Photograph of the Day > Jared Leto by Bryan Adams

Eek! Singer/songerwriter, frontman, director and actor Jared Leto shot half naked by singer/songwriter musician and photographer Bryan Adams for Zoo Magazine (from Germany FYI)! How excited was I to find this out!! Totally had to blog about this seeing that M.A.S.H's current 'crush' is Jared Leto :D Leto stars in the editorial 'Renaissance Man' for issue #29 for Zoo. Styled by Lotta Aspenberg.

I love Adam's composition and the drama the black/white gives. The playfulness is refreshing to see from Leto who is often seen as the mysterious blue eyed beauty however the spikey blonde hair (he's back to brunette now) and the apple core in his mouth with the rusty wall adds character and a hard edge which works great. It's also quite random and that's another reason why it's memorable and my favourite from this shoot. 

Sources: Homotography  /  Bryan Adams Photography

See more from this shoot:

© COPYRIGHT BRYAN ADAMS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Sociology Trip to Wells & Glastonbury

Hey guys

Yesterday went to on a Sociology trip to Wells Cathedral and Glastonbury and walked up Glastonbury Tor which was like hell! haha. I think it was -100 C (in the wind!) and I think my toes almost fell out, nevertheless it was a fun day despite cold conditions and was happy that I had an opportunity to take photographs of two infamous towns in Somerset. My current module is religion and what better place to find out about New Age Religions and beliefs, Glastonbury and Wells :D

First went to Wells and had a tour of Wells Cathedral. The stained glass windows and Gothic architecture were beautiful. Shame I couldn't take photos inside (had to pay) however failed to see the relevance of the tour to my Sociology course.

I find Gothic architecture fascinating. 

Saw a dead pigeon outside Wells Cathedral. Think I'd be the next World Press Photographer of the Year with this? haha

Mary n Me :D

Saw this delicious sweet shop in Wells. ...come take me to the candy shop.. woah!

Xmas Chocolates!

Snap!

evil yet cunning looking Matt! Bless

In the afternoon went to visit the Glastonbury Goddess Temple where we had a very insightful talk about their beliefs & religion. It's great how open they are to anyone and not concerned if you're homosexual, smoker, drinker, fornicator etc, their belief is in helping the individual regardless of who you are. I learnt they have 8 seasons in a year and it originates from Pagan culture. Also found out the Priestess of Avalon, Georgina lead a successful life in business however was spiritually deprived but found that her life was more fulfilled by the Godess Temple. In a  way this is quite inspiring as this is an example of how money can't motivate you through life.

Check out their site to learn more: Goddess Temple

Georgina the Priestess

Inside the Goddess Temple

Snapped the Sociology teachers! Fe (left) is a great teacher! :D

Inside YingYang spiritual shop, Glastonbury

Self-portrait inside YingYang shop :D

At the end of the trip we walked up Glastonbury Tor which was a trek, especially in the harsh cold! Managed to get to the top in once piece and it was so worth it! The view was spectacular! There were rays of sunshine peeking through the clouds and the cold mist fused into the sky created a beautiful landscape!

At the top of Glastonbury Tor

What a great day! :D

M.A.S.H

Acoustic Cover: Just The Way You Are, Bruno Mars

Hey guys

Yesterday had a huge lie in (haven't had one for a while) and decided to be pretty lazy for the day until I had a brainwave to create music and write some new material. Hadn't sat down and played/sung guitar in ages and seeing I had a slight break from coursework pressure thought I'd regain my musicality and get my fingers strumming and vocals chords belting. :D

I had looked up some current songs in the charts with easy chords to play and decided upon Just the Way You are by Bruno Mars, his début smash hit. Love that song! The lyrics are beautiful and it's a rarity to hear such a enchanting voice with romantic words; how refreshing!

I used chords D, Bm & G throughout on Capo 3 (source chord sheet) I had only practiced this song once through yesterday so half of my arrangement is improvised.. but hey, that's live music! :D

Tried out my HD video mode on my Canon EOS Kiss x4 and was pretty pleased at the quality. Took forever ( 10 hours+) to upload to Youtube but got there in the end! Ch-Ch-Check it out :P eek, you can play in 1080p! How exciting! haha

Youtube / M.A.S.H on Facebook

Tell me what you think! :)

CRUSH: Jared Leto - The Guardian Q&A

Stephen Hawking, Cocaine, Computer Chips and Karaoke... the Life of Leto.

