Celebrating 40

How do six friends who have know each other since girlhood celebrate their 40th birthday year? They plan to all come back to Bermuda from countries afar for some of them, to spend the weekend together, reminiscing, toasting, laughing, and perhaps sharing a tear or two, at the beautiful Cambridge Beaches Resort. And what better way to savour this special time all together than to book a shoot to capture the love and friendship in photos.

All six women turn 40 this year, though it seems like only yesterday they were sitting in the quad at Warwick Academy. The world has proven to be a mixed bag of triumphs, disasters, lost loves, heartaches, vows, babies, successes, pride, promises and different countries, but through all of this, there has been one common theme - one seamless bond of friendship. And 30 odd years on, it has only strengthened with the trials and tribulations of life, growing up and finding themselves.

I met the friends in their room first where there were high spirits, despite the dark skies and howling winds. I had tried to cancel the shoot on the drive up to Somerset as a little rain began to fall but they were having none of it - a few drops of water and grey clouds could not stop them from having the time of their lives and honouring their history together with a photo session.

Cambridge Beaches is full of nooks and crannies and such a dreamy property to explore, though the light was not ideal for all the secret spots so we ended up on the beach where it was a little more open!

Here is how each of the women remembers each other when they were just school girls:

Sarah was famous for her fabulous mane of blond curls.

Louisa was the eternal artist and is just that today.

Ivone's smile melted hearts and was well known for starting sentences with "guess what!".

Leo was the sultry designer chick who has since evolved into elegant boho-chic.

Robin, who was always looking for the next adventure, is still full of life and twinkles.

Caitlin eventually became head girl and her quiet but impressive style today is magnetic.

This winds were wild that afternoon so at one point, instead of angling them all into the wind, I told them to just have fun and let it whip around them. Leo had been growing her hair long to donate to Locks of Love with her daughter so although she has short hair now, on the day of the shoot, her hair was insane! In fact, so was everyones - it was a hoot.

It may be that this moment of the six of them together can only be topped by them all frolicking on the beach once more when they are 70!

Louisa, Sarah, Ivone, Leo, Robin and Caitlin - I had such a blast with all of you. I love that it does not matter that many of you have moved to different countries, or that you do not see each other as often anymore. I love that the only thing that matters is that the world is warmer, gentler and more fulfilled with each other close by, if only you your hearts. You are good friends to each other to honour the special and historical bond you all share by celebrating together in such wonderful fashion after so many years. I wish each of you a happy 40th and hope you have many more opportunities to all be together again in the future, but for now, may these photos tide you over until the next reunion. xxx

Pink Splurge

This group of fabulous women were a hoot. Most of them moved to Bermuda in the autumn of 2005 and a couple others they met along the way. Years ago, they started a Splurge group. The idea was that one person had a party each month and all the girls threw some money in a pot and whomever won the loot was supposed to splurge on herself, and then host the soiree the following month. The group soon realised that the best bit was not winning the cash prize, but rather the fun they had going out all together and having crazy girls nights each month.



The theme for their very first Splurge party was "pink puffs" and everyone wore pink. This stuck and four years later, it is still their colour so they thought it would be fun to sport pink for part of their shoot.



There have been a variety of crazy nights out including a trip to Las Vegas, and a few of the girls have come and gone, but one constant the group has always had is the Hog Penny, and its star performer, Will Black. No matter what the plan is, they always somehow end up there, dancing up a storm. After four years, the group decided it would be fun to have some photos of them all together that were not taken inside the Hog Penny. A shoot at the beach seemed like it would be a wonderful memory of their times in Bermuda.





The girls also decided to have jewel toned dresses for part of their shoot as they had once, totally randomly, all worn rich shades of blues, purples and greens to dinner one night and decided it looked pretty good so they thought it would look amazing on the beach.



The group said one of the things they often do is all huddle together to share a secret and since what I like to do is capture life, we decided we should recreate a typical scene! While I was lying on the ground shooting this image, I saw through the girls legs this guy walking towards us. I was mortified to imagine what he thought we were doing, especially since I assumed he must be some yogi recluse type wandering the sand dunes behind the beach by himself.



It turned out to be their favourite entertainer, Will Black. I couldn't believe the coincidence, until they admitted that they were all so upset at the news of Will's imminent departure (his last show is on New Year's Eve) so after a few drinks in the Hog Penny the night before our shoot, Jenny and Angela thought it would be a good idea to invite him along. They say that he has been almost as big a part of Splurge as any of them.











After we released Will from his modeling duties, the girls decided that a little champagne was in order, since that is what they do - celebrate life.











I loved all their signature jewelry that they were wearing so captured some details of that too...









Thanks to all seven of you Splurging Pink Puffs - it was a fun and funky shoot and hopefully will make for some special memories for each of you.