Fashion is an Art

Hey Surfers!

Wow it's been ages since I've posted, I haven't been feeling very inspired blogwise and fancied a bit of a break but now I'm back and raring to write!

So this the long promised continuation from my trip to London with my friend and fellow blogger, Josie of A Pretty Post It. After we finished with the Topshop event, which you can read about here, it was far too early to go home so we decided to head over to the Tate Britain and check out some of the artwork which was soon to be moving on. After jumping off of the tube we spotted a picturesque side street and Josie asked me to take some pictures for her blog. It was my first time attempting fashion photography and I had a lot of fun with it. I especially loved having a model for the first time, it took me a little while to get used to but soon I was ordering her to pose all along our route!

Had some fun photoshopping these. The light flare for example :)

This has got to be one of my favourite pictures of the day! I love the colour splash setting on my camera, I've used it for London pictures before which you can see here and it always gives great results, of course it helps when you have such a gorgeous model :)

After a stroll along the Thames we arrived at the Tate Britain Museum and had a very artistic afternoon taking pictures of, and with the pieces on display. The Tate has such a wide collection of art, ranging from classic paintings of the Greek gods to modern, thought provoking sculptures. It's most definitely worth a visit.

This was a picture of the beautiful domed roof, I had to lean very precariously over a spiral staircase to get the shot which is why it is slightly off centre. I so want to go back and shoot it again in the winter, get the night sky and also get the angle right!

More fun with the colour splash

Poor Josie being papped again.

The two pictures above are of the fantastic artwork to which the museum is home. I took quite a few photographs but these were two of my favourites; especially the one with the cameras. 

Unfortunately I'm not very well educated in art so my comments are limited >.<

We finally left the Tate in search of food, and a short tube journey found us near Trafalgar Square; all of the restaurants were packed but we managed to squeeze into Bella Italia for a delicious dinner and to rest our aching feet! My pedometer said we had walked nearly ten miles in one day.

We had a brief stroll through the square on our way to the station and I got some of my final shots of the day. I would have liked to have stayed longer but we still had to get back to Paddington and get on the long train journey home.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I have a little stock pile of pictures ready so I'll hopefully be back next week, I'll leave you with the fountains until next time.

Love Lily

Mona Lisa , Smile! - Parisian Getaway ~ Day Two

Hey Surfers,

Editing this post has been a nightmare as I've managed to injure the wrist on my right hand! I've had to do everything left handed which has been a struggle...but its all done :)

Today I'm featuring pictures from the second day of my trip to Paris; it was the only full day we had out there so I made sure to pack a lot in.

 After a quick breakfast, which we shared with this arty giraffe, we went on another Metro adventure to The Louvre Museum, I think, from the title, you can guess what we saw there ;)

Below are pictures of the famous glass pyramid and surrounding buildings. I was completely blown away by the intricacy of the architecture and took more pictures than I can count.

After queuing up and getting our tickets we went to see what the Louvre website calls their "three famous ladies" : The Winged Victory of Samothrace, The Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. I have to admit I am a big fan of museums, it amazes me that all of these things survive for so long, and that the people who made them probably had no idea of how significant they would be.

Part of me still can't believe I saw the Mona Lisa in person. There were many people surrounding the painting but black ropes and security guards kept anyone from getting too close. Thank goodness for zoom lenses! I was stood slightly at an angle but right at the front so managed to get some really good pictures.

 The Winged Victory of Samothrace

I don't know much (if anything) about this statue but thought it was really striking. I find myself wondering what happened to her head.

Another famous piece, the Venus di Milo.

Some of the gold ceilings

  After a good few hours in the museum we decided to move on to our next destination:
                                                                           The Eiffel Tower!

When I went to Paris as a child I didn't venture up this imposing landmark, but this time around I was determined to go right to the top!  After a surprisingly short wait we explored the first floor and made our way up to the peak.

The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

I had to poke my camera lens, and later my Ipod and phone, through the fencing to get any clear shots. I have to admit I had a few premonitions of all of them being lost over the edge, haha!

half panoramic view, from inside.

The glass floor on the Tower

The weather was getting progressively colder as the sun was beginning to set. But, as the sun set, the lights of the tower were lit. It was mesmerizing.

After stopping every few feet to take a picture the bitter wind, and our skipping lunch, made us decide to look for somewhere to have a truly Parisian dinner. After trying a few places we found a nice cafe not too far away. The staff were lovely and the food was delicious; the pasta there has ruined all other pasta dishes for me...forever. We were able to warm up with a cup of coffee and relax for a little while whilst enjoying where we were. 

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 For desert we popped into a little bakery down the road and picked up some cake to have back at the hotel. I did toy with the idea of seeing the Arch de Triomph but it was almost painfully cold so we headed home.

The square near the restaurant 

We were exhausted by the time we reached the hotel and it was blissful to relax with a warm cup of coffee, and free wifi.

Hope you enjoyed this post, I'll be back next week with the final day of the trip. I'm heading to the Christmas Sales tomorrow, wish me luck!

Love Lily

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