References for Fantasy Dabblers

Artemisian Luxury Photographic Holidays

Thank you so very much for booking onto an Artemisian trip to Tuscany!

I can only echo my own (Artemis Fauna) comments I have left for the same trip but once again, another fantastic, creative and fun trip had by all- with many great memories made!

Thank you so much for booking a place with Artemisian- perhaps see you in Portugal for a 1-2-1 Artemisian trip over the winter :)

Scarlot Rose

I had another great shoot with the Fantasy Dabblers recently, this time in Las Vegas on a Summers Abroad trip! They joined partly for a group event and then stayed on for a one-to-one session afterwards. Both parts of the trip were thoroughly enjoyable, and especially the one-to-one where we got chance to try out loads of their own ideas and crazy fun props they brought along! I also especially enjoyed shooting fashion out in the desert which was a totally unique idea that turned out amazingly!

Very much looking forward to shooting with the Fantasy Dabblers again soon and happy to recommend them to others of course!

Artemis Fauna

The Fantasy Dabblers joined us for another Artemisian event in September- we hosted the trip in Tuscany once again.

A huge Tuscan villa was hired with fabulous grounds and incredible views. A always everyone walked away from the event with thousands of stunning images. We shot all sorts of genres and once again set up strong themed shoots and of course, classy street fashion in the most stunning local town.

I'm very excited to see more results from my month away in Tuscany! Thank you for booking on once again. :)

Keira Lavelle

It has been an utter delight to welcome this super duper-duo, picture perfect-pair, amazie-crazy couple... And of course, fabulously fun and positively-driven photo-making peeps on several Arts Voyage creative one-to-one photography trips from the very early days of the running of the events. :) I cannot even begin to describe the abundance of memories that have been made - and can only try to express (in repeat) through a reference, how lovely it’s been to work with this “dream team” once more on the latest of events which had us visit the sublime Mediterranean island of Menorca.

We were probably still on quite a buzz from Malta earlier in the year to be fair after myself and Renaissance enjoyed bountiful creativity through exciting (as well as random) concepts shooting with Mikki and Andrew then, not to mention the epic company... When you have a particularly nice time then it’s interesting when you all have another trip in the diary thinking how can you excel from the previous shootings; what really worked/which areas would you explore more creatively and how will this effect the way you search for the pre-scouted locations. And to be honest; it’s that degree of rapport driven musing which makes the whole process of the events, from concept to completion, so utterly enjoyable. :D I feel myself and Renaissance have really got to know Mikki and Andrew incredibly well through the variety in their style interests, as well as their madness too - which suits us down to the ground! :P It absolutely completes the mad house in fact! For us as models/hosts, creating a bespoke foundation where we can really focus on injecting a real “boom” into the working relationships with the other creatives (or nutters?) is absolutely paramount to maximise the productivity anyway and work to the visual interests of photographers joining us... But the beauty of being so blessed to have worked with the same people over and over on the trips actually gives us a wider understanding of their goals/imaginations, and I for one notice massively when I’m packing now in the days leading up to the shootiness, or when I might just happen to spot a certain outfit when assembling things for concept styling... A light bulb will pop on in my brain and I find myself going to full on ‘shot sculpting’ mode thinking “oooohhh, this would be perfect for Mikki and Andrew” and it quite often follows with some excitable message exchange. And the same vice versa when they keep us updated with the latest in super-brilliant/weird and wonderful props they have come into possession of! :D Working with them starts not only on the first day of the trip, but the priceless sharing of ideas and creative unity that goes on all year round - because after all, the occasional shorter shooting visit to Fantasy Dabblers HQ is not unheard of either! ;)

