one subject or two all of them, literally every single one all the time) take the day off. No matter the deadline, take an hour or an afternoon off, I mean who can revise and memorise stuff when you're losing the plot?

Yep. Definitely didn't forget I even owned a blog... Whoops. Forgive me friends. And hello! My oh my are things getting crazy. Not only am I trying to maintain a social life and failing to remember to text people with a substantial conversation. But I'm swamped with homework that never seems to allow enough time for actually revising and remembering all the work for the real exams. Ugh teenage life is hard.

After having two weeks off for Easter I'm way out of routine and I can't keep on top of anything and everything's all rushed back at once. Quite frankly I just want to sleep for 3000 years and if I close my eyes for long enough right now that may happen. I miss my bed. And I miss talking to my best friend Gemma. But there's just not enough hours in the day to have some time off. And procrastination doesn't help yet still just... happens.

I cannot wait for summer to come and to leave education. Not only to get some refreshing sleep that leaves me actually feeling awake but to chill, stress free. Chatting to my friends and having some quality camera time. At the same time I'm so scared for the next step and joining "the big real world" as adults call it. I could probably complain about school for hours but right now I'm just so tired from it. It's a lot of hard work and brain effort.

I always have to straighten things out in my head before I can start. I have to mentally tidy up my brain then physically tidy up the work space. Lay it out in my head again then set to work. I'm a visual learner so revision contains a lot of highlighters, coloured pens and imagining the layout of my workbook when thinking back to poems etc. Perhaps next week I shall blog some tips on revising - and most of all remember I own a blog and Saturday is upload day hahaa!

There are so many important things to maintain in life. It's almost like a triangle of "good sleep", "good grades" and "good social life" and you can only pick two. Right now I don't seem to be able to hold up one, but I'm sure we all get like that. And as much as I live for making my family proud with academic achievements and I find such deep comfort in my bed, all I want right now is to be with my Gemma. I'm working on all three agonisingly slowly but hey better late than never I suppose.

What I will leave you with is this. Always keep your mind clean and put your mental wellbeing first. Don't risk having a breakdown with a pile up of stress trying to keep everything intact when it's all a mess in your head. Straighten it out there before you attempt anything, as much as I live by that I still try and leave myself too tired to function like right now. Oh dear Beky...

Take care of yourselves, love to you all and sweet dreams tonight.

Hey hey hey! What a beautiful morning it is today. How are you my friends. I'm not too shabby thank you for asking, although the thought of having to return to school very soon makes me want to cocoon myself for eternity. Anyway, I think it's quite clear by now that I am very much into my photography and when I started getting more into it I wanted to collect some vintage cameras for a special shelf in my future home. To quench my thirst for these beautiful old cameras before I eventually begun a collection I made a pinterest board [x] just full of different types of old cameras.



However, last week me and my dad went to visit his cousin and her family in Coventry for the afternoon and they took us to a "vintage village" called Fargo. It's modern made to look hipster, with shops in colourful storage containers and sheds and so aesthetically pleasing I loved it. I knew I'd be likely to come across these old vintage cameras I love so much but I didn't see any when I peeked around everywhere. Until my dad said they were in the back of one of the storage containers.

We went in and I started looking at the cameras, which there was an abundance of. I even picked one up that I particularly liked and looked through the viewfinder. The shop owner was very friendly and striked up conversation about how he often babysat his nephew with an old pentax around his neck, and said nephew came to be a successful band photographer [Steve Gullick] and showed us some books of his.

Looking though one camera at the other. I think this is really cool mostly because of the way the large viewfinder works on this camera. You have to look down the top of it while holding it at your waist, and what you're looking at is flipped because of the mirror inbetween each window.

Dad haggled the camera I picked up for £10 - only £5 less than labelled, before he spotted an older beauty that he wanted himself for £5. The second camera was so cheap because it was damaged so wouldn't work, but he only wanted it for it's beauty rather than to use. Neither of us could help ourselves so he bought both and let me keep both on my shelf to start off my collection.

Early in 1939, Ensign Ltd introduced the Vintage Ensign Ful-Vue Film Camera. Fondly remembered by many photographers as their first camera, often bought for them by their parents while they were still children. An improved model was introduced in 1950, dubbed the Ful-Vue II. It had an all plastic front panel housing a new shutter assembly which for the first time provided the camera with a flash synch terminal. The design immediately captured the publics interest, an interest that has lasted even until today as this is still camera that is widely collected, regarded by many as a design classic.

This is the camera my dad loved, as you can see the front of it is quite cracked but I feel like that adds to the whole "vintage" look and creates a little story for the camera. I have no idea how this camera would work if it could, which only adds to that little air of mystery about it, but like my dad I love it because of how different and unique it is.



