just excuse me while i sit and stare at them for a while.

photography by NFE Design

blue spot butterfly dress juliet’s closet

lace leg warmers huggalugs

ps: someone asked ~ she has no makeup on, just beautiful sunset light :)  hair done by me!

snuggling up in bed at night… ugg boots… scarves… tights… boots… gloves… lots of layers… hot showers…

and the absolute bestest thing!  covering up bad hair day’s with a beannie :)

love love love!

in celebration of winter, a little photshoot.  it was cold and it was windy, but loads of fun!!!

what do you love [or hate] about winter?

Minime Laura leather boot

Quince Sacha blue denim dress

Sudo firewire leggings – eclipse floral

gloves and scarf we have had for a few years now – cant remember where they are from.

photography NFE Design

it is a gorgeous dress!!! i think it was just a cheap one from Target – but I certainly got my money’s worth!!!  these pics from Jan 2010…

recently i had to convince her that it was time for the dress to retire, so imagine our excitement when we spotted this gorgeous dress below at the Juliet’s closet Launch party a few weeks ago…  it is blue [her favorite colour] it is flowery and girly and she loves it!!!

so excited that we found a suitable replacement… the old party dress can now be passed on to another lucky little girl!!  or, maybe we will keep it, i’m not sure i could bear to let it go…

if you want to check it out her new dress – you can purchase the dress here from Juliet’s Closet.  the boots, tights and purple undershirt are also available on the Juliet’s Closet website now…

and, some pics of Liana wearing it, when we were out to lunch for my birthday last week :)

yoga with Claire tonight has made me deliciously energetic and floaty… been cooking and baking and cleaning and writing and it’s very close to midnight… if i were pregnant may be called nesting, but i am not. so i think “you will most likely be tired in the morning” is what it is called… fun though ? — at Verve For Life.

so i am a little delerious maybe, and getting tired and coming down off my ‘yoga high’…

but a few things…. i realised today that i had forgot to share these pics that we took for juliet’s closet last month… so here i am sharing :)  according to Megan this dress has been incredibly popular so if you want one for your little girl [or for yourself if you think you can squeeze in] then you better visit this page asap and grab yourself one…

secondly, i was giggling a little and smiling lots while looking at these photos at just how much Liana and i miss each other when we aren’t together… every morning she bounds out of bed and greets me with the biggest smile you could possibly imagine, every day at school pick up she races into my arms almost bursting at the seams to hug me.  none of that cool and casual ‘i’m too embarrassed for hugs and kisses with my mum” from this little girl!  if i leave her at mums, even for 10 minutes while i go to the shops to get something, she greets me when i return like i have been gone for 10 weeks.  she is always so enthusiastic and so genuine in her greeting. argh, i love it SO.MUCH!  so tonight she went for a sleep over at nanny’s so i could go to yoga, and have a bit of a break… all good in theory – nice to have some peace and quiet.  but i rang her this afternoon to see how she was, how can i resist?  i mean, it has been a whole 6.5 hours since i have seen her.  and then rang again on my way home from yoga to say goodnight and ask how her evening was. and i was very tempted to drop in there on my way home just so i could have a hug goodnight… and i will see her tomorrow before she goes to school and we will behave like we forgot what the other looked like…

haha – i love my life, and my girl!!!  lucky i have so many photos of her to look at – i can hardly forget what she looks like!

photography NFE Design

dress juliet’s closet

flowers sapphire designs

what else to do but stop along the way and go for a quick run along the lake.

now, let this be clear, i am not a runner.  for one i am incredibly clumsy, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all if i tripped over my own feet, secondly i have bad ankles and knees so if i wasn’t actually tripping over my big toe or getting confused as to which is left and right then it is quite common for either my ankle or knee to just decide that it has had enough for the day, and literally just collapse.  not nice!

but anyways, a run was the plan.  or at the very least a little running and a little walking in between…  you would think, given the size of my wardrobe that i would have tights that are full length, but nope, turns out i have three pairs of 3/4 length and nothing at all to keep the bottom half of my legs warm.  besides leg warmers, which i did seriously consider…  so, off i set on my run, very impressed with myself for even considering it, let alone actually getting in the car!  and the combination of the intense cold on my legs and my nose and my ears and the burning in my chest was kinda weird.  and kinda cool and exhilarating.

