The 12 days of Christmas

 

I thought I'd share a photo for every day of the twelve days leading up to Christmas which will see me get from Sheffield to London to Miami and finally landing home - in Grand Cayman.

On the first day of Christmas....

It was my last day in Sheffield! We've had a week of sledging, fun-filled snow, that all too quickly turned to treacherous ice! The slopes of Sheffield soon became lethal and I, myself, took a spectacular 9am tumble right in front of a truck full of builders. My legs were up in the air, my bag went flying and I landed smack on my bum. You know it's a good'un when you hear people ask : 'Are you ok there?' 'Do you need any help?' I had an embarrassed chuckle to myself - which is the best way of shrugging off your soggy bottom and blue hands, and then tried to skate myself back up onto my feet. Needless to say the builders did not rush over to assist me - quite unfair given that I most certainly made their morning!

On the second day of Christmas...

 

Stefan and I travelled from Heathrow, to Miami and then on to our final destination - Cayman, with a few margaritas along the way!




On the third, (fourth and fifth) day of Christmas....

we've had some good fun in the sun here in Cayman!



OK so as you can imagine the Christmas season ran away with me, in true festive style there were many cocktail parties, family meals, tours of the lights and a few hangover days - here's the next 6 days of Christmas and more.



Fishing for some Christmas lunch

Christmas Day 2010

And an evening of traditional Cayman Christmas Lights to finish.

It's SNOW time

The last two days here in Sheffield have been complete snow days - no lectures, no studying, working, no shopping, no gyming, just SLEDGING - and it has been a pleasure! Last year I was away in Spain for 9 months and the snowfall out there was fairly minimal - when not at the ski slopes (yes you can ski in Spain). So it's been almost two years since I've savoured the delights of knee-high snow, abandoned cars and cancelled classes. With my netball trip to Newcastle cancelled, there was nothing else for it but to get to a near by slope and get sledging - although I managed to buy the only sledge that didn't work. A baking tray would have gone quicker and straighter! £13.99 NOT well spent!

 The crew of sledgers included myself, Hannah, Alison, Dippy, Rider, Balti, Bond and plenty other familiar faces. And yes, they are their real names.

Business cards - sold out

As my nearest and dearest already know (or in fact anyone who would listen), this past weekend I was asked to photograph at the Elegance Fashion Show for a local clothing line, Flock Boutique and was over the moon with the prospect. I really was quite chuffed to be asked to come along but it was quickly apparent there were some serious photography big dogs there. With their pricey Canon's and their mega flashes, I appeared slightly amateur in comparison. However it's been really interesting to compare some of the photos we all took and if I do say so myself, I think I managed to comfortably compete!

Check them out for yourselves - Flock on Facebook my photos are the obvious named ones.

 

The whole process of photographing at a fashion show is quite a lot trickier than it looks. The slight model saunters down the catwalk, strikes a pose, and swishes back down the strip. Easy right? Saunter, pose, SNAP SNAP SNAP and swish again. That's what I thought. However getting the right angle, the best lighting, a suitable backdrop and a striking photo is actually a bit trickier than it appears. Pressure was added as my camera decided to sporadically stall at the key snapping moments and left me with far too many shots of the models'...er..behinds.

The fashion show itself exhibited clothes from stores such as Cow, Freshmans, KKenco and of course Flock. Despite promising to be a major event, the show took place in the smaller Octagon room and just didn't have that sleek ambience you'd expect for a potentially major event. Without wanting to sound like a know-it-all, I do think a great fashion show event can be put together quite inexpensively with just some better organisational skills. It needed a more elegant setting (maybe an old theatre), a smart cocktail style dress code, a swish band or dj playing as you enter, some champagne and nibbles being handed out by some topless butlers (I think I know one) and some stylish modelling of decent brands shown for a good solid hour. Phew. Job done. Maybe my next venture!

For now though I'm hoping to get to some more events before Christmas. I really shouldn't be putting this much time into 'extra-curricular' things like blogging and seeking out good shoot locations but it really has been a long term of my head in the law books - and it's a nice way to relax. I've also found some pretty exciting new locations...all hush hush ;)! At the show I managed to hand out almost all of my newly made business cards - don't think I was forcing them on people either, it was like a free for all, who knew people would be so keen! And with this new interest, I'm hoping to get the ball rolling on expanding my photography and hope you can take the time to check out the new addition to my blogging: 

www.sophiebenbowphotography.blogspot.com 

Go ahead and give me some welcomed feedback!

I've only got 20 days left in chilly Sheffield til it's our Christmas break and I'm off to Cayman for some much needed sunshine. However before the bikini clad festivities begin, the weather predictions are suggesting we may be in for some heavy snow here in Sheffield - and this is GREAT news! Great news not least for the sledging fun to be had, but also for the photo expeditions that will no doubt look spectacular with a white canvas of snow. Let's hope I get these darn essays out the way soon enough!

Top 5

It's rainy winter time, my Law and Spanish work loads are piling up and there is still a bit of hole in my shoe collection following my clear out on leaving Spain. What's that you say...a spot of shopping is needed? Well then there's only one thing for it - time to check out some of the great shoes about at the minute. I've collaborated my top 5 shoe ideas of the moment - feel free to suggest yours!

 

Introducing my new suede Christmas/Cocktail party shoesies from River Island.

They are classics, very comfy and just beautiful. The suede is far too delicate for Union nights out so I think they may be saved until the Christmas festivities.

Choice Number...

 The Kurt Geiger rounded courts

These Kurt Geiger beauties are classics and uber elegant, perhaps when I'm a successful, ruthless business woman I'll justify the price tag but until then, they'll just be left to Santa's spending. 

  

Here are some more KG gems while we're on the topic!

Suede wedged ankle boots

These are some other 'potentials' to be found on my hit list but I do have a very similar pair of winter sherling boots. However, these are just so simple and elegant. Hmm, no harm in trying them on eh,watch this space ;)

Suede AGAIN!

Wrap-around Suede shoeboots

These chunky turtle suede shoeboots are quite a statement and would look fab over some black skinnies or some token leather. At £60 they're not uber cheap but maybe unique enough to justify it?!

And last but not least, Winter's Top 5 Shoe choice number...

 

The Moonboots

 These moonboots will get you through anything and are just old school perfection! Ok so they're maybe not the most elegant of boots but they're super comfy, water tight and a bit of change to the norm - a break from your slouchy uggs or leather bikers. Bring on the snow.