Boudoir Bambi!!

January 12, 2020 in Photoshoot

For a long while now I have been wanting to do a boudoir photo shoot but never got around to it. So new year means new horizons and new opportunities, so why not try it? I had a great tip to use a hotel room on a ‘day use’ purpose rather than an overnight stay.

I selected a hotel in London for a decent price and booked a room from 10-6. I had already discussed the shoot with Bambi Bang Bang a few weeks before so we were all set. On entering the room I was surprised as it was a little smaller than I had hoped, there were tea and coffee making facilities but they were not going to be great as props in a shoot like this.

I had bought my Sony A7III along with my 85mm f1.8 lens as well as the Canon 24-105mm f4 and 50mm f1.8. Both the Canon lenses were mounted on the Sigma MC-11 Adapter.

Bambi and I had a look around the room along with the bathroom and decided the bed would be a good start. It was at this point I mentioned the ‘rotisserie chicken’ method we would be employing. I explained I would first like Bambi to lie down on her front for a few pictures then roll on to her side and finally onto her back. (rollover like a rotisserie chicken…)

Yeah I know I forgot to flatten the bed cover….

The above shot was one of the first we took. I had my Rotolight Neo 2 on the left side throwing soft light on to Bambi and the golden light above her is the just the light above the beds.

I will smooth out the bump with some elbow action…

This shot is the continuation of the rotisserie chicken, same light setup as above. This is halfway chicken…

All the above shots were taken with the 85mm f1.8, because of the focal length of the lens it meant I had to be a distance away from the subject. At times it could have been better opening the door to the room and shooting from the corridor instead of being pressed up under the fire safety notification. If I had brought my Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 then I would have to have been back in reception to get a shot! ( which was down four floors…)

After this, we moved to the bathroom and a change of outfit. I was pleased to see we had a lot of natural light in there so switched to the 50mm f1.8 so I didn't have to be in the next room.

Making full use of the natural light while it lasted we moved to the shower to play with the plastic shower curtain, I brightened and bloomed both the above images to enhance the brighter light. ( and also to hide the wrinkles and folds in the shower curtain…)

I asked Bambi to lie down in the bath for the above shot, we did briefly discuss doing one of those half water submerged shots but we were losing light rapidly. We had lunch in the handy restaurant where there was actually rotisserie chicken on the menu! As the Gallus gallus domesticus had featured quite a bit I continued the theme by having a Chicken Burger while Bambi ordered Chicken with wilted spinach. No idea why the spinach had wilted… perhaps it had been out in the sun too long or hadn’t been as successful as other spinach…

After lunch, we had a brief rest and looked through the mornings work on my laptop. For the last hour, it was back to the bed for this excellent sequence of shots to round off the day.

Considering this was my first boudoir shoot I think the shots came out very well! But… just as an outtake, I wanted a shot of Bambi looking into the mirror in the bathroom. It was going well until I noticed the way the mirror had been cleaned looked like a certain caped crusader had been there before us… what do you think?

Thanks very much too fantastic Bambi Bang Bang for helping me with this little project!

You can see more of Bambi on her Instagram @bambibangbanguk and also do check out her brilliant artwork at @doeeyedoodles !

New year, old location.

January 08, 2020 in Photoshoot

The first shoot of the new year so I thought we could go back to a favourite place of mine just south of Cousin Lane in London. Towards the end of this lane, you can keep going south and you will eventually find yourself knee-deep in the River Thames… if you keep going you will be neck deep.

I was clever and stayed dry by only walking down the steps to the beach. Today I was with Marquissa Darq dressed as a cross between Beetlejuice and the Joker, more on that connection later!

We started off walking to the east where I noticed there had been a lot of work done to shore up the beachfront since I was last here. We found a lot of clay pipe stems lying around but no bowls this time.

The green of the wall was a great contrast to the black and white costume Marquissa was wearing. We could not go too much further without falling into the Thames so I had Marquissa stand between two metal towers to frame her for the next shot.

Now back to the Joker connection. Everyone by now must have seen the iconic shot of Joaquin Phoenix dancing on the stairs in New York, if not then just Google ‘Joaquin phoenix joker stairs’ so see what I mean. Well, I may have the equivalent here, so I present the Marquissa Darq Beetlejuice/Joker stairs!

Am I going to be responsible for hoards of tourists flocking to these stairs like they do in New York? No…probably not but Marquissa had fun!

After all that stair dancing Marquissa had to recline for a bit and do a few stretches before we moved on!

After a couple, more at the stairs, we moved on the rusty barge which is right next to the stairs. Last time I was here I was using this to shelter under from a sudden hail storm! No such weather this time luckily. The barge and the wall make a great corridor for the next shot, here again, I noticed the timbers on the wall had been replaced since last time. Seems a bit of urban renewal has been going on.

Love this final shot of the day, the depth of field using the Sony 85mm f1.8 lens is very apparent here and the A7iii Eye detect worked so well on this shoot!

Thanks to Marquissa for the shoot and the chat in Starbucks afterwards!

