Capturing Clouds

Up above us drift masterpieces to marvel over - wisps of candy floss-like puffs that are actually thousands of tiny droplets of water. 

Clouds have long been studied - there's even an official society dedicated to their appreciation. However, Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde brings fresh perspective to these floating anoamlies; by removing them from their natural environment and confining them within a series of unlikely places.

To see more of his awe-inspiring captured clouds, take a peek at the prints he's created over the last three years, right here.

Capturing the Moment - with thanks to Emily Gray

With my daughters birthday coming up I knew I wanted a record of the day, and with my own photographic talent severely lacking, our friend Emily Gray came to the rescue.  She captured the mood, the food and my children so beautifully.
And with a bit of inspiration from Donna Hay, I set about creating a feast, made by me and enjoyed by all.

And no party could be without mini cupcakes

Fairy Bread (an Australian delicacy)

Paper Pom Poms

The Birthday girl

Party Bags

Pink Rainbow Cake

The Party Bags

Me and my youngest.

Emily Gray is a London based photographer, specialising in newborn, baby, children and family portraiture. She covers the Greater London area.  I highly recommend her if you would like to capture an event, or for beautiful portraits of your children.  And if you mention ROOST when you book you will receive 10% off the cost of a shoot, plus a free 9x6" print.  Emily Gray Photography phone + 44 (0) 7508 014 632 or you can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Inspirational photography

Every now and then a photograph pops up out-of-the-blue and demands ones full attention. Take, for example, Ukrainian photographer Anton Surkov's monochrome masterpieces. Utterly captivating, aren't they? 

Then there's Zena Holloway, the Persian self-taught photographer and director who focuses on capturing subaquaeous high-profile editorial shots. 

Finally, it's the work of Bruce Mozert, a pioneer of underwater photography in the thirties, that's peaked our interest. He regularly captured day-to-day subaquatic scenes, often featuring screen star Marilyn Monroe, underwater - where else?

Making the most of photos

You know the drill - you get a little snap happy and take lots of photos, only for them to sit in a folder on your computer. If you do get round to printing them, they more often than not, act as magnets for dust in a drawer.


Not any longer! We've been thinking of a few ways to showcase those special memories - from making a feature wall out of a cluster of frames, to hanging huge space-changing canvases.


Take a look at the simple ideas below for easy ways to let the moments that were special enough for you to capture forever, take pride of place in your home.

Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House

Over the bank holiday, we hopped down to Somerset House to see the Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition.

It's in the same gallery fashion that 'image maker' Nick Knight showcased his 2007 SHOWstudio exhibition, an enormous space that's spread over three floors so there's plenty to explore.

Some of our favourite pieces included Peter Franck's curious portraits from his Table Stories series. It's these wholly unusual shots that have contributed to the German photographer winning first place in the Fashion category. 

In the People category, it was the photographer Wendy Marijnissen's moving images that captivated us. Her work features the plight of third world families - documenting their day-to-day lives - and in this short film, Marijnissen shares the triumphant story of mother enduring pregnancy within a make-shift camp, having been forced from her home.

Photographer and journalist James Morgan also caught our eye - with a wonderful image of a child, enjoying nothing more than an underwater ride upon a shark in Indonesia. The snapshot below doesn't nearly do it justice so we whole-heartedly recommend getting down there to see it, and the rest of the exhibition in person.

The Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition is on at Somerset House until Sunday, 20th May.