Guest Blog

I was flattered to have recently been asked by Tracy Zhang to write a guest entry for her blog.

Here's the link:

http://tracyzhangphoto.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/inspiration-from-within-lotte-simons/#comments

Becky Ward

I'm sorry for most of my blogposts usually being horse related to those that follow me more for my portraiture. I do try not to make every post about them!
I wanted to try and traffic a bit of attention towards my good friend Becky Ward. I first spoke to her last september after finding some videos of her and her horse training and just thought "I MUST photograph these two"

So you are likely to recognise Shadow. The beautiful black rearing, foot pointing, bowing horse.
I think what I respect most about this pair is how obvious their bond is and it's probably fair to say I am entirely and completely 100% jealous of it. It's amazing to watch them together and how willing shadow is to do what she's asked and occassionally do something new and spontaneous.

I went up to visit them in June and in the last few videos she's made it's obvious how much they've improved and that their hard work training is paying off. I will be visiting them again summer 2011 because a) she's my friend b) I can't wait to get my hands on both of them once more! They've inadvertently become a bit of an annual project. Also, she's pretty good at the videos themselves!

I just wanted to share it with you and hope that you can support her as much as I do. If you're not a horsey person maybe you won't get it though, take it as you like :) Just think she deserves a mention!!

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Stars

Sometimes I take photo of things I find pretty. I find stars pretty :)
Being serious though, sometimes I think I forget that I CAN pick up my camera and take photos of whatever I find interesting. I've gotten into the mind set of thinking "horses, portraits, dancers, models, horses, portraits, dancers models rahrahrah"

And if i'm being honest, even taking these photos was originally to see how well I could shoot in the dark, experimenting ways of lighting for a shoot. Then I looked up and thought "oooo pwettyfuls!!" like a 4 year old child, and pointed my camera up. I'm glad I did, the camera actually picked up stars I couldn't even see and in the second photo to the left between the trees, there's a planet! I could see this, I just thought it was cool to have it in the photo.

Midnight

Lumine Style Magazine

My horse shoot featured in Lumine Style Magazine.
www.luminestyle.com

Photography: Lotte Simons
Makeup&hair: Lucy Jayne
Styling: Vicky Smith
Model: Cyan Cheung

FAINT MAGAZINE

I've been featured in the first issue of Faint Magazine!!
www.faintmag.com

more self portraits

Self portrait

lara

Epona

Model: Cyan Cheung
Styling: Vicky smith
Make-up & hair: Lucy Jayne
Photography: Me

Sophie @ shine

Model: Sophie @ Shine
Styling: Kati brugnoli
Make-up&hair: Emily-rose
Photography: Me

Katharine Banner @ sapphires

Me modelling the latest in beach fashion ;)
Just a bit of fun on a shoot with Katharine from Sapphires. We were shooting at camber sands on a particularly windy day. It was both helpful as it picked up the dress and fabric she was wearing for some of the shots but being on sand dunes caused temporary blindness every so often. Sand in the eyes is not pleasant.

August

New self portrait. It's also the last of my 12 month...thing. Now I can change my photo whenever I want to whatever I want!! WOOHOO!!

Also, August is the month of my birthday, admittedly I have to work through the entire month until the very end but on the 31st I will be 18 and this is very very good!

Disposables

Is it just me who loves disposable cameras for how shit they are??
:D

I don't know why i just love having crappy quality printed photos to flick through, I guess it reminds me of being a child, we have SO many albums from film cameras. Nostalgia. They're kinda warm and homey to me.

On a geography field trip I went on with my school last year to the lake district, I didn't take a digital camera at all but I had three disposable cams. I think I love the photos more than if I had just taken a digital compact, because first of all, I would have printed maybe 2 or 3 instead of having about 60 to flick through, and I just love how shit they are!!! It's a weird thing. As a photographer I should probably get really angry and annoyed with the crap quality but I love nothing more!!! It just makes the photos more appealing to me for some reason.


SO I have decided to make a photo wall which will be transferred wherever I live. I've just always wanted an entire wall with photos pinned up all haphazard and careless. I made a start on it several times but took them down because I didn't like the photos or never managed to do it messy enough. But i've started again and i'm going to actually do it this time.

I just don't have many photos at the moment, but that's ok! It's sort of the point, to fill the wall with new photos and new memories as they happen, which is why I'm going to buy some disposable cams and take them with me wherever I go and to every friend I visit and I will DEMAND to have a photo with them on my crappy little disposable camera :)

Clash of the Titans

I wanted to see this film when it was out at the cinema, me and my brothers absolutely love anything greek mythology, all the stories are so interesting and detailed and just brilliant!! It's so amazing I wish it was all real!