The Snow White effect

December 31, 2019 in Photoshoot

The last shoot of the year for me so I took along my new Sony A7III and Sony 85mm f1.8 lens to try out in a portrait scenario. I contacted ZeeZee Stardust to see she was available for a quick shoot so we met up at Mile End Park.

We started with a few simple shots so I could get the feel of the lens and the awesome eye detect feature of the Sony A7III. The 85mm at f1.8 produces a fantastic depth of field so I wanted to try out some shoot through shots, shooting through branches and shrubs we found along the route.

I bought the Sony A7III along with the Sigma MC-11 adapter so I could still use my Canon lenses. One of which I had with me on the shoot to test out was the 10-20mm f3.5 Sigma wide-angle lens. This lens is for a crop sensor camera so when fitted the A7III drops into crop mode automatically. This reduces the megapixel count from 24megapixels down to 10megapixels but that is not something I am worried about. The fact I can use this lens and all my other Canon lenses is fantastic!

This allowed me to get this shot of Mile End lock and surrounding buildings.

Mile End Lock - A famous place with no squirrels….

Further along the towpath, whilst dodging a few people on bikes we arrived at a bridge. We knew this was a bridge as whenever a jogger approached they would shout ‘BRIDGE!!’. Now, this was either to alert any bikers that there was a fully informed jogger with knowledge of bridges in the vicinity or that this particular jogger liked to shout out things while passing them, like ‘BRIDGE!’, ‘DISCARDED BOTTLE OF BEER!’ and ‘FISH!’. However, none of them shouted ‘SQUIRREL!’.

This under the ‘BRIDGE!!’ shot is one of my favourites from the shoot. The sun was reflecting off the water onto the brickwork so I asked ZeeZee to stand on the other side to balance the composition.

Moving further down we encountered a flight of stairs, these can be great as they produce a natural frame for the subject as they move up and down the steps. Past the stairs, the park spaced things out and there wasn’t much around. I did notice the long shadows at this time of day so asked ZeeZee to walk away from me in the middle of the path and then look back.

And then this happened… ZeeZee called it the Snow White effect. For the second time in our shoots, as we entered a wooded area, we were surrounded by seven squirrels… You could not make this up… If this keeps up I will have to bring some peanuts with me as one of the squirrels had the wrong idea and scampered up my leg….

After which we retired to the Rusty Bike Pub just up from Mile End tube station… I had Chicken Katsu Curry which was really nice!

Many thanks to ZeeZee Stardust for helping with this shoot! You can follow on her Instagram.

Burlesque Studio Work!

November 03, 2019 in Photoshoot

And it is back to the studio for more experimenting with some Burlesque friends!

I had booked another 8 hours at the studio and this time had in mind to add a few things to the shoot. Last time there was an issue with the third party remote trigger not functioning with the Canon cameras Live View mode. I had a massive headache after last time from composing shots through the viewfinder so I was determined to make it work this time. Searching through the menus and a quick check on the internet found the solution.

When I shoot Cabaret shows I have the shutter sound as silent as possible. It is not completely silent but it does reduce the noise a great deal. However, this has been set for Live View mode as well and needs to be switched off for third party flash triggers. This worked a treat so no more headaches for me!

The second change was to bring my laptop with me and start using tethered shooting. I could connect up my camera to the laptop and have Lightroom open and display the shots, full screen, a couple of seconds after the shot was taken. I could also have a preset added as the image came in to add saturation and a little exposure compensation too. Lightroom would also build previews in the background as we were working so when I got home I could easily transfer all the data to my main pc for further processing.

This set up was great for me and fantastic for the performers as it allowed them to adjust a pose without having to come to see the shot on the back of the camera.

So first up we had Dusty Boudoir! I have shot Dusty a couple of times for Madam Krumpets and Afterdark Cabaret shows so it was good to meet her in person.

We started with some lingerie where we also employed the help of a small white chair, we employed the floor for the shots with a flowery dress and a fruit patterned bikini, then we enjoyed the stylings of a strange mannequin for the final shots.

Next up we have the trio, Belle De Beauvoir, Roxy Van Plume & Sebastian Angelique of Ménage à Rouge. These three are insane…

We started quickly with red costumes with flying red trim which we tried to capture. This is the final shot with added swirly lines in the background.

This was followed by some hysterical Can-Can moments with some high kicks!

We then shot individual sessions for each of the trios acts.

The session ended with what I can only describe as ‘desecration of a mannequins head…’

The time with Belle, Roxy and Sebastian flew by but I made a mental note to use an application called Flame Painter to draw out some lines for the shot above and for this fantastic picture of Belle De Beauvoir.

After the trio of insane performers left another bundle of fun arrived, Ginger MisDemeanour!

We had several outfits planned and we had been asked to finish a little early so we raced through the outfits. A red and black feather boa made appearances in the shots too!

In all each session had just over 300 shots done, give or take a couple of outtakes this leaves then with a lot to choose from!

