Last Friday night saw Leanne Burke put on an extravaganza like no other at the Derby Conference Centre, and I was invited to photograph the goings on! ITV’s Alison Hammond presented the event with her trademark wit and gusto, and I was more than impressed with the entertainment on show! First up was Derby’s own branch of Rock Choir who brought the house down, followed by singer Lucy Spraggan, comedian Charlie Hale, and finally, singer Shar Musiq. All of this was in aid of raising money for the amazing charity When you Wish upon a Star whose primary aim is to grant the wishes of children suffering from life threatening illnesses. An auction was held to raise money for the charity, and I also was in tow with my studio, donating 25% of all profits from photos taken on the night to the charity. Such an amazing cause, and beautiful night. A glimpse of the night and photographs taken are below:

Brrrr! Ok so it’s really winter now. And winter of course means one thing: CHRISTMAS! To get truly festived-up, operatic legend Gari Glaysher invited me to photograph his Christmas Concert this year held in the beautiful Derby Cathedral. The night involved himself, with friends, singing Christmas classics as well as those not so known to a large crowd of fans. As Gari said so himself, it was rare that a singer gets to perform in front of so many faces he actually knew, so there was a remarkably warm feeling to the whole concert.

Photography wise it was the first time I’d photographed inside the cathedral, and decided since Gari was filming his performance, I would try shooting sans-flash. I also had the pleasure of trying out my new Canon L Series f2.8 70-200m lens. For those in the know, this is a BEAST of a lens. She’s beautiful, handles extremely well in low light, and has the added extra of Image Stabilisation to help those photographing moving targets (or just shakey togs). Results are below:

Thank you so much to all who entered the competition! I had a huge response and pleased to announce the winner is Miss Fiona Snowball.

Fiona wins a voucher worth £125 to spend on herself, or donate as a Christmas pressie to a loved one. Her voucher can go towards a makeover or  a family portrait, it’s all down to her! The 10 runners up have also all be chosen and informed of their winnings which is a FREE photo shoot worth £25, including a FREE digital photo from the shoot.

Now that I’ve been playing Santa for a little while it just leaves me to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a lovely New Year.

Lots and lots of festive love,

Rei

xxxx

Now I’ve been shooting with Miss Evie Wolfe for a few months now, so when she asked me to help make the promotional images for Envii Mi’s alternative extravaganza Alter Me Up, I absolutely said yes. The event is being held in Birmingham on 30th March 2012, and includes an alternative fashion show like no other seen before to celebrate the variety and originality of alternative fashion.

The shoot involved a selection of the best alt designers including Falcieri Designs, Gothic Diva Designs and wigs from DBX Hair. The whole day felt a little bit surreal in fact, with so many juicy accessories and outfits to play with! Evie was the star she always is, posing is some down right uncomfortable neck corsets, feathery bustles and gorgeously dramatic dresses.

Claudia from Falcieri designs came down for the shoot with an array of feathery wonders and outfits I can’t even fathom making, yet alone designing. Was truly impressed with her variation. Was also good to find a fellow female who is up just as late as I am working on business bits! I’ve planned another shoot with her stylings and three of my favourite models for the new year. Cannot…wait!

Here are a few of the photos we came up with from the day, all of which are now being used on posters advertising the event:

Ever since I was at University, a topic that always touched my heart was showing that the broken and the imperfect was in fact more beautiful than the perfect as it showed true individuality. This became my life’s work after I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and as much as it’s easier to jump on the band wagon and shoot those who are already seen as beautiful, this is still my passion and I aim to pursue it. So when Cat approached me and asked if I fancied taking photos of her in her leg brace, I couldn’t possibly decline! Cat herself became disabled three years ago when she was hit by a car. This left her unable to walk far on her own without the use of crutches and a leg brace. But this hasn’t stopped her at all from doing what she wants still! She owns her own fashion design label, Kitty Creme where she celebrates the futuristic and limited movement of models through the use of latex, corsetry and accessories.

I loved shooting with Cat. The angles, the poses and positions she could get herself into were breathtaking to watch. To call her less-abled bodied is most certainly a false remark. She is living proof of the possibilities that a disability can actually open you up to, rather than limit your life. We’re now collaborating on a project to bring this subject matter into the public eye, to show true beauty through imperfection.

Here’s a selection of images from our work together. Please do check out Cat’s work, I’m completely in love with her style!