Category Archives: Photography

The Old Oak’s Transition – Gathering Leaves…

From bare branches to lush leaves…
For two months I’ve watched the old oak dress for Summer and gain its canopy.

an Old Oaks Transition from bare to leaves, green castle woods, the last krystallos, lisa shambrook,
Over eight weeks I’ve visited the magical old oak up in the meadow at Green Castle Woods and watched its buds form with a hint of blush, and then unfurl and blossom in peridot green. Leaves that with beauty sprout and flourish and decorate its grey, gnarled boughs. Leaves that will mature and darken and clothe the little oak in beauty all Summer long, before turning golden and brown and dropping to the floor in Autumn.

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My series of photographs were taken once a week,
in many different Welsh weather conditions,
and show the oak’s transition from bare to clothed.

old oak, green castle woods carmarthen, bare to leaves, tree gaining leaves, lisa shambrook

Green Castle Woods Old Oak © Lisa Shambrook April – May 2016

Green Castle Woods Old Oak © Lisa Shambrook April – May 2016 Black and White Studies

How are your favourite trees dressing for Summer?

Do you love foliage or blossom?

#LoveATree Day… The Old Oak

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How could I let #LoveATree Day go by without treating you to a picture of my favourite tree? So, yesterday I wandered through Green Castle Woods, as I have every Sunday for a few weeks, and took a pic…

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Actually, I’ve taken a photograph every week for a bit and in a few weeks I’ll show you how this gorgeous tree has transformed from leafless to a full canopy. For now, enjoy this photo, as its leaves begin to unfurl and decorate this magical tree…

Thanks Annette for alerting me to this day with your own tree post!

The Fascinating World within Nature’s Carpet – Gathering Moss

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Moss swathes the forest floor, old stone walls, and creeps leisurely onward.
It drapes the trees and cloaks the ground in a jewelled garment of green.
Moss creates its own miniature ecosystem – a forest within itself.

Gathering Moss - The Last Krystallos

Brechfa Forest © Lisa Shambrook

My favourite colour is very much lead by nature and lends itself to my romantic soul which finds delight in anything serene and beautiful. My favourite colour is the honey green of moss, the earthy colour of the forest floor softened by the peridot jewel tone.

When I need to unwind or just return to my roots, I wander in the forests and the earthy tones of green and soft breeze lull my soul.

One gram of moss contains... - Robin Wall Kimmerer | The Last Krystallos

Robin Wall Kimmerer © Lisa Shambrook

There are over 1,000 species of moss in Britain, with more yet to be discovered, though many people only notice two or three varieties. If you get right down on the woodland ground you’ll see the intricate detail and real ecosystem living right there in amongst the moss and lichen, especially if you have a magnifying glass. Moss is nature’s carpet.

Reindeer Moss - Gathering Moss | The Last Krystallos

Reindeer Moss © Lisa Shambrook

Moss and lichens don’t have root systems, they anchor themselves with rhizoids. They don’t draw nourishment from the ground but through photosynthesis, air and water. They hold many times their own weight in water and aid the forest as sponging, cooling and humidifying systems. They are also able to go dormant when they’re under stress.

Elan Valley - Haircap Moss | Gathering Moss | The Last Krystallos

Elan Valley – Haircap Moss © Lisa Shambrook

They have great strength, especially as they grow dense and low to the ground, but they are still vulnerable. They are stripped for the florist industry and are constantly trod upon. As our society, towns and farms spreads into their territory they try to grow, as you’ll see on walls, paving slabs and rooves, but many new building materials are not moss friendly. Many people will also treat moss with weed-killer killing off their tiny ecosystems. My garage shares its roof with my neighbour’s garage and my side of the roof was blanketed with little hedgehogs of cushion moss, and my neighbour, who follows a regimented gardening style used a weed-killer to remove the moss and thereby prevent damp in the garage. This made me sad – I suppose I don’t mind a little damp…

Moss in its element - Gathering Moss | The Last Krystallos

Moss in its element © Lisa Shambrook

One of my most favourite places locally is the Brechfa Forest. It’s like a fairy-tale forest and I expect to bump into Galadriel. Moss covers the forest floor in a springy carpet and drapes like feathery curtains from the fir trees. It’s a magical walk, and the dog loves it too!