The day went well and I will definitely be returning with the tethered shooting setup as it was so helpful!

Majestic Mysti Vine!

July 28, 2019 in Photoshoot

Even more studio work! This time with Mysti Vine!

I have shot Mysti while comparing at several cabaret shows but up until now had not done a shoot together. Out of the blue Mysti contacted me to collaborate at the same time I was looking for someone to fill a time slot at a studio.

This has got to be one of the best outfits I had had the pleasure of shooting. It lends itself so well to the lighting setup, the gold reflecting and the contrast of the red is fantastic! As you can see Mysti is having a good time too!

We settled down after this and I produced a chair for Mysti to sit on and pose for some more regal close up shots.

The Mysti pulled out what I thought was a sequined dress but turned into a cape! We asked Mysti’s assistant to hold the cape up off-camera, throw it into the air while stepping out of shot. We got some amazing floaty cloak action that day! Must do more cloak work!

Thanks, Mysti that was fun!

You can find Mysti Vine here at https://www.comicgoddess.com

Vince Moon - Pesky Blighter

July 28, 2019 in Photoshoot

Back for some studio work, this time with Vince Moon to get some promotional shots for upcoming performances. We discussed some ideas and I thought of a Bill Sykes character but with glitter….

Returning to the studio I had used before for the Clocktopus Cabaret and the Nova Halo shoots, a grey screen was used rather than a green one. The green screen from last time I found was highly reflective and trying to remove the green from skin turned out to be a nightmare.

I found that my Canon 6d Mkii has an issue with the third party flash. It would not trigger the flash when in live view mode so I had to look through the eyepiece the whole time. Not such a bad issue but it does give you a blinding headache after 8 hours. Will have to think of a solution next time.

Having the flash working produced some really crisp shots this time. Using the full 26-megapixel resolution I can crop into this violent shot of Vince using his wrapped belt as a weapon.

As the recycle time of the flashes were down to a second we tried a sequence of Vince walking towards the camera and me shooting several shots. This way we could get a large number of action shots done in a short time. We used this method for the rest of the shoot and finished all we needed 30 minutes ahead of schedule!

In the end, we shout around 350 sequence shots so Vince has a lot to choose from.

I must do more studio work in the future!

Ingefær Krigsmaskin

April 27, 2019 in Photoshoot

Wimbledon Common is a great place for photoshoots. It is large enough to get lost in and you only meet the occasional dog walker so you won’t get disturbed too much.

I was waiting for my Viking model after being dropped off by the friendly bus and noticed a message from him saying he had been stopped by the police a couple of times and was running late. No matter as I was scouting the area using Google Maps to ensure I was on the right track for Kingsmere lake, which was to be our first location.

The Viking arrived shortly after and I was disappointed he turned up in an Uber and not a Longboat. It would, of course, be quite difficult to navigate the journey across Londinium whilst your hull is scrapping across the tarmac.

What struck me as odd, as we were walking towards the lake, that as we were approached by a young lady, out of the two of us she choose to converse with the obviously weaponized marauder and not the sensible oyster card-carrying individual next to him… some people make some odd life choices.

Now obviously the shot above has been edited to remove the trees lining the northern edge of the lake but the resulting skyline was in fact an older shot of a sunset over Wimbledon taken many moons ago. The birds in the distance are ravens, not seagulls…

Moving further in I wanted a crouching shot as if he was hunting deer or something. The common is in full bloom at the moment so I had to dull down the vibrant greens to give it a more rustic autumn kind of look. How he will down any type of deer without a bow is anyone guess.

The two shots above were taken fairly close to each other. We both wanted a shot of the trinkets being worn and original the shot had more of the Viking but I choose to crop in to make the trinkets the focus. I did not think the Merton council would enjoy me throwing a couple of tons of salt around the common to create the effect of snow in the next shot. Salt would of course stop things growing. I wanted instead to use buckets of flour but if it rained then Peta would be kicking my door down to show me pictures of rabbits stuck to the floor by the now glue-like substance. So I had to use Photoshop trickery for that one.

This whole session was shot on a very hot Bank Holiday Monday. As it was so hot I was flagging a little so was grateful when we came across a natural glade for a quick rest. This is where I got the idea for a camp shot. I used my Canon 70D as it can use my Sigma 10-20mm wide-angle lens where my Canon 60d Mkii cannot.

I hadn’t used the lens in a while so I forgot that things closer to the lens are exaggerated. In some shots the feet were massive!

After the shoot, we retired to the local pubbery for mead and victuals.

Fear not death for the hour of your doom is set and none may escape it.

~Volunga Saga, c.5

Erm OK… I will just get the bus home then!

Carry on Clocktopus... or Aye! Aye! Captain!

April 06, 2019 in Photoshoot

A while back I started shooting for the Clocktopus Cabaret and started thinking about creating a poster / social media image for use by the show. As the show has a steampunk backstory it had me thinking about gears and metal as a basis for the image. However, I needed to get some base shots of Captain Bang Bang and her first mate Miss Stormina Teacup.

