Two of the shoots commissioned this month saw me back in nature enjoying some elements (lots of sunshine) whilst fighting others (lots of hayfever). As ever, photography simply doesn't work for me if there isn't some sort of challenge to cope with and using copious quantities of sun lotion and antihistamine should be considered a challenge!
The first job was for Viva Communications to illustrate a lovely story about a school in Leicestershire visiting the Ernest Cook Trust's Forest School. The reception class visit the outdoor classroom where the children are encouraged to explore and experiment with the objects (and creatures) they find.
The shot of the three children inspecting a millepede sums up the whole point of the class.
The brief was to find a shot that could be used in a local campaign to promote the Forest School and the work the trust does with educating local children.
It's got just the right number of elements for me to make a shot like this work. It has cute looking children (round cheeks, big eyes), props (bug bottle, magnifier), and a creepy crawly bug.
As is often the case with this type of image, I had to wait right up to the last minute for it to work.
The second shoot in the wild was for Words & Pictures and involved a trip to RAF Brize Norton - not exactly the kind of place one associates with wilderness but on the edge of the runway lies a stunning little wetland looked after by Kelda Water Services.
The portrait was of technician Ben Williams who's idea it was to let the site go wild - apparently the RAF likes things neat and tidy so he had some persuading to do with his bosses.
Before we started Ben advised me not to take any pics of the aircraft as he didn't think that was allowed.
The challenge with this shot was to light it. Swamps and photographic lights don't really go well together so there was a bit of careful exploration involved in finding a dry spot to place my £3,000 flash.
Mixing flash and daylight makes this shot work as it pulls Ben out from his surroundings and helps the contrast and colours jump out. It also meant that it was easier to add a bit of digital darkness to the sky.
Now, I must admit to having had to resist the urge to turn my lens at the hardware taking off behind me. Like all proper men, I love anything with big engines and lots of noise and being told not to do something was nearly unbearable.
