On Friday 15th August was a last minute shoot for me, as a colleague from the club was unable to attend. The summer shoot was at Sam’s Sunflowers on Hayling Island. Where the sunflowers are officially in full bloom. The site is a beautiful location for portrait photography with fields of sunflowers and a wildflower section. Scattered around the site are also various props. The theme of the shoot was summer elegance with beautiful summer dresses amongst the flowers and with hopefully lots of beautiful golden light.
The shoot was organised by LeadingLines Events and this was my first shoot with them. I had in the past (pre-COVID) been on many shoots with the sister company Timeline Events.
This is the quote from LeadingLines about the two models for the shoot:
One of our models for the evening will be Valentina Fusco. Valentina is a highly experienced fashion model who has modelled for reputable brands and who is well known within the industry. She is very friendly with heaps of Sicilian charm and knows exactly how to pose and style herself for amazing photos.
Our second model will be Molly Mae. Molly is an experienced model who models a variety of different themes and styles and who also arranges her own fantasy modelling retreats.
My evening did not start well as I was late! I had allowed 90 minutes but traffic jams added another 60 minutes to a journey scheduled to last only 7o minutes. As an aside I did pass some interesting street art that I will definitely revisit the next time I am on the island.
Sam’s Sunflowers
It was £7.50 to enter the site. I was reminded that this meant I could 3 sunflowers to take home… I was the last to arrive and the shoot had already started in the sunflowers.
Valentina Fusco with sunflowers
I joined the group around one of the old tractors.
Sitting amongst the wildflowers…
Molly Mae with sunflowers
On the hayride…
The tent at the side of the food stalls was full of people having a great time country dancing.
During the break I caught up with something to eat at the food stall.
Some clouds
Above us the sky was blue with patches of cloud.
I love the clouds … the clouds that pass … yonder … yonder … the marvellous clouds
From L’Etranger by Baudelaire.
This quote is from the descriptive book about Monet’s Garden at Givenchy that I had picked up early in the month.
Molly Mae
A bath amongst the wildflowers…
Valentina Fusco
One of the props was a wardrobe next to the field of wildflowers.
A short walk away was a large mirror that everyone was using to take selfies. I watched this lady take selfies, I then offered to take her picture with her phone and she kindly posed for me.
Behind the wardrobe was another prop – the Kissing Booth…
Molly Mae
The reflector was in use on the wildflowers – Molly was in shadow.
In amongst the wildflowers – shot using Adobe Project Indigo on my iPhone.
At about 8:15 pm I decided to leave the shoot. The group was by then moving on to another part of the field.
From the nearby car park I watched the sunset before I left.
Leave a Reply