Eleanor Jane

David Shrigley for Pringle

I heart David Shrigley - with his crude illustrutive style and dark and dead-pan humour - and can totally recommend him to anyone who has ever suffered with the terrible affliction of taking themselves (and their artwork) far too seriously. I'm not sure which is more hilarious, the animation he debuted at Pringle's menswear show in Milan or the interview he gave with Elle magazine after the show.

Afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab

Have you ever wondered what afternoon tea is like at the world's only seven star hotel, the Burj Al Arab? Well now you can save yourself a heap of dirhams as I have put myself through the arduous task of finding out for you! Enjoy feasting vicariously through these pictures without the fear of bursting apart at the seams afterwards.

Afternoon tea began with a glass of Louie Roederer champagne, poured in an incredibly fancy, ceremonious fashion...

...followed by fresh berry fruits and cream...

...incredible spicy vegetarian samosas and dip (the meat option was beef wellington)...

... a selection of teas and a tier of goodies.

The first tier comprised of sundried tomato & cream cheese and cheese & cucumber sandwiches. After we finished these they were promptly refilled!

Then came a few mini bruschettas with artichokes & olives & mozarella & other nice things. After this they brought out huge scones and replaced the savory tiers of the cake stand with a selection of creams and preserves. I temporarily forgot I was taking pictures as I was gobbling away but my favourites were the clotted cream, passion fruit syrup and rose petal jam. Yums! 

By the third tier I was feeling a little stuffed but carried on regardless. Creme brulee, fruit cake, carrot cake and two deliciously buttery, crumbly shortbread biscuits which I sneaked into my bag for later!

Pastries! Macaroons! Eating these was such a huge struggle but there was no way I was leaving them behind and, unlike my Nan & my Mother, I haven't quite sussed how to effectively stash all food types into by bag for later! Somehow... we finished the lot.

As it was around Christmas time we had an extra treat - a glass of hot mulled wine. Usually I don't drink red wine but this was lovely.

As soon as I spied this blackberry pastry I knew it was meant to be mine!

My gorgeous Peabrain polishes off the last of the desserts (& suffered for it later).

Just when we thought everything was over, after the table had been cleared and glasses of ice water brought to us, the waiter said, "I'll just bring you your petit-fours now, Madam.." Thinking he meant a mint or small chocolate I figured I could just about manage something tiny to round off the meal. But instead he came over with a whole other tray of cakes! Aargh! We had a tiny sliver of stollen (I just can't turn down marzipan!) and eventually wobbled back to the lifts like a right pair of greedy fatties.

Arabian snapshots

Why oh why it has taken me so long to post these pictures of Dubai I have no idea. I had all the time in the world last week as Peabrain (don't think I'm being cruel - Chris has earned his new nickname well!) abandoned me to jet off to Los Angeles, reporting on NAMM 2010 for musicradar.com. Pfft, hanging out with rockstars, playing all the newly launched guitars, attending swish product launch parties and eating pancake after pancake - he makes me wish I had stuck with journalism instead of venturing off on this photographic tangent. But alas, I stayed at home to lay carpet, clear snow and go bowling! 

So anyway, here it is... Dubai - November/December 2009.

 

There are skyscrapers everywhere in Dubai, even on the beach! We went to this beach in Jumeirah a couple of times for picnics, paddling in the sea and general lazing about in the sunshine.

 

 

The Marina. I took a bit of a risk in Dubai by using some ten year old expired film I'd bought on ebay. Some of the rolls were so grainy they have ruined the shots but for all it's rubbishness, I quite like this picture.

 

Garden View Villas, Dubai. This is the house we stayed in. It's amazing - like a home from MTV cribs or an Arabian castle. Pretty much every room had its own bathroom & balcony, there were tiny lizards running around on the walls and it boasted a mini bathing pool and a turret! Out the back of the house you can see New Dubai in the distance and just off to the right is Old Dubai.

