On reccie with Charlie

Having been commissioned to shoot a series of pictures for a local florist who wanted images to enter in a national floristry competition, I decided it would be best to reconnoitre a couple of suitable locations.

Also, as one part of the series involved a model wearing a dress ‘built’ by the florist, I asked the model – Charlotte - to come along with me.

I’d already been through to one of my favourite locations - South Queensferry - that week; another reccie I’d arranged to do with members of a band who have asked me to shoot some promotional pictures with them – that project is still in the pipeline and loosely ear-marked for the beginning of August. So, with that visit still fresh, I decided to take Charlotte to my current ‘next most’ favourite location, Blackness. I say current ‘next most’ favourite, because I do tend to chop and change my favourites about as often as I change memory cards.

Blackness has a number of plus points which tick all my boxes for a good location: it’s gorgeous; it’s generally quiet; it offers lots of options. Blackness boasts an old castle which was used as a military base as recently as the 2nd World War. It sits on the Forth and offers a great point of foreground interest for excellent shops up and down the estuary. It has great beaches; woods, open grassed areas and a harbour where boats from the local yacht Club are moored.

I didn’t take either of my Canon camera’s as I didn’t expect to be shooting anything but, when we got there, Charlie couldn’t resist getting into character, and I couldn’t resist shooting her with my ever present compact. The little camera did really well, I thought and, well, Charlie always does a great job.

Sunset over Blackness

With the weather still seeming a little hesitant about being nudged over from spring to a full-blown summer (if that actually materializes this year) and with huge fleets of clouds still sailing through otherwise gorgeously crystal clear-blue skies, I packed my gear into the car a few evenings ago and went out to search for some picturesque sunsets.

The coast always seems to provide rich-bounty for sunset seekers and so I drove over to Blackness and set up a tripod on the boat-club jetty; you’re not actually supposed to use the jetty without authorisation, but a combination of facts – a/ there was no-one about and b/ the view looking West along the Forth was spectacular – led me to risk life, limb and the displeasure of any happen-along boat-club members for the noble pursuit of collecting rich, photographic images.

I feel it was worth the risks :) The sunset was spectacular; a picture postcard comprising a sky of brilliant blues, guilded with deep ochre’s, ambers, reds and gold’s all set above a tranquil seascape which both drank in the light in it’s darker areas and, mirror-like, refracted the deepest gold hues and scattered them across the jetty and nearby shores where it skipped off the surface of the water. Best of all, the entire scene was being presented like a limitless slide show: each press of the shutter release produced an entirely new picture as the sun, sinking in the darkening blue skies, conspired with the flotilla of slowly drifting clouds to create the most dynamic, constantly evolving landscapes.

I hope I’ve given them some justice in these two dimensional offerings: