England has a lot of amazing buildings that make for great images, but it’s important to resist the temptation to stand back for the big picture, and pay attention to details, texture etc. I found this door on an otherwise nondescript old building in Canterbury.
Today, one more image of Jennifer from what I am calling the Jennifer Gears project 🙂 Today’s image is one of the black and white film images I created. In addition of course to  Ashley ‘s amazing technical work, I think it is really important to highlight Jennifer’s contribution today: her intensity and expression were as critical as any other success factor for the shoot! There is always depth and complexity in her expressions, and that makes her a rewarding model to work with.
I think special mention should be made of how patient she was during the multi-hour make-up/FX application, as well as removal afterwards!
Model: Jennifer Bettencourt
Special FX/Make-up Artist Ashley Vieira
(Nikon F3 35mm SLR, 85mm/1.8 Nikkor lens, Eastman Double-X film,
developed in HC-110 dilution B for 6.5 minutes @ 20 degrees C)
I have had the privilege of working with model/musician Jennifer Bettencourt on a number of occasions, so when she contacted me recently about a project I was naturally interested. A friend of hers named Ashley, Â who is a new graduate of a program in special effects needed to document her final school project, and needed a model and photographer and I was lucky enough to get the call.
The project was steam punk themed, and involved the creation and application of many. many gears to Jennifer’s skin, and we aren’t talking just make-up; Ashley made the gears using moulds she made herself to create three-dimensional pieces applied like tattoos. Preparation took many hours (see a “behind the scenes” prep shot at the end of this post), but the results were worth it! It was also fascinating to watch the whoe process; I certainly learned a lot!.
I shot both colour digital and black and white film; I am starting off with a digital image to show the great colours; in my next post I will show one of the black and white film images.
Model: Jennifer Bettencourt
Special FX/Make-up Artist Ashley Vieira
Here’s a behind the scenes image
This is a view looking up at the base of the Tulip Stairs, in the Queen’s House, Greenwich, England. I was struck by the lines; it reminded me of the “Golden Spiral” mathematical construct (related to the Golden Rectangle, I believe). Although originally shot in colour, I prefer the black and white, with its inherent focus on line, light and shadow.
This image was created at the ruins of Battle Abbey in England, site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The location practically exudes a sense of history. This image is of a monk’s common room, and is one of the more well preserved spots in the structure. The very dim lighting forced me to use a digital camera with a high ISO (about 6400) to make a handheld image possible.
This image is of the “Octagon Room” at Greenwich Observatory in England. I was drawn to it by the its spare formality and open space, although I had to time my shot between groups of other tourists.
(Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 55mm f2.8 lens, Ilford HP5+ film developed in Tmax developer 1:9 for 15 minutes @ 24 degrees C)
Sorry I was not diligent in blog posting during my absence — I will get back on the wagon!
This image was created at a park in Canterbury, England, close to the ancient city wall. I used Rollei 400IR Infrared film, and a 72IR infrared filter, which is almost completely opaque to the naked eye, as it blocks most visible light, but allows infrared light to pass through. Even though it was a reasonably bright sunny morning, I had to put my camera (my Mamiya Pro 645 TL medium format) on a tripod, for exposures of .5 to 2 seconds in length.
Too tired to do much photography after the all night flight (feeling seriously sleep deprived), but when I saw this street shot opportunity in Canterbury I had to grab it. 🙂
Since the importance of the story was a frequent point of discussion at VoxPopCon this past weekend, I thought this image would fit well. It is from a recent publicity shoot at High Park with Angela Saini. (If you click on the link you an see her new official publicity shot that I took. You can also see it on her Facebook page). Even though she is barefoot, we thought leaving her shoes in the image would be a good idea, to add more of a sense of story to the image.
I am a sucker for round staircases. and the lines they create in an image. I took this image (complete with mannequin) this weekend at VoxPopCon in Hamilton. The event was held at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, a fascination building with an interesting history.
My Third Eye 