Hannah Ashlea

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T12:55:00.000Z

Well, it's 2012! I thought I'd follow on from my post on the 31st Dec where I talked about what 2011 bought me and write one today about what I hope 2012 will bring me.
In just 36 days I will be sitting on a plane, reading books, watching films and thinking about the new life I'm about to begin. In 36 days I'll be moving to Hong Kong with my boyfriend for 2 years. I'd never even been to Hong Kong until June of this year (you can see what I thought of it here). It's a stunning country, fast paced in places, relaxed in others and full of sights, sounds and smells so different to London and yet somehow very similar.

So, as the majority of my year will be spent in a different country, I've tailored my New Years Resolutions to what I want to achieve when I'm there. Here they are!

1) Continue learning Cantonese. I'm moving to a country where a lot, but not all, of the people speak English. However, just as I appreciate someone learning English when they move to England, I have made it my aim to learn enough Cantonese to get by at the markets, ask directions, go along to Cantonese-speaking tours of the monuments and understand them.

2) Continue working as a model when I get there. I can't work unless I get a work visa and I can't get a work visa unless I get signed by an agency. So I guess this is more "Get signed by an agency", but I think the two go hand in hand!

3) Learn a new skill. I've always wanted to learn to play the piano, and since I'm probably going to have a lot of free time when I'm out there, I figured I'd use that time to try something new!

4) Cook more. I enjoy cooking and have tons of recipe books but tend to always fall back on Spaghetti Bolognase or pasta bake. With all the exotic foods and new things to try on the markets in HK, I really want to learn to make authentic Chinese food. I'll start with that yummy noodle soup I love so much I think!

5) Actually stick to a work out routine this year! I'm blessed in that I don't tend to put on weight (over Christmas I lost 5lbs!) but no matter how slim I am, I do need to keep my body toned and flexible, so bring on those early morning exercise routines in one of the many parks in Hong Kong!

6) Finally, I want to have enough to tell you, modelling and photography related, that I keep this blog going. If I'm unsuccessful with the agencies in Hong Kong and find that I can't work as a model, I intend to start borrowing my boyfriend's camera and learn how to take pictures! I'll have plenty of gorgeous things to take pictures of and I'd love to look back in a few years or decades time and not be annoyed at myself for taking rubbishy pictures just because I couldn't be bothered to learn about exposure or colour balances and all of those technical things.

So! Now that I've published these, I've got a great incentive to try and keep them all! I'll try not to bombard my blog with pictures of food I've been cooking or news about how I had a conversation about the weather with a lady at the market, but we'll see how that goes in the coming months :)

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T17:05:00.001Z

It's not quite over yet, but 2011 has been very good to me! I went full time with my modelling in January after 2 and a bit years of modelling part time as a hobby and it's done me well, I'm glad to say. I've met some wonderful people, created some stunning images, travelled to other countries for my work, been accepted by 2 agencies and gained the front cover of an online magazine!
2012 is sure to bring me even more of the above, as well as trying to make it over in Hong Kong, where I'm moving to in just 1 month and 7 days!

My Christmas went very well, starting in Denmark with the boyfriend's family where I ate more than I like to remember, danced around the Christmas tree singing traditional Christmas songs and learnt a lot more Danish than I thought I'd be able to do. This was mostly due to Ras' 6 year old niece, who despite knowing I don't speak Danish, insisted on speaking to me non-stop for 4 days :) It's really rather magical, spending Christmas with children. I'd never done it before, we don't have any youngsters in our family really, the youngest being 16.
We got back to the U.K and headed up to my parents for a second Christmas, filled with more gifts, games, chocolate and chilling out.
I got thoroughly spoilt this year...here's a sample of the wonderful things I received.

I absolutely adore Soap and Glory's products. My mother bought me 2 or 3 of their products for Christmas a few years ago and I've never looked back! I don't use anything else if I can help it. It's always great to find a brand that you like! Above is what I got this year and below is my ever growing collection!

I also got a few books, some gorgeous bath bombs from my boyfriend and a manicure set from my little brother. The manicure set is actually the first one I've ever owned, since I was a terrible nail biter since I was 5 or 6 and I have a feeling no one in the family wanted to buy me anything for my nails until I'd proved I could look after them ;)

I've already made two recipes from my new cookery book, both were absolutely stunning and exactly what it says on the tin: Easy! The novel by Jodi Picoult was a beautiful book, very imaginative and so captivating that I barely put it down until I was finished!

I also got the cutest set of Pyjamas. I'm a bit of a dinosaur nerd, so these were a great idea!

On top of all of that, I got a gift voucher for Primark, so my friend Anita and I are heading there next week to do some post-Christmas January sales shopping!

I'm off to a party this evening, so it's time to log off and go and pamper myself with some new toiletries and make myself all sparkly for the New Year's celebrations!!

Latex, Fashion and Big Hair!

2011-12-15T17:47:00.003Z

Various fashion and news websites were posting about a certain fantastic model named Andrej Pejic yesterday. What was the occasion? This gorgeous male model was used by Dutch retailers Hema to promote their new push-up bra.

