First things first, she got in the river didn't she? Go big or go home. It always starts with a "I could get over there couldn't I?" - she easily could until she threw me her glasses so she could put on her shades, but a bad thrower and a bad catcher are not a good mix and the poor specs fell into a deep part of the river, so she ditched her shoes and sacrificed her socks. Sorry again Eve!


A lot of the afternoon consisted of neither of us really knowing what we were doing, but I did my typical thing and used my 50mm lens and got some greenery in the foreground out of focus for that narrow depth of field that I love. I snapped away, trying to keep Eve in focus as she moved around, mainly pratting about which was very funny for us both, but it gave us some nice shots of her laughing.



By the river where was a patch of tall white flowers. I say patch because it wasn't big enough to be a field, but it was still big. Any way I encouraged Eve to go in a little bit so that there were some flowers in front of her as well as behind. This was my favourite little scene from our impromptu shoot - friends, come and take photos in flowery fields with me.




A bit of another "I can get on that" moment. Again, she threw her glasses to me and they fell in the long grass. Seriously, that stump reached our hips, that grass is loooonnggg! It was my turn to reach in for them and hope there were no stinging nettles. This was a little difficult for me as she was up high and I do like having something close so that I can get a depth of field, so I got down low and tried to focus on Eve from all this long grass...


this one was actually an accident but I really like it, it's different from all the others and there's just something about it which I really like but I can't quite pin why, but here it is anyway.

Anyway... After going in to get my results I actually forgot to share them with people - even my dad! It's not because I'm not pleased, I'm just not really fussed and it's not much of a big deal, although my papa, grandparents and Steve and Deb from the best work experience ever were all exceptionally chuffed for me with beaming smiles.

I really can't put my finger on why I forgot to share my results when people were so very eager to hear them. It's just a thing I did. [it was at this point I received a DM on Instagram off Canon themselves about my competition entry - competition info here - holy bloody hell, lets talk about that can we?! - they wanted my permission for them to share my image on their site and social media, I of course obliged, how fucking exciting is that!! More chuffed about that than a good uni result now. Thanks to Hannah and Stef Michalak for talking about the competition which lead me to get involved in the first place! Back to the main subject...] What I wanted to talk about was self pride, and how evidently I don't much feel it with uni and my tutor even told the class that some people need to feel more confident with their work and be proud of what the present rather than put themselves down. I often do these things because I know there are SO many incredible photographers out there, with their own distinguished style and success and recognition from that, all who I can't compare to because I just dabble in everything and don't really know what I'm doing.

I figured that whenever I feel proud of myself that it's my mom's pride I'm feeling, and I like that. I love more how my dad has told me he's proud of me, without me asking to as I've had to do before... It's reassurance from my best friend that I'm doing well, even though I'm not sure if I really am or not. Him, plus Steve and Deb giving me high praise (as well as the canon thing) makes me feel like I'm doing a good job as a photographer so far, so I should be proud of myself right?

Perhaps I've detached myself from the last project as it became really quite difficult to complete and left me both physically and emotionally drained so I can't feel too proud of something that although I'm pleased with, makes me feel so crappy. Nevertheless I did feel very proud to show my books to Steve and Deb, and dad wants to show it off too.

I'm not sure I can make it to the wisdomous part of the blog post where I give you some advice... Perhaps I too shall work on letting myself feel proud of what I do and get back to you. I guess it's all part of confidence in yourself and your abilities, I don't even have the confidence to talk to people let alone show them things I make.

If you do have some advice on this for myself and other readers then do comment it below :)

Aloha folks, I hope you are well. I'm still eagerly waiting for my results on my last uni submission, perhaps when I get those I might share with you some of my images from that project and talk about it a little, but for now here is one image and a couple other pieces from what went on to make that last project happen... Here is May...


Week one and I went into the studio again for some experimentation. I am still not sure if my images are "fine art" enough but this one (and ones like this) seemed so, so I was much happier with these and only wish I had many more in this style to put in the required 15 image long book. But hey-ho, it was experimentation with self portrait - long exposure and subject matter for me and it was a very different way of shooting things for me so that's gotta count for something right?

I did use this image in my final book though, in case you were wondering.


Speaking of the books, week two was full of book making, and I got so into it I wrote a blog post on how to make a book [x]. I really want to keep making books after this module - perhaps for another hand in if it suits but just for little gifts and things would be lovely. I really enjoyed the process and found it somewhat therapeutic to sit and construct something with my hands for a few hours.


Week Three and I went to my beloved London with my uni pals as if we all didn't have a deadline in literally a week, but we had fun. we went to see Photo London which was a maze of an exhibition, after seeing most of it we headed to the Tate Modern so we could squeeze in some exploring along the way which we all really wanted to do. Would have been more fun had it not been raining but it made for a couple good images and sparked an idea in me to photograph some of the uglier parts of cities - which you can see here [x].