Brechfa Moss - Gathering Moss | The Last Krystallos

Moss in Brechfa © Lisa Shambrook

Ancient conversation moses and rocks - Robin Wall Kimmerer - Gathering Moss | The Last Krystallos

Robin Wall Kimmerer © Lisa Shambrook

What do you love about moss? Or do you have a different favourite woodland flora?
One of my most favourite photos is one I took on Exmoor of a tree swathed in moss…pure magic…

Exmoor moss swathed tree © Lisa Shambrook

Ten Winter Wonders of Nature

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Jack Frost creates a winter wonderland as the temperature drops,
and nature still has a few gems up her sleeve as you don a scarf and hat…

Ten Winter Wonders of Nature | The Last Krystallos

This year hasn’t given us as much frost and lacy webs as I’d have liked;
it’s been a warm and rainy winter so far, but there’s still magic…

Holly and Ivy: two of the most iconic plants of winter and abundant at Christmas. Immortalised in song and gracing many, especially Victorian, Christmas cards.
Holly, with its red berries, is often pictured with robins, though an interesting fact shows it is rather the mistle thrush that is known for vigorously guarding the berries of holly in winter, to prevent other birds from eating them. The tree was seen as a fertility symbol and a charm against witches, goblins and the devil. It was also thought to be unlucky to cut down a holly tree.
Ivy is a popular groundcover plant and found throughout woods and forests, climbing trees and weaving through the undergrowth.

daffodils, ten winter wonders of nature, the last krystallos,

Early daffodils and Narcissi (Narcissus): This year, with the warmth and rain, daffodils are flowering early. Generally small narcissi flower first, heralding spring and paving the way for the daffodils and their huge trumpets of colour, but this year in February they’re already throwing out their glorious golden trumpets to brighten the gloomy days.

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Frosted Evergreens: Nothing delights me more in winter than gazing at the garden decorated in icing sugar frost. Spider webs are encrusted with diamonds and sugar strands and glitter as the sun dances. Leaves and trees are dipped in ice and create a true winter wonderland. And last year’s Christmas tree grows a few more inches!

cyclamen, ten winter wonders of nature, the last krystallos,

Cyclamen: I’ve tried growing these as houseplants, but I’m not good at keeping plants alive indoors… I struggle a bit with cyclamen outside too, I don’t think they like my damp, clay soil! Still, I persevere every year because they’re so delicate and pretty with their bright red or pink, pastel pink, or white blooms and dark, heart-shaped leaves… One day I’d love a patch of naturalised cyclamen coum to cheer up winter.

hellebore, ten winter wonders of nature, the last krystallos,

Hellebore: also known as the Christmas or Lenten Rose, are stunning additions in any winter garden. They grow into large clumps and can be divided or you can plant the little babies that grow from seed around the parent plant. I love their simplicity and beauty as they grace the garden with slightly drooping heads that, when lifted, often show a freckled face. I love the pinks, deep reds, and almost black flowers, but I particularly love the pure white with a lime green hint staining their petals.

Viburnum Bodnantense Dawn, ten winter wonders of nature, the last krystallos,

Viburnum Bodnantense Dawn: This is a favourite of mine as it flowers in clumps of pink blossom on bare, dark stems as winter progresses into spring. Strangely the leaves have a pungent smell which I rather dislike when touched, but the flowers have the most divine heady fragrance which makes up for the leaves.

