Emily

Emily got in touch, looking to work with me, on a fashion themed commission. Her communication was excellent, and she had a very clear (though not inflexible) idea of what she was seeking to achieve.

Well-travelled and articulate, she’d modelled in the not too distant past but wanted to refresh her portfolio. She was visiting family, so Colchester seemed the obvious meeting point.

Some of the grittier backdrops had gone-replaced by student housing. Thankfully I’d discovered a few hidden gems, while on other, recent business visits. I’d brought my workhorse SLR but predominantly shot using my Sony A6000 and 35mm Sigma 2.8 lens. A  slightly nimbler choice given these contexts.

We’d agreed to shoot for three hours (allowing for comfort breaks and review) and she’d come fully prepared with three outfits. I led her to a Greenway, where we shot a few frames against an electricity substation, before moving towards a railway bridge, with graffiti, for a slightly grittier feel. 

At this point, we decided to switch to a floral print dress, prompting her to change in a wooded clearing, while I stood watch, my back to her. We ventured back along the Greenway to a derelict, fire-damaged building. Fired a few frames there, before walking along East Hill and to what was once an antiques shop. I recall it being a café and second-hand bookshop back in the late 90s.

A good model knows her own body and which angles flatter her. Emily also poses well, with minimal direction, although is very receptive to this, and we were able to move quickly. Location work can be great fun, but public places can be very unpredictable. We chose Castle Park as our next backdrop.

We were conscious of another photographer, who had by the look of it, been doing some landscape/similar work. He lingered, firing a few frames, before my gaze indicated he wasn’t welcome. Thankfully, he took the hint and left. I have no problem with people being curious, for a minute or two and from a respectful distance. Longer and it becomes intrusive.

We were interrupted by another person, while using a weathered gate along Eld Lane. Just as I was about to press the shutter, a man announced, “Do they work?” He was referring to my dual sided, lens mounted reflector. Mildly irritated, I politely quipped “Yes, the best £2 I’ve spent in a very long time”.

Emily patiently adjusted her pose and I fired a few further frames, before moving on. Both of us were tolerantly amused by his interruption and felt it prompted a natural break. Time for beverages and a progress review.

After twenty minutes and some reflection, we decided on another print dress and some subway backdrops. We’d initially planned to begin shooting there but a flurry of overwhelmed mothers and police presence ruled this out.

 A cluster of Community Support Officers remained, but they didn’t pose any problems. Left to our own devices, we captured some nice images here, and by the station. One final review of our work, the three hours were up. She caught the train and I headed home to post-process.

  

Gena Rose & Graffiti

Gena approached me via a purpleport www.purpleport.com and expressed an interest in organising a shoot. Pre-shoot communications were excellent, and quickly established direction(s) she was looking to take her modelling.

She’d seen some recent shoots with Krystal and wanted to create something along similar lines. She had some locations in mind, including an abandoned police station. Despite genuine potential, further research and closer scrutiny demanded a rethink.

We eventually settled on Southend on Sea and combining beach, with more urban/alternative themes. Time, location and structure agreed, my second-shooter (Spare camera body for location work) decided to expire, without any warning. This was while doing some fetish themed work.

An expensive weekend, given my car had succumbed to a grumbling CV joint. One which had also formed a seemingly permanent union with the driveshaft. Meanting that too, needed replacing.

On Sunday, I switched to my CSC and 30mm prime lens. Great for street photography but not my first choice for photoshoots. Though attitudes are changing, models tend to be sceptical and perceive them as inferior to SLRs. Models, regardless of experience need to feel confident in a photographer’s abilities.

I was familiar with the area and had taken a drive down during the August bank holiday. Primarily to do some street photography, with a quick bit of location scouting for good measure.

Having met up, we weaved through the side streets, where it was theoretically quieter and warmed up with some headshots/portraits. In common with many town centres, street homelessness is widespread and very apparent.

Affording people dignity and respect goes a long way to averting potentially awkward/dangerous situations. However, hunger, substance misuse and poor mental health can prove a volatile mix.  

We attracted the attentions of passers-by but most people were extremely considerate. Nonetheless, although all publicity is good…We didn’t want an audience and after twenty minutes, headed to the beach.

With the tide long gone and unlikely to return for seven hours, we were forced to abandon our concept of her emerging from the water. Holiday season done, we made good use of an essentially empty beach. Gena stands 5’2 and I often shoot shorter models, while lying down, which suggests they are much taller.   

Ninety minutes in, reserves were flagging, which is not great for creativity. So, we found a suitably clean café’. Conversation flowed easily as we refuelled, relaxed and reviewed the .

Bill settled, we headed out to Westcliff-roughly a mile away, stopping at various points to shoot. This beautifully restored VW fired our imaginations, particularly Gena’s (She’d studied car mechanics).

Wanting to avoid introspection and potential confrontation, we sauntered along the side streets and to some distressed warehouse doors. The dilapidated remains of a car dealership were our last backdrop of the day but won’t be our last collaboration...