In Palmerston North there is an old brick kiln that I was shown a number of years ago, and which I have always wanted to shoot in. I had a shoot set up about 2 years ago but the model flaked. Back then the site was fairly open and as a result there was a bit of graffiti and vandalism to it.

So when Whanganui model Samantha wanted to do a lingerie shoot I suggested the venue. As it turned out access to the site is now a lot more restricted, however I was able to track down the right person to contact and access was arranged.

Unfortunately when I turned up at the arranged key collection place at the arrange time, no one was home and I was unable to raise anyone on the phone. So I drove back to kiln where I was meeting Samantha and her boyfriend Ben, who I had been assured was well versed in the fine art of holding reflectors.

We waited around until the schedules time for the shoot hoping that the key would show up. However when it didn’t we made our way through a hole in the fence as I figured that I has permission to be there. Unfortunately once inside we discovered that steel bars had been installed on all of the entry points into the structure.

Rather than the whole shoot turning into a bust we decided to use the building and accompanying area for the shoot. While it did not have the same impact as the look I was going for I am still pleased with the resulting images.

We started with simply lingerie looks and then built them up with masks, capes and lengths of fake sur. In the end I tried a drape of material.

I received a text later in the evening apologising for the muck-up with the key which was caused because the guys wife had forgotten to put it outside when she left the place. I hope that on the third attempt I will manage to shoot in there but that won’t be until next year now.

Late last week I answered a Facebook post from model Alex Hunt looking for a photographer to shoot on the weekend. I discovered that she wanted to expand on some lingerie images that she had taken previously and I suggested that we shoot at Palmer Head gun emplacement as I thought the contrast of soft fabrics and the graffiti covered walls would create dynamic looks.

We arranged the shoot for Saturday afternoon but left it until the morning to confirm as the forecast was for gale force winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms. Saturday dawned fine and while a little breezy was not anything that we could not handle. We therefore decided to the do the shoot.

I picked her and her friend Lillian up and we headed up the hill. To our shock and dismay we discovered that the whole site had been treated to a new coat of grey paint. Our urban look was therefore replaced with industrial.

Despite being inside the opening in the building and how exposed it was meant that the wind was a constant issue. We shot in two locations in the building and used a combination of a single flash in a bounce umbrella as well as natural light.

We started with the lingerie that Alex had brought with her and then we moved onto using one of my drape material. I even incorporated a fake fur that I bought sometime ago.

We even tried some of my longer drape materials out in the wind but didn’t really achieve the look that I would have liked. The strength of the wind made shooting outside quite difficult and some of the places that I may have considered just too dangerous.

At the end of the shoot I managed to  get a shot of Lillian who had the most amazing eyes, but didn’t consider herself photogenic. She could not have been further from the truth.

Editing the images was an absolute breeze and I was able to deliver them to Alex the next day. We plan on doing some more shoots together.