Picture linked from the Daily Mirror website - Andrej Pejic modelling Hema's push up bra

Personally, I think it's excellent advertising - not only have they caught the attention of the world by using a male model to advertise their bra, but the images tell you everything you need to know about whether it works or not! How better to prove that the bra really does increase your cupsize by 2 sizes than to put it on someone with completely flat chested!? Check out Andrej's other work here: Andrej's Storm Portfolio.

On another note, whilst searching for Hema's website, I discovered that it does this! How cool!?

As well as ~~perving~~ reading about Andrej's recent campaign, I shot with the wonderfully talented Joe Gascoigne again yesterday, this time with the help of makeup artist Leanne and wardrobe stylist Erica Krasickaite.

Joe rather amazingly edited a few of the shots by the next morning and Leanne took a number of backstage/behind the scenes shots with my little camera.

Latex bra - Peccatus Latex Couture, Studded harness by Karolina Laskowska

I think this evening I'm going to settle down in front of the TV with a face pack and a giant mug of Chai Latte and relax <3

Art and Books

2011-12-08T10:55:00.000Z

Whilst in Copenhagen, my boyfriend tried to teach me about aperture, shutter speed and other camera-related things. So, I put my new found knowledge to the test and attempted some photography!

Nyhavn - I'm super happy with this. So much that I'm considering having it printed for putting on my wall!

Just a rather pretty building I saw!

Rosenborg Castle

The "Rundetårn", meaning Round Tower. I'm pretty proud of this picture - I like funky angles


This took a LOT of fiddling to get right but I'm quite happy with it! Taken in Tivoli Gardens Christmas Market

I'm actually quite sad that this didn't come out very well. Apparently it's something to do with the ISO or something, but it's a little blurry and the black is all patchy. Eitherway, it was stunning :)

It miust have taken forever to get these lights up! They were everywhere!

As well as wandering around stunning Christmas Markets, we also visited Christiania. It's a strange place, full of hippies, communists (the good kind) and lots of drugs. It's not altogether 'official', but the Danish Government sort of let them get on with things. Check out the history here.

The only indication that we had arrived (other than the rather distinct smell of cannabis wafting around)

I thought this was wonderful. A small neighbourhood, almost completely goverened by its own rules.

It's says "EU". Ras and I both thought it said "Ell" until we twigged :)


*Stunning painting on this building. Christiania was full of artwork and statues made from junk. I'd recommend going down and having a look if you're around!*

Following the 'Art' theme, I thought I'd share what I found in the "Glyptoteket", Copenhagen's Art Museum. As well as Egyptian and Roman sculpture, French paintings and some more modern pieces, they had a rather large and beautiful collection of Danish art. One thing that caught my eye was this:

As you can see, it's the same set-up, same women, painted in 4 different ways. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that this was in fact the very first Female Art Nude Studio Day for painters in Denmark. Unfortunately I've completely forgotten who they're by and when they're from. I do remember that the King had given permission for a female model to be used in a class for the very first time, but it must be during the hours of daylight and she must be chaparoned. I'll do my best to find out more!

The Three Graces by Antonio Canova

I've done quite a few shoots based around The Three Graces, and so it was a pleasure to see one of the sculptures in person :)

On top of all my holiday pictures, I was informed that I have been published in another book! The talented Scott Chappell has published a book of his works from the last few years and I was honoured to discover that I've been included alongside some of the UK's top models! It's called "39" and you can preview and buy it here.

Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen!

2011-12-06T21:16:00.001Z

So last week the boyfriend and I spent a long weekend in Copenhagen, Denmark, his home country, to celebrate our two year anniversary. Despite having been together for this long, this was the first time I'd visited Denmark and I'd been looking forward to it quite a bit! If you're not in the least interested in Copenhagen, skip to the end where you'll find some new images of me!

On the first day, I made Ras take me to see the famous Little Mermaid statue (which I dutifully said in my best terrible English-accented Danish before he'd take me there - this was a running theme), which was beautiful. According to the guidebook, the poor girl has had her head chopped off numerous times, arms lopped off on a few occasions and has been painted a shade of bright red since she was first put there in 1913. I can't see why though, I thought she was utterly charming!

Den Lille Havfrue
Not to be confused with 'Den Lille Jomfrue', which means "The Little Virgin" Just a small snippet of information I picked up whilst there!

As well as visiting my favourite childhood character, we also spent some time wandering around the coutryard of Amalienborg, the Royal Palace. We didn't see much apart from a rather un-impressed looking Royal Guard...

Shortly after I took this picture, they all started shouting across the courtyard to each other and began what looked like it could have been a changing of the guards type affair. Except that they did it in their own time, not so much marching as swinging their legs and sauntering across the road!

We also spotted the "Occupy Copenhagen" encampment outside the "Rådhuspladsen" (town hall) and I tried my photography skills out on a local neon-lit building.


Ok, it's not fantastic. It's out of focus, shakey and it was dark. But...it was dark, I was waiting to cross the road and I had no tripod! I still like it though :)

Since this is a modelling blog, I shall now post this:

Photographer: Joe Gascoigne. Hair and Makeup - Ania Paterak

This shot was taken as part of a fantastic shoot with the above named creatives, Joe and Ania. I decided I wanted to go for the crazy eyebrows as it's something that I've seen pop up every so often in magazines and on the catwalk.

Yay! Orange trousers and a teal blouse! Colour-tastic!
Photographer: Joe Gascoigne. Hair and Makeup - Ania Paterak

I also updated my Flickr account - here's the link!
And my Google+ Profile - here!

I'll be adding a few more Copenhagen pictures tomorrow, including a stunning picture I took in the "Glyptoteket" of 4 paintings done at Denmark's very first female Art Nude Studio Day!

News time!

2011-11-22T09:59:00.001Z

Good morning! I have NO idea how I managed to keep this vaguely quiet for the last goodness knows how long, but I have some news for you all :)

You may remember that earlier in the year, my boyfriend Ras and I went on a long holiday to Hong Kong. Well, it was a holiday but it was also a sort of chance to get to know the city. 'Why?', I hear you ask!
Well, as of the 7th February 2012, Ras and I will be moving to Hong Kong! We'll be there for a trail period of 6-12 months, but all going well we'll be staying for around 2 years. Ras works as a business analyst for a software firm in the financial industry and that's what's sending us out there.

So, I do expect this blog will turn into a bit of a "My life in Hong Kong" blog, but it'll also keep you updated as to when I'm planning my trips back to the U.K, images from shoots I do over in HK and generic holiday style news!

Until then,

再见 !

Dressing up box

2011-10-26T15:27:00.001+01:00

Today's blog post is going to be a showcase of images that all have one thing in common - the amount of squealing I did when I discovered what I'd be wearing.
Not a year goes by without me throwing some elaborate fancy dress themed party at least 3 times (Sci-Fi, Dinosaurs, Literal Band Names, 1920's, to name a few), so when I get to do this on photoshoots, I get super excited! It's even better doing it for work, because there's almost always a fantastic team making it look 10 times better than my home-made costumes and special effects makeup!

So, here's a selection of some highly styled, interesting, incredibly fun "fancy dress" shoots I've done in the last few months:


© Holly Cox. I know you've seen it before, but it was great fun! Playing the White Queen from a chess board

© Phillip Skraba. Yes, another one you've seen before, but who doesn't like Post Apocalyptic Hobo Models?!


© 3D - G Photography. This was so much fun! The dress is from Angel's Fancy Dress shop in London and was absolutely stunning - beautifully made and terribly Victorian, dahling


© Ian Mears. This wonderful shot was taken at Miss Aniela's Shoot Experience Day at Dalston Height ins London. I seem to remember that the day had ended and Ian and I managed to grab a few minutes at the end to take advantage of the stunning natural light coming through the skylight.


© Dave Ormerod. I know there doesn't appear to be a lot of dressing up going on in this image, but it certainly has real emotion and character. Dave's little note on his Flickr page is very touching.

As well as dressing up for shoot and for my own parties, I also have my flatmate's birthday, he's having a retro Sci-Fi themed party, with a heavy Barbarella influence. He's been making our flat look slowly more like a spaceship for the last few weeks (I kid you not - I'll post pictures when it's finished!) and the doorbell has been ringing constantly for weeks with deliveries of rayguns, flying saucer sweets, tin foil and various other bits and bobs!
I can't wait!

Swirling!

2011-10-09T10:21:00.003+01:00

As I said in my last post, I shot with Alan Fretten at the Curves Studio in Salisbury. Alan's uploaded the images and so I thought I'd share a few here with you. All outfits are courtesy of the amazing Nikita Sablier shop, also in Salisbury.


It's almost impossible to put on one of these dresses and not spin and swirl around!


I love* this jacket!*

As well as shooting in Salisbury (and buying a few little bits for myself from Nikita Sablier), I also had a fabulous shoot with Jef Photography. Thank goodness for that mini-heatwave we had the other week, without it, it would have been quite cold!
We found some Japanese Knotweed for me to pose in. It was right on the path in the little bridleway we were walking through, but no one came along :)

I look so tall!

The orange trousers and owl necklace were just 2 of the things I bought when I dragged Anita De Bauch shopping with me the other week. Anita's such a great shopping buddy - she got me trying on things that I'd never have done so before, and I ended up with orange trousers! Orange trousers rock :D

As well as prancing around in pretty dresses in Salisbury and orange trousers in High Wickham, I also flew across to Ireland for 3 days to shoot. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, beautiful rolling hills and fields of heather. I took a few snaps when I was there and plan to go back at some point for some real exploring. I couldn't get over just how stunning it was!
The shoots were fantastic and I'm sure I'll be posting a few images when I get them.

