I'm not a big fan of Christmas (bah humbug!) and I can't avoid the whole damn thing here in the UK. The media, the shops and the whole world goes crazy over the alleged birth of a son of a god 2000 years ago. But at this time of year I can't help but look back retrospectively at what I might or might not have achieved.
I thought this year (2022) had been a bit quieter for me photographically speaking but it turned out to have been better than I thought. Photography is a big part of my life; I'm not a "pro" in that I don't make a living off taking photographs but it does keep my brain ticking over with ideas.
I decided to post a "best of" or compilation from my year starting with January 2022:
MWA - Model with Attitude
I'd shot with Desne once before this shoot and this time was a less damp and wet occassion. Previously on our first shoot we had to wade through 12 inches of water to get in to this abandoned building but this time it was dry.
I've worked with quite a few models before but never have I ever come across a model with such a refreshing attitude to modelling. Maybe I've been shooting the wrong models and they're all like Desne but here she is not giving any f*cks!
Lightpainting in Loxley
The abandoned factory complex in Loxley, Sheffield has been a big favourite in 2022. It's been abandoned for many years and there are signs around the site planted by a housing developer giving me the impression it won't be too long before the whole place is demolished. It's been happening all too often lately where I find a great place to shoot in the dark then it quickly becomes inaccessible or demolished leaving me to look for somewhere else to shoot!
This is just an average Sunday evening for me. Place a flashgun at the rear of frame, throw a couple of smoke pellets and watch the laser beams glow!
Experimental
In Loxley, I tend to get experimental with the emphasis on mental. This was me practicing my panning skills near the end of a long exposure. Some of this stuff isn't always successful but it does inform me where I went wrong and how I can improve the next time.
North Leverton Windmill
The windmill here has been another favourite "go to" location in the dark. It has seemed to be quite a rare thing to have clear skies so when the clouds do decide to go away, we jump at the chance to shoot the stars!
Here I wanted to line up Polaris (aka the North Star) with the fan tail of the mill. It's not that easy sometimes to line up Polaris by eye but here I think I got close enough!
New Camera Nerves
At the beginning of January I treated myself to a new camera, a Sony A7iii (purchased with the proceeds gained on Hive). On the very first night out with it I decided to do a lens and tripod swap shot.
The process involves moving with a camera over slippy and rocky surfaces right next to a huge two feet deep pool of fetid, foul water. I admit I was shitting myself and taking extra care not to drop my new precious toy!
Ladybower Reservoir and the glimmer of the Auroa Borealis
Ladybower Reservoir has been a bucket list location for a star trail shot and here I was pleased with myself as I left to drive home thinking I'd nailed 180 shots of 30 seconds exposures for a star trail. As I processed the image in Photoshop I was surprised to see the feint glow of green from the Aurora Borealis on the horizon! At my old age, I still hadn't seen the Aurora and this was a first for me.
It's feint and I didn't see it with the naked eye but it was there in the files!
Trying to lightpaint in daylight inside an abandoned waterworks
I was tipped off about this abandoned waterworks about 40 miles away from home. For one reason or another I wasn't able to visit it in the dark so I had to settle for shooting it in daylight like "normal" people do.
Undeterred, I set up a gelled flashgun at the rear of the frame and set the exposure to correctly expose the brighter parts of the frame. A quick blast of flash with a smoke pellet produces this quick gun and run photo:
North Leverton, again
North Leverton really has been shot to death by me this year. As we drove up to the mill, we noticed the steam emanating from the cooling towers. Here I used a longer focal length to compress the perspective making the windmill appear larger than life. I came away from this shoot wishing I had a longer lens for even more compression!
Windmill by Moonlight
Some nights are mostly clear but the skies become cluttered with wispy clouds. Too many to get a star trail image. Here we couldn't believe our luck with the position of the moon. I shuffled around in the dark lining up the moon with a long exposure to create some movement in the sky.
Desne, again
I bagged quite a lot of "keepers" from the photoshoot with Desne. I find I come back with too many and most of the shots never get posted so as not to bore everyone with hundreds of more or less the same thing. I still can't believe my luck finding this machine enclosure or whatever it was. I placed a gelled flashgun inside the enclosure and used it as a frame for Desne.
Loxley, again
Another example where I come back with many keepers which don't necessarily get posted. Lasers, smoke and a flashgun were used to make this image.
Low down and dirty with Desne
Here I used a 20mm lens and got down low to shoot Desne. Like I mentioned above, I came away from this shoot with many keepers!
About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; please don't hesitate to get in touch if you'd like to create art.
Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/fastchrisuk
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fastchris/