Now, did I mention they supply ingenious props/bits and pieces briefly in that last paragraph? Because this topic almost requires a whole separate reference of it’s own!!!! :D You can virtually bet that any single model you speak to who has also worked with The Fantasy Dabblers will speak so warmly of their enthusiasm in the diversity of fantastically fun props/outfits/accessories that they acquire during their magical travels all over the globe. From innovative conventions galore to the most happiness-yielding inflatable shop (sporting pretty much any object you can think of as an inflatable!) one thing that Mikki and Andrew can spot from a mile away is an opportunity to add something marvellous to their collection! :P We have enjoyed the luxury of unicorns, exquisite bling, novelty items and much more - it never fails to add a hugely entertaining twist on our shoots together, and on Arts Voyage trips as a whole as we mix and match the delightful bits n’ bobs with the various locations sourced for each trip. More recently we had barrels of joy playing with a new bit of gear that Mikki had obtained: Privo! We started exploring this as a concept back in Malta, but on our latest trip we really were able to rock some quality scenarios which looked utterly wicked, and gave just as much in terms of the laughs doing it! :D Our fabulous villa (and even some of the locations) in Menorca offered the picture-perfect opportunity to really go to town on Privo: which ranged from creating images with multiple Keira’s and Renaissance’s (gosh I know, can you imagine the chaos!) To doing silly and mischievous things with cool effects. It’s always thrilling to see what the Fantasy Dabblers will pull out of their box of tricks next!

Fun and games aside: they are bloomin’ good photographers on the artsy side of things as well. I lost count of the number of times that I was actually almost feeling emotional about the beauty of the images they were individually capturing... And if I was to describe each magical image “moment” that has simply stuck in my head without reviewing “back of camera” records then I’d genuinely be here all day... But I’ll mention a few just to give an idea into the awesome flow that was occurring periodically. Like when Andrew and I were shooting one of the gorgeous chest pieces that they had brought on the latest trip, and we found a wonderful pool of dabbled light on location - normally a scenario that people shy away from due to the trickery needed to get just the right balance of light. Well he smashed it, and the effect was almost like a serene natural filter which added to the whole vibe of the picture. Or Mikki with her magical flash skills! She showed me a lush picture that she’d taken moments earlier of Renaissance and even I was gobsmacked when I learned how it was achieved with the utterly perfect balance with the ambient which looked so natural!! After several years of modelling you do learn to spot how different shots have been lit - totally blew my brain when I learnt a flash was involved. Wowzer pictures! And that’s not to mention divine beauty/portrait shots, the perfect capture of dresses flicking up... Goodness I will end up making an essay out of this before long!

To sum it up: two utterly lovely, kind and generous, respectful and courteous, fun-loving and bonkers humans that I absolutely recommend to the moon and back! Mikki and Andrew approach every shoot they do with the highest levels of professionalism and thoughtfulness for the models... Even after “umpteen” times working together, they will still doubly check/ask permission if they can help with adjusting a blindfold or fixing some of the light restraints for the light fetish work they do (always only with models who are completely comfortable doing so) and we laugh about it at the time, but it actually just goes to show how mindful they are of the comfort and happiness of the people they are working with. :) 24 carat gold company to the point were it definitely feels like just taking a bunch of pals away on a holiday trip, that just so happens to involve a whole lot of picture-creating. But as mentioned before, it’s the good times and the memories of such adventures that you cherish when you look back at some of the pictures too. May the laughter live on, the random chats yabber on, the “foodporn” photographing continue (by that I mean taking pictures of nice-looking meals by the way which Andrew is a total expert at remembering to do!) and the creation of fantabulous piccies go on in trips to come!!!

Thank you soooo much Mikki and Andrew!!! To another terrific Arts Voyage experience together!

Keira

Wendy Louise Howard

Another Fabulous week long Photoshoot with the Wonderful Fantasy Dabblers on our Arts Voyage Photographic Trip to Menorca.

Plenty of different Styles were covered on this Trip and as normal, any of our whacky ideas were welcomed with open arms.

I love working with Mikki and Andrew.

They are both Great Fun and it’s always Sad to say Goodbye at the end of the week.

Spending time with them in the down time is also a Pleasure and I love having Chats with them both.

From what I saw on the Back of the Camera’s, we got some Stunning images and made some Forever memories.

If you get the chance to work with them, jump at it. There is never a dull moment. Always Fun images to be made.

Highly recommended by me with 5 stars *****

Thanks so much for a lovely time both and I Can’t wait to work with you both again soon.

