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.

A few recent shoots I've put together as collage sheets - by no means exhaustive but containing quite a few of my favourite shots over the past couple of years. See more on Flickr. 

For 2014 I want to completely focus this year on Black & White and Infra-Red images only.

Stylistically I want to go for Victorian and early 20th Century looks and themes. I want to incorporate historically accurate clothing/lingerie as well as occult themes (see the work of historical photographers such as: Man Ray, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Henry Fox Talbot. Or modern photographers e.g.: Kristmort, Sarachmet, Michał Mozolewski, Ellen Rogers etc.)

I want to be able to collate my work over the next couple of years into material geared towards exhibition and a book (as such I'll need releases to be signed).

These shoots will be TF* only I'm afraid. I may be able to contribute to travel fees if they are reasonable. Please only apply if you feel you are suitable for the roles, agree to the conditions and will actually follow through with a booking. I do not mind working with new or established models but please be aware I am on a shoestring budget for the foreseeable future.

The casting is open to male models, female models and bands. Contact me on MM, Purpleport, Facebook or via this website. You can also see more examples of this kind of work on my Flickr page or the galleries on my official website. 

'Bah! Humbug' - Model: Scissor Doll

'Happy Halloween!' - Model: Scissor Doll

'Zebra' - Model: Scissor Doll

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'Talanas Promo Shoot' - Model: Alivya V Free

'Ghost' - Model: Alivya V Free

'White Room' - Model: Alivya V Free

'Tease' - Model: Scissor Doll

'Soviet Burlesque' - Model: Scissor Doll

'Double Exposure' - Model: Scissor Doll

'Gothic Boudoir' - Model: Scissor Doll

'Summer Infra-Red' - Model: Scissor Doll

'Thornton Abbey In Infra-Red'

Featuring:

Scissor Doll
Alivya V Free
Talanas

I was going to attempt a blog that explains the reasons behind the move from my old Wordpress blog to this rather simple looking Blogger layout (and work in some praise for the new Anathema album while I was at it). But the BBC news feed has just informed me of the passing of the Photographer Brian Duffy from Lung disease at the age of 76.

Duffy had not long been thrust back into the public gaze with an exhibition of his unseen works and a BBC documentary that accompanied it. Before that time he'd been one of the first celebrity photographers (along with Terrence Donovan and David Bailey) shooting for vogue, and creating some of the most iconic images of the 60's and 70's including the photographs used for David Bowie's seminal 'Aladdin Sane' album. But in 1979 he walked away from that life and burned many of his negatives.

Duffy's contribution to the way that music, fashion and in fact all types of photography was shot and thought about by his colleagues and his audience was simply immense. Gone were the days of Gentlemen photographers with their large format cameras that captured an image, and instead in their place was a new idea of the photographer as an 'Everyman', but also as an artist (an idea that Duffy himself professed to loathing). The camera became not a tool, but an extension of the photographer, and the final image was the lasting impression of their mind's eye.


I've no doubt that if the east-end born and bred Duffy read such twaddle he would have dismissed it as utter poppycock. But as an unwilling icon that created willing icons he will always be remembered.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8287900.stm – a link to the BBC's Brian Duffy slide show and below is a link to his website.

http://www.duffyphotographer.com/

RIP Brian Duffy