I used the same studio for the recent NOVA Halo shoot. I say recent…. it was literally straight after! The two shipmates wasted no time getting ready, making full use of the mirror facilities.

The green screen was already up and we started taking shots with the Captain and Stormina separate and then together. I already had an idea for the poster, a central gear which would be used to frame the curvaceous Clocktopus crew, with titles and information around the top and bottom.

With the shoot over, and after I watched the decimation of the biscuits we found, it was homeward bound to work on the shots. All shots were sent to the Captain and Stormina for approval, then I worked on removing the green screen from each potential shot for inclusion in the poster template.

My first ideas were very busy and had too much going on, the premise of the poster was just to attract attention and provide information, with too much included the eye could easily wander.

So after consultation, we decided to lessen the effect and stick to the above premise of the poster above. Remembering the steampunk theme I first added the original metal background then added a custom smoke texture which was replicated on each corner to keep it symmetrical, then added the redone gear wheel with additional gears inside the background.

From there I added the selected shot for the respective show. Title text was added with the name of the show, in this case Second Helpings and the bottom quarter of the poster is reserved for show information.

This shoot was a lot of fun, half the time was spent laughing and playing with nautical props, and as you can see there was a generous amount of arsing about but I like to think that my shoots are very relaxed. I never rush during the time involved and would rather take it slow to get that perfect shot I was looking for.

I also make sure there is time to allow for the tasting of plastic toy weaponry.

You can follow the tenacious tentacles of the Clocktopus Cabaret on their Instagram https://www.instagram.com/clocktopuscabaret/

Pixie Danger - Hail and well met!

March 23, 2019 in Photoshoot

I was happily surprised to read an email from an American performer who was visiting London for a few days and wanted a photoshoot.

The email was from Pixie Danger, Dancer/Performer/Puppeteer/Model who hails from Nashville. We emailed back and forth and Pixie commented that she ‘likes to do weird stuff kind of inspired by the location’. Yes, I had a weird place in mind.

I decided to return to a location on the North bank of the Thames when the tide was out. I had used the location before. However…. once I had met up with Pixie and Jonesy (?) think I have that right, we walked and talked till we arrived at the location. Only to find that the tide wasn’t quite as far out as I would have liked.

Ahh well, let’s keep going anyway. We descended to the shore and moved under Cannon Street bridge where we were in less danger of being swept into the Thames. I had Jonesy on guard duty to make sure none of the passing boats would create a swell big enough to disrupt our shoot ( he was also a good stage kitten for our bags too!).

Pixie lived up to her name by immediately scaling the wall and reclining on old pipes and holding on to chains. Even a rusty piece of metal was used as a balance beam by the edge of the shore.

With Jonesy pushing the waters back, we made our way towards the rusted barge which lies close to the stairs. The water line was close to the edge of the barge but we could get to the other side without the need for life jackets. I am glad we did as I was going to suggest leaving this location for another but if I had then we would not have got this incredible shot below.

The front of the barge is sloped so the danger sense kicked in and I asked Pixie to crawl underneath for this shot. Just look at those eyes!

It was at this point that our meteorologist, Jonesy informed us it had started raining. Grabbing my bag I noticed that it wasn’t rain but hail that was hitting my bag. So for a while, we crouched under the barge for safety.

Our next destination was across the bridge and back down on to the south shore of the Thames. Thankfully the tide had gone further out by now so we had more room to move around.

We walked along to arrive under the Millennium Bridge. If anyone asked me which is my favourite shot is then it is this one.

This looks like the front of an album or book cover!

We then moved further down the bank towards an overhang where Pixie once again threw caution to the wind and started to swing from an old chain. I had no idea how old the chain was so I too threw caution to the bottom of the Thames and started taking photos.

I also had no idea Pixie had been wearing a wig all this time… NONE AT ALL.

After this, I called the end of the shoot and we parted ways. I walked up to Cannon Street mainline station and sat down to review the shots while I waited for my train. Then I got hit on the back of the head with more hail. The quick hail shower before was just a taster! Hope you were undercover!

No swans were stalked in the making of this photo!

Pixie Danger is a Dancer/Performer/Puppeteer/Model from Nashville.

www.K80Bot.com/pixiedanger/

https://www.patreon.com/PixieDanger

https://www.instagram.com/pixie_danger/?hl=en

BURLESQUE BIG SISTER/BROTHER PROJECT - PART 8 : Andromada Mystic

March 23, 2019 in Photoshoot, BBSBP

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.

This months winner was Andromada Mystic and after a few text messages, we had sorted a theme as well as props! Andromada had all the props I had in mind, we just needed a date and location.

I thought about going back to Holland Park as I wanted a wooded area for this shoot but decided to return once again to Wimbledon Common and I am so glad I did! I found an area which I will want to come back to!

This was Queensmere Pond in Wimbledon Common. What you cannot see from Google Maps is it lies in a small valley, you have to trudge down a hill to arrive at the location. Looking back up the hill I could see a wide range of possible shots for another time.

