Once again I find myself arriving to shoot a show far too early again. Out with the phone.. nearest chicken shop this time, please. Ahh, there is one close. I was due to shoot for Bawdsville at the Ram Jam Club in Kingston. So munching on the chicken I checked my kit for the third time since I left home. It would be most embarrassing turning up at a show without a camera, I'm not a good sketch artist!

I met with the host Unruly Scrumptious to have a quick chat about where best to stand. There was also a couple of people who were there to video the show too, so I had a quick chat with them to see where wished to record from. Compared to other venues, this is a more intimate performing area and darker than I am used to. However, there is always a sufficient amount of light in the centre area of the stage so shots were timed to get the best of each performance.

Kimberley OddSocks and Andy Van der Graaf

Down the middle of the area was a clear space between the seats where the performers would walk to the stage. I shot along this line as there would be little chance of anyone getting in the way. The usual work duo of the Canon 70d and the Canon 24-105 f4 L lens was with me and helped to capture some great shots. These of course were delivered within 24 hours via a Dropbox link.

Thanks to Unruly Scrumptious for asking me to shoot!

You can find Bawdsville at https://www.facebook.com/Bawdsville/

I had some time to go and see Briar Rouge recently to do a quick photoshoot. We choose a small local park five minutes from Hitchen station. Hitchen is only thirty minutes from Kings Cross so I was able to view new things from the window like rolling fields and sheep. These sheep were either circus performers or they just liked getting on top of each other for some reason...

Pulled into Hitchen and consulted Google Maps and headed towards the park. The wrong way... oh great start. Arriving at the park I noticed something that Google Maps didn't show me. The cluster of trees I thought were dense turned out to have a fence stopping any further progress. This was fortunate as this would have taken me up to the train lines and a large number of volts to the legs would not be nice.

I received a text from Briar confirming she was on her way so I did a quick look around for viable places. The first thing was a willow tree with a path behind it. This was a good place to start as we would then walk around the edge of the park looking for an area to shoot in.

Briar arrived and we had a quick discussion about the clothes and accessories she had bought with her. Briar was already dressed in a pink chiffon dress and a red hat so we started with that. I like red as its a contrast to most things especially when you are in a large field of green things. I stepped down a few nettles around the tree, one thing you don't want is a model annoyed at you for stepping on a perennial Urtica Dioica. (thanks Wiki). Always look after your model, you want them to smile at you! The sun came out just at the right time for a shot that illuminated the dress.

We moved from location to location, dodging a few dog walkers and managed a few costume changes. I had a three of my lenses with me, the Canon 24-105mm f4, Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 and the Canon 50mm f1.8. All three were used with the 50mm f1.8 used for close up shots of Briar's face, the f4 for medium to close shots and the f2.8 for long-range shots or when I wanted to really blow out the background.

On occasion I do like to take a few candid shots while the model is getting ready, it can show a different side of the shoot.

I allow two hours for a shoot, this allows time for a costume change and enough time to explore the area and utilize as many versions of a shot as you can. Ideas can run out quickly if the area is small too. We wrapped in an hour and a half and parted ways. Throughout the shoot, Briar showed a lot of experience and suggested areas to shoot in and improvised looks and poses while the shutter was clicking away. Cheers Briar hope to work with you again!

Briar Rouge is a singer and burlesque performer, you can find her website here at http://www.briarrouge.com/

Bawdsville presents - Other Creatures

A Shade of Rouge