2012: A Blythe obsession begins

So, 2012 dawns and I go round to the lovely Candy Pop's penthouse for a photo session. I find myself drawn to her amazing collection of Blythe dolls. I am hooked. They are so photogenic and so much fun. It's a whole new world. I go home and place my first order - twins. A couple of weeks later another one is on the way :) I'm told it is a slippery slope.....but so much fun. Apologies in advance to those of you with an aversion to dolls - you might need to avoid my photostream for a while - at least until the spring flowers start poking through :)

Here are my first few photos. More oufits are on the way and I've got lots of ideas for future photos - so watch this space.....

My favourite photos from 2011

It's end of year reflection time. I've collected together my favourite photos from 2011. It's been a great year photographically, and I'm really happy with the images below. Lots of sea, space, light, colour, simplicity, softness, prettiness, happiness and a healthy dose of bokeh - I love shooting wide open.

Most of the images have been taken on my travels - I've been lucky enough to visit Devon (and the gorgeous Saunton Sands beach), California, Dorset (stunning coast line and the beautiful Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens), Cornwall (including doing an awesome landscape photography workshop with Antony Spencer and Jason Theaker), Christchurch (with all its colourful beach huts) and three stunning Arboretums. And let's not forget my owl obsession too!

Two mosaics below - couldn't restrict myself to just one this year!
You can see the full set on Flickr - or watch the slideshow.

I wish you all a very wonderful, inspired, creative, happy and healthy 2012!

Autumn - Part II

Apologies for such belated blogging - a *must do before the end of the year* frenzy going on here - with resolutions to do better next year :)

I had the great fortune to visit not one, but three arboretums in October: Harcourt Arboretum, Batsford Arboretum and Westonbirt Arboretum. Each and every one was stunning, and so very different. Such a great month for color too. I can't believe I've never been to Westonbirt before - it's so beautiful and so vast - there's lots we didn't see - so many return trips are planned! We were also blessed with lots of sunshine - nothing quite like photographing autumn leaves whilst bathing in the warm sunshine :)

Here are some more highlights, mostly from Westonbirt Arboretum. See previous blog post for more - and of course, Flickr.

Christchurch: October photo fun by the sea

We were lucky enough to be able to stay in a beautiful riverside holiday home in Christchurch in October for my sister's birthday. It's such a great location - lots of walks by the sea were had (including a gorgeous walk from Hengistbury Head along the beach to Mudeford Sandbank, where rows and rows of colourful beach huts can be found, with a tourist "train" to take you back again!), plus lovely walks in the New Forest in its autumn colours, with lots of friendly ponies, and a trip to Mottisfont house and grounds - an impressive National Trust property with an amazing walled garden full of perfect Dahlias for photographing.

We packed a lot in for a long weekend and returned feeling decidedly chilled out - I thoroughly recommend it! Oh, and we had a super lovely dinner at the colourful Cheese & Alfies in Christchurch town centre too - you must go there if you get the chance :)

A few photo highlights below - the rest are on Flickr, as always.

My Etsy store is now open!

I have finally managed to set-up my Etsy store! I'm just starting small with packs of 4 greeting cards to see how it goes. I hope to add fine art prints and other items in the future. Do take a look - I'm very new to the Etsy world, so any comments gratefully received :)

www.etsy.com/shop/zoepower

Below are images of the packs of cards I've got for sale at the moment.

My Beautiful Simplicity 2012 Calendar is now available!

I've just finished creating my Beautiful Simplicity 2012 Calendar on Red Bubble with a selection of my favourite photos. These are beautiful, high quality calendars in A3 format, printed on 200gsm satin art paper, with a tougher cover. They are ringbound and come ready to hang. When the year is over, you have 13 (including the cover) fine art prints you can frame. I've ordered these for friends and family for about the last 5 years and am really happy with the quality. One calendar costs £15.84. You can buy them over at Red Bubble.