Our theme was of a Goth Vampire Hunter searching for an ancient burial site in the wooded area, finding a relic and meeting her demise.

We did get some stares from the usual array of dog walkers and one chap was very interested in the photo I had taken above. We also were harassed by a squirrel who was after some food and stamped his feet when I ignored him.

If you don’t feed me I will stamp my feet some more.

We shot a few frames by the edge of the water while a couple of swans looked on, then we moved further into the woods. No matter where you go the dog walkers will follow you!

I used my Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 for this shot to compress the background and to make Andromada stand out. Just beyond this point was a fallen tree with the branches laid around it. This looked like the perfect place for the vampire’s artefact location. Andromada had brought along a couple of items, notably the necklaces the Goth and Vampire would be wearing in the respective shots. Take a close look at the red jewel….

At this time the poor goth was meet her end as the jewel was a receptacle for the vampire. Once released the goth was dead. I had planned this shot and Andromada had bought along a small stool for her to stand on.

I locked the camera off on the tripod and composed the shot with Andromada lying on the floor in front of me. Then she changed into the vampire and we positioned the stool close to where the goth had fallen. In Photoshop I could then align the images and merge them.

After this, we trudged back to the lake for some more shots but I wanted to take a closeup shot of Andromada as the vampire with her claws out towards the camera. I knew in my head that in postproduction I would whiten the skin to make it look more undead.

Lastly, I had noticed that the dress reminded me of Arthurian paintings and wanted to try a shot like that and edit in postproduction later. I had Andromada stand by a tree and caress it. (an odd turn of phrase to be honest), I added some symbolism to it in post.

With that type of location, I think Arthurian paintings will be my next project type!

No trees were harmed in the making of this photo.

As an afterthought to this shoot, I did start a few storyboard shots so Andromada would get an idea as to what I was looking for.

Thankfully I am a better photographer than I am a sketch artist but they do convey the ideas.

Arcane symbol Photoshop brushes by http://www.obsidiandawn.com

BURLESQUE BIG SISTER/BROTHER PROJECT - PART 7 : Fleur de Lille

March 10, 2019 in BBSBP, Photoshoot

This months winner is Fleur de Lille! This shoot had a 60’s vibe with a dash of the ’70s due to the massive building that dominated the skyline.

I had not been to Ladbroke Grove before, sounds like the kind of place that untamed betting shops hang out to eat grass. I walked out of the station and turned left and started to walk up the hill passing a very old church on my right. As usual, I was very early so found a shop at the end of the road to buy a bottle of water. Which incidentally I nearly always either forget to bring with me or to drink during the day anyhow.

I met Fleur at the designated meeting place along with her friend Debbie who was showing us around to certain sites we could shoot at. Ian would join us later so for the first time I would like to think we had some personal security guards with us. (Must get some black coats with the word Henchman pasted on the back for next time)

Our first stop.. a post box!

Fleur’s attempt at ventriloquism didn’t work on the post box.

I’m not quite sure of the age of the post box but I had to zoom in on this shot, even though we were going for a 60’s vibe I could’’t help but notice all the satellite dishes and modern cars passing by.

Next up was an odd choice, the entrance to a Ladies convenience. Not quite the place I normally focus my creative output on but I like the shot as it lends itself to an older part of London that could have been taken at the ’60s. We did get a few odd looks from the ladies who walked up the stairs to street level.

Moving on, we passed a man who was looked drunk who tried to model for me and a shop whose name translates to The Dogs Bollocks then up to a bridge over some rail lines. Here was a small area between the road and the residential area. There was a gate guarding nothing so I asked Fleur to stand on this nothing and peer over the fence for the first shot then to stand with her back to the other fence for the next.

The massive tower block you can see behind the fence is Trellick Tower, built-in 1972 and designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger. Hopefully not related to a Bond villain but I think the separate tower could be housing a ballistic missile aimed at the Capitalist West. Trellick was our next destination.

You hold the fence up, I will get some gaffer tape.

I do like stairs, they have their ups and downs but they do make a for a nice backdrop at times. As was now with Fleur laughing at something I said. I just had to get the massive concrete building in one of the shots and had Fleur point up towards the main block. Hopefully, someone felt we were pointing at them!

No I had not taken my shirt off making Fleur laugh!!

At this point, our security had left for the pub so we wandered around the canal and spotted a mannequin lounging about on someone’s rooftop. You don’t see that every day. We tried to recruit a few pigeons to model for us but they were all divas and just flew off.

We decided to join our security team in the pub and took a photo on the bridge after we crossed the road. While making use of the pubs outside garden next to the river I took out my 50mm f1.8 lens which I hadn’t used in a while to take the last shot of Fleur while she was drinking.

This is my favourite twisted piece of metal, all the others are just copying him…

Thanks Fleur, really enjoyed the shoot!

NOVA Halo - Inter Galactic Space Angel

February 08, 2019 in Photoshoot

It’s not every day that I get to meet an Inter-Galactic Space Angel but the other week I think I did just that. A year ago I had the pleasure of watching Nova Halo play at the Water Rats in North London after shooting a cabaret show.