This view served as a backdrop to a few nude shots - stunning :)

And finally, I've got a little more news! As well as being signed by an alternative agency, I am now also represented by a commercial agency! I have no idea why I'm suddenly getting interest from agencies, but I'm not complaining.

Also, I'm now a brunette :)

Sun, Sea, Vintage Dresses and Shopping!

2011-09-15T09:26:00.001+01:00

I got back from my holiday in Turkey on Sunday feeling refreshed and wonderfully relaxed.
I went out there with my boyfriend, Ras for his parent's 25th Wedding Anniversary. Lots of his family were there, which was great as I love kids and got to mess about playing make believe with a 2 year old, 5 year old and 7 year old and meet his sister, who I hadn't met already. All of his family but his parents live in Denmark, so we rarely get to see them, so it was really nice to have the week to chill out and catch up :)

We started the week with a Turkish Bath, where I was laid on a hot stone and exfoliated head-to-toe before being washed with this amazingly soapy...soap. They then poured hot and cold water over me to get my circulation running, then led me out to a relaxing room with candles and soft music for my facial. Then into the massage room for a 50 minute deep tissue massage. Boy, did I need that! All this posing is like doing yoga for 4, 5, 6 hours a day, so having someone release all the tension in my back was great!
We also did some sightseeing in Side to see the Greek amphitheatre and ruins, along with Apollo's temple, then some white water kayaking (super fun!) and jet-skiing in the sea (also super fun!).
All in all I think it went well!

Yesterday I had two shoots, the first with Stuart Freeman of Salisbury in his studio (which has under floor heating - win!) for some stunning art nudes and then with Alan Fretten in the brand new Curves Studio above the Nikita Sablier shop in the heart of Salisbury. I got to prance around in stunning vintage inspired dresses and corsets and generally act like a laaaadddyyyy all day. I'm sure I'll be posting a few pictures up very soon!
If you haven't already been to Nikita Sablier or booked Curves for your photo shoot - why not? The studio is fantastic ad the clothes in Nikita Sablier (which are available to hire for your shoot) are simply beautiful!

Now I'm off to Marble Arch to meet Anita De Bauch for some shopping (I hate shopping, so she's coming to ensure I don't buy the first thing I see and run back home), before starting my intermediate classes at my fencing club this evening!
Busy busy busy!

London Uprising

2011-08-14T15:57:00.001+01:00

The other week I worked with the very talented Phillip Skraba on Brick Lane, London. The theme of the shoot was Post-Apocalyptic high fashion and so we also had some amazing outfits by designers Alexander Lamb, Crystal McFarlane and Abby Lee. Phillip had me running up and down streets in *huge* heels, which was quite a task and the weather was fab, making our rather warm outfits even warmer!
The shoot was great fun, the makeup and styling incredible and the overall images are fantastic! We had quite a large team, credited at the end of this post :)

Here are the images!

Photographer: Phillip Skraba
Models: Myself and Filip Jankovic
Makeup: Zofia Gluzinska
Stylist: Kyle Lo Monaco
Hair Stylist: Lathaniel Chambers
Clothing by: Alexander Lamb, Crystal McFarlane and Abby Lee

In other news, I modelled for a workshop run by Miss Aniela yesterday in the most fabulous location and 5 other models as well as the 10 photographers who booked on the workshop. I've been told I may recieve one or two images from that at some point, so I'll make sure I post them if I do! The day was great fun, with some fantastic outfits (I work a huge perspex hat at one point!) and a scrummy buffet lunch :)

Reference Checking, an important message

2011-08-10T17:23:00.000+01:00

My friend and fellow model Roswell Ivory has posted this very important blog post in her blog, detailing the importance of reference checking.

This is a subject that I feel very strongly about - as a freelance model there are a few ways I can look out for my safety, which I'd like to pass on to you.

1) Get the full address of where you will be shooting. If this is not available (on a location shoot for instance), then ask for the location name. Write this information down at home and ensure that someone knows where you will be.
2) Get the photographer's name and telephone number, make sure you have it written down on a notepad at home as well as with you.
3) If you are being picked up in a car, ask for the registration number. Not only will this help you spot the car, but it's a little extra info to leave on that trusty notepad at home!
4) Something that may not occur to most people is GPS tracking. If I'm on a location shoot, I turn my smartphone's internet on and switch tracking on. Now my boyfriend can see where I am, to within 100 yards, in real time. This may seem over the top, but it doesn't hurt :)
5) References. REFERENCES. Did you get that? REFERENCES! I don't care if his/her work is amazing, quality and the best thing you've ever seen. I dont care if he/she shoots for agencies ad has worked with all the top internet models (or indeed, top model in general). CHECK THOSE REFERENCES. E-mail those models, ask around, find out what other people's experiences of working with him/her were. Do not think that just because their work is of a good quaility that you can skip this. See Roswell's blog for a very clear idea of why.

