So here is the April/May look back/look forward
The poor weather affected a couple of the things I had planned for April, but I’m always ready to adapt. Whether is because of the weather, a less than ideal location or an equipment limitation, you just have to think how to take advantage of your disadvantage. It’s like sitting with you’re back to the view, or avoiding the crowd of photographers and looking around for something different.
On the 6th of April I had planned to shoot a client, and we were going to go out into the countryside to take some photos around gnarly trees or interesting rocks. However, as we had expected for a couple of days before the shoot, the weather was not good. It was wet and very cold, and also there was a very chill wind which is, for me, the worst thing. The client/model soon get cold and it’s almost impossible for them to look relaxed, so you won’t get any good shots (unless you want that ‘tortured’ look). So, we converted it into a body project shoot. My body project has been created to allow clients to have a ‘studio’ shoot in the comfort of their own home. I went to the client’s flat and we shot a replanned session which worked very well. I’m always looking for shoot ideas, when I find something, I add it to a file and link that to what my clients like. Having this back up means I always have alternative ideas to hand if things don’t go as planned. When the client is in their home, they do feel more in control and relaxed. It’s also good because they have all their wardrobe and accessories to hand so the mood of the session can be very flexible.
On Tuesday 9th, I shot a morning session which was planned as body project, and although the clients home was limited, we managed to get some very nice photos that could have easily been taken in a studio. It’s a case of being as imaginative as possible and making the most of what is available.
As usual, we were unable to take any moon photos. The weather was cold and a little bit wet, but the thing that made the shoot impossible was the overcast skies. Let’s see if May will let us go out in the moonlight. This postponement did give me the chance to shoot the silent procession again. Although this year I only shot the very beginning because I have done it so many times now, I find it hard to get the motivation to hang around cold windy streets at 1 o’clock in the morning. I’m getting too old for late nights and early mornings!
April also provided me with a couple of surprise shoots.
The first was of a band, Virtuts Homologues, who have been performing in this city for many, many years. I have shot individual members of the band before in an informal setting, but this time they were getting together to do a concert to promote a CD and I needed no invitation to take my camera along and shoot the concert.
That was on Friday the 26th, and on Sunday the 28th another surprise unplanned shoot with two people I have previously shot separately. Alba and Berta have a project together involving dance, harp and theatre, and I was able to go along for the rehearsal and also shoot the performance itself. The show is called Reccurències and it’s outstanding. If you don’t speak Catalan, don’t worry, you will understand everything.
Looking ahead to May, there isn’t very much planned. I have my photography student who I’m taking to very different shooting environments. Last moth was all about shadows. First, we did a local wood on a day that many people would not have ventured out. As we made our way to the location the rain was petering out and by the time we arrived it had stopped. Underfoot it was damp but not muddy and the light was spectacular for photographing among the trees, beautifully diffused by the sullen sky, with marvellous soft shadows. By the end of the session the sun was almost breaking through the cloud and the delicate light we had enjoyed for a couple of hours was gone.
The following class we visited the High Street. It was a sunny day and I wanted to show how harsh shadows can be used to frame things and draw the eye to different areas of the image, or create abstract images. In May there will probably be some more urban work and then we’ll see where we’re going from there.
Saturday the 18th is the full moon and I will plan for a shoot but, once again, who knows whether (weather?) it will be possible or not. We just have to keep plugging away and one day it will come off.
May and June will probably be relatively quiet shoot wise because I have a lot of non-photographic work to do. However, as I discovered last month, you never know what’s around the corner!
