I was encouraged to join a group on Facebook, the Burlesque Big Sister/ Brother project, where I could give something back to the community that I have been a part of for a good number of years now. This year I offered a photoshoot per month, winners are selected and I contact them for a date to shoot.

So next up we have Yippee Ikay!

For this shoot, I decided to go back to somewhere I had not been to in a very long time, The Chase Nature Reserve in Dagenham. We had a short walk to the entrance which was very overgrown, I used to live close by to the area, my father used to take myself and my older sister on walks there so I remembered a lot of the topography along with the gravel pits and where the rabbit warrens are situated.

We walked around taking shots here and there, part of an old building was close to the entrance as well as a glade area where I was set upon by small black ants as I was trying to get a low shot.

After the fight with the ants, we walked further west, deeper into the reserve. I recalled there was an iron bridge crossing the District Tube Line, and we headed in that direction. We found that some of the areas had been fenced off so we had to walk around it and through a tight pathway with stinging nettles on either side.

The bridge is an excellent location if you like to grunge up your shots. The metal has a lot of texture to it which Lightroom can bring out using the clarity tool. It made the stairs look very rusted and worn a lot more than it actually was.

In the above shot, I reversed the idea of using the clarity slider. This made the walls a lot smoother and I like the lines of perspective taken your eye to the centre with Yippee Ikay breaking the centre up. We spent some time on the bridge, dodging the odd dog walker or two and taking a few more shots.

On the way back we found a field of horses. Most on them walked off when we approached but one stayed to say hello. The horse did not turn out to be much of a diva and posed very well once it was fed some quality grass. Ours was much greener on our side of the fence.

I was a little apprehensive about the location of this shoot. Coming up on the bridge I recalled that I hadn't been at this location in close the 30 years. This shoot brought back a lot of memories for me. I am sure the ants won’t forget my elbow crashing through their nest in a hurry!

Think I will leave it another 30 years then I might go back again.