Kirsty Mitchell Photography.

My tutor recommended that I take a look at work by Kirsty Mitchell. I took a look through all of her collections - 1,2,3 then Nocturne, My Angel and most recently Wonderland. I found it interesting to see how she has developed. It is Wonderland which appeals to me most. She started photography and Wonderland in memory of her mother who was an English teacher who inspired generations of children with stories and plays. The series has been running for 4.5 years now.

When I hear the word Wonderland I immediately think of Alice in Wonderland and I really get a sense of fairytales from Mitchell's photographs.

I have selected a few of my favourites.



The Lavender Princess.

What really amazed me was that Mitchell and her team (made up of friends) all make the costumes and props themselves - including the smoking umbrella! I love that so much thought and preparation has gone into the surroundings as well as the outfits mixing real life with fantasy.

The Candy Cane Witch,

There is something about this which reminds me of Tim Walker who I am a great fan of. He often uses oversized versions of regular items to create images which are almost surrealist.

Gaia's Spell

I love the bright yellow which mirrors the yellow of the field and how the model is even holding a tiny version of the ship. The majority of Mitchell's images all contain smoke, adding to the dreamlike feel?

The Ghost Swift.

Every time I look at this image I see something new. I really like the attention to detail and the depth that has been created within this shot.

An Ocean of Tales until the Shores of Home.

The pages of this book quite literally come alive in this image. The title makes me think that reading books is a journey that can take you all around the world, when you close that book you are home again.

I would love to be able to create images that are as creative as these for my final assignment, although Mitchell often waits a year to shoot an image so that the back drop is exactly as she wants it! I really need to start developing ideas of my own and viewing the Wonderland series has really inspired me to do that.