 

 

In the desert about an hour outside of Dubai towards Hatta and Oman. I found this slightly amusing but a bit sad really. You can tell that the 4x4 dune bashing is a hot tourist activity as they leave all their rubbish behind in the sands.

 

 

This is the traditional bedouin campsite they took us back to after the 4x4 dune bashing. It was definitely geared up for tourists but fun all the same. When you arrived you were greeted with dates and weak Arabic coffee and offered the opportunity to camel ride (no thanks!) and quad bike. I was really up for quad biking but was only wearing flip flops so had to give it a miss. Inside the camp were shishas (not really as nice as the ones we'd had in the proper shisha cafes), traditional Arab dress to try on, amazing free food and drinks, falconry, henna tattoos and belly dancing shows...

 

...but by 8:30pm everyone else had buggered off and we were the only two people left! Alone in the desert in an open tent with nothing but desert cats and two flickering tea lights for company.

The Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah. We couldn't really go to Dubai without treating ourselves to a couple of hours indulgence in the ridiculous opulence at the Burj Al Arab. First, your taxi must go through the gated security where they check your name is on the list before letting you through. You drive over the sea to the tiny island which is home to the hotel and surrounding resort. Strangely the whole structure seems very small up close. It's only when you move further away (or higher up) that you realise how impressive it is.

Once inside you're greeted with burning incense and dates. The lobby walls consist of two giant aquariums which you travel past as you go up the escalators. Everything is decorated in gold and there are plush seats, fountains and a few exquisite jewellery boutiques. There is a quartet of musicians playing in the corner and everyone looks very proper and well to do. It's insane! Literally the only few shops there are those that sell jewellery or suits and fur coats! Where you buy your toothpaste from I have no idea... I suppose your butler fetches it!

We took the panoramic lift up to the Skyview bar. The lift is fixed to the back of the hotel and shoot you up right over the sea! We were one of the first guests to arrive (eager!) so were lucky to be given the best table in the corner between the two glass walls with a view of the Palm, The Earth and the City. Unfortunately my pictures of the view aren't very good due to the silly film I was using but at least this one shot demonstrates how much you can see. You can just about make out the Burj Dubai in the distance. I love the shadow the Burj Al Arab casts over the sea.

I'll post pictures of our meal tomorrow so check back if you've ever wondered what afternoon tea in a seven star hotel looks like!

Dates growing on a tree opposite the Burj Al Arab.

The Burj Dubai (or Burj Khalifa as it's now known) is so big that you can't really see it. I guess that doesn't make sense... but as it's never truly completely in your eyeline and you have to lean right back over on yourself to see it fully, it just doesn't register. When you do look up it's so futuristic and unreal it is as though someone has drawn it in. Very strange.

See how big it is?! Those other buildings are massive skyscrapers themselves and they can't even compete with the base of the Burj! We were meant to be in Dubai for the grand opening of the world's tallest tower but just days after we made our booking, the launch date was put back a month! Gah! I'm ever so disappointed that we never got to visit the observation deck but I guess it's something to look forward to in the future if I ever return.

 
Bur Dubai. One of my favourite days in Dubai was spent in the old part of the city, crossing the creek by abra, wandering around the souks, being jostled around in the madness and neon lights of Deira, listening to the call to prayer at the mosques and having after dinner shisha on the waterside.

 

"Special price..." The souks in Bur Dubai were exasperating! The textile souks are fab if you want want to buy cushion covers, pashminas, throws or general cheap tat. They're not so great if you don't like crowds or haggling! We got on just fine though and accidentally stumbled upon a genius haggling technique guaranteed to bring the price right down... just leave! Over the river in Deira is was ten times as crazy! We took the abra over and managed to get totally lost thanks to our useless Lonely Planet map book. Deira is a noisy, bustling, free for all and we were the only Westerners around which drew quite a few glances our way. Despite being a little bit terrifying after we got lost for the third time, it was still really exciting and we got to visit the world's dirtiest Wimpy restaurant in the search for a toilet, so it was worth it I think ;)

I love airplane food but airlines need to be reminded that vegetarians like cake also. Everything we ate was so... healthy!  Aside from the lack of stodgy food, Qatar airways were an awesome airline. On the way there we flew over Iraq too, which was something I never expected to be doing.

