EricScott

Zinn Star and I have been talking about working together for two years, starting when she lived in Pennsylvania (and now CA), we could never connect. So on a return trip home to PA (and before she “retires” this year), the stars finally aligned and we got to create some magic together. We did a wide ranging shoot from some creative studio work (including some additions to the carnival mask series I’m working on this year), to some location shooting in the snow in a 19th Century village.  The results were even better than I imagined from this talented artist.  The Fine Art Nude community will miss her, but I am sure that she will shine at whatever she sets her mind to.  I finished at least one image from each set we shot as a teaser (hehe). As I finish each set, I’ll be creating postings in the future to showcase them.  Thanks again Zinn!!

I’ve reached the end of the trail with the images from my trip to New Zealand and Oz.  There may be odds and ends that I edit from time to time, but these pictures of Bink represent  the last of the best.  It makes me a little sad to wrap up this creative journey that started a year ago starting to plan the trip and ending now editing the last pictures.  In between was a lot of hard work planning a New Zealand trip for 4 fun companions to eventually join more than 20 talented creative souls from OZ, Scotland, England, and the USA in Mission Beach, Australia.  And though the sights were incredible, the unforgettable thing for me is the bounds of old friendships strengthened and the  new friendships made, the unselfish sharing of talent by some amazing photographers and the intrepid spirit of the models as they climbed rocks and trees, waded in muddy pools, greeted the dawn in warm tropical breezes, balanced on logs, fought off swarms of jungle flies and wild killer birds.  Of course all of this made smoother with the local lubricants of Toohey’s and Murder Point. I’ve never seen a 30 pack of beer before.

And in the end, I am blown away by all the incredible images I’ve created from the trip with the help of such talented, creative people.  I felt like I was able to experiment with new technical aspects of photography – becoming a better photographer as well as new directions in editing that have expanded my creative abilities.

Well, Back to the final images.  As you may notice, you don’t see Bink’s feet in any of these shots.  As told before, the poor lass had cute her foot on some rocks and then had a crab bite her other foot and she could barely walk and needed to keep her shoes on.  So we shot around her boots.  In spite of all that she kept going as we hiked and limped up the Mt Kataloo trail on Dunk Island with me worrying if we should stop.  We made it half way up the mountain not seeing many shooting sites until we came upon this massive tree,  which I believe is a Banyan Tree.  It was so huge it must have been 100’s of years old.  Bink expertly used her famous green shawl to create some classic images complimenting the dark brown bark and green moss on the tree.

If you’ve read my previous posts on my adventures with Madame Bink on Dunk Island, Australia, the poor English lass had to overcome some injuries and attacks of nature on our shoot.  But she triumphed with some classic images.  When we arrived on Dunk Island, we hiked over to Muggee Beach.  First she cut her foot on some rocks off shore and we had to wait while we tended to the wound and stop the bleeding, then we had to wait as a tropical down pour hit us.  Many of these pictures we took under the canopy of the trees as the rain feel around us.  I like the casual, editorial feel to them.  Then the next misadventure hit us.  The picture of her reclining on the rock – shortly after the picture was taken a crab bit her on her other foot!

The sun rises really early at Mission Beach Australia. 5 AM.  That’s when Bink and I met to start a day long adventure that included a trip to Dunk Island.  See the other posts for details of us fighting off the bitey things of Australia. For now, just enjoy the peace of the rising sun on a tropical morning with a talented English model.  Some of these I think rank as the best fine art images I’ve ever created.  Additional images coming from our tour of the Dunk Island Jungles in a future posting.

I have not been doing a lot of studio work in the last year because I have a small studio and, in my mind, I feel that I’m limited  in my creativity when the great outdoors beckon with it’s different landscapes, textures and adventures.  But I’ve been shooting more studio lately and I’ve found that I’m enjoying the control I have in the lighting and the only limitations to creativity IS in  my mind.  The latest case in point.  I recently shot with a new model, Michelle. I have an ongoing series this year shooting with Venetian carnival masks.  Low level lighting is one of my favorite schemes to do in the studio and I am thrilled with the creative results we got using some Spanish lace and the masks with that type of lighting.  It was a great collaboration as I played with some new lighting schemes and we both thought of different ways to light and use the props.  This was primarily shot with a 22 inch beauty dish using a 20 degree grid and 40 inch gridded octobox.

