Dinner At The New Amsterdam

A few weeks ago, I was invited by The New Amsterdam, in Barnstaple, to come for dinner. After seeing loads of great reviews online, we couldn’t wait to grab some delicious food and cocktails.

As soon as we walked in the service was excellent, and we were given the menu digitally on a tablet (love the paperless approach). There were so many amazing drink and food choices, but we settled with a couple of cocktails, three starters to share and a main each.

I had a couple of froze (frozen rose & strawberry) cocktails which were amazing. For starters, we shared some focaccia bread, harissa halloumi and a garlic pizza waffle. For mains my friend had a pizza, and I had the steak salad.

We may have ordered way too much food, but it made a good lunch the day after so didn’t go to waste.

If you’re looking for a great spot for dinner, or passing through Barnstaple, give them a visit and try some delicious food!

@the_new _amsterdam_barnstaple

Photoshoot With Jeff Parcon Photography

With the urban landscape in Exeter, it’s a great place for a photoshoot with plenty of locations.

One of my favourite places to shoot in Exeter is Gandy Street and the surrounding alleys and buildings. They’re full of colour, making them the perfect backdrop for portraits.

When Jeff messaged me on Instagram and asked if I would like to go on a photoshoot, I of course said yes, and we planned to meet in Exeter. After moving locations a few times in Exeter and getting photos in each, we ended the day with plenty of great photos.

Check him out at @jeffparcon.photography on Instagram.

The North Devon Coast (and a few surprise sea creatures along the way)!

Recently, Will and I moved closer to the North Devon coast to a town called Bideford. We’re now only a short 15 minute drive to the range of beautiful beaches along the coast, and I couldn’t be happier. Personally, I love the sea, the sand, and waves. When we first moved in, we went to Westward Ho! (Fun fact - it’s the only town in the UK with an exclamation mark!) and sat on the sand dunes, watching the sunset go down and the waves crash against the rocks below.

Although I’ve always lived in Devon, I’ve never seen the coast as much as I have done the past year or so and for that, I’m so grateful. It’s mainly due to Will, and my persistence of wanting to go to the beach (I suggest it several times a week now - I just like the water okay). It’s funny really, now I live closer to the beach, my family goes to the beach more now too with me so that’s always rather comforting.

It is, of course, a great place to get photos too. With the huge range of scenery along the North Devon coast there’s an endless range of compositions you can get within a short drive from each other. Since moving here, we’ve explored loads of new places I had never heard of before (living where I used to, I only used to go to nearby large towns). Clovelly is a great example. The little cobbled streets leading down to the beach are just adorable, and the no cars allowed rule means it’s so peaceful.

We recently went to Braunton Burrows too, with never-ending sand dunes and beautiful views. Strangely enough, when we went there was a large infestation of jellyfish. We had to be fairly careful walking along the beach with our feet in the water as to not step on any. Although they weren’t moving, they could have still been alive, and I really didn’t feel like taking a trip to A&E that day. I went to Westward Ho with my father and brother a few days after, and there were loads of jellyfish there too. It led me to wonder why there was so many, so if you have an answer, please feel free to comment below and let me know why!

Meldon Reservoir shoot with @codiephotos

Last Monday me and Codie went to Meldon for a natural photoshoot around the reservoir. She brought along some clothes I changed into, that fit in with the colours in the landscape really well. Codie contacted through Instagram asking if I wanted to go on a photoshoot with her, and of course, I said yes. It was great meeting and shooting with a female photographer. I’ve found that when trying to find photographers to go on shoots with, it’s very rare that I’ll actually find a good female photographer. Luckily, Codie found me and the photos turned out really well!

We walked from the car park across the reservoir, and then along the edge of the reservoir, where there was a path that traced around the water. There was a variety of different settings including more open spaces, pebbles on the waters edge, and some little trees with golden leaves. Funnily enough, it was quite hard to get the leaves and branches to cooperate during the photoshoot, as they kept getting stuck in my hair or poking one of us in the eye, but the ones with the leaves are my favourites out of the set of photos.

If you walk down the path a little, and go through a gate, you’ll end up by the waters edge where there is a small area of pebbles and you get an a great view of the reservoir. It really is a vast expanse of water.

I remember in the summer when it reached over 30 degrees celcius, the reservoir nearly entirely dried up. Me and Will came here to do some photos, and then had to change our ideas considering there was practically no water!

I’m really happy with how the photos turned out during this shoot; they have a more natural vibe than quite a few of my photos recently which is great. You can find Codie’s work over on her Instagram (@codiephotos), or over on her website! ( www.codiephotos.co.uk/ )