I know this sounds like scare-mongering, but at the end of the day you must put your safety above all else. The 5 steps above are by no means exhaustive - there are plenty more things you can do, but I've tried to keep it short.
The point of this post was to direct you to Roswell's blog, anyway :)

On a lighter note, I headed down to Clapham Junction yesterday to help with the clean up as organised on Twitter by @riotcleanup. Well over 300 people turned up, armed with brooms, bags and free tea (yay!) and got to work clearing glass, rubbish and plasterboard off the roads. The atmosphere was incredible and it was so heartwarming to realise that far more people turned up all over London yesterday to clean up the mess, than turned up to mess it up in the first place.
I didn't get any pictures as I was busy sweeping glass into a dustpan with my marigolds on and a new friend by my side, but I'm sure you'll have seen the reports on the TV/Internet or heard it on the radio!

Hong Kong, Magazines and Vintage Chic!

2011-08-05T12:01:00.001+01:00

So much has happened! I flew off to Hong Kong for 3 weeks with my partner, Ras, for a holiday in June/July, which is why I haven't been around much! We are planning on moving to Hong Kong late this year/early next year, so this was Ras' chance to show me around and make me fall in love with the country I'd agreed to move to (before having even been!). As luck would have it, I fell in love instantly, depsite the monsoon style rain for the frst 3 days.
Hong Kong is such a vibrant, fast, bright city full of friendly, interesting people and suprises hidden around every corner! Before setting off, I asked a few friends of mine who had been for some ideas of what to see and the overwhelming response was "The Big Buddha!". So, as well as sampling the amazing local food, seeing the wild monkeys in Kowloon and dodging giant spiders (hand sized, bird eating monsters) on Cheung Chau, we headed over to Lantau Island for a wander around a traditional Buddist village (complete with a Shaolin Monk show) and the long climb up to the biggest, outdoor, bronze, seated Buddha in the world!

Moments later, they all ran away, so I was quite lucky to get this shot!

Hope he doesn't fall off!

Samping the local cuisine

Golden Silk Orb Weaver. They are HUGE. Thank goodness for giant zoom lenses!

I take no creit for this beautiful photo, it was taken by my partner, Ras.

Funky angles, anyone?

I won't bore you with more pictures from Hong Kong - we were there for 3 weeks so, as I'm sure you can imagine, there are a LOT of photographs!
In all, it was an amazing experience and I simply can't wait until we finally move over there! It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one which I am going to grab with both hands and enjoy to its fullest extent!

Just before I went off to HK, I was shooting at the fabulous Light Spot Studios in Hackney. Whilst there, a photographer who I worked with back in February at another studio mentioned that she'd seen me in a magazine. As I was unaware of this, she told me which magazine it was and I started a hunt for a copy of it (it was an old issue, and the company had run out of back-issues). After a day or two, a lovely photographer from Net-Model offered to give me his copy. So when I arrived back in the U.K, I was greeted by a copy of Advanced Photographer magazine, with my face gracing on of the pages!


The picture in question was taken by Phil Winterbourne, a fantastic photographer who I worked with in March.

Whilst we're on the subject of publications, I may as well tell you of another magazine I found myself in, but this time it's an online magazine for a vintage clothing company called solovesvintage, for whom I did a shoot a few months ago. I was very excited to get the e-mail from the lady who owns the website, as not only am I in their online magazine, but I have the front cover and 6 pages inside! The clothing is beautiful and it was a really fun day! You can see the magazine at the website - just click here

In other news, I've now added an "About" section to my blog, which you can access from the link at the top. My website is under construction at the moment, so for the time being, this is my internet base, as it were. I'm still working on getting a small gallery up here somehow, so watch out for that!

Today will mostly be spent working on aforementioned gallery until 4pm, when I'll be heading to the National Portrait Gallery with my friend Anita DeBauch to see the Glamour of the Gods exhibition, a collection of Hollywood portraits, featuring Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor and Clark Cable, to name but a few!
It should be excellent, and will also give us the chance to pop into the BP National Portrait Awards exhibition and take a look at that, including the stunning painting of our friend Ivory Flame in a painting titled "Holly" by Louis Smith, which was awarded 2nd place.

Two of my favourite people :)

2011-06-06T11:17:00.000+01:00

I know I shouldn't have favourites, but Andy K Stratford and Harmony Summer are two of the most lovely people I know. Andy is a very close friend of mine, was the 2nd photographer I ever shot with and has been my "go-to-guy" every time I needed a portfolio update! He's definitely the closest I have to a muse.
Harmony is his girlfriend and a very talented young lady (she does have an excellent teacher close at hand, to be fair!). She's got so much enthusiasm and I can see her becoming my second muse :D

I shot with them both a few weeks back along with the wonderful Chloe Winter, a new but very talented makeup artist. I had a great time with the three of them, we all got on very well and I can't wait to work with them all again!