so, my excuse for not running too much was of course time, since i did only have half an hour, but also i didn’t want to be too sore for yoga… and i must say once i was breathing regularly again and i got to class, i actually felt really awesome.  i felt much more centered, and relaxed and able to go deeper into my poses because my body was already warm.  so there you go!  i’m not sure if exercising before yoga is a very “yogi” thing to do, but i might try it again sometime… maybe once i get some long tights…  or once it is summer again.

btw, class was with Amy at Verve for Life ~ fabulous!!!!

a pic from along the way…

so, while on the topic of yoga, Liana has been learning at Verve for Life also…  this afternoon while admiring the gorgeous sunset on our way home Liana was dancing about so i told her to show me a few of the poses she has been learning…

and here you go :)

all photos taken with hipstamatic for iPhone

i LOVE how much the light and colours changed just in the 10 minutes we were there!!!

when she looks this adorable dressed in red stripes and flowers who can resist!!!  who says you have to be matchy-matchy?  i love the contrast of this shirt and dress, i love that Liana shares my quirky taste in clothes and i also love that we went searching through the cupboard for the two-sizes-too-small converse because they were red and would work perfectly in the photos.  5 mins to squeeze her feet into them but we got there eventually – all in the name of art!!

skirt and top are both from Juliet’s Closet

i hope you all had a fabulous weekend!! i had a lovely birthday and am truly grateful for every message, hug, gift and phone call that i received, i have some of the most amazing friends and family that anyone could wish for!!!  i will share a bit more about my birthday, and some pics tomorrow, but for now some pics to enjoy and i am off to bed to warm up… i think winter is nearly here!!!

they absolutely take my breath away.

looking into them makes me remember.  everything. every little moment. every adventure. every giggle. every private joke. every tear. every hug. every time one of us has said ‘i love you’. every tantrum.  every little thing that she does that is so “her”. the feel of her hand in mine.  the way she sits up with a start and smiles this massive big smile when i sneak into her room in the morning before she wakes.

looking into them makes me dream. of every moment after this one right now. where i will look into these eyes again. and remember. and smile. and forget to breathe.

i stare at this face. into these eyes. ten, twenty, fifty times a day. almost every day.  i photograph this face at least once a week. then i stare at a digital version of these eyes, of this face.  and i print a version of this face and hang on my walls or place in albums, or scrapbooks. and i see these eyes again every time i walk past the wall that they hang on.

every time i see something different. a new depth.

this beautiful outfit is available from Juliet’s Closet.

Hooded Batwing Dress in navy stripe

Black skinny Jeans

yesterday we received a divine package of girls clothes from Juliet’s Closet… i am going to share more about this brand, what they do, what they stock [and why] later, plus of course the images… but for now a quick shot from the iPhone while we were trying the clothes for size…

if you would like to purchase this dress for your little girl (sizes avail are 8-14) you can check it out here!!!

if you are based in Sydney, or feel like a drive and have little girls aged between 7 and 14 then please check out the details below of the Juliet’s Closet launch party to be held next weekend in Oatley.  Liana and I will be there and we would love to meet you!!

she is Liana.

Liana devised this awesome questionnaire for our shoot and she’s therefore the reason we know so much about Hunter and Sydney.  Liana may not be a sister by blood but she’s most definitely a sister by love.  these girls share a friendship which could be described in some ways as a sisterhood.  i mean seriously, check out the gorgeous clothes these girls have on!  designed by billynmoo and looking so very cute, Liana is quite obviously sharing her love of clothes and modelling with Sydney and Hunter.  exactly as sisters would.

the absolutely vital things we must know about Hunter and Sydney, according to Liana are:

Hunter’s favorite colour is green (this is why she got to wear the green dress), her favorite dinner food is fish, desert is chocolate pudding, and according to Hunter the best ice-cream flavour is mint.  because mint is green.  that makes sense right?  she has a best friend at school called Ella, loves to do Karate and her favorite tv show is Scooby Doo.  Hunter’s favorite time of day is desert time.  which seems a given, since their very talented mummy and daddy as a team become one of Newcastle’s best cake designers

as for Sydney, she loves to be pretty in pink, strawberry ice-cream is her flavour of choice (noticing a theme here?) and pizza would ideally be on the menu every night!  skipping a rope is Sydney’s idea of fun, and she loves Looney Tunes and it comes as no surprise that her favorite time of day is 3.00, cartoon time.

