It's quite a warm and sunny day outside. One that I could quite easily waste with a cold drink and my pipe. But instead I'm at the computer, gazing out of the window and typing up a long overdue update for you all.

I've only managed a couple of shoots so far this year. One each with my always reliable and eager models Scissor Doll and Alivya V Free. The results of which I'm very proud of. So proud in fact that I'm currently writing some verse to go with the pictures from my latest shoot with Alivya in order to put together a book, which I will probably self publish on Lulu and Amazon.

I'm quite excited by this prospect as it has been a while since I attempted any fiction or poetry despite holding a degree in creative writing.

Anyway here are a few examples from both shoots:

The Steampunk shoot along with some miscellaneous work is available to view on my flickr page. And there are more of the 'Oracle' pics as well as a couple of spooky black and white photos on facebook. However I'm only going to reveal a few until the book is finished. However there are also some 8mm style gifs from the oracle shoot in the works, so expect them to be available to see soon on my tumblr page.

You may have also seen another still life set called 'L'Absinthe C'est La Mort'. These will soon be available as prints/posters/cards on the red-bubble page.

In other news, it's sunny and warm... the perfect time for more infra-red photography. I'm looking to get a dedicated infra-red camera this year, so if you've been put off by the thought of long exposures and an element of the unknown, this solution should promise shorter exposures and crisper, more predictable photos. I'm still looking to arrange shoots with models and bands prior to this though, so if your'e interested, contact me through facebook, purpleport, model mayhem, or good old fashioned email.

That's all for now. Please continue to add my profiles and check out my casting calls.

I know there are still a few days ago but this is the only time I'm going to have to fit this in due to the launch of a new project (see the notes at the end for more. Anyway, 2012 has been a pretty good year for alternative  music, which is why this year I'm resorting to a list of 25 the best Gothic / Industrial (and related genres) releases this year has to offer. Not only that, but there have also been some great releases that don't quite qualify as albums such as live and remix albums as well as singles and EPs that shouldn't be allowed to slip under the radar just because they weren't full releases.
I've opted to present these in alphabetical order for the simple reason that when I attempted to assign ranks there were too many that were getting joint rankings. So I thought I'd just present my shortlist and let you all be the judges. So here are my picks (50 in all) of the best of 2012.

Note: Artwork, purchase links and videos are included where possible.


Full Albums [In Alphabetical Order]

Aeon Sable – 'Saturn Return'

Alterred – 'Dollstown'

Caustic – 'The Man Who Couldn't Stop'

Cease2xist – 'You Are Expendable'

Cold In Berlin – 'And Yet'

Darkc3ll – 'Reboot:Repeat'

Desdemona – 'Endorphins'

Diskonnekted – 'Hotel Existence'

Ghost In The Static – 'Fallout'

Grooving In Green – 'Stranglehold'

In Death It Ends – 'Forgotten Knowledge'

Killing Joke – 'MMXII'

Les Modules Etranges – 'Socially Awkward'

Marilyn Manson – 'Born Villain'

Merciful Nuns – 'Goetia IV'

O. Children - 'Apnea'

Object – 'Mechanisms Of Faith'

Pakt. – 'Berlin'

Red Sun Revival – 'Running From The Dawn'

Stray – 'Letting Go'

Tiamat – 'The Scarred People'

The Soft Moon - 'Zeros'

Third Realm – 'Beyond Good and Evil'

Twitch The Ripper – 'Colorblind'

Uberbyte – 'Five Year Plan'

Miscellaneous (Live, Remixes, EPs & Singles etc.) [In Alphabetical Order]

Alterred - 'The Electro Creepshow'

ASP - 'GeistErfahrer'

Beastmilk - 'Use Your Deluge'

Berlin Black And The Shades Of Grey – 'It's Only Natural'

Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs

Cynical Existence - ' Ruined Portrait'

Dalis Car – 'InGladAloneNe§'

Dawn of Ashes - 'Hollywood Made In Gehenna'

Dead Hand Projekt – 'The Lost EP'

Fields Of The Nephilim – 'Ceremonies'

Gary Numan - 'Dead Moon Falling'

GHXST – 'Black Camaro'

Goteki - 'Piranha'

How To Destroy Angels – 'An Omen'

In Death It Ends – 'Restorative Art'

Kommand + Kontrol 'It Hz'

Laibach – 'Monumental Retro-Avant-Garde'

Mari Chrome - 'Toxic'

Modulate - 'Robots'

Partly Faithful – 'Partly Faithful'

Psy'Aviah – 'OK/Virtual Gods'

Rammstein – 'Mein Herz Brennt'

Rome - 'Fester'

The Eden House – 'Timeflows'

Zeitgeist Zero – 'The Blackout' 

Well that's it. The end of 2012 and here are just some of my highlights from the year. If you like any of these releases please use the purchase links to support the artists.

Please also keep in mind that on the 1st of December 2013 I will be launching my own webzine Intravenous Magazine. Before then you can follow IVM on Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with the latest developments.