Some creative fashion work by Joceline that we did as part of our shooting around the jungles of Mission Beach, Australia. The one of her on the log overhanging the beach was actually an out take.  She was testing out the log for balance and  I was doing an exposure test.  However,  I love the high key look of it and colors.

Jessica was one of the first models that I shot when I started on this journey and I was one her first photographers in her pursuit of becoming a model.  We’ve collaborated several times over the years.  She was patient when I was learning studio lighting and her portraits remain some of my favorites as I experimented with different lighting schemes and equipment. We always have fun when we get together.  One of the things I enjoy the most as a photographer is when someone entrusts you to “capture” them.  I consider that a real honor – especially for models who are even more picky than the average person about their image.  So, in our latest shoot, when I asked her goal for the shoot, she said “I’m your canvas, paint me as you like.”  So, I took her to a sexier, edgier place than she has been before and I added some more shots to  my ongoing mask series.  Jessica has this beautiful innocence about her.  I love how I still captured that aspect of her in these images while bringing out a sexier side as well. 

A log, a beach and a sunset…..what more do you need for a great image? Well, a talented model willing to do one armed hand stands on the log suspended 5 feet above the ground would be nice. Joceline disappointed me in not being able to do that pose, but what she did accomplish was almost as good. Sorry, trying my turn at English sarcasm.  We were shooting at sunset on Mission Beach, Australia with this old palm tree log suspended above the beach. The pictures speak for themselves of the great light and her grace and talent in balancing on the log, the difficulty of the poses and our use of the light.  In fact the way the light hits her it appears like  I used a golden reflector.  However, it was actually the light just filtering through the palm leaves high above us.  In looking at these poses, I think they ought to start a new Olympic event for Model Posing and rate them on degree of difficulty and conditions.  For these shots, I give Joc a  score of 10!

….Joceline, Vassanta and Soph. 

More from my Australian adventures with three very talented models who braved Cassowaries, biting flies, and snakes while balancing on logs over streams, swinging on vines and posing in places most of us would fear to tread in the jungles of Mission Beach and Dunk Island.  After being chased out of the stream by a giant flightless bird called a Cassowary (OK, we were not chased, but discretion had us retreat up stream while the bird strolled in the jungle near by), Joceline resumed her graceful balance beam posing on a log over the stream in the jungle. Her sophistication really stands out from the wildness that surrounds her.  I love how not only does Soph use the vine and her pose with it to accentuate the curves of her body, but to also provide symmetry to the composition of the image (while swatting away swarms of biting flies).  The pictures of Vassanta were taken along a 10 KM hiking trail around Mt. Kataloo on Dunk Island.  I always respect her instinct for spotting shooting locations and light. We hiked for miles (ok, KM’s) and each turn in the path seemed to look like the last . We were not doing a lot of shooting because I just didn’t see anything interesting – well for a shooting location, I mean.  Suddenly, she  jumps into the ferns by the trail and says shoot me here. On another occasion she sees a pool of light  filtering through the trees that I had missed and curls up in the pool of light among the leaves.  As usual, her instincts were right.  To which, I know she’d say, “Eric, I’m always right!”    As I have said in previous posts, it never ceases to amaze me what these pros will do to get a shot and I express my appreciation whenever possible for their grace, creativity and spirit. 

Ri was one of the first models that I shot with 3 years ago when I first started on this journey. We did a fashion/beauty shoot then and some of those images are still some of my better ones, even given my skill level at the time.  Some people you cannot take a bad picture of.   We kept in touch off and on and always talked about shooting again, but never happened as she had moved out of the area.  Lucky for me, she has moved back and wanted to do a shoot highlighting her ink. I’m doing a mask series and  Taa Daaa….In(k)cognito.  So we had fun doing a more artistic shoot and I love the results.  Like  I said…some people you cannot miss with.