In other news, I'm planning an Irish tour this year! In late September, I will be catching a ferry over to Belfast and making my way around N. Ireland and ROI, kissing stones at Blarney and pretending to be giants at The Giant's Causeway inbetween shooting with various fabulous photographers along the way! If you fancy booking me, or know of any photographers over that way, let me know! Casting calls will be going up as soon as details are ironed out :)

I'm also off to Download Festival in a few days time, so I won't be around - boo! But I have some super cool Ultra Violet shots to show you from a shoot with Ashley Mark-Pomeroy a few weeks back, so I'll get them up as soon as I'm back :)

A most unusual shoot...

2011-05-31T10:56:00.000+01:00

I played a chess piece!

I shot with the absolutely lovely Holly Cox a little while ago on a fantastic and unusual shoot based around a Chess Board theme. I played the White Queen and the White Bishop, two very fun roles to play. There were 4 models in all, each playing 1 or 2 different roles throughout the day. The other models were Sandra, Roseanne and Aaly and the MUA's were Angelina Howard and Suki Miles. The wardrobe designers were Ara Jo and Aqua
Here are a few pictures from the shoot, which took hours in hair and makeup, as I guess you can tell!

Here I am, mourning the loss of my knight :(


White Queen and Black Queen stand-off!

This was definitely one of the most styled, interesting shoots I've done and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Holly is definitely one to watch, she's got a great eye for styling and photography :)

A day in the countryside..

2011-05-26T18:13:00.000+01:00

Continuing on my promise of delivering proof of the fact that I have been shooting recently, here are some shots I did with Andrew Appleton at and around his studio back in April.
The area surrounding Andrew's studio is stunning - rolling countryside, little streams, small wooden bridges and sheep!
We managed to get through a good few sets during the day, ranging from the hippy country-girl to the lady of the manor to a scary looking ringmaster!

I hope you enjoy :)

As always, comments welcome and opinions appreciated!

Andalucianudes

2011-05-23T16:17:00.000+01:00

Back in March I was in Nerja, Southern Spain prancing around naked with Ella Rose and being photographed by Greg Brown and John Evans, for a whole week.
It was wonderful - Ella is a fantastic person to work with, a genuine, intellingent, charming, interesting and fun lady to be around and totally inspiring! I had a fabulous time modelling with and alongside Ella for the week and truly wish I could go back and do it all again!
John and Greg are also excellent people, both with a wicked sense of humour and immense talent. I feel so flattered that they chose to take me along with them on this trip, I really do. I feel privaledged and very lucky to have been chosen to go and I really hope I showed my gratitude throughout the trip!

We arrived at our Villa on the Sunday afternoon and WOW was it a villa and a half!!! This place has 4 bedrooms (2 doubles, 2 twins), 3 bathrooms and a downstairs loo, a kitchen/diner, living room, what we called the "Great Hall", being a large double height room with about a million chairs and sofas and tables dotted around, various rooms with no obvious purpose, an outside sheltered eating/chilling area, a private swimming pool and beautiful gardens. The guy who owned the villa (and, I believe, the entire hamlet of 12 houses) was apparently a bit of a traveller - the villa was choc a block with wondeful artefacts from all over the world. There were books everywhere, on every surface you can imagine, along with dishes, pots, old teeapots, urns, vases and a fantastic mis of antique and modern furniture in many different styles. You'll see quite a lot of the villa and it's surroundings in the images throughout this (and probably a few further) blog posts, as it held so many fantastic shoot opportunities we would have been insane to miss out!I will make you all jealous with pictures of said villa now...

(I've made them all a small size so as not to take over your computer screen. Plus, the images later are much more interesting! Also, please forgive my terrible phone camera!)
Along with running round being impressed with the accomodation, the scenery was amazing. We were some way up a mountain, surrounded by gorgeous landscape with the sun rising straight into the villa's outdoor area ad setting behind a mountain. 10 minute's drive away was the beach (we'll get to that one later!) and further up the mountains were beautiful little villages and hamlets, mainly whitewashed and terribly pretty.

As I said in my "Sorry" post, I have a wealth of images to share with you.
Therefore this blog post is MASSIVE! Sorry :)

First up, some water! Ella and I share the star sign os Pisces so I thought it'd be nice to start with some water based images.


Copyright John Evans and featuring Ella Rose. This was a disused swimming pool in a cafe we found whilst having lunch!


Copyright Gregory Brown. Here's Ella and the old swimming pool again!

Next up I have some rocky images for you! I won't lie, the rocks were not comfortable :)

Copyright John Evans. This was a beautiful location to shoot in, Built in 975 AD by the Visigoths, the ruins were once a fortress. Surprisingly intact!


Copyright Gregory Brown

That'll be all for today I think. Rather than overload you with pictures from Spain, I'll post them every so often inbetween other subjects. Still got some beautiful classic nude shapes and some fun dressed up shots!

However, if you really can't wait, you can buy the book! It's my very first book, so I was very excited to hear there was going to be one of the trip!
Obviously it features Ella Rose also and Greg and John's photography. It's well worth it!

Go buy it here: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2081137 (you can buy the smaller and cheaper version here) or click on the pictureto see a preview.

And then there were two...

2011-05-07T22:36:00.000+01:00

As promised, here's the first of a lot of new blog posts full of pretty pictures and general modelling based news :)
I've decided to do them in the same order that I shot them, which means today you get the fabulous Claude Pierus and Katie Louise D.

Claude and I had been trying to work together for months but one thing after another seemed to get in the way. When we managed to secure a date, he asked if I'd mind half of the shoot being with the gorgeous Katie Louise D, a fantastic and bendy nude model based in London. I'd previously worked with Katie a long time ago and was thrilled to learn we'd be working together again, especially since I feel I've really progressed since we last met in terms of learning how to use my body and using it in the best way for me.

The shoot kicked off with Katie and I doing some duo work, which I thoroughy enjoyed. It's interesting to watch other people work, especially people who you admire and so getting to work with Katie was a pleasure. She's great fun, very bouncy and excitable and just so great to work with! We got some incredible shots, here are my favourites...

It's interesting to see the differences in our bodies, despite being the same height and a very similar build. It just goes to show how different women are when stripped down to our natural selves :)

After an hour or two of working with Katie I had my one to one time with Claude. Claude's great to work with - very easy to chat to and had me giggling - you can really tell in some of the later shots that I'm having a great time, I always seem to have a little tiny smile on my face!
There were a lot of shots from this session, so I'm just going to share my personal favourites. If you want to see more, you can see them at Claude's website

Studio Day in Northampton!!

2011-05-03T09:27:00.000+01:00

Hi all! Just a quick note to tell you about a studio day I have booked at the James Thorpe Photography Studio in Northampton on 14th May 2011.

I have included the official press release as seen on James' website - feel free to get in touch with either myself or James for any questions!

Hannah Ashlea + Studio + Equipment + Props from only £50 all-in.

Hannah Ashlea will be available to shoot at our new Photography Studio in Northampton on Saturday 14th May!

Hannah is originally from Northampton and currently lives in London. However, she is moving to Hong Kong in June and this could be your last chance to shoot with her before she goes!

photo copyright Julian M Kilsby

When: Saturday 14th May 2011
Where: James Thorpe Photography Studio, The Mounts, Northampton
What: Professional model, studio, equipment & props
Rate: £50 per hour or £90 for 2 hours and 10 minutes

photo copyright Edfool Photography

For full details of the Studio click here

* 7.3 x 4.5 metres
* White walls, floor and ceiling
* Backdrops: Ultra-Black, White, Marigold and Oxford Blue, Red, Grey paper; black venetian blinds; frosted glass
* Equipment: 1 x 250w and 2 x 150w monoblock flash heads, lighting boom, 2 x 45w slave flashes, light meter, 3 x large 5-in-1 circular reflectors, reflector holder, posing blocks, giant anglepoise lamp, tripod and remote triggers. 6" x 9" dye-sublimation printer available on request (additional charge will apply)
* White sofa, black stool, wooden step-seat, large disco ball, vintage dressing table and many other props

Hannah brings;

* Professional modelling experience
* Styles from fashion to art nude levels
* Make-up completed to a high standard using professional products
* Wardrobe: latex, street fashion, evening wear, and, of course, shoes!
* Extensive references available here.

On the Day;
You can book one or more of the following one hour sessions at £50 per hour. If you book more than one session back-to-back, you will receive a £10 discount AND the intervening ten minutes FREE, e.g. 9.30 - 11.40 am would be £90, all-in.

9.00 - 10.00 am
10.10 - 11.10 am
11.20 am - 12.20 pm
Lunch
1.00 – 2.00 pm
2.10 - 3.10 pm
3.20 - 4.20 pm
4.30 - 5.30 pm
5.40 - 6.40 pm

photo copyright Phil Winterbourne
FAQ

Q. "How do I pay?"
A. Payment can be made in advance via personal cheque, BACS transfer or PayPal (the latter carries a 3% surcharge) or in cash upon arrival.

Q. "Do I need to pay a deposit?"
A. No.

Q. "What is your cancellation policy?"
A. No-shows and cancellations made within 48 hours of your session start time will be invoiced at the full rate.

Q. "If I book the last session of the day, will she be too tired to work properly?"
A. Very unlikely as Hannah is experienced in shooting for long days, and knows how to pace herself and stay looking fresh.

Q. "Can I book the whole morning/ afternoon?"
A. Of course.

Q. "Can two photographers share sessions in order to share the bill?"
A. Yes.

Q. "Can I use my session to shoot for commercial purposes?"
A. Absolutely!

Q. "Will there be a charge to sign model releases?"
A. Yes, Hannah is happy to sign model releases free of charge.

Q. "Can I discuss ideas with Hannah before the shoot?"
A. Yes, this is the best way to ensure that you get the most out of your session. We will give you her email address after booking for pre-shoot communications.

Q. "Can you let me know of future events?"
A. Yes, sign-up to our Mailing List and we will keep you posted!

Please leave a comment here or message me with enquiries. Sessions will be booked on a strictly first come, first serve basis, so please make enquiries as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment!

