Photoshoot - Day 2 Summary

On the 2nd morning of the shoot we were back on the beach. This time it was a narrow strip of pink and black sand. The sky was overcast with no sign of sun breaking anytime - exactly what we were not wanting.

Working in a small area (there were also fishing boats out at sea and fishermen along the coast to be avoided in the shots) was challenging and confined a lot of my angles. It was tough going but we managed to get some shots that we were happy with. The Judith and Ester (our models) had a fantastic time playing on the beach and got quite a shock at how cold the sea was. Beatrice and Henriette (our designers) discovered how badly one can get sunburned through the fog.

Our evening shoot was out in the desert, about 45km out of town. There was a moment of despair when we realized how deep the fog went into the desert. We struggled to find a straight length of railway in the sun and almost gave up. Fortunately, we found a great spot just as the light was entering the golden hour. Judith and Ester looked amazing in the garments in the sunset glow, and I was again more comfortable shooting in the desert than the beach.

Because the shoot incorporated a stretch of railway line, Judith had to have a crash course in walking on one of the steel girders in platform shoes. She mastered it quickly and did a superb job of both walking on a single track and maintaining an air of calm in front of the camera. For this she must be applauded!

Although it was a day of mixed fortunes, the overall feel was of optimism after the spectacular light and backdrop of the evening shoot. When we returned to Swakopmund, the fog was heavy again and we decided that we would do another shoot in the desert the following morning not too far from where we had done the previous evening's shoot. We had spotted a wonderful stretch of desert and small rocky hilltops that would work wonderfully with the early morning sun light.
Plans were made, and everyone went to bed tired but satisfied with the day.

Introducing the Team

From left to right: Judith, Henriette, Andrew, Ester, Beatrice

Here we all are at one of the locations out in the desert. Judith and Ester are our two lovely models from Namibia and did an excellent job throughout the shoot. Both worked very hard for long hours without a word of negativity or complaint, and were always interested to learn more about their surroundings at each location. I am very glad I had the opportunity to work with them and hope that I will again in the future.

Henriette and Ester are the clothing designers from Germany. They spent the last six months putting together the collections we photographed. I was very impressed with their level of professionalism and really enjoyed their outfits. They are both very good designers and have contrasting contrasting styles, which helped made my job of photographing both collections back-to-back so much easier.

I would like to thank the team for their hard work, enthusiasm, humor, professionalism and faith in me to represent their work, despite my having no previous experience doing this kind of shoot.

D-Day

I just spent two-and-a-half hours doing a meet and greet with Henriette, Beatrice and the two models who will be wearing their collections. Meeting everyone and speaking face-to-face has calmed my nerves. Judging by the way we all communicated with each other, the running of the shoots should be okay. I'm sure there will be some niggles to iron out as we each get used to the others' style of working, but I'm certainly feeling much more confident that there should be no problem with the basic running of things.

The collection's of each designer are very different as are their ideas of the final look they would like to present. This will make it easier for me, as the photographer, to switch between collections on the fly. Both collections look good and I'm sure will be very impactful when worn by either of the very lovely models.

We start with a beach shoot tomorrow morning. Up at 04h00; meet at 05h00. Sunrise is at 06h31. The weather looks like it may actually play in our favor after more than a week of being terrible. I have my usual gear and have managed, thanks to a good friend, to borrow a Nikon D80, reflector, 85mm prime lens, and 17-135 zoom lens. Having a good variety of gear certainly goes a long way to calming my nerves too.

I'm going to try and run (inadvertently) the shoot like a film shoot. There will be little scenarios to play out using slow movements and strong energy. The scenarios will be discussed in detail before being played out, and very little intervention (hopefully) will happen while they happen and as I photograph them. Not quite what models are familiar with, but with some techniques I learnt from dancing butoh, I think we could get some interesting results if they manage to get into it.

And so, my nerves are all directed to where they should be - taking photographs. I would like to have as much concentration there as possible with as little distraction from other elements as possible. Sounds naive, I know, but that is where I would like to ideally be.

Will keep you updated about how it goes...

Painting With Light - Part I

Funnily enough, even though my blog's title refers to the meaning of the word photography, that is not the way I intended it.

Instead, the light that I refer to painting with is my own inner light. Unlike the movie Star Wars, where the the Dark and Light Side exist independently, I acknowledge that both the dark and light co-exist simultaneously within me, and it is my daily working with both of them that ultimately paints, with light, my life story.

I subscribe to a more yin-yang point of view, where darkness and light are relative to one another, and are complementary opposites as opposed to mortal enemies. A picture that is completely white, or completely black would be fairly mundane to me. A picture that that manages to balance both its dark and light aspects harmoniously is far more appealing.
And in this search for balance in daily living, to acknowledge that there will be constant shifts in balance, offering me the opportunity to grow; not by subtraction, but by addition.

Three Weeks Ago...

My name is Andrew Robson.

Three weeks ago I made the decision to pursue a career in photography in Namibia. This blog is my tale as it unfolds from here on.

I am 34 years old and live in a town called Swakopmund, population 30 000. Most of the people who live here exist below the breadline. Those that have money would rather spend it on booze than photographs.

I live with a fantastic partner who has a 6 year-old son. She is an artist and he started grade 1 last week. My partner and I have an 11 month-old son. He is the center of my universe.

I have less than three years experience with a camera. I am self taught. I shoot with a Nikon D50. I predominantly use analogue lenses (50mm prime & 35-70mm) on the digital body. I have no accessories like reflectors, flashguns, remotes et al. I have only done one photoshoot for money before.I have virtually no business experience. I have avoided it all my life in favor the creative instinct (I know, I know...).

I am broke as I type this.

I am prone to emotional mood swings that can sabotage my best interests and intents.

If I start another sentence with I, I will stop today's blog.

Please check back regularly to see if I make it or not in this venture; which techniques I beg, borrow and steal; which tips I pass on from others and occasionally think up myself. You get the picture.

And please, please, please comment and offer your own insights and tips as I will need all the help I can get.

I...

Shit!