Silent Hill Nurse
I have always loved the movie Silent Hill, and the nurses intrigued me. I set out to make a costume that was similar and this was the result. I made the mask by...
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I have always loved the movie Silent Hill, and the nurses intrigued me. I set out to make a costume that was similar and this was the result. I made the mask by hand, and weathered the outfit myself.
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Nov, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
When I was a teenager, I was told about this mysterious old building where unspeakable things had occurred. Because of those old urban legends it was reported to be haunted, so I had to check it out. I set out one evening, ironically while the moon was a full bright orb overhead. The roads were treacherously curvy and suddenly this massive building was looming in the darkness. It had it's own prescience, a life force all it's own. I fell in love that night and began my research on this old beauty. It is called Peter's Cartridge Factory, and it used to be an ammunitions plant. It has faced demolition but has escaped it's fate several times. Now they are repurposing the building into homes and storefronts.Time
My friend and I decided on an impromptu shoot and hopped in the car before the sun would set. She had never seen the building in person, so I wanted her to see it in all of it's glory in the day light. When we arrived, it was still rush hour and I knew we had to make it fast for the best lighting. Keep in mind, this is a super curvy and busy street where the plant sits. I had her across the street from me. When there was a break in traffic I ran in the middle of the road, yelled posing tips and, snap, snap, snap! I'd shoot a few, run away from the cars and run back to shoot more. I'm sure it was quite a hilarious site for the construction workers!Lighting
For anyone who has seen Silent Hill, you know when those eerie sirens go off everything becomes darker and everything is about to go crazy. I wanted to recreate the same eerie feeling, so I had her stand in a large doorway with light shining in behind her. The sun was on my side that day!Equipment
I am honestly a novice. I just used my Nikon D5300, no tripod... Which in hindsight may have been a better idea than running through traffic! My lens is just the standard 55mm I believe. I didn't use any special camera equipment.Inspiration
I have always been a creative person with a love for the horror genre, but didn't know there was much of a niche for this stuff. I just started shooting what I love instead of the traditional stuff. I have always loved the Silent Hill Nurse character because she just exudes the stuff that nightmares are made of. I made the costume and went out for Halloween in it, and the response was amazing! I wanted to capture the costume permanently rather than just having it sit lifeless in my closet.Editing
Yes, I use Lightroom and Photoshop to make my images more dark and creepy. For this image I really added the darkness around her and bumped up the saturation. I added a little HDR effect to finalize the whole creep factor.In my camera bag
I only have my Nikon D5300 and an extra battery. I still have so much to learn so the other equipment would be useless until I master my camera.Feedback
Don't be afraid to recreate what's in your head. You don't need a ton of fancy equipment. Everything I do right now is just by trial and error. My friends and I make the props and then we just go have fun with it! For something like this image in particular though, I would find a creepy location and scout it out. Shoot it at different times of the day and in different weather conditions. If you can't get permission to go inside, utilize the outside of the building. Play around with your positioning while shooting. I think I was squatting down looking up at her for half of my shoot, and that really created the mood. For these images, location is key; I wouldn't want my nurse in some shiny new development for example. I'm honored that I was asked about my photo, and I hope that this information will help someone else who wants to shoot things that are not the norm!
