My home town.

This is what happened….

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From photos to art.

And now I am getting more jobs in, things are getting easier.

man kissing bird is a moniker I use for my personal work, so the more my photos and art become a business, the more I need to clearly represent myself. My own name seemed like the way to go. Since Bijou isn’t my maiden name, the plot thickens, and things get more confusing. But it should settle down soon.

My last port of call for this website is to change all the watermarks. It’s a long process, but hopefully I will finish it by this weekend. I apologise for the haphazard look of this blog before I get the watermark change underway.

Thanks to everyone who has supported my work, from MKB to Marianne Bijou.

All the best for now,

M

In other news, I have got some amazing new Elinchrom studio lights, and am in the midst of setting up my own in home studio. My computer has been exiled and I now have one large space, just for shooting. It’s been a crazy week.

I feel like I’m almost at the finish line with this website. I’ve been uploading and changing and moving around. I want everything to tie together, into one look. I hope to have a break from the web soon though.

I hope all of my followers enjoy the new galleria and slightly enhanced logo.

Suggestions and comments welcome

Love

MB

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I have been busy doing lots of photoshoots recently, mainly to put together a printed portfolio. I was lucky enough to use some great lighting equipment and shoot some brilliant models.

Here are the latest images I’ve shot, of a few of the most lovely girls I’ve met in a long time.

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To illustrate this photogenic fact I am posting a diptych of the shots I took of her whilst we were waiting for our coffee. She has just finished work, is tired and sending a text. And she’s still as magic as ever.

The first diptych is one I layered with a colourful rust/paint texture – (blend mode = soft light, opacity = 80-ish %). The second is without the texture.

My Grandmma died this morning.
I say died, because ‘passed away’ feels too PC and inadequate.

My Mum spent the morning with her, and then she was gone.

.

She grew up in the Great Depression and worked for the W.A.A.A.F (Airforce).
She met my Grandpa (a Navy man) on a ship and in their later years they became croquet medalists.

She was a headstrong woman and we weren’t always the closest, but everyone has faults. It’s the good bits that matter most.
For at her core, she was strong and willful.

She wasn’t well in her final months, but my mother was there for her every day.

John, my Grandpa, died in April 2000. Now, eleven years and one month later, she is gone as well.

I will be flying to see my family on Monday.

I think she was asleep when it happened, which I hope was a nice reprieve from her hospital surroundings.

.

Her name was Sara, pronounced SAH-RA, but everyone she didn’t know well tended to call her SAIR-AH – which, for some unknown reason has always bothered me.
Maybe it’s because I always get MAIR-E-ANNE instead of MARRY-ANNE? Who knows.

I hope you are all well, and that the ones you love are close.

Death is a strange thing. It arrives unexpectedly, even when you know it’s coming.

So here’s to Sara Wilson.
Although I do not believe in any sort of afterlife, if there was one, I’d hope she was with Grandpa and had found happiness. And that they had crossword puzzles and bananas on toast by the dozen.

Goodnight Grandma.

Love ,

Marianne