Since seeing 30 Seconds to Mars (Leto is the front man) amazing concert on Friday night at Cardiff's International Arena, I've been a typical girl and been 'obsessing' about Jared Leto all day (though my love for Leto has been around for at least 3 years). So I decided to create a 'Crush' column and post about people I love (aka have crushed on) haha. I was browsing through his blog: 

http://jaredleto.com/thisiswhoireallyam and came across this Q&A style interview with Leto from The Guardian (source) from Dec 2009. Though it may be fairly old, this made my day. He's so awesome, would love to meet him one day! 

Photo source 'Real Men Wear Skirts' - 'How awesome!!' =P

What is your earliest memory?

Fireworks and a wolf.

When were you happiest?

I'm hoping that hasn't happened yet.

Which living person do you most admire, and why?

Stephen Hawking – a great example of triumph in the face of adversity.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

The need to sleep.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Sycophancy.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

It had to do with karaoke and Eye Of The Tiger.

Property aside, what's the most expensive thing you've bought?

Collectively, as a band, we paid for and built our own recording studio.

What would your super power be?

The power to wipe out greed.

What makes you unhappy?

Obvious and uncontrollable machiavellian tendencies.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

The computer chip in the back of my brain.

If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?

Megalodon.

Who would play you in the film of your life?

Robert Pattinson, Zac Efron, Gary Coleman or Christopher Walken.

What is your most unappealing habit?

A relentless pursuit of perfection.

What is your favourite smell?

A campfire.

What is your favourite book?

The Catcher In The Rye.

What would be your fancy dress costume of choice?

Authentic period Genghis Khan body armour or the original Ziggy Stardust outfit.

What is the worst thing anyone's said to you?

Anything that is a lie.

Cat or dog?

Wolf.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Art.

What do you owe your parents?

My blood and bones.

To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?

The planet, for the horrible way we have all treated it.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

God, the devil – and Natalie Portman.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

"One more time…"

What is the worst job you've done?

Dishwasher when I was 12.

When did you last cry, and why?

It was a fight with some onions. I lost.

What is the closest you've come to death?

It had to do with a gun and some cocaine. The golden days of youth…

What song would you like played at your funeral?

Sigur Rós Untitled #1 or anything by Aphex Twin.

How would you like to be remembered?

I wouldn't.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

That many things are not as big a deal as they seem in the moment.

Diary Update: Burlesque, Harry Potter, 30 Seconds to Mars, Acoustic covers...

Hey everyone :D

Well this week has certainly been a blast! Ups, downs and everything!

Monday 22 Nov
Coursework! (okay the beginning of this week was a bit boring)

Tuesday 23 Nov
Ambassador event helping out Year 9 (age 14-15) prospective students for choosing subjects at college. I lead tours of the college and was rather happy that I didn't mess up :D

Wednesday 24 Nov
My day off college and I did a photo shoot with Becky Baker from my photography class :D. It was really fun as this time I was modelling rather than shooting. I helped out with direction but was a in a weird way proud how awesome Becky did on her first model shoot. :P We shot in my lounge and in Photography class, the current assignment is to recreate an iconic image. Becky chose Whilster's Mother (Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother) by James McNeill Whistler. This is her burlesque style modern interpretation of this famous oil painting with post processing help from me & Portia Saunders. Shall post more edits from the shoot. Thanks Becky!

Forgot to write that I saw Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part I on Wednesday! A brilliant movie, though at times there were a few slow parts though is understandable if they're stretching the story over a two part film. The cast is as ever, amazing but the effects are mind blowing! Looking forward to part II in the summer. I really liked how dark this film was and it didn't 'try' to be overly funny. My favourite sections were when Ron had to destroy the horcrux and he saw visions of Harry and Hermione 'getting it on' (that was weird) and when the snake jumped at the screen. Also when Ron, Harry & Hermione transform themselves and go undercover in the Ministry of Magic. The ending to this first instalment was really sad (I won't give it away) and I kind of had a tear in my eye!

