Chalet Girl

After recently watching the movie Chalet Girl and actually really enjoying it, I felt the urge to take up snowboarding, in the same way that after I watched the movie Whip It I joined my local Roller Derby team, Rebellion Roller Derby www.rebellionrollerderby.co.uk

Then when an offer from Groupon came along for snowboarding lessons, it believed it was a sign and  that was it,  I was sold! Yesterday was my first ever lesson, which was great and I loved it so much that I booked my second lesson for three weeks time and I even dreamt last night that I was competing  snowboarding competition!

Jamie's Italian

Tuesday evening dinner at Jamie's... Friends, good food and fun times!

The Ashwell Show

Bank holiday Monday was spent at the fun filled Ashwell Show in North Hertfordshire. It was a very English day out complete with drizzle and bunting. We watched dog shows, sheep dog demonstrations, chainsaw carvings and stunt clowns. The show also has classic cars on display, birds of prey and was filled with craft stalls, a funfair and burger vans.  It was the perfect end to a perfect bank holiday weekend.

The Garden



 

  

 

 

Usually Sunday afternoons are all about roller derby, but since it's a summer bank holiday we were given the day off, so I thought I'd use my time wisely and get to work in my garden. Over the last couple of weeks I've been gathering a few pieces to add a little character to my garden. The pots are a mix of charity shops purchases, hand-me-downs and a couple of sale pots from garden centres where I also picked and the crate. The little bird house/feeder I found in a sale for only a pound as was the trellis... bargain garden make over!

Self Portrait... Girl With Cat

I really do enjoy shooting self portraits, previously they've all been a bit more snappy and less thought through than this one. In fact this wasn't meant to be the final shot, this was me setting up the test shot, I had planned to get dressed and put my make up on, however when I looked back at this shot I really love it.

Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize

This year I found the courage to enter one of my portraits for scrutiny by the judges of the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, with the winning shots to be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery London.

 

And this week they announced the results to all those who entered. I received my email and was very proud indeed to find out that out of the 5,400 submissions I made in through to the second round of judging and down to the last 300, from which the final 60 images to be exhibited were chosen.

This was my entry... The Queen of Burlesque, Khandie Khisses

The Imposter

 

 

 

Tonight, to start the bank holiday weekend I went to watch The Imposter, an incredible documentary directed by Bart Layton with stunning cinematography by Erik Wilson (who also did Tyrannosaur).

 

I went into this film knowing nothing about it... and I feel that really enhanced my experience, but I tend to like to watch movies this way. Throughout the story I was filled with mixed emotions for the main characters, as you get to know each characters through their interviews, allowing you time to draw your own conclusions.

 

I really loved everything about this film, the story, the characters, the fact that it is a true story, the real interviews, the real people, the quirkiness of the film making, the cinematography and the fact that half way through my jaw hit the floor and my eyebrows hit the roof and stayed there until the movie ended. I enjoyed it in the same way I enjoyed Catfish but it was so much more... Highly recommend!

Lucky Number Three

Here it is... blog number three.

So my first blog http://rosetinted-stacy.blogspot.co.uk/ was set up in 2010 when I embarked on  ten week charity project and wanted to use the blog to document my project... so when the ten weeks were up and I'd discovered my love for blogging and I didn't want to stop, I wasn't sure how to move the blog on from charity work to everyday life, I tried for a bit but felt it just wasn't working for me.

In 2011 I set up my second blog http://scarletbutterflies.blogspot.co.uk/ this time I was to document the inspirations and development for my photographic illustrations for a short story I wrote called Scarlet Butterflies. It's a work in very slow progress and I found that the blog was becoming increasingly about other artist work and less about the development of my own story and became a constant reminder that I was experiencing a huge mental block.

Therefore, this time instead of focusing on a sole purpose for my Blog, this one is just going to be a visual dairy of my general goings on... enjoy!