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Thursday, March 14, 2013

Back in February I was asked if I would like to participate in Art Fest week at Discovery Bay College on Lantau Island, and teach a group of 15-17 year old's about photography. Er hell yes! No holding me back.
When I lived in Hong Kong many moons ago, I used to live on Discovery Bay and the idea of going back bought many wonderful memories.
Peng Chau was our "go to hang out" in the summer at weekends, just a short boat ride from DB ; a tiny fishing village where there was one pub ran by an English guy. Of course 20 years later things have change just abit!

I met Gail who works at DB college and the students on the plaza. We walked down to the ferry pier to take the short ride over to Peng Chau. This was a great opportunity for me to grab some portraits of the students and have a quick chat on what I wanted them to get out of our day together.
The idea of this workshop was to get the students to see everyday objects with a photographers eye. Looking at composition, light and view point.

my lovely students for the day








Peng Chau wet market

top right - left : zucchini, lemons/beans/corriander, water chestnuts, potato, mushrooms and chinese turnip

bamboo steam baskets

paparazzi!
The field trip to Peng Chau coincided with the week running up to Chinese New Year. Food stalls were a profusion of colour and smell as were the temples.



this tickled me; the temple caretaker was using a flame torch to light the mosquito coils


I really enjoyed teaching the students how to get the most out of their cameras,; whether they had a pro DSLR or even an iPhone! At the end of the day principles of light and composition still apply!.

Next week I am doing it all again, this time for 60 students at ICHK where Izzy is a student. I cannot wait.

I hope you enjoyed my images form Peng Chau. Do leave a comment if you have time.

Anna x

Your Life Your Art

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Before I left the UK back in November last year, I had planned a collaborative styled shoot; an Autumnal Bridal shoot. Very much out of my comfort zone, in general I do not photograph weddings. I wanted something a bit quirky and different for this shoot. Thanks to twitter and a tweet looking for suppliers who could help with my theme, I ended up with a pretty impressive group of individuals and businesses to help bring my vision to life!

So on a cold and rainy October morning, myself, Vivien (MUA), Sasha, Sydney, Jade (models), Ryan (second Shooter) and Emily the stylist, all gathered at The Sue Ryder hospice at Thorpe Hall in Peterborough.
My car was overflowing with cakes, biscuits, beautiful bouquets, exquisite dresses and stunning headpieces to be used on the day.


The lovely Sydney looking stunning in Charlotte Wilden of Wilden Brides bespoke wedding dress


Beautiful flowers by Wildfrost Florists



Thank you to Mr Cake, The Biscuit Jar and Indie for the amazing cakes , biscuits and favours

Just love the little details of autumn leaves and wild mushrooms that Emily placed on the table




Jade looks exquisite in a Madruga Millinery

Sasha looks so elegant in a Wilden Brides bespoke dress




Loving the boots!


Alice at her tea party!

The beautiful gardens at Thorpe Hall



A huge thank you to all the amazing vendors who made this shoot possible. I really couldn't have done it without all your help and expertise!

Photographer : Anna Bowkis Photography
Second Shooter : Ryan Jarvis
Models : Sasha, Sydney and Jade
Makeup and Hair : Vivien Jones
Stylist : Emily Daniel
Bridal Wear : Wilden Brides
Hats : Madrugar
Flowers : Wildfrost Florist
Large cake/Cake pops and Favours : Mr Cake
Biscuits : The Biscuit Jar
Cupcakes : Indie
Tea service : Kerry Hardie
Venue : Thorpe Hall

Thank you for stopping by, would love to hear your comments on this shoot!

Anna xx
Your Life, Your Art

Thursday, February 21, 2013

As a mum to two girls of  which one is a teenager, you kind of get used to the teen side of them, you know the moody side! The side that doesn't want to be in front of the camera. So when I got to photograph 3 friends all in their late teens, my expectations were not too great to be honest. I was expecting shy, embarrassed teenagers.

I was more than pleasantly surprised. Ellie, Alex and Will arrived dressed if they had stepped out of a Hollister campaign. There was no sign of moody shy embarrassed teenagers, but 3 teens who were more than just friends. It was a cold Octobers morning on a farm in Gloucestershire where the shoot was to take place. After hot chocolate to warm everyone else, Ellie, Alex and Will got straight into it, not a shy smile to be had anywhere!

In fact I had so much fun, trying to select a couple of images was proving too hard. So picture heavy post here!


















I am now residing in Hong Kong, but for those in the UK who would like to book me on my return , I will be back in July shooting for 2 days only! I will be posting here and on my Facebook page dates.

Thanks for stopping by
Anna xx

Your Life Your Art