Today we did the twin cave tour at Waitomo Caves.  It was absolutely stunning.
There was no cameras allowed in the first Waitomo glow worm cave as the glow worms don't like the noises and flashes.  The glow worms were beautiful, and the boat ride under them quite surreal.

We next did the Aranui cave.  It was full of stalagmites and stalactites.  According to our tour guides today, they grow at a rate of only 1cm per 200 years.  The Aranui cave was first discovered while pig hunting.

The two tours were wonderful and the caves were amazing.  Here are some photos of the Aranui cave at Waitomo Caves, New Zealand.

This was definitely a showcase for something that takes Time and is Beautiful

I have some portrait shoots coming up that I've been dreaming up over Winter. It put in mind of some of the photo series I have done under the Calico Jo's Photo Art banner. I have 3 favourite series which were as much fun to prepare as taking the photos. Hereare the highlights of the 3 series and a little about them.

This series was based around 3 seamaidens wearing costumes created from cheesecloth tubing. They were all no sew. The dresses were made by creating cuts and knots. There were also head pieces that were made from seashells and beads.
I had 3 beautiful models to work with and a fab makeup artist.
The 3 costumes were inspired by aspects of the sea:

The first costume had a really long train and I wanted it to resemble the white water running over rocks.

The second was inspired by sea creatures like squid, octupus and jelly fish. It had long plaited segments at the back loke tentacles.

The 3rd costume was inspred by fishing nets.

The weather was so cold and stormy. I am very for the models for turning up and doing it.

I'm not taking a full series again yet, but I do have some pretty and fun photos coming up

Kyra loves horses and wanted a photo shoot based with her favorite horses.  Of course it is the middle of Winter, but the day was nice, and even though the ponies had their winter coats and had enjoyed rolling around in the mud, it was nice to get some natural shots with them.  The ponies were well behaved, even the newest foal additions.  Here is some photo highlights.

Just click on a photo to go through the gallery of shots.

 So my camera doesn't hibernate with me over winter, I've been brainstorming photo project ideas to keep me and my camera clicking.  I want it fairly easy, no heavy planning.  So I've nailed it down to going through the alphabet.  Taking and choosing a photo to represent something starting with the letter of the alphabet, starting with A.  

I'm going to aim for one a week, with some flexibility.

​I will post the photos here in the Time and Beauty notebook, and also on Instagram and facebook.  
Always enjoy company, so if you want to play too, feel free to  tag @timeanbeauty with the photos you've taken.  I would love to see and share your creativity too.


So eye spy with my little eye, something beginning with A..........