moss and lichen, ten winter wonders of nature, the last krystallos,

Moss and Lichen: on bare branches and stone. When the season becomes sparse, and flowers are hard to find, if you look closer you can delight in the intricacies of lichen and moss. Grab a magnifying glass and search out the smaller pleasures of nature. There are numerous varieties of both; in the UK there are over 1,700 species of lichen and over 18,000 species worldwide. I love the curl and sage colour of common lichen found on trees and enhanced in winter on bare branches. Moss delights me, I cannot resist brushing my hand across a carpet of peridot moss, and they offer me my favourite colour! Rainy Wales and our woodlands are the most amazing places for moss. (I love moss so much I may well do a separate post in the future for it!)

bronze fennel, frosted fennel, fennel seedhead, ten winter wonders of nature,the last krystallos,

Fennel: I grow bronze fennel in my garden for the haze of purple it gives me in the summer. It grows tall and feathery, and then gives long stems and stunning seedheads in winter. When Jack Frost visits he always decorates the seedheads, creating even more works of art in my winter garden.

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Red Berries Cotoneaster: Cotoneaster comes in many varieties, from trees to shrubs and ground-cover. Red berries are the epitome of winter and every garden should have some!

snowdrop, ten winter wonders of nature, the last krystallos,

Snowdrop (Galanthus): I’ve said it before, I adore the tiny British Snowdrop, I look forward to its little nodding head and vibrant green marks. It’s a sign that winter is beginning to draw to a close. It generally flowers before the vernal equinox marking the arrival of spring in the middle of March, but can flower from midwinter on. One of the most beautiful winter sights to me is a patch of snowdrops peeping through a fresh coating of snow…offering new growth and hope.

What are your favourite winter flowers?

What inspires you to wander winter’s woodlands and
what flora do you search out as Jack Frost bites?

Listen to your Moments of Silence…

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Silence sings to me – it always has.
I’m a loner and I’m comfortable with silence.

Listen to your moments of silence
Noise, too much noise, fills this world and I often have to escape, which fits with my being a runner. I like the absence of noise and sometimes I need to escape to it.

A friend recently spoke of silence and asked are we human doings or human beings? I love this and it immediately resonates. We get too caught up in the doing that we forget to just be. When was the last time you allowed yourself to be..? When did you sit and listen, or watch, or just be?

It’s no coincidence (well, it might be) that SILENT and LISTEN are spelled with the same letters…think about it, take a moment…

silence-Rainy-Sunrise-the-last-krystallos

When was the last time you listened to the rain pattering gently on the roof (probably not long ago if you’re in the UK…)? When did you last hear birdsong or soft wind whispering through the trees?

Ram Dass said The quieter you become, the more you can hear. I intrinsically liken this to nature, but think of the times we don’t notice another’s feelings, or their troubles, or even their joys, because we’re not listening.

We miss out if we’re too busy to take time out.

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Silence fits me. I like to write in silence, I like to sit by the ocean and watch a sunset or listen to the waves. I like to walk in the woods and hear the soft sounds of nature caress my senses.

Silence is a great source of strength – Lao Tzu. This quote speaks volumes, quietly, of course, both in being able to listen, to take time out and to curb our responses.

silence-Dandelion-Clock-Wishes-the-last-krystallos

Stephen Hawking said Quiet people have the loudest minds and I agree, my mind takes strength from silence and uses it to embrace me. My creativity, my writing, my soul needs quiet to allow the chaos within to still. But even when I’m quiet, even when I’m still: When I am silent I have thunder hidden inside – Rumi, thunder and lightning and beautiful chaos write their stories in my imagination and fill my mind with wonder.

Moments of silence, of reflection, of contemplation and pondering allow my mind to muse and grow. I like to cultivate and embrace my moments of silence. How do you like yours?

silence-Innocence-Frost-the-last-krystallos

Take time to just be…
just be and breathe in the glorious wealth of nature, solitude and peace.

Just be…

10 Early Summer Flowers that Delight…

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As summer sunshine warms us, nature’s early blooms enchant with colour and beauty…

What late spring/early summer flowers are nodding in your gardens?