It was Nova who contacted me about collaborating on a piece of space art after seeing a space-themed picture I had created of ZeeZee Stardust. I can do better than that I thought and invited Nova down to a studio to try out a green screen set up with a number of her costumes.

The date coincided with another green screen shoot I had planned and was easy to fit in on the day. I had only shot green screen once before with Jack Stark for The Why Not Institute and decided it was high time I tried my composite skills once again.

As usual, I was early to the venue and waited for Nova to arrive. I, of course, looked up to the skies to see the space ship land but she arrived in disguise. However, I suspect the suitcase may have been a teleportation device. We chatted for a few minutes while we waited to be let into the studio. This was the first time I had hired this studio so it was all new for me too. Once we were settled and Nova had changed we started taking pictures.

This is my absolute favourite outfit from the shoot, love the frills and the neckpiece. Still can’t place the time period I’m thinking this is from…

As you can see there is a theme running through the set of photos, I had started experimenting with planets and space art recently so this was an easy extension of that work. I tried to have a strong colour in each shot, yellow copper and rust for these three and blue and red for those below.

One thing to note is as Nova was wearing space-based silvery boots they easily reflected the green of the green screen she was standing on! One quick adjustment layer and they were back to silver… ish. Will have to work on that next time.

My absolute favourite shot is the red one. I love the broken planet and the look on Nova face suggested that this was the plan after all.

'The voice of a fantasian siren surfing the waves of a synth/dream/chamber/baroque pop and progressive/space rock ensemble. Her ethereal soundscape and alluring visuals serve a transcendental experience for the audience.' You can find Nova Halo here ….

…or possibly on Mars…

Listen & Purchase here:

iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/nova-halo/1438036959?fbclid=IwAR1McIJ_RP7g_VrQMKz_eW9DFWfRhTgPDNJaT7MKMAPSOQzHOeK_q30I3o4

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/2JryV2TK3QhNlMUbY15pUn

Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=nova+halo+astral+plane

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSbzFMB9TNW_zrKhB2pPNFA

Follow, Subscribe & Like here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/n0vahal0/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NOVAHALOINTERGALACTICSPACEANGEL/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSbzFMB9TNW_zrKhB2pPNFA

Return to Wilton's Music Hall

December 21, 2018 in Photoshoot

As an early Christmas present to myself, I thought I would hire The Study in Wilton Music Hall again, but this time for a full days shoot. The theme was Steampunk and I had bought some cheap plastic guns for the models to play with and the guns feature in each session.

I arrived and signed in and bounced up the stairs to the room, it looked like it had been used for a Christmas dinner the night before! Condiments and menus were on the tables so it took me a while to clear around some space to work.

First to arrive was Marquisa Darq who had modelled for me on the first trip to Wilton’s at the beginning of the year. Marquisa had brought along a gunslinger outfit which fitted well with the guns. I set up my new RotoLite Neo 2 and started shooting.

All the shots taken were with the natural light coming in from the left-hand windows or the soft light produced by the RotoLite Neo 2.

Having the Canon 6d MKii on a full resolution meant I could crop into the shots to produce closer portraits of the full-length shots.

Next up we have Venus Gallactica, and in stark contrast to Marquisa’s darq photos, I decided that these should have a lighter feel with a rainbow effect emanating from the guns.

Lastly, we have a newcomer, Lisbeth Pipestrelle in her first-ever photoshoot! I wanted to try a range of styles for these shots, a tinted Victorian edge, pure sepia tone to an ethereal haunted room look.

The muzzle smoke and flash was added in post-production, I was not about to let Lisbeth start shooting up the place!

I have no idea who this is but as there is a penchant for violence with a variety of hidden Cucurbitaceae, I would suggest you call the Peelers as soon as you can!

BURLESQUE BIG SISTER/BROTHER PROJECT - PART 6 : RED SARAH

December 20, 2018 in Photoshoot, BBSBP

This months winner is Red Sarah! So I packed up my gear and headed to The Fire School!

As usual, I arrived early and found Sarah setting up the lights. We had a quick chat about the shots we wanted to get and then I set up my lights. I had with me my new RotoLite Neo 2, an L.E.D unit that can throw out a ton of soft light, run on batteries if needed and can also adjust the temperature of the light if you are wanting to colour balance a shot.

I also had my smaller L.E.D light bank with me that had a slight aqua light tint to it which in some shots provided an ethereal look to the image.

I wanted to shoot through the fire to capture some portrait shots of Sarah in the fantastic hand made scale mail armour. If you look closer your can see not only the lights but also the fire reflecting in her eyes.

This is the best portrait shot of Sarah on the day, I like the twin catchlights of fire in her eyes!

I enjoyed working with Sarah and hope to do this again if it snows!

Check out The Fire School where you can learn amazing Fire skills like fire eating, fire breathing, body burning from safe, experienced and insured professionals.

