Arthur
Chappell
Create Your Badge
MY PHOTO TAKING DIARY - #3. 24TH
March 2010
I’m getting very busy with the cameras now. The
Heaton Park Faint Fascinations modelling shoot in early March proved to be a
great opportunity to develop one of my narrative photo stories and shoot it
frame by frame. The story, The War (And Peace And Love) Of The Worlds http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=207182&id=731547393&l=ed62270dd8
is completely independent of the previous work, Guests http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=198214&id=731547393&l=e03752e864
Though I have scripts and story ideas for several stories, the
ideas for Guests only came to me as I edited the photos and picked up a
sense of narrative flow. The story was
quite dark too, though intentionally silly. It had a gothic horror edge
inspired by the location, The Hellfire Club.
The War… Was even sillier and more science fiction comedy than horror. It
was conceived, written and mapped out entirely before a single photo was
taken. The theme of the modelling shoot
was Jekyll & Hyde, not a literal reworking of the Robert Louis Stephenson
story, but a chance for models to display two distinct and contrasting images
and personas. For my story to work with
that I needed an excuse for models to not only change outfits but their total
personalities. A super-hero or alien in disguise story seemed the obvious way
to do it.
I’d been to Heaton Park many times, and in fact my own first
modelling shoot with Faint Fascinations, as a model, had been there in late
Summer 2009. For my shoot, (with me
taking the photos) I wanted to get a preliminary series of shots and picture on
location how models might look against various backdrops. I went to the park several days before the
shoot. Entering, I saw the Papal Stone, a large rock used as a monument to the
visit of Pope John Paul 2cd to Manchester in 1982, when I was ironically,
visiting Rome. The rock immediately
became a meteorite, or rather, the disguised spaceship used by the invaders in
my story. This was how the aliens had arrived in H. G. Wells’s War Of The
Worlds story from which my tale derives its corny title.
The Temple, the lovely Summerhouse observation point became
another location which I knew right away I would use, ideally as the home and
secret headquarters of the wealthy heroes while in human guise. For the fight
scenes open parkland and tree areas sufficed. The only problem I saw was the
distance factor as the Papal-Stone and Temple were about a mile apart in one of
Britain’s biggest parks. I figured we would have plenty of time to move around,
though we ran late and getting everything done became a race against time.
I took my preliminary test shots on quite a dark overcast day. The
papal stone was tricky to shoot as it is covered in plaques commemorating its
true meaning and purpose. The Temple at least, was easy to shoot. Though I took
other pictures in the Park, the remainder of my story formed only in my head,
and I couldn’t do much more without the cast.
Shooting day arrived, and I was assigned five lovely models,
Craig, Blaze, Princess Of Darkness, Akiko Ran and Emma Jickells. My shooting script was set out for four, with an even match of
heroes and villains, but I now had a cast of five, which was no problem at all.
I was flexible enough to quickly alter the basic plan. It was quite a gloomy day, with weather
matching that of my preliminary shoot, so some photos from that were now able
to go into the story directly rather than requiring a re-shoot.
We set out later than scheduled for the park, on a very cold windy
day. Getting to the Temple first, I was able to shoot the scenes of the heroes
before and after their fight with the aliens, and the scenes of the aliens
apparently accepting earthly ways, before the cast changed into heroic
Earthling and alien invader outfits for the fight scene footage shots, (used in
the middle of the story) which attracted a very bemused public audience.
With models having to change costumes and look after their
children, (who were not involved in the main shoots) I was able to take other
photos as well as those for the story, including shots of Jade Hunter in martial arts poses at The Temple, and a few
family photos for Princess too. It was a remarkably productive day for me.
Those shots taken, it remained only to shoot the images of Akiko
Rin and myself (as a surprise ending extra-alien) by the Papal stone,
which proved to be quite a rough walk away.
I was very grateful to Akiko Rin, Blaze and Craig for staying so late to
do it.
Editing was tricky with
several similar images of each scene to pick from for the 32-image story, which
was not shot in a linear pattern, so I had a jig-saw puzzle to sort out but the
results were very rewarding, and feedback has been very positive.
In March I also took lots of photos at The
Cabaret Formerly Known As Bucket, The Slippery Belle Burlesque,
and the Freed Up poetry event I attend every month. Of the three, the poetry event proved least photographic, as
poets tend to stand in ordinary clothes behind a mic, clutching a sheet of
paper. Too many shots of the same poets can look quite dull to many readers and
does little justice to the quality of the verse presented. Burlesque and
Cabaret tends to be more dynamic, with colourful costume changes and
semi-strip-tease baring much flesh too.
Capturing body movement and activity is always a challenge and theatre
lighting can work in favour of the camera or against it at various times. Every
photo taken presents a new challenge.
One of my Cabaret
photos 3696
of a burlesque dancer called Miss Burning Rose was edited into a fresh shot,
with my permission, by fellow photographer, Mark Cullen, with this result 3783. Mark has
been a great source of advice to me as a tog, as have the Faint Fascinations
photographers, especially Ian Wilson (who’s cameras I have used to take many of
my best shots). .
March also saw another photography highlight for me – a rare
chance on the 20th to go on a photography tour of the John Ryland’s
library building on Deansgate. I have taken photos here before in areas which
are always accessible to the public, but much of the library is closed to
photographers except on special amnesty days when guided tours are given. With
fellow photographer, Tom Clark, I went on one.
Initial shots of the book storage areas and lovely stained glass
windows gave way to two totally unexpected highlights – the first was a chance
to go up on the Library roof, accessible only by a tight, restrictive winding
stairway, which our guide described aptly as designed for a dwarf. I just about
made it, almost getting stuck on route.
The view showed many great buildings among many awful ones in a
very cluttered skyline. With about ten togs, I made the most of a very unusual
opportunity indeed.
The other extra-ordinary highlight was the library cellars, which
were very hot with overhead steam-pipes running through them. It was worth
going down though to see one box of documents in particular, brought in from
the Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope observatory; it contained the telescope’s
documentary records of the first Moon Landing in 1969, which the observatory
monitored closely. Astronomer, Sir Bernard Lovell’s photograph, in a glass
frame, was on top of the collection.
Reception of my photos remains high. I have many
people saying they’d like a shoot with me one day, and two people have asked me
to photograph their music gigs. I had to sadly turn one down due to short
notice and my current lack of money, (I wouldn’t expect or negotiate to be paid
as the gig is a charity event). The other may yet take place.
Already my head is full of pictures yet to be taken.
The future looks truly fascinating, not just faint-ly fascinating, though it is Faint Fascinations I have to thank for
all this.
Copyright. Arthur Chappell
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