Aquilegia © Lisa Shambrook

Aquilegia: often known as Granny’s Bonnet or Columbine, the common name ‘columbine’ comes from the Latin for ‘dove’, due to the resemblance of the inverted flower to five doves clustered together. This flower is one of my favourites. It surprises me every year with its array of colours and varieties, from single star like petals to full, double, frilled and hooded flowers. It blooms amid my meadow of grass with gorgeous nodding flowers from white, to pink, to red, and every shade of purple you could imagine. Each year some interbreed and arrive with the most delightful combinations.

Astrantia and garden snail © Lisa Shambrook

Astrantia: such a simple flower with pink blushed white petals infused with green, or strong ruby red. They are commonly known as masterwort. Grown in cottage gardens, they offer medicinal properties containing an essential oil which can help with digestive problems.

Tulips and diamonds © Lisa Shambrook

Tulips: the ultimate late spring flower, a companion to daffodils, but flowering on into early summer. I love tulips, and although there are so many varieties, parrot, frilled, single, double, tall, short – my preference lies with simple bold colours, usually reds, purples and white. I adore white tinged with green!

Ragged Robin © Lisa Shambrook

Ragged Robin: lychnis flos-cuculi, is a perennial that’s often found growing in wetter areas such as marshes, fens and wet meadows. Its ragged petals never fail to enchant me!

Solomon’s Seal © Lisa Shambrook

Solomon’s Seal: another cottage garden plant which produces beautiful arching stems and an arc of green tinged white dangling bells. They’re more associated with woodland shade, but look gorgeous strewn throughout the garden, a delight planted with dicentra, bleeding heart, in late spring.

Iris © Lisa Shambrook

Iris: one of my most favourite plants. The iris sibirica or flag iris flowers earlier than bearded irises, and my favourites are a mixture of white and purples. I have a stunning clump of water irises in my pond and they make me excited to wait for my bearded irises! Little iris reticulata, dwarf iris, flowers quite early, and the rule of thumb is the smaller the iris the earlier it flowers.

Clematis Montana © Lisa Shambrook

Clematis Montana: I love all clematis, but the montana, spreading across vast spaces and festooned with blooms is amazing. They also flower earlier than the large flowered varieties. Subtle in pink and white, when you see a cottage covered with clematis montana it’s a real sight to behold!

Arum Lily © Lisa Shambrook

Arum lily: zantedeschia, again, although I love calla lilies and stargazer lilies, and all varieties of lily, the arum with its pure simplicity is the one that bewitches me. A white spiral that opens into a delicate spathe just delights me. It dies away completely over the winter then has the most gorgeous green leaves that push through in spring and I can’t wait for it to flower!

Campanula Star of Bethlehem © Lisa Shambrook

Campanula: another cottage garden flower that I get impatient to see. A carpet of purple, a sea of blue, and I love how it grows in ever-expanding clumps and waterfalls across garden walls. I think it reminds me of my love of bluebells, which have just stopped flowering when the campanulas blossom. There are so many varieties and sizes, but the Star of Bethlehem is my garden favourite.

Ox-eye Daisy © Lisa Shambrook

Ox-eye Daisy: again, pure simplicity plays its part in my garden, and I love how it grows along the road-side, across fields and everywhere! Leucanthemum vulgare a large, yellow centred daisy, that enchants with ease.

iris white iris, aberglasney gardens, wales,

These are my garden staples for early summer…how is your garden blossoming?

What are your favourite flowers as the sun peeps through?

A Purple Swathe of Bluebells – Beauty in Blue…

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The Bluebell is the sweetest flower, that waves in summer air:
Its blossoms have the mightiest power to soothe my spirit’s care…
(Emily Bronte – The Bluebell)

I promised a blog post on bluebells, an indulgence on my part as they’re my favourite flowers.

Blue, pink and white bluebells © Lisa Shambrook

I have clear memories of bluebell woodland walks when I was a little girl, running through the woods, jumping over tree roots and dancing through swathes of blue.