So...book now to avoid disappointment! :)

Hannah x

Sorry!

2011-04-30T09:12:00.000+01:00

Readers, it would appear that I have neglected you! I got told off the other day by my boyfriend for being the kind of person who gives 100% for a day or two and then forgetting about it ('it' being anything from writing a blog, thinking about going on holiday, quitting smoking, saving money....) and not doing it.
So, I'm quitting smoking on Sunday (tomorrow - eek!), re-starting this blog today, have got a short trip to France in May to recharge my batteries and have already looked at budgetting to save money for bigger holidays later in the year!

On the blog note - I have some exciting things to share! Over the next week or so I'll be showing you some gorgeous images from a shoot with Claude Pierus (along with some duo modelling with Katie Louise D), some light and natural lifestyle from Andrew Appleton of Applephoto, incredibly wonderful styled images from Holly Cox and a mix of fashion, beauty and nudes from Andy K Stratford and Harmony Summer.
I also have a wealth of gorgeous nudes to share with you from my week long trip to Spain with Greg Brown, John Evans and Ella Rose.
Unfortunately, I am on a train right now and have left my external harddrive at home so can't access them all, but here's a sneak peek of the images I got from Harmony.

Harmony is a young but fanstastic photographer based in Devon and Northampton (her time is split between the two) with a great eye for a photograph. I'll certainly be working with her again the next time she's in Northampton (as I also spend a lot of time there!)

The makeup was by Chloe Winters, a relatively new (and fabulous!) addition to the MUA world, very talented and great fun to work with. She's currently working on building up her portfolio and when she's got a portfolio page up and running, I'll be sure to link her!
I love this shot because it's so different for me. Beauty is a genre I've not played with much and so when Andy and Harmony asked what I'd like to do with them, my first response was beauty. Knowing we had a talented makeup artist on hand meant that I was confident we'd get some great, natural shots as well as some more styled ones later on.
I love the lighting in this shot, it subtly moves your eye right to the centre of the image without being too 'spotlight-y', which is nice.

I'll sign off now be assured that I *will* be updating again very shortly!

x

Birthday Post!

2011-03-14T15:53:00.000Z

So today it's my birthday! I'm overwhelmed by the amount of messages I've had through my Facebook account!
I've had a wonderful weekend of fancy dress, partying, cake and huge breakfasts. My wonderful parents put up with 3 or 4 people staying at theirs whilst we were in Northampton and then insisted on cooking up a MASSIVE pile of bacon, eggs and sausages in the morning when were, well, a little worse for wear.

In line with my previous posts, I have some new images to show you! I had a shoot with the wonderful Julian M Kilsby a few weeks ago and recieved the pictures in time for my birthday, it was like a little birthday present!
The corsets were provided by Nikita Sablier and the latex is my own :)
The hair and makeup is by the wonderful make-up-by-leanne

This is the first time I've ever modelled corsets, and a very tentative dip into the world of lingerie modelling so it was an exciting shoot for me! I'm really happy with the results and I can't wait to do some more!

That's all for now, but I promise not to leave it too long before updating again :)

Sparkles and Light!

2011-02-21T18:01:00.000Z

So week or so ago I shot with the wonderful Kayt Webster-Brown.
It was terrifying - Kayt is a extremely talented and very experienced model and having her shoot me was a scary experience. I was covinced she'd be thinking "Oh god, why did I agree to this!?" the whole way through.
I couldn't have been more put at ease by this wonderful lady. Despite being stunning and successful she's one of the most down to earth people I've ever met, very friendly and she makes great toast!

Photographer - Kayt Webster-Brown

Styling and Makeup - Kayt Webster-Brown

I've also had some amazing shoots recently for which I am waiting for images from and I've got a few awesome shoots lined up with some excellent photographers, makeup artists and stylists...Watch this space!

Hannah x

I have joined!

2011-02-17T10:33:00.000Z

Good morning, afternoon or evening!

I have finally sucummed to the deep, dark world of blogging. I have no idea if I will be able to keep it up but I'll certainly give it a go!

A little introduction:
I am Hannah Ashlea, a full time model based in London of the U.K. I've been modelling for just over 2 years and have had the pleasure of working with some amazing people and making some fantastic friends through my job. I use far too many ellipses, exclaimation marks and smiley faces, so forgive me for that :)

Hopefully over the next how-ever-long-you-choose-to-read-this-for-and-I-choose-to-write-in-it-for, you will find new pictures of me, find out when I'm travelling the country and hear the latest random things that pop into my head as well as links to little articals and other blogs that catch my interest.
I'm going to try to keep this modelling based, but don't be suprised if you find posts that have little to no relevance to modelling or photography :)

Keeping with the modelling theme...here are some images from my latest shoot with Gregory Brown...

Who'd have thought that a naked chick, some goggles and a goldfish bowl would work!?

Photographer: Gregory Brown

Makeup - Me

That'll do for the time being I think!

Hannah x