Renaissance xx

Zara Liore

This was my second time working with Mikki and Andrew, and I absolutely loved it! They are so sweet, and I love their dual-shooting style! They come equipped with plenty of humor and laughs and make you feel at home instantly. I greatly enjoyed shooting and talking with them and can recommend anyone do so, and look forward to doing so myself again! Much love! ♥

Cariad Celis

I recently had my first shoot with Mikki and Andrew during Rachelle Summers event Belles of Bedford and what a delight they are to work with, professional, fun and creative the best combo :)

I had the opportunity to work with Andrew on both days and Mikki on the second. They are what you call a dream team, both bouncing ideas off one another and although they shoot alongside each other they are still able to put their own creative stamp on their work to capture unique images.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with you both and I hope we work together again in the future. Thank you for joining this event and I look forward to seeing the images :)

Caz x

Highly recommended!

Penny Lee

I just love shooting with Fantasy Dabblers, they are just always so so much fun.

I had two day duo shoot with them with Bad Dolly at their home.

The shoot was just such a laugh, we got so much done, covering so many different styles.

Not only was the shoot fun, Mikki and Andrew looked after us well giving us great hospitality for two nights.

Love working with this couple.

Highly recommended x

Rachelle Summers

Mikki and Andrew joined my 'Belles of Bedford' event this weekend just gone, with Andrew coming along on his own on Saturday and then both of them joining us on Sunday.

They are regular photographers on my events and trips now and we always look forward to hosting them. This time round we had a gorgeous Georgian manor home to shoot with and we had 3 other models available as well as myself. We all managed to get a great deal of variety over the weekend :D

Happily recommended by me and looking forward to the other trips we have coming up!

Summers Abroad

Mikki and Andrew joined yet another Summers Abroad trip this month! This time to Southern France!

They have been on every single one of our trips so far and it means a great deal to me and Mr Summers to have their support in this venture as well as their company on the trips :)

They always turn up with lots of ideas and cool props, and it's always great fun working with them!

We are really looking forward to hosting them in Vegas, Japan and Spain over the next year and creating lots more amazing images and memories :)

Rachelle Summers

I have worked with Mikki and Andrew more times than I could actually count now and always look forward to catching up with them! This time round I worked with them on another one of my Summers Abroad photographic holidays and as always it was a pleasure having them involved!

They treat their models incredibly well, ensuring plenty of rests especially when working in the hot conditions :) And not only that bring lots of ideas to the table so that all the shoots are fun and different!

Can't wait to work with them again on my Belles of Bedford Event next month :D

Carla Monaco

I always enjoy working with Mikki and Andrew, they are always so positive and great fun to be around. They came out to Tuscany on one of the Artemisian trips.

Easy to get a long with, great company and they bring the best props to shoots by far.

Thank you for being lovely and great fun.

Best

Carla x

Scarlot Rose

What a wonderful week I've just spent with the Fantasy Dabblers in Spain on a Summers Abroad trip, modelling alongside Rachelle Summers!

The Fantasy Dabblers are always so thoughtful and I just love working with them! They shot so much variety over the week with hundreds of astounding shots! We shot everything from art nude to themed french renaissance sets as part of the trip and they even brought along a mass variety of their own outfits and accessories to shoot with too!

Very happy to recommend the Fantasy Dabblers and can't wait to work with them again!

Thank you for a wonderful week!!

Scarlot :)