We didn’t live far from the Bluebell Railway, and a school trip saw me daydreaming out of the steam train window at the banks of bluebells. The verges and railway banks near my home were also strewn with the flowers during spring and I used to bring home bunches of wilting blue, pink and white bluebells for mum on the way home from school.

Bluebells never lost their appeal. That splash of colour, a carpet of blue from afar, delicate nodding bells, with barely there stripes, close up, and the air of mysticism…

Bluebells © Lisa Shambrook

Bluebells are symbolic of gratitude, humility and constancy – all virtues that ring true to me – and they are closely linked to the realm of fairies, appealing to my love of all mythical and fantastical, ‘tis said that bluebells are rung to bring the fairies together.

As a child I adored Mary Cicely Barker’s Flower Fairies, my favourites were all the purple flowers, but her bluebell fairy disappointed me. I wanted her to look like the lavender fairy, so I spent many hours drawing and making up my own bluebell flower fairies. I only wish I’d kept the pictures!

It made sense that one day bluebells would burst forth within my own writing, and they did becoming a theme throughout my current series. The first book benefitted from a photoshoot in our local bluebell woods, Greencastle Woods, and became the cover of my first published novel ‘Beneath the Rainbow’. That’s my daughter in the picture, recreating a scene from the book where Freya finds herself in her own heaven. Her favourite place in her heaven is sitting amongst the bluebells, where she finds peace and calm. Bluebells also become a source of both grief and comfort for Freya’s mother, a way of showing the passing of time, and become a recurring theme in all three books.

In my own life, bluebells are a source of joy, heralding a season of growth and new life, and they always ignite memories encouraging gratitude and introspection. Bluebells inspire me and make me happy, maybe it’s their colours. My favourite colour is green, closely followed by all shades of purple and lilac. Green offers calm, soothing, restful tones of growth and inspiration, and purple is the passionate, harmonious, meditative colour of creatives and the mysterious. These colours are me, so the bluebell becomes a signature flower, a representative of my own personality.

Greencastle Woods, Carmarthen © Lisa Shambrook

This year I have made time to walk our dog through our local bluebell woods as much as I can…enjoying the beauty, the swathes of blue and the quiet of nature. In Wales, the bluebells are at their peak, and if you can go seek out your own woods…see if you can hear the tinkling bells and fluttering of wings…

Are there bluebell woods near you? Let me know, and if I’m ever up your way in the spring, I will check them out!

If you want to read
‘Beneath the Rainbow’ and
‘Beneath the Old Oak’
all links are on my website.

Beneath the Rainbow:
“It’s those silly dreams that keep us alive.”
Freya won’t let death stand in her way. When she dies Freya knows she needs to move on, but is caught within her mother’s grief and the discovery of terminally ill Old Thomas. Beneath her Rainbow…Freya needs to reach her mother, wait for Old Thomas and be ready to move on.

Beneath the Old Oak:
“Turn those dreams of escape into hope…”
Meg thinks her mother is broken. Is she broken too? Meg’s life spirals out of control, and when she mirrors her Mum’s erratic behaviour, she’s terrified she’ll inherit her mother’s sins. Seeking refuge and escape, she finds solace beneath a huge, old oak. A storm descends, and Meg needs to survive devastating losses.

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Bluebells, Greencastle Woods, Carmarthen © Lisa Shambrook

10 Flowers that Embody Spring…

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Spring has arrived and brought with it the first horticultural signs of new life…
feast your eyes on the beauty of Spring!

These are the first signs in my part of the world…how do they compare to yours?

snowdrop, flowers, spring flowers, white flowers, the last krystallos,

Snowdrop © Lisa Shambrook

Snowdrop (Galanthus): I adore the tiny British Snowdrop, I look forward to its little nodding head and vibrant green marks. It’s a sign that winter is beginning to draw to a close. It generally flowers before the vernal equinox marking the arrival of spring in the middle of March, but can flower from midwinter on.

vinca, periwinkle, blue, purple, purple flowers, the last krystallos,

Vinca © Lisa Shambrook

Vinca (commonly known as periwinkle): This always delights me with that shock of purple spreading like a carpet of blue across the woodland floor and winding up tree stumps. In India the plant is known as sadaphuli meaning ‘always flowering’.

scilla, blue, spring, flowers, blue flowers, the last krystallos,

Scilla © Lisa Shambrook

Scilla: Blue seems to be the colour for spring, and the dainty, delicate Scilla peeps out of the bare ground in the early months of the year. It’s usually native to woodlands and meadows where I live.

