A Weekend Away

Having been made redundant, I had a weekend away from home and had a chance to meet up with old friends and to indulge in some photography. On the Saturday morning I packed the car with all of the kit I was going to need and some things that I thought might be required over the weekend, and set off for St. Athan in South Wales.

Two and a half hours later I pulled up in the driveway, rang the doorbell and waited and waited, after a while I phoned all the numbers that I had to hand to no avail, so I tried the door and it was open! I eventually found everyone luxuriating in the hot tub and after introductions I settled down for a chat with everyone.

On the Sunday a late start and breakfast, and the two girls I came to photograph started to get ready for the shoot, hair was done and basic makeup applied and we then all set off to the location for the shoot. At the location I unloaded my car and set up all of my portable studio kit and generally prepared myself for the shoot while the final makeup was completed and we were ready for the shoot.

 Madi

 Madi

 Madi

My models for the day was Madi, the daughter of Lyndy who had modelled for me back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and Madi’s friend Shanice. Lyndy did all of the hair styling and makeup for the shoot, a task that she has done for me in the past, and Lyndy’s sister Liana helped out as well as providing accommodation and meals for the weekend.

 Shanice

 Shanice

 Shanice

On the Monday morning I met another friend, Jackie and her sister Denise, at the Beach Café at Llantwit Major Beach, which was a very welcoming place on a cold and damp morning, and as all photographers, are supposed to, I always have a camera with me and took a quick snap of the sisters together.

Denise and Jackie

Autumn Nears

As the autumn approaches, I managed to do a couple of shoots with Laura, who’s modelling name is Summer30, and managed to shoot on the one scorching weekend we seemed to have had this year!

The first shoot was mid September and I collected Laura from a very plush looking hotel near Westonbirt Arboretum, and travelled back to my place for the shoot. The weather wasn’t too bad and we did manage to get some different shots, which included some shots of Laura in her new boots, and some lingerie style shots. I am not a great fan of lingerie preferring so shoot nudes, but I did get some pleasing images, as well as another chance to do some shots with my new prop, the crystal ball!

The second shoot was the first weekend of October, which was incredibly warm with record temperatures. This time I collected Laura from Gloucester, this time with a courtesy car as my own car was at the garage for a servicing. On the way back to my place the garage called to say that my car would not be ready until Monday and would cost a small fortune as it needed new tyres all round and new front disks and break pads.

Once back at my place, we got down to work, starting with a cup of coffee, followed by set of Laura in jeans and shirt, which did not stay on for long, followed by some work with bondage tape. Laura then demonstrated her gymnastic ability by doing handstands on the lawn, while wearing just a loose fitting shirt; I might post some of those shots later!

All in all a couple of good shoots.

Mystic Lou

Things have been a bit quiet lately with a couple of planned shoots not happening because of weather and illness.

I eventually managed to get a shoot organised for the recent Bank Holiday at the end of August, with Miss Lou Lou. Lou arrived for the shoot with plenty of outfits and after a cup of tea and a check of what she had brought with her a plan emerged for how the shoot would progress, including how we were going to use a new prop that I had bought.

A very productive day followed and some examples of what was achieved have been added to this Blog entry.

Mystic Lou and the new prop - ACrystal Ball

A couple of headshots

A couple of the other shots we did

And finally – a bit of trash the top! 

A Busy Weekend - Part II

My weekends are either very busy, or there is nothing happening at all! This particular weekend fell into the busy category as I had a shoot on the Saturday and another one on the Sunday afternoon, and I try very hard to have nothing happening on a Sunday, as I like to do absolutely nothing at least one day a week!

It was fortunate that the weather over the weekend had been relatively good, and on the Sunday it was excellent, with bright sunshine and clear skies, not normally the sort of weather that makes for good portraiture, as the shadows are usually very dark and lacking in detail, but I always look on these situations as a challenge.

Sasha called me at the due time for the shoot to let me know she would be a little bit late as she was still ironing her outfits for the shoot, but she eventually arrived a few minutes late and we collectively decided what she would wear for the first set and discussed a few other ideas.

Various sets were shot in my garden and at one point I received a call from Fire’s Secret asking how to get to a location we had shot at the previous week, and I asked her if she wanted to stop by on her way back and she agreed.

After several changes and sets around the garden I was utilising a table to bring Sasha up to my level for some shots of her lying down, when Fire’s Secret arrived after her shoot, and at this point all photography ceased as we all enjoyed telling a few anecdotes and tales of experiences of photo shoots.

 

I was contacted a day later for advice on how to take certain types of photo’s by Fire’s Secret as she has now got herself a camera and wants to try her hand at being on the other side of the lens, but that is another story.