Keira Lavelle

Up to now, it’s been an utter whirl of creative, crazy and throughly enjoyable bliss welcoming both Mikki and Andrew back on multiple Arts Voyage creative events. The most recent of our ‘adventures’ took place on the small island of BIIIG indescribable beauty: Malta. More specifically; Gozo where we (myself and fellow host, the lovely Renaissance) based ourselves with the gang for the duration of the photography holiday. Mikki and Andrew joined us this time around as the first photographers to accompany us for the initial section of our trip. And though I cannot deny that each time this amazing couple have attended one of our trips, (see previous essays!) it has been a spectacular experience all-round... But it was nice settling into our initial ‘exclusive’ first few days at a perfect pace that suited all four of us to get off to an insanely productive start with good vibes whereby we did our own thing (as per the arrangement with Arts Voyage trips) and got to know our ‘home’ for the next 10 days, as well as our local area/people/restaurants and magical pre-scouted locations in a work sense, as well as a personal level too relative to what suited us as a team for the whole experience. It was undoubtedly the nicest start to a 10 day event that we could have hoped for. :) Of course you’re going to get excited about going to these beautiful destinations around the world and executing the plans to make pretty pictures at all these gorgeous locations - but the company makes all the difference. Massively. And we may as well have been away with family/friends it was so fun! It goes without muttering a single word: the next events in the line-up that this wonderful pair will be joining on are something I massively look forward to. I think by now I pretty recommend them to the long forgotten ‘planet’: Pluto and back! It becomes difficult to add onto what I’ve already said about Mikki and Andrew, although each time we work together - there is a new little bit of magic and memorable enjoyment ignited. So I’ll rant and rave about it yet again in a slightly updated context relative to our ongoing adventures! :P

As photographers; both Mikki and Andrew have deep appreciation for artistic value and quirky aspects that make a moment/pose or particular style interesting for that momentary photo opportunity. They give such lifting mid-shoot feedback and never cease to communicate with their models if a particular pose or angle is working so you can focus on that aspect/work it a little more, and of course the complete joy they express for the models to generate input and suggest ideas means that you are NEVER short of a terrific bounce with the shoot. No matter where in the world you happen to be! :P So much has to be said for the ‘grande’ level of scope that comes with working with the Fantasy Dabblers which any model who knows them as photographers could confirm in a heartbeat: they both bring totally different ideas and visions to the mix at times, and then ideas cross-over, and then a new enticing opportunity presents itself and you share/discuss/encourage one-another positively just generally having a crazy-class time in the process! I think that’s going to be my new favourite term for Mikki and Andrew: Class-craziness and it suits me down to the ground! ♥ :)

We’ve probably had every challenge going up to this point in terms of light: dim ambient light, sweltering sun beams, flash mixed in with ambient... From a technical side, Mikki and Andrew take care patiently to get the settings bob-on and work (sometimes) with changing conditions! Once again, we took them to all-manner of environments which tested the photographers side of things from a lighting and composition point of view. But they roll with it and work every aspect, giving good direction and also capturing the models flow! Sometimes it’s shapes in all manner of directions that they have to keep up with - other times it’s dodging hail stones the size of marbles to get a sublime portrait of a crazy model that decided to hop in the swimming pool! I swear they must literally have super powers they way they keep up with the madness and remain (partially) sane! :P But you see when we then see the images being produced at the end of the day/in down-time then the excitement erupts all over again and the buzzing cycle repeats itself at the next location/the next day! :) I have sooo much admiration for the way they manage the scenarios and the determination shown to get the best out of their photographic pursuits. Honestly, it’s completely honourable and downright impressive! They are fabulous photographers, in their own rights and it’s a pleasure to be in front of their lenses time and time again! I think I can say with unquestionable confidence: we did Malta proud! Solo work, and the slightly more challenging duo work: nailed, smashed, IN-DA-BAG!!!!! :D

Both Mikki and Andrew have attended on several of our own Arts Voyage events now, I myself have worked with them on an individual basis too and even on other events. One thing that can certainly be said is that they are the most consciously professional and courteous couple that any model could work with. Our one-to-one (or two-to-two) shooting sessions as per the schedule were never too pressured; if we felt that we’d cracked it then we moved on to something else, and/or stopped for refreshments, and this is typically their style in any shooting situation with them. It means a great deal to both of them to have their models feel 1000% comfortable and at ease; as well as all the arty location concepts we shot in Malta, we also explored more of the usual fun-themed light fetish/bondage styles that we’d done previously (Mikki and Andrew regularly pick up the BEST props at social and creative events all over the world so it’s always nice to see what fun-tastic things they have acquired most recently!) We were subsequently able to do some story-telling photos around our actual villa base with an edgy twist. Both Renaissance and I have worked with Mikki and Andrew that many times now that they only need to pull a single prop and/or accessory out of their bag of goodies and we’re losing ourselves in ideas suggestions! :P But the point I want to express is; that they are literally the safest photographers imaginable to shoot any kind of slightly edgier concepts with. And certainly for any models that don’t typically do a lot of fetish, who may be chatting to the Fantasy Dabblers about a shoot but unsure about styles: they are the top/sound people to work with who cover these light/fun styles and would NEVER see a model doing anything they are not comfortable with. We have so much banter with each other now given our relationship on a professional and social level: yet they will still ask if I’m okay as they fix a fuzzy pair of cuffs in place for me for the shot (or something similar!) :) Respectful, gracious and also the best communications pre-shoot as we’re planning everything for these affairs. They make it such a doddle for us as organisers. Very highly recommended as such!