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Chionodoxa © Lisa Shambrook

Chionodoxa: Another beautiful blue bulb known as glory-of-the-snow also opens its petals in the early months, and produces some of the truest blue in all horticulture. Its tiny starry-eyed flowers brighten up the early months.

narcissi family, narcissi, narcissus, daffodils, daffs, sunshine yellow, yellow flowers, the last krystallos,

Narcissus Family © Lisa Shambrook

Daffodil/Narcissi (Narcissus): Perhaps the most famous spring flowers in every array of sunshine yellow you can imagine. Generally small narcissi flower first, heralding spring and paving the way for the daffodils and their huge trumpets of colour.

primroses and cowslips, spring flowers, yellow flowers, meadows, yellow, spring, the last krystallos,

Primroses and Cowslips © Lisa Shambrook

Primroses (Primula vulgaris) and cowslips (Primula veris): Meadow flowers that spread through fields, woodlands and everywhere they can. The primrose was Benjamin Disraeli’s favourite flower, and cowslips are my mother’s favourite. Hardy and one of the first splashes of creamy yellow as the days get warmer.

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Wild Violets © Lisa Shambrook

Wild violets (Violaceae): As much as I love pansies and violas, I can’t imagine spring without the tiny wild violets that pop up from nowhere and spread through the garden’s nooks and crannies, and their colours are softly beautiful.

qxalis, wood sorrel, common wood sorrel, woodland flowers, white flowers, spring flowers, the last krystallos,

Oxalis (Oxalis acetosella): There are many varieties of oxalis, but the common wood sorrel is the one I love best. The fragile petals have delicate stripes in the palest of pink and remind me of fairy dresses. The leaves can be eaten, but are quite sour.

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Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa): These white flowers can be starry shaped or have big petals like fairy wings, and swathe the woodland floor in March and April like a galaxy of stars. One of my all-time delicate favourites.

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Forget-me-not (Myosotis): Another true blue of the horticultural world. In a German legend, God named all the plants when a tiny unnamed one cried out, “Forget-me-not, O Lord!” God replied, “That shall be your name.”. These are truly unforgettable sky-blue little flowers that in a clump can look simply stunning.

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Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta): This flower becomes your bonus (number eleven) in this post. It’s my favourite flower and will have a post all of its own…but for now…enjoy another bonus of spring and the prominent blue that blankets the woodland in April and May.

Like I said…this is my little corner of the world, Wales in the UK…
how fares yours this Spring?

What are your favourite Spring flowers?

If you’d like to see more of my flower photography please take a look at my
Flickr page and The Shutterworks Photoblog…

Families That Cosplay Together – Stay Together…Cardiff Comic Con

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Have you ever wanted to release that inner geeky child?

If yes, then Comic Cons are the way to go!

lara croft tomb raider 2013, lara croft, cosplay, the last krystallos,

My daughter, Bekah, of Arkhdrauth Cosplay, is a cosplay enthusiast and after her first Comic Con dressed as Thranduil, we were all raring to have a go… So after a few months of preparation and much costume design…we headed off to Cardiff Comic Con.