BURLESQUE BIG SISTER/BROTHER PROJECT - PART 5 : LACEY NOIR

November 11, 2018 in Photoshoot, BBSBP

Photography has taken me to many places and this time it took me to North London, at Cockfosters tube station to meet Lacey Noir. This would be the first time in Cockfosters and I knew nothing of the area so a quick look at Google Maps showed me that there was a footpath just around the corner from the station which led to a large wooded area. We could use that!

Lacey Noir arrived in a red dress which would contrast brilliantly with the greens and browns of the forest. Lacey had also brought her husband along as a 'caddy'. (her words not mine) so as we walked along the path to the forest we chatted about shows and cabaret. The caddy was useful in helping Lacey navigate the slightly muddier areas of the pathway.

The end of the pathway opened up to a large vista of the area, lots of grass and a couple of solitary trees around. I had Lacy stand next to one and tried a landscape shot with a lot of contrasting yellows.

Moving further down the field I noticed a path through a line of trees, I had made a note to try the Brenizer effect, a method where you would create the look of a shallower depth of field than the lens you have can create. I had Lacey stand at the end of the path while I put the camera into manual after taking a reading. I then shot a frame of Lacey then a row above, left and right and one row below where she was standing.

Further down we could hear lots of children screaming and running about the wooded area, not wanting to disturb them we moved away and found two rows of trees that formed a tunnel effect. Again Lacey was positioned in the middle and we ran through several poses. It was at this time we were checking the weather as a very large and ominous cloud had decided to come and see what we were doing.

Moving further up we found a field of grass, Lacey was also wearing a corset so we took a number of shots with that too. I positioned Lacey a few yards away from the path then knelt down so I was shooting upwards to give the impression she was standing on a hill.

With the air growing colder and the wind picking up we finished off with a few portrait shots and headed back.

I got a message from Lacey saying they had been caught in a downpour before getting home. I was safe on the tube line but it seemed that the ominous cloud had followed me home so I got soaked too!

Burlesque Big Sister/Brother project - Part 4 : ZeeZee Stardust

October 04, 2018 in Photoshoot, BBSBP

It’s always nice to get a tip for a nice place to shoot, ZeeZee Stardust had this tip for me, Holland Park! I had never been there before so I immediately jumped on Google Maps to check it out. Lots of leafy lanes and gardens to choose from.

We had arranged to meet outside Holland Park tube station which is a short walk from the park. On the way, we discussed shows and previous shoots and performances and very soon found ourselves at the park entrance. Almost at once, we found our first location. A set of stairs between a set of palm trees.

Best practice though is to walk around the park noting locations as we went. I was looking for the leafy lanes as I had bought my Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens with me and wanted to try getting a shallow depth of field shot with it. We walked past a scattering of people, more than you would find in Wimbledon Common but with fewer dogs and found our first garden area. Some people had come here to read, others to sleep and one or two to stare into space… space was staring back…

No cafe tables were harmed in the making of this shot..

ZeeZee changed into a fantastic dress and we started to take shots. One thing I have noticed, if you are taking photos with a smartphone… no one cares and will walk in front of you, however, if you have a massive looking lens in your hand and a model in a fantastic dress then people either move around you or very patiently wait. As soon as I notice anyone waiting I immediately stop and motion for them to go ahead. It is an odd observation…

Walking back through the gardens we chanced upon a small alcove with wooden seating. This has been previously enjoyed and vacated by a member of the public so we were glad we could use it.

ZeeZee sat in the middle and arranged the dress around her and we took several shots here, I made a mental note to find out how to create images using the painterly effect. Think I have got it a little here,

Surprisingly no splinters were found after this..

On the way back to the park entrance we passed a cafe in the centre of the park. Here there was a small building with a few bushes growing along the wall. I asked ZeeZee to stand with her back to the wall while I moved back for a few shots, again this is with the painterly effect.

We then made our way back to the park entrance to the steps with the palm trees. ZeeZee had a white fur stole with her so we used that for the shot above. This too has the painterly effect but with a more blue tone to it and less ‘bloom’.

After a few more shots on a nearby bench, we called time on the shoot. A good 2 hours!

I think I will be returning to Holland Park for some more shoots in the future so thanks to ZeeZee for the tip!

BURLESQUE BIG SISTER/BROTHER PROJECT - PART 3 : CARMEN MON OXIDE

August 29, 2018 in Photoshoot, BBSBP

So next up we have Carmen Mon Oxide!

I do like being able to travel to locations where I can shoot with a model, and in this case, this was a trip to Clapham Common to meet Carmen Mon Oxide. Carmen was having some makeup done first so I visited the house close to the common. Carmen had previously sent me photos of the headdress she would be wearing but to see it live was even better!

While I was walking on the main road up to the house I noticed several people, coming from the direction of the common, wearing a lot of glitter on their faces. I could hear music in the distance so figured there may be a festival going on, which helped while we were walking around as the passing public thought we were part of the festival.