This image is something that amazed me on Millennium Bridge and had me looking down the whole time. "Chewing Gum Man" as he is aptly nicknamed, paints old pieces of gum on the bridge, making art out of what is usually an eyesore of litter. It was beautiful and I am still so amazed by it and would love to see it again to really take it in as I was called to catch up and was limited by time. Also the rain - which I love, but hate to actually be in.


And finally week four, the hand in! Which I stayed up until nearly 4 to finish ha! (yes I'm still tired) But I managed it, albeit I would have wanted to put more attention to detail and perhaps even another dummy book I have literally just realised I forgot to put the writing in the bigger black dummy book, oh my god but I'm very pleased with what I did submit - even more so as my dad has said more than once, all without me pestering, how he's proud of what I've done. Twas a little surreal though when both me and my tutor teared up in my assessment the day after hand in when we were talking about it - hey, the brief did say it had to be emotionally stimulating...

I was also chuffed to have two beautiful cover designs with the help of Flob and Lauryn - thanks guys, you da best, but because they look so good I actually miss my books so I'm pretty eager to get them back so I can have a flick through and show them the finished product of their help and expert crafts(wo)manship.

Also a key highlight of this month - which I feel I ought to note - has been finally getting my own laptop which I am ever grateful for, and which I blog to you from now. It's so beautiful I love it so much, but I'm kind of eager to get back to uni just so I can use it for what it was bought for rather than games and netflix... Sorry dad, but thank you SO much 💗 I would go back to said games and netflix now but as you're reading this I'm being a proper secondary photographer so I'll be doing that!

Happy June :)

Hello and a merry Saturday to you! I believe it is half term now so I do hope you're having all sorts of fun - or at least have fun lined up. I have friends on holiday, at Gay Pride Parade and Slam Dunk Festival... Meanwhile I am about to go to a camera shop with dad because that's just my level of fun.

This week has ended well, despite being brimming with stress and exhaustion at the start, but now I can happily say I have finished a year of university, although I still have to go back and get the results from my last hand in, which I feel pretty okay with so I feel like I will pass which is enough for me. Not only that but now I am the happy owner of my own laptop - I don't know if I've spoken about it on my blog but if you follow me on twitter (and you should, I do try to be banterous and hashtag relatable) you'll be all too familiar with my desire and somewhat need for one. I'm typing this blog on it now and it's lush! I am one happy bunny. I'm also a bit excited for second year if only for the fact I get to whip this lovely device out and type with everyone else.

Anyway, I wanted to celebrate my finished a year of uni achievement by giving some tips and advice on surviving uni - I will probably do this again in September for all the freshers if any of them read :)


Number one: After securing your place, sorting out all the "adult" stuff (like finance etc) and telling your family the good news - get all the equipment you will need. For me, I was given a list of needing a memory stick and hard drive as these are your best friends in photography - but in any subject they will be most helpful. An academic diary will also be your best friend, mine is detailed to what time and room I will be in each day. These are all tools for organisation - which you really need to be if you actually want to survive uni! And be sure to whack your name permanently onto these things, so if they're lost they can get back to you, and if you need to hand them in, your tutors know whos is whos.

Hey hey hey! As I've been getting into book making for my last uni project I thought I'd share with you how it's done... I was stitching a book together while I was taking pictures for this blog post, with the help of [this] video, which shows you how exactly to stitch the pages together. For this and the simpler "fold and glue" method, you need:

• A pencil
• A metal ruler
• A bone tool - something hard and rounded works too
• Needle and thread
• A craft knife
• A cutting mat
• PVA glue
• Bulldog clips
• Book mull
• Cardboard
• Sheets of paper - lots of white and two coloured
• Coloured paper, card or cloth (bigger than the paper you will use for sheets)

Start off by folding your sheets of paper (the pages) in half, then  rub the fold with the bone tool - I compromised without one of these by using the side of a pen. Then mark out where the holes will be for your thread - be sure to make it the same on each page so everything lines up nicely in the finished book. With the needle poke holes in your markings to make it easier to thread, blue tack underneath the page makes this easier.

This is a good point to watch the video [x] and thread your book together!


This is how mine looked... And yeah it was wonky as hell. The lady made it look mush easier! Reinforce the spine with book mull - again if you don't have this, a sheet of ordinary paper will be fine. The inside of this book should look like this:


The fold and glue method is much simpler and easier... After you've decided on the size of your book, leave an extra 1.5cm margin, you'll need to score this (using the back of the craft knife) to make folding easier, and again smooth this down using a bone tool (or bone tool-like object). Then you have a tab to glue to the next page.

Level up your pages and clamp them together and glue the back of the tab onto the page on top of it, then once every tab has been glued, move the clamps to the glued spine to hold it together while it dries. It is best to have a scrap piece of paper between the clamps and your book so it doesn't mark your masterpiece. Again, reinforce the spine with mull (or paper) and you should have an open page that looks like this:


Despite having a much more obvious join, this method of book making is much easier - if you want a detailed step-by-step "how to" on this, let me know and it shall be done! The coloured end paper then hides the last tab at the start of the book, to do this you glue the inside of the tab and stick the folded end page into the crease, like so:


Then stick another end page onto the back - just glue a couple centimetres onto the last page and stick it down, there's nothing on the last page to see anyway so it's fine to cover it like this a bit.