Thursday 25 Nov

College day was quite boring however did a photo shoot with Lauhren Jones and her boyfriend, Dan Ecclestone for my iconic image. I chose to do Gustav Klimt's The Kiss and Annie Leibovitz's Rolling Stone cover with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Shall be posting my modern interpretation soon :D

Friday 26 Nov

In the morning did a studio photo shoot with Jess Croker and her friend Charlie which was a last minute replacement as my male model didn't turn up. Charlie was great as a last minute step in and Jess was great to work with. Also hadn't done a studio shoot in ages and this time worked with projected light rather than flash and modelling lamps. Shall post edited photos very soon :D

Also planned to go and see the amazing 30 Seconds to Mars in the afternoon at 6.30pm in Cardiff's CIA however was unfortunate that my friends dropped out on the day so I had no one to go with :( which was really stressful as I couldn't go by myself and frantically had to find someone who would go with me as I had a spare ticket going with only a few hours notice. I eventually persuaded my wonderful mother to take me. The driving conditions were awful, it was snowing all the way there and were traffic pile ups on the motorways. It would normally take 1h30 mins to get there took more than 3 hours! But after a lot of travelling and perseverance to see one of my favourite rock bands... it was an awesome pay off! They were electrifying! Shall post review on rock bands I've seen in the past month :D

 The Joys of the Many Expressions of 'MAMA' aka Ruby Haq.

Saturday 27 Nov

Had a huge lie in after an awesome concert 30 Seconds to Mars. Shall admit to getting up at 1.00pm! But decided to be kind of productive and sat down and wrote/ played some awesome music. Did a cover of Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars and Firework by Katy Perry. Also wrote a song called Lilly that may be used for a music video project Lauhren Jones asked to do with me. May be posted soon.

Check out my Just the Way You Are cover on Youtube in HD!!!

Sunday 28 Nov

Another uber lazy day but did finally manage to post that HD video to youtube which took like 10 hours + to upload!! Did some blogging, obsessing over Jared Leto and some research for possible blog entries. :D And how can I forget, X Factor elimination night! Glad that Wagner and Katie are gone (my least favourites), now want Rebecca to go (she's become really boring now!) and Matt to win! C'mon MATT CARDLE! :D

Have a great day folks!

M.A.S.H

Nisha Haq Photography > Chloe Kill & Car Shoot

Had a really fun photo shoot with Chloe Hodge yesterday where I shot in Bridgwater Angel Place car park, car park where Splash Swimming centre used to be and a secluded burnt down house? near Asda. I orginally had the idea of Chloe being a Kleptomaniac (an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value) so decided to shoot in a car park where theft is fairly common. Whilst shooting it was hard to stick to the idea as portraying someone who likes to steal and pull it off realistically, especially peeking into people's cars, it kind of looked dodgy! But I must say, Chloe was a really good on the day and a natural at modelling despite having not modelled much before. It was great working with someone who has a fabulous fashion sense (she has loads of stylish clothes especially the military trend) and having a passion for fashion like me was a joy and obviously brought out the inner model in her. She's also very photogenic and I believe this is one of my best shoots to date. Thank you Chloe!

Mood board for the shoot:

Here's a few shots that I've edited from the shoot. Still loads more to come. :D

Photography & Post Processing: Nisha Haq
Model: Chloe Hodge
Fashion, Hair & Make-Up Chloe Hodge
Taken: 20/11/10
Location: Bridgwater
Kit: Canon EOS Kiss x4, 18-55mm lens

My Flickr / DeviantArt / Facebook

It also helped with awesome locations, especially the abandoned burnt down house (I think it was a house, it was quite creepy). Randomly found a saw so we used that for some shots. It was great location to use for a fashion shoot, was rather excited after finding this and shooting Chloe here. More to come from this location.

This was taken at the second location where Splash used to be. A random guy from the YMCA who was waiting for people let us borrow his lovely BMW to shoot with. :D More to come from this as well

All in all, a fun shoot with many edits! :D

Here's my actions from the above photo on Photoshop CS2