Heading North...

The following day we took a train to Lancaster, where we rented a car and then headed to the university for an open afternoon. We were especially impressed with the brand new environmental science facilities. We had dinner that night at our B&B just outside of town.

The next morning we set off for Scotland. We took a short detour to Gretna Green, famous as the first spot over the border where minors could get married.

The Old Blacksmith’s Shop opened in 1712 and has been a popular wedding spot ever since.

That night we stayed in the small town of Newton Stewart so that we could be near the Galloway Dark Park in the hopes of seeing an amazing night sky. Unfortunately, it was totally cloudy so instead of driving into the park, we hung at the hotel and participated in a trivia game. We were rubbish, but it was good fun anyways.

On Location in London...

After another visit to IMG for new polaroids, Ashlynn and I set off for some lunch and shopping. Unfortunately, I missed a message that another test shoot had been arranged, so we had to scramble to get to the eastern edge of London. Luckily the photographer, Ines Zele, newly relocated from Australia, was understanding. Unfortunately, after dragging clothes around unnecessarily to other shoots, we didn’t have a change of clothes with us. This was a good lesson that models often don’t have a lot of advance notice and should always be prepared. As you can see, this shoot was very urban.

Ashlynn’s definitely good at showing some attitude!

A Shoot with Veronica...

On our last day in London, Veronica wanted to take some photos of Ashlynn. After enjoying a breakfast at an old-fashioned diner, we found an iconic phone booth near the train station, the perfect setting to capture some cool shots.

Natural Apartment Lighting...

Afterwards, we headed back to Markus’ apartment where he shot Ashlynn using only natural light. His dog was confused why Markus couldn’t play.

Can only assume that Markus wasn’t pleased with how the window shots turned out as I never saw any.

This simple backdrop, however, had interesting results.

Pulling Ashlynn’s hair back and adding lipstick definitely had a dramatic effect.

Afterwards, we visited a vintage shop that Markus recommended where I found a sparkly evening dress for the Marine Corps Ball and we had a yummy lunch. Then we went to the IMG London office to meet Luis Domingo, Ashlynn’s account manager. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Veronica spent the day on a photo safari.

Check Out Those Burberry Shoes...

The next day, I took Ashlynn to Hackney for a test shoot with Markus Lambert. A former hairstylist, Markus turned to photography about six years ago; he kept Ashlynn’s hair simple with no make-up. The clothes were from Zara and H&M; it hadn’t dawned on me before meeting him that photographers return the clothes after a shoot, but of course it makes sense. I had originally intended to leave Ashlynn, but ended up walking around the neighborhood with them as Markus took these cool shots.

The one item here that Markus owned were the shoes: £1,700 hand-painted Italian leather stilettos from Burberry. Ashlynn thought they were wonderful, but only wore them for this one shot.

I was very impressed with how quickly Markus worked; he knew what he wanted, got it and moved on to the next shot.

I love how her hair is in motion but her face is in focus.

Our Topshop Girl...

When we arrived back at the studio, Lukasz was busy getting Ashlynn’s hair just right.

Ashlynn didn’t really want us to watch, but she allowed me to capture Lukasz in action. She had a great time; it helped that she loved his music and how he made her laugh.

Check out those piercing eyes!

Jimmy was especially impressed how Lukasz worked with light as this background was actually white, but you’d never know it.

Just outside the studio was a derelict old ship called the Royal Iris from Liverpool. Built in 1950, the Beatles performed onboard in the 60s. Jimmy would have loved to have explored this old ghost ship, but I was relieved that it was just far enough away from the dock to convince even him that it wasn’t a good idea.

While we were busy out in Woolwich, Veronica took a train to Cambridge to visit David, who seems to have adjusted well to university life.

A Fun Studio Test Shoot...

On Sunday, Jimmy and I took Ashlynn to East London for a test shoot that felt quite official. Not only was the studio in a cool building full of artists, but make-up artist Magdalena Sommerfeld-Benrot was there...

...and also stylist Liza Jugolainen. Once Ashlynn was ready for Lukasz Suchorab to start shooting, Jimmy and I left to hang out at the café next door.

Liza had picked out clothes that she thought would go nicely with Ashlynn’s coloring from Topshop, one of Ashlynn’s favorite shops.

The clothes fit perfectly and the styling looked very natural. Everyone involved did a great job!

It was great fun to receive the finished photos as I had no idea what to expect. I especially love this shot!