The Trip 35 is a 35mm compact camera, manufactured by Olympus. It was introduced in 1967 and discontinued, after a lengthy production run, in 1984. The Trip name was a reference to its intended market – people who wanted a compact, functional camera for holidays. During the 1970s it was the subject of an advertising campaign that featured popular British photographer David Bailey. Over ten million units were sold.

 This is the camera that attracted my attention first because it's one of the first images that come to mind when I think of vintage cameras, and still a classic design for cameras today. With a film this camera will work fully so I'm very excited to put a film in there and try it out. The shop keeper said he sold films for £2 but unfortunately we didn't indulge, much to our regret.


And this is where I keep my new treasures, on my middle book shelf. I had to make some space but it still feels like they're not quite at home, possibly because I always imagined a long row of them sitting on a long bookshelf. I'm still very content with them though and they really complement each other.

Do let me know which style you like most or if there's a different style of vintage camera that you adore. Hopefully I manage to get quite a diverse collection over time.

Becky's tattoo's were also a new thing for me to photograph and were beautifully amazing against the white bedsheets, which helped her stand out all the more, even in the ever beautiful black and white.

Becky's hair was also gorgeous and reminded me of my bright purple days. I love how hers slightly fades at the tips.

I also admired the way she kept a mirror in front of her during the shoot so she could pose perfectly each time and keep her general appearance well, leaving nothing to have to photoshop out which made editing very quick and easy.

I love this set because of how much the bright underwear, her hair and ink stand out against the white surroundings, really focusing all of the attention on Becky. Here I tried bringing out more blue tones to help make the tattoo ink pop as the pink hair and red underwear stood out so much already.

This shot is one of my most favourites because I just feel like everything has come together well, the natural light from the windows behind me lighting up everything perfectly and the way the whole frame is used, ooh go me.

Still in the bedroom we moved onto some standing shots by the wall. I loved the wall paper here because of the texture, yet the colour is still dull enough to maintain focus on Becky.

Since the wall was next to the windows the contrast was much more significant, which I quite liked, bringing something a little different to the composition.

Next we moved to the room just outside the bedroom which had three different wallpapers on. I love these shots because of how bright and beautiful everything is, really emphasising the patterns of Becky's tattoo's.

I always say how much I love the colours within a photo, anything with bright colours really stands out to me before I pull out a camera so this set was really interesting to do.

In this shot I decided to make the background black and white so that the colours of her hair, tattoos and bra really stood out and things were a little less busy.

During the editing of this shoot I quite liked to increase the sharpness of things so that the details of Becky's tattoos really stood out. The fact that she was in underwear really showed off her tattoos so I sort of made that the focus of this shoot.

I admired the way Becky would pause and say to herself "What new can I do" before holding different poses, and hearing Steve and another photographer say how she really knows her stuff shows how she's such a pro.

I decided to take a few shots on the other wall which was more black and white, allowing Becky to stand out more naturally against the wall.

The last set I did was on the white curve in the main studio, first with a white wicker chair which I liked because it added texture like the bedroom wall but still blended in to the white background and made Becky stand out.

I also liked the change of outfit with this set too to change up the shots I was left with a little more. The beautiful statement necklace tying together the colour of her hair and underwear, finishing off the look perfectly.

I loved getting some full length shots which showed off her leg tattoos aswell. With this shot I tilted it to spice things up a bit as I simply shot this straight as I could manage, leaving future editing me to get creative with the angles.

I always like to get a range of portrait and landscape orientations during shoots, so that I'm left with an array of different shots that offer something new each time, other than the posing.

I love this straight on shot, with Becky's tattoos filling the bottom half while her jewellery and bright pink hair brighten up the top half of the image. These are the shots I showed to Becky as I brought the fur coat over to her and she said she loved - que trying not to blush before I reassume my position to take shots with the coat on.

I love the texture the fur coat brings to these images, this black and white photo I feel really brings out this texture aswell as the details of the necklace and her arm tattoos. And those cheekbones - damn!

Again I loved capturing Becky's leg tattoos with this full length shot. There's something so classic about shooting on a plain white background with a studio flash.

I would have loved to stay longer and take more photos in the different sets as I loved all the ones I had done and was very proud of what I got out of them. I'd also like to thank Becky for making my first underwear shoot experience a good one, her laid back and friendly attitude making me more comfortable and now more open to another shoot like this in the future.

I am most excited for my next shoot with Tip Top, it's always a good experience when ever I see them and every time I leave I eagerly await the next hello. I fall in love with the photoshoot and blogging process more every time. My photography blog posts I feel are my best, I can talk about photos easily and I grow more proud of the outcome every time I try.

Like always do share your own photography with me or any other photo keen bloggers you follow so I can check them out.