Once you have your book block (a chunk of pages either glued or stitched together), the next step is the cover. For this little book I used this cardboard, in another book I have made I used book board, which is much thicker and harder. First, measure how big your pages are (when closed) and add on half a centimetre so that your cover is bigger than your pages and - well - covers them.

Put PVA glue all over the board and stick the back cover onto your coloured paper/card/cloth (in this case I have used black card). Then place your block of pages in the middle of this, place your top cover board on top, making sure both covers are lined up together. Glue the front board and then fold the card over the front of the book. Once both boards are glued onto the coloured card, smooth it all out and get as few ripples as you can. once it's dried a bit, cut off the corners, leaving a couple millimetres from the corner of the board so it doesn't poke out of the card when finished.

Fold over these tabs onto the board and smooth it out with the bone tool - or pen - and then glue it all down. Then you're ready to stick your pages in!


This is the most difficult part. Glue your coloured (or even patterned) end pages - but not too much as it will ripple or even get so wet it will tear (and induce stress and frustration, trust me!), perhaps even try a glue stick at this stage to prevent ruining it at this point. Stick the end page completely onto the back cover of the book, in the middle of the board. Once that's on and has been smoothed down with your hand, glue the first end page and fold the front cover over to stick that down. Your end pages should look like this:


With this book I decorated it with stamps for a little experimentation of design...




I hope this has been helpful - or at least interesting! Do let me know if you give it a try, I;d love to see your results.

I'm sure I've spoken about my window before, but now I'm gonna tell you all about it. My window is my happy place, more so as I have to sit on (or in) my bed to be next to it. Sunny days always lift my spirits but in late afternoon it gets better as the sun shines right into my window, and when my window is open the wind catches my pretty net curtain and the movement of it really soothes me. After I cleaned it back a day and had my brother re-paint it while he was mid way through painting his whole room white, it's so much more pleasant and I still haven't gotten over how much lovelier it looks now. There's still bits and bobs sitting there but it looks "cleaner", and there is actually some space there to put something on every now and then - like my phone or a mug of tea.

I made a little video of it the other day because it was sunny and a little windy and just plain lovely. I had to capture it and share the peace and happiness it ensues in me. Often I will sit back (or even lie) in my bed looking out the window, come rain or shine, and just get lost in watching the weather thinking of nothing in particular. Other times I will watch it while my mind ticks over all sorts of things - like ideas for blogs or photographs, or plans for the next day or two, even to a lil bit of grief and other mental happenings. And then there are times where I rest my chin on the shelf/board/sill (whatever it's called) and look over all the details of my pretty little window - including the dirt and dust that has now found it's way there that I really ought to clean.

One of my favourite things about this window is also how I get to watch the sun set in between the houses, and soon enough I see the moon. I like the moon too. I've blogged before about the sky [x] and how much I love it. I think it's my favourite thing, I mean, I look out at it from my favourite spot, and from where ever I am and it sets a balance in me and brings me to a calm place where I close my eyes and smile a little. I would adore to have a window seat in my own home, where I have a beautiful front row seat to watch the sunset. That would be the ultimate happy little window!

Everyone should have a favourite place - a happy place. And mine is here in my bedroom, on my bed right by my happy little window. Watching the breeze blowing through the curtains and the clouds take different shapes, the sun beaming right into my room or setting in the distance as the sky blushes, and the raindrops hitting the glass before the moon comes in to view for a quick hello.

Where is your happy place? - I'd love to hear where you like to lose yourself in quietness, it's a nice thing to do. Maybe watch my video [x] of my window to help you think :)

Firstly (ha) I got a first in my third university module, which I don't want to brag about or show off but I'm insanely proud of the achievement - I still need to get my hands on my prints and memory stick from this project so I can be reunited with my work, but like most things I keep forgetting. My memory is tragic.


As I hinted at the start, I don't remember anything happening this week, other than some quality time with my bro... And I sort of cheated by using this image I took much more recently, but I remember spending time with him in this second week of April, particularly going for a walk and sticking a sticky plant onto his back and snapchatting his oblivious-ness this green hitchhiker.


In the third week it was camera club meet again and the plan was to go to West Bromwich and photograph their large St George's Day parade. It didn't go to plan but I still loved the images I got from it... You can see them all [here].


Finally, week four and I began shooting for my current project, where I am experimenting with photography in both techniques and subject matters and self portraits (which is much easier said than done, let me tell you) to convey grief. I am doing this because it's almost and "issue" how little is spoken about grief, but in showing how I deal with it and who I am grieving, I'm trying to bring it to the surface and make people think about love and loss. In this self portrait I'm holding up a dead bunch of my mom's favourite flowers, alstroemerias.

I'll possibly share more of this project once it's complete - I've shot loads but haven't had time to edit a single thing! In the meantime, take care, and a merry week to you!