So, that was Dubai! I wish I could have taken some better pictures as I always feel guilty if I come away from somewhere with just a few snapshots and no 'real' pictures. I guess it's just one of the dilemmas of being a photographer. Anyway, here's to more travelling this year!

Do you have travel plans for 2010?

New studio website - Launched today!

EXCITING! 

Today I launched a brand new studio website specifically to promote my work producing studio photography for the hair and beauty industry. I think it's so awesome and slick looking! Check it out and let me know what you think?

I have to say a great big thank you to Stephanie J (of NEETmagazine) for pulling such a fabulous design together from our rambling email exchanges. If you're ever in need of a web designer I can cross my heart & hope to die stick a needle in my eye promise you that she's the best you'll ever find!

Lady Gaga becomes creative director of Polaroid

"I am so proud to announce my new partnership with Polaroid as the creative director and inventor of specialty projects", said Lady Gaga. "The Haus of Gaga has been developing prototypes in the vein of fashion/technology/photography innovation--blending the iconic history of Polaroid and instant film with the digital era--and we are excited to collaborate on these ventures with the Polaroid brand. Lifestyle, music, art, fashion: I am so excited to extend myself behind the scenes as a designer, and to as my father puts it--finally, have a real job."

You've got to hand it to Polaroid, they've certainly recovered well! In 2008 they announced that production of instant film was to cease - catastrophe (!) for art students and all those good old large format photographers still using it as a reference point in the studio. And ultimately a bad move for the brand in general I should think as, let's be honest, there's nothing hip about Polaroid beyond the instant cameras! But now thanks to the dedication of The Impossible Project working hard to ensure that not everything that seems unprofitable needs to die, and Lady Gaga coming on board as creative director, 2010 certainly looks interesting for them. No-one quite knows what The Haus of Gaga will come up with - digital, analogue, beautiful or grotesque - but after recently finding myself emphatically intrigued by Gaga, I'm excited to find out.

Happy New Year!

Or Blwyddyn Newydd Dda for the Welsh! I have so much catching up to do on the blog but when I finally reveal what I've been up to you'll see why I've been so absent lately. Until then, I'm sure everyone is sick of Christmas already but as I haven't made the obligatory festive post yet, here it is!

I LOVE Christmas and this year was even better than usual as we actually had fresh snow on the ground and despite the icy chill in the air the light was bright and cheery. I spent Christmas morning in my flat opening presents with Chris and downing gallons of tea in order to fuel myself for a day of visiting practically everyone we know. After breakfast we made our way through the snow to see his parents for an hour, which was really nice and cosy. I left him there for lunch to drive back to see my own family who had restrained themselves from opening their gifts until I arrived - good work! The afternoon was presents and dinner followed by copius amounts of tea and chocolate (and not nearly enough of my Mum's amazing Christmas cake - mmm marzipan & glazed hazelnuts!) with my Nan & Bamp. In the evening Chris came over and we went to a party at my Aunty's house. The party is a bit of a tradition now and there is always mulled wine & silly games & extra little presents to be won. Thankfully Chris enjoyed himself and didn't find it strange at all! We left early to drive further up the valley for a get together with friends at Flick & Nick's with drinks & crackers & Only Fools and Horses! I saw nearly everyone I wanted to see, ate a lot of yummy foods, gave out all the presents I'd been plotting & planning for weeks and received a very generous stash of gifts myself. You can see how spoiled I was in the pictures below! I hope everyone else had a lovely Christmas. Now, to start on 2010!