I met Casey about 18 months ago at Yew Tree Barn where she is the manager of the Gallery, we started chatting as I wanted to take some photographs of the random items that are stocked in the reclamation yard! Casey told me that she had done some modelling for photography workshops in the past and to cut a long story short she came along to the Photocamp that I organised for a crazy bunch of female photographers earlier this year and she was amazing, even in the wind and the rain she was a true professional and worked with all the girls to enable them to get great images.
We have kept in touch and become firm friends - she modelled again for me recently on one of the Walkabouts....the one where she was sat on a haystack in the field....the same haystack that I tried to jump onto - hurt my hip and fell off the other side! Casey was the one who has the amazing outfit, tutu, long socks, pink cashmere jumper and a teddy bear!
So when Casey got in touch to commission me to do a special photoshoot with her I jumped at the chance. Her brief was simple, she wanted images that reflected her personality, images that were completely different to anything she already had, and the most important part of the brief was that this had to take place in Cumbria, around the Langdales, the area that is so special to her and where she calls home. We discussed outfits and locations and I headed up to meet her on a very dark and wet morning. E had a few ideas but decided to allow ourselves to be influenced and inspired by the weather and the surroundings, the skies were dark but the area was just full of colour, the trees were still green in places but there were also patches of autumnal colours, reds and oranges and every shade in between.
We started in a beautiful patch of woodland near Caseys childhood home, I wanted to get some strong head shots which I adore doing, and I love the first few images of her with her walking boots on - she loves being outdoors, climbing , walking, exploring and so I feel that we had started to capture her personality in the images
We moved on to a completely different setting - the amazing Cathedral Quarry, a huge cave with a floor to ceiling pillar in the middle. We nearly didn't go in as there was a large keep out sign - apparently the cave had been closed for a few days as a film crew were shooting scenes for a new film 'Snow White and the Huntsman' due to be released next year and starring Kristen Stewart - of Twilight fame, Chris Hemsworth - from Thor, Bob Hoskins and Charlize Theron!!!! There were also rumours that Anthony Hopkins and Eddie Izzard were there too! Fortunately (???!!)they had all left and we had the cave to ourselves - Casey had talked about trying to get some art nude images and so this was the perfect location with the most amazing light coming through and the gorgeous colours of the slate.
There was a slightly scary moment where Casey felt something go past her leg while she was in the water - she saw something orange swimming by - on closer inspection we found a couple of goldfish happily swimming around!
We do have to apologise to the wife/girlfriend of the chap who came in half way through the shoot - he was really interested in what we were doing - but she was not too keen on him staying any longer than he had to!!!
After leaving the cave , we headed up towards Blea Tarn, bit on the road up to it we were stopped by security guards and told we had to go a certain way and avoid the other road as the cast and crew of the film were still on the hills! Now I get very excited about stuff like this, I always wanted to be a location scout for films and be part of the whole excitement of filming ......so how do you think I felt when we turned a corner to see..........
The helicopter was getting the aerial images and the cast - including 7 dwarves were in the ridge directly in front of us!
So we headed down to Blea Tarn and chatted with the location crew for a while who were a little bemused that Casey was planning to get in the tarn for the last photos of the day - we did meet a lovely chap from the crew who lent Casey his fleece! We wandered down to the water thinking it was quite isolated - when the helicopter flew over and landed next to us! By this time Casey was in the water, wearing just the lovely chaps fleece, getting ready for the last few shots and turning slightly blue.... then the helicopter took off - dipped low enough to splash Casey - the pilot waved and smiled and headed off!
And just when we thought the day could not get any more surreal - Casey tuned round to see an old friend of hers - driving a quad bike being followed by about 8 sheepdogs!
What can I say - this is what I adore about photography - new people, new locations and the most amazing experiences - if you book a photoshoot with me then I will work really hard to make sure that you love the experience as much as you love your images !
Click on any of the images to see a larger version - and please leave a comment if you like this xxx
1 comments:
You both must be really chuffed with these as they are excellent. Love the ones by the lake/pool with the slate behind. Nice to see a sneak peek of the film, too.
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