Anyway, we bought the DVD and watched it today and I think it's so so so good. I especially loved Gemma Arterton's character and wardrobe, really wish I owned those outfits I would shoot them non stop. I'd include some stills but I can't find anything pictures that show her off very well :P
Greek goddesses are to me the equivalent of most girls fairy princesses.
You'd be beautiful, dreamy and loving but strong and powerful all at the same time. nomnom <3

Also, the black pegasus made me giddy excited. Beautiful freisian horse. mmmmmmmmmm I don't want to ruin it for anyone that plans on watching this film but there are just some shots of the main character riding and OHMYGOODNESS I really wish it was one of my photoshoots it's just...mm...no words. Prettiest thing in existence.

Equine Photography

I think every artist and photographer has a point at which they notice other peoples work looking a little too similar to theirs for their liking.

I've just had a spin off with one of those moments. Spin off, because it's not a photographer copying my work, and it's not really copying my work.
This is about girls who own a horse and fancy camera.
Horse + fancy camera= equine photographer!??

right?...oh..really?....it doesn't? Oh!


I'm never out to crush anyones dreams or aspirations I am fully behind anyone who enjoys photography or is looking to carry it forward into something more serious. I had that done to me when I was starting out and it was horrible so I would never criticisize anyone else putting their whole heart into something they love.

The point i'm making is that, I don't know if I am just being paranoid, which is more than likely, but i've started to notice more and more girls who add me on facebook mostly for the one reason that I have SOMETHING to do with horses. Add me because you like my work, that's fine I fully appreciate your support.....but don't add me just because you own a horse, that doesn't mean we have anything in common and I probably won't take an interest in your life.

So these girls put up their photos of their 'equine photography' and it seems to me like often they are just copying exact shots that they have seen before.
Trust me when I say this, it will not help you. Being inspired by a shot is 100% fine but put your own twist on it, use your imagination and shoot what is actually LOOKING good infront of you, don't try and make a shot work because you saw it looked good somewhere else.
Your subject, surroundings and attitude is not the same as the photographer of the photo you liked.
You can't take a shetland gelding and make it look like a lipizzaner stallion. Although I would love to see someone take a crack at it!!
Most shots that come up honestly just look so fake because whoever was shooting wasn't keeping their head in the moment and taking the opportunities being handed to them.

A lot of my equine work takes weeks of planning, but the shots are spontaneous mostly. You can't predict an exact shot, a horse is a creature with a mind of it's own and it will do things that you don't want and look ugly but it will also have some stunning accidental moments that you missed because you had your mind locked down on one shot of someone elses work.

The second thing is those that think the camera does all the work. When you start out, you will see professional and semi-pro photographers ranting about this one a lot. A camera is a tool that you need to know how to work, improve and master. You can own a car, it doesn't mean you can drive it.


So i've tried to keep this helpful and hopefully slightly inspiring for all those of you that would maybe class yourselves into this blog to READ YOUR CAMERA MANUAL, experiment with your settings, your horses and your shots.
Shoot what you want, not what you've seen.

Breathe

I love my dancers. This is the third shoot i've done with Chels, she's brilliant at giving me what I want.
It's actually really hard to explain the feeling we were going for, imagine you're about to explode and that's near enough it.
"Get angry and dance it out, Billy Elliot style"
If I could dance it's all i'd do.

July self portrait

Dress made by Helen Ward Website

Inspiration

I have to admit that i'm not asked often but when I am occasionally asked what inspires me, it's quite long winded.

I could say all the usual things like music, films, other peoples work, personal feelings and blahblahblah and although to an extent they definitely influence the actual shoot, my motive to be a photographer comes from a completely different place.


I've met a lot of people over the last few years since somehow finding myself walking down this career path that have become really good friends but have personal issues. Obviously everyone has personal problems to an extent, but I somehow attract friends that have really been through shit.
A lot of my shoots are based around the people I know and human mentality and i've probably always believed that I can help people through my work. A lot of the horse shoots I do, because they're with ordinary girls, it's just the ability to make them feel good about themselves for once even if it's just for a few hours and then recorded in a few photos.

Portfolio works tend to be shot after long conversations about self harm, eating disorders, social/panic disorders, depression etc that draw on the strength that I see in my friends, because honestly I think they're amazing as some of the kindest and most selfless people I know even when dealing with such crap.

Whilst I strive to get a beautiful photo for my personal benefit, it's never been about me or whether i'm successful or not, if I can change atleast one persons opinion of themselves then i'm achieving and succeeding in my own mind.

Lazyness

Ok, I knew I wasn't good at this whole blogging thing, I can't be bothered to spend all day DOING the activities I then have to come home and TELL you about when i'm completely knackered from doing it all.

