You can’t tell Mother Nature what to do. Today on 23rd March, which is two days after we have crossed into the official British Summertime, it was snowing all day. A part of me (the traveller) was mildly excited, because snow is photogenic and a bit magical. Another part of me (the Londoner) would rather pull up the duvet and read a trashy book in bed.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: freak weather, icicles, London, snow, spring, winter
I enjoy observing Valentines Day. It is slightly overrated and tacky, but you can’t celebrate it by being minimal. There is nothing spontaneous about the Valentines Day rituals. You must roll out the expected: pretty cards, roses, chocolates, racy lingerie and having lovely a meal at a restaurant. Valentines is cheesy but it is fun. Many pretend not to celebrate it, although it is always safer to remember to give something sweet to your partners. This gesture goes a long […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Big Ben, London, London Eye, love, night time photography, river, romance, slow shutter speed, Thames, Valentines, Valentines Day, Westminster
Each year at the Carnival, I will be looking out for the Carnival Queens. I have always been fascinated with their confidence and beauty. And the fact that their beauty is natural and (seems to me) not surgically enhanced. These women are proud of their silhouettes, be it slim or curvy. It is an antidote to what we are accustomed to in the mainstream fashion magazines. This young lady in gold deliberately slowed down as she saw me lifting my […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: carnival queen, Notting Hill Carnival
Sometimes as videographer my job brief is simply: SEX, LUST & VOYEURISM. Advocating The Devil is a fashion film on lust, jealousy, love, bisexuality, infidelity, passion – you know, things that make the world go round. (See the behind the scene shots on Flickr). It is written and art directed by stylist Sherman Hawthorne, for Schon Magazine editorial fashion shoot. The photoshoot was done by Laroche Brothers at 33 Portland Place, which was also the location for Oscar-winning film The King’s […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: director of photography, fashion, fashion film, La Roche Brothers, Schon, Sherman hawthorne, videography
Q. Of which artist are you most proud? A. How can I feel proud about an artist’s work? I didn’t have the idea, and I didn’t make the art. There’s no pride to be had by simply buying it. – Q&A with Charles Saatchi in “My Name is Charles Saatchi and I am an Artoholic” (Phaidon, 2009). I find plenty inspirations from things outside my work (ie. advertising and image making), such as sculptures. “Shapes of things to […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: fine art, gallery, inspiration, Saatchi Gallery, sculptures
There is something regal and powerful about a good hat. It can turn a mere woman into a lady. A hat is also a romantic attire. Photo © Zarina Holmes & Salina Christmas. Salina and I were invited to Edwina Ibbotson’s millinery studio in Battersea, London just before the Royal Wedding. My designer friend, Myriam Lengliné of La dame au béret, is currently training as a couture milliner with Ibbotson. Ibbotson is a well-established name in millinery. Her […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: couture, craftsmen, designer, Edwina Ibbotson, fashion, hats, millinery
“We are not ourselves. Why? Because we cannot learn all we know alone, just by ourselves. We are a cocktail of everything we see, hear and touch. So by the time we talk to someone, we become a little bit of the other person. As we move, travel, talk, love and share we automatically influence others. Even if we are born somewhere remote without human beings around, we will absorb from nature, animals, plants and the elements. We are the […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: British identity, London, London Design Festival, multiculturalism, Nissan Design Europe, Notting Hill Carnival
“I loved you because I found you chaste and tender, wise and eloquent. O, Shahrazad, this thousand and first night is brighter for us than the day!” – King Shahriyar, Tales from the Thousand and One Nights. The Veil. One Thousand and One Nights series. Photos © Zarina Holmes & Salina Christmas. One Thousand and One Nights is a departure from the news and travel imagery that I have produced. We had a wonderful curator, Graham Phoenix from […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: criticism, feminism, storytelling