We started close to a lake and I asked Carman to stand on a small jetty for a few shots. Unfortunately, we forgot the shark boots so we took the shots again on the way back.

From here we walked on to a grove of trees, past more staring public, and found a clearing with a single tree in the middle. I asked Carmen to stand against the tree and look to her right away from the camera to create the shot below. I had an idea for the shot as soon as I saw the area.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. Robert Frost - American Poet.

We moved towards where the music was coming from and found a bandstand where Carmen was asked for a couple of selfies with the now adoring public. I took a few shots here but it was a little too public and I was having to wait for people to move out of shot quite a lot so we moved on.

I had my portrait lens with me, the Canon 50mm f1.8. After a quick explanation of the extreme depth of field, this can produce Carmen posed for several shots where I tried to get a sharp focus on the eye. I like the shot below as it also has a rainbow effect which I didn't see when I took the shot on location.

So short the depth of field, the back of the head dress is out of focus...

Moving back to the lake I asked Carmen to lie down on the jetty so I could get a lower angle shot of the lake in the background. Up until now, most had been portrait shots so I wanted one in the landscape.

Heading back home we stopped at a bus stop for an 'out of place' urban shot. We waited until the single waiting passenger had got on the bus so we wouldn't disturb them before taking pictures, the female bus driver did have a bit of a laugh as the bus pulled away.

This was a shorter shoot duration than others I have done as this was the only outfit required by Carmen, so after a while, the shots would have got a bit similar to each other.

I walked Carmen back home then made my way back to the station past more glittery public...

This was a fun quick shoot and one of the more 'public aware' locations that I have visited. We have not hassled at any point and everyone was either shocked, laughing or wanted a selfie!

I do like the shark boots Carmen!

Fangs for the memories..

July 25, 2018 in Photoshoot

Brompton Cemetery is a London cemetery in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Home to some 35,000 monuments, burials, mausoleums and now visited by myself and a few vampires.

Considering the blazing hot sunshine on the day it was probably the worst time for vampires to congregate but I suppose they were in the best place for a burial. I visited the cemetery along with Maquissa Darq, who I last shot with at Wiltons Music Hall. I was on the look out for exploding vampires along the central avenue but sadly I think they were all under cover.

We stopped off at the right hand side of the Colonnade. Here we took a number of pictures. You can see the before and after of the two shots side by side. I didn't like the lack of symmetry in the walls so copied the left to the right and added more light through the arches. I also shot Marquissa standing in an archway at the front of the Colanndade side entrance. I purposely desaturated the colours leaving her to stand out against the start grays and whites.

Avoiding the general public and assorted undead we moved around behind the Colonnade and found it was dotted with niches which Marquissa clambered up to stand in. The pose and the the way the hands were positioned to me said 'ermergance'... it was all getting a bit Hammer House of Horror at this point so we moved on and found a large musoleum where the exterior reminded me of egytian type architecture. This shot to me is very stygian in look.

Towards the back of the cemetery we found some locked doors leading to some catacombs, we noticed a snake motif on the door so Marquisa had a chat with it. It didn't have much to say. We also found a falconry area where for a small donation you can hold your arm out and a small owl will gladly sit on your glove, but not talk to you...

Avoiding tourists a the occasional cheerful Goth, we made our way back and had a drink in a local pubbery (Marquissa's new name for a pub).

Burlesque Big Sister/Brother project - Part 2 : Yippee Ikay

June 13, 2018 in Photoshoot, BBSBP

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.

Burlesque Big Sister/Brother project - Part 1 : Ruby Panther

June 13, 2018 in Photoshoot, BBSBP

So first up we have Ruby Panther!

We met up on an early Sunday morning at Monument station, headed south towards Lower Thames Street for a few street shots above the traffic then headed towards the south end of Cousin Lane. This allows access to the North bank of the Thames. With a bit of luck, the tide was out! That's why I choose an early start, it would not have looked good if the pictures showed a soaking wet model floating out the meet one of the passing boats.

Along this bank, just by the stairs is a cargo hull. I'm not sure what it is called but it was very rusted… I pushed on it and it did not fall on me so I judged it to be safe. Ruby had on a flowery dress and hat which was in stark contrast to the red hair so I made sure the hair was brought out in the shots.

The sun was blazing hot so we took a few shots with Ruby gazing out towards the Southwark bridge in the distance. We then retreated to the other side where it was cooler to get a shot between the scull and the river wall. Ruby had to hold her head up a little here as the sun would create shadows from the holes in the hat, artistic but not what I was looking for.

Further west from the hull, past the bridge, is a small section of tunnels holding up the building above. We moved into here and took some shots using the flash. The shot with the red dress is my favourite from this shoot.

After a quick drink, we moved to the south bank and found our way to another bridge and took this shot with the blue dress using my Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens. This is an odd composition where the first third of the shot is taken up by steel girders with Ruby in the middle, then more girders but I think the shot works as the position of the girders should draw you eye in towards Ruby.

This was a successful shoot! I enjoyed the company and the walk around in the blazing hot sunshine.