Pool Party
Ghost-like figures enjoy a skinny dipping party in an abandoned swimming pool
Ghost-like figures enjoy a skinny dipping party in an abandoned swimming pool
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Oct, 2021Views
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Awards
Jewel Award
Curator's Selection
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Emotions
Impressed
Happy
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Behind The Lens
Location
The location was Daresbury Hall which was built in 1759 and is now a grade 2 listed building. From 1960, the hall was used to house and treat disabled people, which is probably what the swimming pool was used for. We had privileged entry because one of our model's boyfriend ran a Zombie event there. I didn't know what to expect before arriving, but I instantly fell in love with the swimming pool. There were signs of previous activity there, such as a wine bottle, empty wine glasses and a sun lounger. I thought these things could become part of the story.Time
We were ready to begin by the middle of the afternoon, having roughly come up with a plan for a montage making two people into a group of six.Lighting
The natural sunlight was perfect with the cloudy glass of the pool's roof acting like a giant soft box.Equipment
The camera was a Nikon D300 on a tripod with a 17mm to 50mm lens at 17mm firing at 1/25th sec using available light. I thought of using fill flash or a silver reflector, but decided that the light was soft enough. 1/25th sec is a bit slow for people shots, but, having directed my models to stay still, I though I would get away with it.Inspiration
I was inspired by the beautiful models and the amazing location. I saw it as a real challenge to make 2 people look like many and to create an interesting composition in my head. Given the location's history, I thought there could be a ghostly story implying a skinny dipping party from the past.Editing
The obvious challenge was the positioning of the models. This was done by imagining the whole composition and being careful not to move the camera between exposures. The camera was set to manual everything, so all the component parts were compatible. I decided that once the whole composition was completed, it needed an other worldly appearance with a degree of desaturation.In my camera bag
I carry a body, a wide zoom, a mid range zoom, and a longer zoom. I usually have 2 on camera flash guns; a diffuser for the flash; spare AA and AAA batteries; a folding silver/white reflector; a continuous/flash light meter; a circular polariser; a brush to clean metal contacts; a hot-shoe fitting spirit level; and a transmitter and receiver to fire remotely with various connectors; and a lens cloth.Feedback
It's important to be meticulous about everything, being careful not to nudge the camera. I used remote triggers, so I didn't need to press the shutter release. The settings remained the same throughout. I tried not to have to refocus, setting the focus point on the closest models, as if it was one shot, to maximise depth of field.