Just wow. Blue waters, rocky landscapes, elegant fashion, quirky styling, mad acting, abstract, emotive, athletic and then some. Thank you so much Mikki and Andrew, your company on these trips has been valued so highly with the endless laughs, dynamic pictures, mad craziness and quality social time too. It’s a full package that they bring and I am so much looking forward to it all over again in Menorca! :) What memories.

Very credible people. Very credible.

Thank you guys - you rock!

Keira

Wendy Louise Howard

I had the absolute Pleasure of working with the Fabulous Fantasy Dabblers again for a week long trip with Arts Voyage.

This time to Gozo, Malta, Modelling both Solo and Duo, alongside the Stunning Keira Lavelle.

I love working with the Fantasy Dabblers. Both Mikki and Andrew allow my Creative Juices to flow which really excites the Inner Weirdo in me haha :D

They are able to climb inside my head and see what my Weird mind is thinking, pull it out and direct it straight on to the Screen. A real talent.

They are both really easy going, create a relaxed Shooting environment and are great fun to be around both during Shoot time and Relax time.

I always look forward to the next trip and find myself day dreaming between the trips of what we may be able to do next time.

If you get the chance to work with them... JUMP AT IT.

You won't be disappointed. They really are a great team and know how to get the best out of the Model.

Thanks Mikki and Andrew. Cant wait for Menorca in September :D

Highly recommended by me as always with 5 stars *****

Renaissance xx

Sam Dunning

Considering Mikki hadn't ever worked with a male model before, she was confident, easy to work with, a good communicator and very creative. I shot with her on the final day of her photography course and it was a great experience. The pictures I have seen so far are excellent and the day was a huge success. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending this lovely lady. Thanks! S x

Dani Clarke

I worked with Mikki on her final stage of her photography course today. Which the theme was fashion and lifestyle.

She was a delight to work with!

Very easy to get along with and engaging. I felt comfortable and at ease around her. Her photography skills are brilliant and the results look incredible. Highly recommend:)

Nicole Rayner

I FINALLY had my first shoot with the wonderful Fantasy Dabblers! And boy, what a shoot it was!! It was a duo shoot in a lovely hotel suite with Rachelle summers!

Mikki and Andrew are just the loveliest of people! They clearly love what they do and it's wonderful to be a part of their shoots as they are so full of passion and enthusiasm.

They are so easy to get on with and shooting with them was like shooting with friends! :D Communications prior to the shoot were fabulous and we discussed ideas for the shoot as well as prop suggestions! I think in the end the shoot came off better than we could have hoped! Together we created some very different and eye-popping images. We all brought our ideas to the shoot and worked together as a team. Often bouncing of one another's ideas to get the best images we possibly could!

I just adore the shots and I adored the whole experience of shooting with this wonderful team! I really hope we can shoot together again soon :D

Artemisian Luxury Photographic Holidays

Mikki and Andrew joined Artemisian once again for another luxury photography event, this time in Tuscany!

We started off on a 1-2-1 trip for two days, and then had the four days on the normal style trip we host.

As always many great images were taken, lots of adventures had, tonnes of tasty food eaten and a superb time had by all!

Thank you as always for the support in our events, see you both in October! :)

Caroline Pierce

It is always such a pleasure to shoot with these two wonderful people! So much artistic and creative fun on their shoots, I love it and always look forward to when I get a chance to shoot and visit with them again.