More pics from this can be found in Lumiere Fotografie Magazine: www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/150226

Shot: Liverpool, 22nd November, 2010.

Shell Keeley Shoot…

I photographed the FABULOUS Shell Keeley recently. We met up and had tea at the Rococo Coffee House, in Liverpool. It was the first time I had met Shell, but we had been in touch via msgs on Facebook and such, so it didn’t really feel like our first meeting. I had wanted to photograph her because she simply looks divine, in her genuine vintage clothes PLUS she is the sweetest lady. So here we are, sat by the window in this rococo styled coffee shop, having a good old chin-wag, topics ranging from Vincent Price to Bette Davis, it wasn’t long before our cups were empty. So I set up my lights & we shot away.

We then packed up, Shell made a quick out-fit change (1930’s German red dress), and we were gone.

NEXT UP…

OUT DOOR SHOTS

We had a little wander about, taking pictures with just natural daylight. Stunning results with backlighting from the sun. Shell has the BEST eyes, so I took lots of close-up shots with an aperture of F/1.7 at 100 ISO, with my Pentax manual focus lens.

Really happy with the results, and you wouldn’t believe it was Shell’s first ever photo session. Beautiful pictures of a beautiful person, with the most impeccable manners. A true lady.

(C) Darren Cheshire Photography

darrencheshire.tumblr.com/

www.darrencheshire.blogspot.com/

Scary, yup.

Sugar shells. These are all modelled freehand out of gumpaste, then dusted and painted.(I had my own collection of Florida shells to copy luckily!!)

Made Explore 15.08.07

The unknown story of the broken sea shells collectors

At Uadaypur sea beach (3km from Digha at the Bengal-Orissa state border), hundreds of poor villagers (80% of them are women) gather on a particular time of the day at the peak of the low tide. They all carry a small net basket for collecting broken shells following the line of the waves. When the baskets are half-filled they empty their catch at the beach and go back to the waves again. Finally the shells are packed in bags for selling. After two hours of continuous hard work, two people together can fill only a 30-kg bag selling for INR Rs 30 (USD 50 cents) only.

The shells are rich source of calcium carbonate, use in feeder mainly at the India's growing poultry industry. Also, it has great demand in making the white (lime) paint. Traders and middlemen are always waiting to exploit these poor villagers. They make on-the-spot payment, collect the bags and transport them to the local market for a hefty profit of 300% by selling each bag for at least Rs 100 (USD $ 2).

I personally talked to the shell collectors and found no Govt. intervention to stop this exploitation. The state government can easily intervene by forming a cooperative and collecting the shells themselves by their nodal agencies with a reasonable price.

Udaypur Sea Beach, Bay of Bengal

Images of Bengal, India

Pirbright, Surrey

26th January 2014

20140126 IMG_0942

Shell ranch station side view - Vero Beach FL - December 1970. This is at the northwest corner of 8th Ave (US 1) and 19th street, and I think it did business as Howard's Shell. There is a McDonalds adjacent on the other side. Across US 1, there is a Bay gas station and just to the left, an A&W drive-in. Nearby but not pictured was the Dolphin Motel that had a neat neon sign with a jumping dolphin. This was taken from the porch of a relative's home. According to Google Street View, it is still exists, although it is now operated as a Sunoco outlet with a big canopy.

I decided to try a new macaron recipe based on French meringue instead of Italian. It tastes better, and simpler steps too(:

small shells &stones found hidden away in cupboard.

Zebra mussel shells on the Cana Island beach, Door County, Wisconsin. It's impressive to see so much shell, although not a good thing from the perspective of invasive species in the Great Lakes.

Old oysters shells thick and castellated

That held once the pale jewel of their bodies

Such sweet

~~Mary Oliver

Shells and Corals

Ivory shells of different shapes are arranged with matching fine sequins.

A fake Shell Oil billboard in Houston, July 19, 2012, reads "You Can't Run Your SUV on Cute, Let's Go." The sign mocks Shell's current advertising campaign with an image of a polar bear and cubs. By chasing after hard-to-reach oil in remote and dangerous places, Shell is putting polar bears, walruses and other Arctic wildlife at risk.

Shells on a beach in Naples, FL

Soft focus and monochrome gives these shells a vintage feel.

Shell deflector clearly did its job well.

Shell

Miller's (2,450 square feet)

948 J Clyde Morris Boulevard, Newport News, VA

This location opened in fall 2000, replacing an older 1960s-built Shell/Miller Mart #66 that sat on the same site (known as "Bayberry Shell").

Made from shell shards I collected in Delaware

September 5, 2014.

With textures from Shadowhouse Creations. Thanks again, Jerry.

This shot probably would have been better if the shells weren't so dirty. Because they are so small and delicate, it's hard to get them clean without damaging or losing one or two. I tried the Photoshop healing brush, but there's just too much to "clean". I decided that natural was better, in this case.

See previous photos for explanations on size and found location.

I added the texture and used color burn.

I found these shoes for under $10. I tucked them away, and rediscovered them again rooting through my pile of.... The leather sole is sumptuous, but I'm unsure if the straps will hold up to city streets. It's funny how my nails are painted the same color as the shell. I recently noticed my pseudo-Fred Flintstone toes, on my left foot, do a weird grip/curl thing. I'm not sure if I like that....

Shell Eco-marathon Asia - the Urban Concept class. Over several days, teams make as many attempts as possible to travel the furthest on the equivalent of one litre of fuel. Cars drive a fixed number of laps around the circuit at a set speed. Organisers calculate their energy efficiency and name a winner in each class and for each energy source. (photo by Ben Cho)

I was in Florida briefly over the weekend -- not too many photo opportunities (time constraints), but I did manage to wander down an isolated beach.

These shells were tiny -- the sand grains give a sense of scale -- and each one was perfectly formed.

Another lookout with shells on the beach.

Zingiberaceae (ginger family) » Alpinia zerumbet

al-PIN-ee-uh -- named for Prospero Alpino, Italian botanist

ZER-um-bet -- derived from a Persian word

commonly known as: butterfly ginger, light galangal, pink porcelain lily, shell flower, shell ginger • Chinese: 艳山姜 da cao kou • Finnish: galangajuuri • German: porzellan-ingwerlilie • Japanese: getto • Maori (Cook Islands): kaopu‘i, kopi ‘enua • Pinyin: yàn shanjiang • Swedish: galangarot • Russian: al'piniia prekrasnaia • Samoan: teuila • Thai: ข่าคม kha khom • Tongan: teuila • Vietnamese: gừng ấm, riềng ấm, riềng đẹp, sẹ nước

Native to: India, eastern Asia

References: Flowers of India • Floridata • Wikipedia • PIER species info • M.M.P.N.D.

An unusual formation of sea shells I came across last time I photographed Fontygary Bay.

Shell Gasoline with Nitrogen.