New Blog

For anyone still watching this very out of date blog, for the sake of simplicity and ease of updating I have now incorporated my three photography blogs into my main website "Seduced by Light - a photographic journey of light and shadow".. And moved most of the more relevant posts over to there.
The remaining content will stay here for the sake of nostalgia.
Please visit my new blog for further updates.

12 Months of Red and Light

A year in pictures.

12 Months of Red and Light.
Just over a year ago, Chrissie and I met after several months of random passing of comments and mutual admiration of one another's work.
On our very shoestring budget most of what we have done wouldn't have been possible under the normal model/photographer process as we mostly just go out for a day, bounce ideas about and see what happens and what places we find, we have very similar tastes and goals and the spontaneity is sometimes instrumental to the results that we produce.
One of the most interesting things is that we have become quite an efficient working partnership, both knowing what the other needs and wants to do without in depth discussion, we just do our thing in our own way, it works well for us.

We have both been through good times and darker times in our personal lives and both been there for one another when it mattered, I think and I think Chrissie would agree, we make such good friends because we aren't judgemental and don't get involved in each others personal lives unless asked to do so.

None of this was planned, nether of us were looking for a friendship or collaboration, actually I had been cooking for a collaborator, but I had given up, I guess sometimes you find what you want when you are not looking for it, some things are just meant to be I guess, there is so much more I could say, we have watched one another evolve as model/photographer and as people, Chrissie is a wonderful and dear friend and If we could do it all again I wouldn't change a thing, so here's to the next year and beyond..

Thank you Chrissie fr being you and for being such a great friend.

Interview with Chrissie

Recently Chrissie had an Interview with Jan Murphy on the Univers d' Artistes Blog.
Very interesting and insightful and worth a read, you can read the
Chrissie Interview here.

Then and Now

As well as our model/photographer collaborative work Waterfall: Colourfall.

This waterfall is situated on the route from between Broadford and Portree, fairly accessible even if poor light and looked like a good subject for a lightpainting.
We used two large torches and a tripod mounted camera with a remote shutter release and the camera set to a bulb.
We were positioned either side of the camera for the “paint”.
Chrissie with a 2 million candle power torch, on the foreground rocks, water, right mid ground rocks, water and right-hand side rock face.
Myself, with a 10 million candle power torch, on the waterfall, tree, left mid ground rocks, water and the left-hand side rock face.
Exposure, approximately 2 minuets.

Cill Chriosd ruin, Isle of Skye: The Haunted.

This ruin is just outside Broadford, a place that I have visited and photographed before, it has been shot quite extensively so I wanted to make it a little different.
For this we used one large torch and two flashguns with gel coloured flash.
Chrissie went inside the ruin to fire coloured flash to create some interesting light effects.
Myself, with a 2 million candle power torch, from just behind left of camera and then far right of camera for dual directional light and shadows
Exposure, approximately 2 minuets.

Dual person Lightpainting, Isle of Skye

As well as our model/photographer collaborative work Chrissie and I also dabble with joint photographic projects, which fits in well with Chrissies other interest, photography, something I am keen to explore with her. Both of these images are difficult to get right, having two lighting at once is interesting and in some cases makes something that is pretty much impossible to do alone within the reach of possibility.

Waterfall: Colourfall.

This waterfall is situated on the route from between Broadford and Portree, fairly accessible even if poor light and looked like a good subject for a lightpainting.
We used two large torches and a tripod mounted camera with a remote shutter release and the camera set to a bulb.
We were positioned either side of the camera for the “paint”.
Chrissie with a 2 million candle power torch, on the foreground rocks, water, right mid ground rocks, water and right-hand side rock face.
Myself, with a 10 million candle power torch, on the waterfall, tree, left mid ground rocks, water and the left-hand side rock face.
Exposure, approximately 2 minuets.

Cill Chriosd ruin, Isle of Skye: The Haunted.

This ruin is just outside Broadford, a place that I have visited and photographed before, it has been shot quite extensively so I wanted to make it a little different.
For this we used one large torch and two flashguns with gel coloured flash.
Chrissie went inside the ruin to fire coloured flash to create some interesting light effects.
Myself, with a 2 million candle power torch, from just behind left of camera and then far right of camera for dual directional light and shadows
Exposure, approximately 2 minuets.

Searching for snow

Snow Shoot:

Snow Window.
Yesterday Chrissie and I took a wee jaunt further north, for reasons best known to ourselves, in search of snow and somewhere even colder than we are normally used to.
This is was the first shot of the day in a ruin that we came across, pretty much based on Chrissies liking for old windows and doorways.

Snow Landscape nude
Later in the day we came across this lovely open area with background hills.
after deciding where to set up the shot, in what can only be described as a chilling -3 C, this was the final result.

Model Behavior

Snow scene hunting with Chrissie:

Outtake.
On a wee jaunt north snow scene hunting one can be excused those little indiscretions in freezing conditions with a car passing, tooting filled with jeering guys ha ha.
Actually nothing of the sort, but the caption is rather Chrissie like! :D

Early Beginnings.

I guess the best place to start is right back at the beginning on our first non virtual meeting, I will try to make my postings as linier as possible or I can remember up to present.

I may get in trouble for posting this, however it forms part of the story so far, since this blog isn’t just about our work together but also about our friendship, it deserves its place here, so I guess I will just have to duck! I am sure that Chrissie has the odd photo that will make me cringe too.
On our first meeting we looked over a location that Chrissie had suggested which looked very promising, on our way back we found this rather odd chimney in the woods all alone and well just done something spontaneous.

Having walked around the location had got pretty much covered in mud up to our knees, I took a few shots for reference, this is one which later became the scene of a shot from out first proper shoot.


This is the resulting shot from the above location, all be it with a little less colour, A near miss with a random walker, and probably the first time I had been that close to an interesting situation to explain away :)


Finally for this entry, another image from the end of the shoot, I just happen to like this one a lot for a number of reasons, but for me it was the beginning of something special.

Introduction

Simon writes:

Chrissie and I first met in the virtual sense in March 2008 by chance through various websites, most notably deviant Art, exchanging comments (and some random banter) on each others work and other general/not so general subjects.
I think it would be fair to say that we had a mutual admiration for oneanother’s work.

Chrissie had mentioned to me about a location that may be suitable for a shoot, so I sent her a mail asking for directions so that I could go and have a look, we later agreed to go together.

On meeting, we soon realized that we had possibly stumbled by chance into a friendship that was more than just doing the odd shoot here and there, the result being an ongoing collaboration of artistic and well formed ideas, some random days out just doing, well random things, usually with some random photographs to show for it.

Chrissie had also expressed an interest in photographic projects from behind the camera, something that I was keen to be involved in a little, so I gave her a DSLR and 50mm lens to play with, with very little instruction from my part she has ventured into this arena with enthusiasm, I ma sure you will see some of her results here.

The rest I am sure will unfold as this blog grows….