Year in Review 2014 – May to August

MAY

Finally in our dream apartment (2 bedrooms – one for a home office. All white, loads of light, a little place to call our own), we were able to relax a bit and start making plans and visiting friends.

Since moving to London almost 8 years ago, I’d always been so inspired by the vivid yellow of the rapeseed fields during Springtime, and it was a long-held desire of mine to run through them at full-tilt – preferably with some kind of long flowy dress on.

Whilst it was too chilly for the dress, I did at least manage the run with my dear friend Melissa and new friend Jo. After an early morning train ride to St Neots we ran through the fields, visited a market farmhouse for a warming lunch, and topped it off with an ice cream in the rain. Somewhere in the middle of all that, we cuddled some alpacas, and fed Mentos to a horse…

Above: Our new neighbourhood! Centre image shows my favourite banner by the talented Jimmy Marble.

Above: Jo and Melissa getting lost in fields of rapeseed and bluebells. 

Above: Lunch, markets, and winning the hearts of the local horses everywhere.

 

JUNE

June saw me working with my friend Dan on a shoot for ONA. Visiting some of my favourite places in London it was a pretty great way to spend a day! It also saw further travels for work in Paris and Lisbon.

Though I don’t have any photographs of it, I can safely say that one of my best travel memories involves arriving at Gare du Nord very early on a crisp Parisian morning, hopping on the back of a motorcycle taxi and being driven (mostly at breakneck speed!) through the streets of Paris.

One of the best ways I have ever seen a city, and incidentally quite a nifty way of getting to a meeting 😉

Above: Wandering in the last of the light in Lisbon, Paris’ Gare du Nord on a frosty morning, and the streets of Lisbon.

Above: Lisbon in all it’s impossibly beautiful charm…

JULY

Chasing that dream… After 7 fantastic years as Art Director of Jamie magazine, I decided the time had come to return to my other true love – photography. This was not an easy decision to come to, but I knew that I had to listen to that little voice in my head telling me I needed to give it a go. I’m a great believer in living your life with a sense of adventure, and tackling new challenges head-on, so I knew this was something I needed to do.

With my courage in my sweaty little hands, I handed in my notice and proceeded to jump into the freelance life. Though I continued working out my notice period until September, I was able to still take on freelance assignments which brought me a great amount of satisfaction and happiness.

I travelled to Montreal to shoot for the Canadian Tourism Commission, and danced in the front row at the Osheaga musical festival. I shot the lookbook for the talented young leather handbag designer Grace Gordon, ran around London shooting for Cereal magazine’s Guided by Cereal, and celebrated the 4th of July with some dear American friends. You could say it was a pretty great month!

Above: Friend and fellow Instagrammer Andrea, and the inimitable Lorde live at Osheaga

 

Above: Osheaga music festival for the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)

Above: Lyle’s for Cereal magazine

Above: Shooting the Grace Gordon lookbook – I want them all.