Lisa Shambrook - Lara Croft Tomb Raiider 2013 - by Antti Karppinen Photography, Alias Creative

Lisa Shambrook – Lara Croft Tomb Raider 2013 by Antti Karppinen Photography, Alias Creative

indiana Jones cosplay, cardiff comic con, Antti Karppinen Photography Alias Creative

Vince Shambrook – Indiana Jones by Antti Karppinen Photography, Alias Creative

maleficent cosplay, cardiff comic con, Antti Karppinen Photography Alias Creative

Bekah Shambrook of Arkhdrauth Cosplay – Maleficent by Antti Karppinen Photography, Alias Creative

Bekah entered the Community Masquerade and placed First with her magnificent Maleficent cosplay!

ghost call of duty cosplay, cardiff comic con, Antti Karppinen Photography Alias Creative

Daniel Shambrook – Ghost Call of Duty by Antti Karppinen Photography, Alias Creative

Daenerys cosplay, cardiff comic con, Antti Karppinen Photography Alias Creative

Caitlin Shambrook – Daenerys by Antti Karppinen Photography, Alias Creative

This was a family affair and we had a great time. The atmosphere at Cardiff was brilliant and the cosplayers fantastic. I also really loved seeing all the families arriving with little cosplayers…start young!

the last krystallos, cardiff comic con, cosplay

Cardiff Comic Con – Daenerys and Margery, Ghost and Star Lord, Indiana Jones and The Penguin, Maleficent and Maleficent, two Indys, Daryl Dixon and Lara Croft – © Lisa Shambrook

Cardiff Comic Con, Maleficent and Star Lord, Daenerys x2 and Margery, Daenerys, Tauriel, Aragorn and Lara Croft, Daryl Dixon and Daenerys, Space Marine and Ghost, Star Lord, Lara Croft and The Terminator – © Lisa Shambrook

The organisers did a great job and special thanks must go to Antti Karppinen of Antti Karppinen Photography, Alias Creative who took the most amazing photographs of almost all of the cosplayers, because he believes that the fans, the cosplayers, are what Comic Con is all about and he wants to recognise the passion and work they put into their costumes! He made a lot of cosplayers very happy with his brilliant photographs!

So, to release the child in you…dress up…honestly, it’ll do you the world of good!

Have you ever wanted to Cosplay, if so who would you choose?

If you have already – who did you go as?

Family Photoshoot – Post Apocalyptic Survivors

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Sometimes family life feels a little like surviving the apocalypse – and with the genre so popular right now – we decided to go dystopian with our family photoshoot!

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We’re ready…

It had to be something big…Dan is going away for two years and we wanted to do something epic! So we sourced and customised clothes, made weaponry and set out to Pembrey Country Park. The old, hidden munitions tunnels were perfect!

What’s in there?

Cait, Dan and Bekah looked the part, with dystopian designs and post apocalyptic accessories!

Survivors…

Roxy accompanied us, ready to chase off attackers…

Nothing’s getting past us…

And I showed off my kick ass scar…

Don’t even try it…

We made it out of the bunker and scared off the enemy…

War cry!

And we were ready for anything…

Battle ready…

It was cold, very cold – but also epic, very epic!

Hardened survivors…

All photos were taken with Bekah’s Nokia Lumia 1020 via tripod, and we had lots of fun falling over on that grassy hill, so that may be why we don’t look so post apocalyptic serious!

Please don’t use our photos without crediting and linking to us: The Last Krystallos and Arkhdrauth Cosplay. But feel free to Facebook, Tweet, G+ and Pinterest them from here!

Weapons were made from children’s toys spray-painted matt black, Vince’s bullet belt is literally made from a belt and gold spray-painted batteries held on with black electrical tape!

Hair and make-up all by Bekah, and Bekah’s antlers come from the amazing Hysteria Machine!

We put together our own outfits, lots of ripping, tearing, cheese grating and painting to distress.

So, we’ve done Steampunk, railway tracks, snow, and more…what next? Who knows?

What would you do for a family photoshoot?

All of the things…

You can find me, Lisa, on my website and Facebook, and Bekah at Arkhdrauth Cosplay on FB and her blog Adofaer and Arkhdrauth. We also run an Etsy shop Amaranth Alchemy…come and visit us and like us on Facebook to know about all our latest special offers!