So, here's whats happened....


A lot.



Photos will be up once they're edited, which may take a while.

Day 2

Another +1000 photos later.

I had my main photoshoot yesterday, the one that me and Becky had been planning and organising since september. It was so so cool to see Shadow perform in real life, she's such a beautiful horse. I don't want to give away too much until I get home and edit some of the photos so I can post them. Rachel (B's little sister) modeled the shoot and did a great job with it. I gave her some modelling one on one time with a tree ;)

I'm having a dress made for me by Becky's mum which she started working on yesterday, it's looking amazing already i'm so excited to see it finished and I may possibly do photos in it with Shadow for next months self portrait but we'll see how that works out.


Behind the scenes:
(Thank you Charlotte for the photos)

Yorkshire: Day 1

I would've had this up yesterday but I didn't have internet on my laptop till right now, so we'll have two blog posts this evening ;)
Provided I can be bothered to type up for today.


what an exhausting day!! After about a 4 and a half hours drive I arrived at my friends house, the weather was
incredibley hot up here, being inland they don't get the coastal breeze i'm used to.

I hadn't stopped long to eat lunch and drag my stuff inside that we were off out to bath Shadow (the horse i'll be using in the photoshoot) She is so incredibley pretty and I can't wait to use her. Whilst my friends were washing her I was snapping away and Shadow is working it for me already ;) So so beautiful. I also tried using flash, i've wanted to use try it out on a horse for so long and she wasn't scared of it so I have a good few dramatic shots of her.

We also went to see Charlottes horse Holly, a very pretty and sweet 16.1hh Clydesdale. I much prefer big horses to small nippy ponies, they tend to be so much calmer and have a better temperament....usually! Holly was so adorable though, i'm doing a shoot with her and Charlotte on friday for them, although I already have a lot of photos of the two of them cantering and galloping round. When we turned her out for the night I got to ride her back to her field tackless. I haven't done that in so many years when I brought Chester in from his field when I had him on loan. Although mildly uncomfortable in jeans I loved it so much, Charlotte took some photos of me on her hopefully I can ask her for some and i'll put one up. I've only been back on a horse once in March this year for 2 years and that was with someone leading me round, it felt really natural and normal to be back up there.

Becky has another horse of hers at the same farm as Charlotte so we'd popped over to much her out and see her too. Kara, who is Shadow's daughter, is such a cute little thing. I think she's just over one years old. Such a sweetie and had so much character, she does make me laugh.


The dress we're using in the shoot was made by Beckys mum. I saw it for the first time today and it's incredibley beautiful and fits perfectly with the shoot theme. It's a lovely blue colour and floaty (I love my floaty dresses!!!) Beckys little sister will be modelling it in the shoot and she looks really really good in it.
We're heading down to the fabric store tomorrow to pick up some material to start on my dress! It was very kindly offered to have a dress made for me as i've come all this way and shooting for free. I'm so excited!

A levels

I have my final exams coming up within the next 2 weeks. Thankfully I only have 2 BUT still largely disappointing.



I hope you enjoy the child like drawings of my feelings toward said exams ;)

June

Every month I change do a new self portrait and keep it as my profile photo for everything, so without further delay, here's June 2010:

I've finished school

So yesterday was the last day I ever have o go to school!!!! woohoo!
I still have 2 exams mid June and then i'm completely free of education, but now i'm on study leave for 3 weeks then I'm off to Yorkshire for a sort of holiday visiting my friend and her horses.

Anyway, I dressed as the 'press' photographer yesterday and didn't really take part in any of the antics I just photographed them for everyone else :)
There was a joke since the Tv show Glee started for our school, as it's the Folkestone school for girls it gets shortened to FSG, which means my friend as a glee fan started FSGlee. So I was 'reporting' for fsglee Tv hahaha

Most of us were back in our old school uniform, the kilt is WAY too small and I couldn't breathe all day. My friend and I later figured out that day we couldv'e just left the buttons undone and rolled it up instead but whatever! no pain no gain it was funny.

The whole year did a conga line through two of the school buildings so I had to dash up the opposite stairs to get them through the corridor, then run down and up the other side of the building to get them on the next floor, I was knackered afterwards there's way too many stairs in our school!!

A few shots:

Don't lose yourself

A good friend and myself were discussing the other day the concept of people losing themselves. It's not so much a concept as reality, and we've seen it happen to a fair amount of people that we know. When someone distinctly acts as a person you know they're not.
I think it's quite sad, becoming so caught up in fitting in with your friends, drinking, partying, work even, whatever it is, that you lose touch with who you are.
Anyway, I did this shoot with Jess and it was based around the complete opposite of all the crap that people get caught up on in their lives and just...being. Enjoy :)