Liana says she would love a sister called Hannah to share her bedroom with, but for now and many years to come, Hunter and Sydney fill the gap just perfectly.  so let the silliness continue.  let there be hours of face pulling and tickling and kissing and laughing.  let there be friendships that last a lifetime.

let there be Hunter, Sydney and Liana…

Exposition

1. A statement of position.

2. At least three arguments with elaboration organised into paragraphs.

3. Concluding with a restatement of position.

This week she wanted to talk about why modelling was fun, so i asked her to write it up for my blog afterwards, to put with some images of her modelling…

so, here goes… (and with very little editing by me, i just fixed a few spelling mistakes)

Girls and Boys!

There are lots of different things to do for fun but I think the best one is modelling.

Firstly it is fun and sometimes you get to keep the clothes or whatever it is that they are taking photos of.  One time I even got a gift voucher to spend at the shops.

Secondly you sometimes get to have your hair and makeup done and it is very relaxing.  Some people said I looked like a beautiful barbie doll which was nice.

Thirdly you get to help your family and other people out with their business and you make new friends.

So I think everyone should give modelling a go and ask their mum or a friend to take photos of them.

some art by Liana to go with the story:

and some modelling images…

this gorgeous bouquet was by Rach at Sapphire Designs ~ orange roses and purple feather celosia

Liana’s outfit was custom made for her by the fabulous Alicia at billynmoo.  (and yes, she got to keep it:) )
(the bow around Liana’s waist is by Alannah Hill, and it is mine, so now we are sharing that since she likes it so much! apparently! lol)

in the studio….

at the beach…

just something a little different i was playing with…  i love how ethereal this image looks

what more could we want on a sunday afternoon??

flowers by Sapphire Designs

skirt and top by billy n moo

photography renee bell photographer

floral design:  sapphire designs

hair and makeup: tranZformations

models: Jen and Liana

photography: renee bell photographer

Renee Bell is a photographer based in Newcastle NSW.  available for travel throughout Australia and worldwide.

want to chat to me about photography?  contact me here

.

a collaboration of some very wonderful people…

model: my gorgeous daughter Liana

photography: renee bell | photographer (that’s me!! lol)

floral art: Rach at Sapphire Designs

hair and makeup: Josie at Tranzformations

Liana’s clothing:  pettiskirts from Princess Ratbag, singlet from eeni meeni miini moh, belt from Allanah Hill

big thank you also to Jen and Bec for helping out on the day!

and a little behind the scenes action…  little models get tired sometimes!!

do you want to collaborate on our next project??  looking for clothing and accessory designers.  please email studio@reneebellphotographer.com.au to chat :)

madly scrambling to work out a wall that i can have a massive print of this on.  canvas or metallic print i wonder?

and… i have an idea.  a big idea!  stay tuned :)

happy monday, friends!

hairdresser, brunch, an inpromptu photo shoot, shopping, and pedicures…  perfect day!!

[both wearing our new christmas sunglasses too :) ]

all images shot with Fuji x100

a little behind the scenes action from a shoot a few weeks back… Liana being photographed by the fabulous Elise from LeCoco

a friend reminded me the other day that i hadn’t blogged the feature article of Liana’s birthday party that was in Little one Kids magazine a few months ago!

i cant believe, that in all the excitement of being in the magazine, i forgot to actually tell many people about it!!!

you can see the full blog post from the party here and below are the pages from the magazine…  it should still be available in stores, so check it out if you can – loads of great articles in there :)

dress from billynmoo

i love rainy days… losing track of time in front of my computer, music playing, forgetting to eat, watching my visions come to life…

dress: billynmoo

model: Liana

photographer: me

and another one blogged yesterday from this shoot here