Nearly seven years ago, I stood in the same field with Jack Stack, capturing a panoramic shot with him at the centre. Fast forward to today, and I find myself flat on my back, taking a quick breather while explaining my medical situation to the model of the day, Dolly Dove.

I had first met Dolly a few weeks before this moment, at a performance of Cabaret Volt Air at the Pen Theatre. Afterwards, I contacted her on Instagram, and we soon arranged a walkabout shoot in Greenwich.

The reason for my sudden horizontal pause was that I had been lying on my stomach, capturing a shot of Dolly through the stems of the grass. When I tried to get up, my back simply refused to cooperate. After taking a few more shots, I rolled over, stuck for a while and unable to move.

But enough preamble—let's start at the beginning. Regular readers of my blog will know that I like returning to places I have shot before so I was happy when Dolly Dove told me to meet in Greenwich.

Greenwich, located in southeast London, is a historic district known for its rich maritime heritage and beautiful green spaces.

Climbing the seemingly endless stairs at Cutty Sark station, I naturally arrived early. With time to spare, I strolled through the streets until I reached the south bank of the Thames, near the entrance to the foot tunnel. Here, I captured a few shots of the Cutty Sark and the surrounding area, adding them to my growing collection of London photos.

Dolly arrived on time, and we quickly got to work taking photos. We recreated a shot I had taken of Jack seven years ago in nearly the same spot, with Dolly leaning against the wall, one foot up. This time, I made sure there was no chewing gum in sight. After a brief encounter with a pigeon, we headed down to the beach.

I had checked online to ensure the tide would be out, and with the river calm, we moved closer to the shoreline for a few more shots. By this point, a group of pigeons had taken an interest in our work, swooping by at the most inconvenient moments. I swear they had formed a union just to harass me.

While on the beach I asked Dolly to pose by part of the river wall, this had seaweed clinging to it and a rusty chain. After few shots I decided on this one as the better of the group.

We continued east along the bank, making our way back up to the safety of the south bank and towards the Old Royal Naval College. I had a specific set of steps in mind where I wanted Dolly to sit and recline. However, once again, we found ourselves in competition with a determined union pigeon who seemed to race us to the spot. After a brief moment of shooing, we finally managed to capture the shot on the stairs.

Afterward, we headed up the stairs and into a nearby walkway. Here are some of the best shots from the shoot. To get the full effect, just imagine the sound of a frisbee clattering behind us—apparently, straight throws weren't part of the plan that day!

Heading south, away from the river, we crossed the road and ventured into the trees. We paused to watch a family with buggies struggling up a steep slope—the same one we had planned to climb. Thinking better of it, we changed course and soon found ourselves near a clearing with a fallen tree.

I found it ironic that the fallen tree was now being propped up by other pieces of wood—a bit late for support, but it provided the perfect seat for Dolly, who sat comfortably with her feet resting on the lower log. We snapped a few more shots by the log before I asked Dolly to stand among the branches of a nearby tree. I must say, she blended in remarkably well!

Finally, we wandered into the open field with lush grass and a small path, the same spot where Jack stood seven years ago. You can see that shot about two-thirds of the way down this blog post—but hold your horses, don't go just yet, I’m not finished!

Every time I look at this new shot, it reminds me of those old chocolate adverts from the 1970s… you know the ones. This is also where my back decided it had had enough. They say photographers and performers suffer for their art, but I’m pretty sure I out-suffered Dolly this time. Sitting down must have been tough for her, but lying flat on my back in a field? That’s next-level dedication. Lol...

It seems I have started a habit of asking the talent to press themselves into a tree on these walkabout shoots. This was no exception and Dolly obliged for this fantastic shot to round off the day.

You can find Dolly on her socials at https://www.instagram.com/missdollydove/