Memories Of A Distant Land, 2019
Sometimes there are moments in life when things just come together. This day was one of them. A combination of people, talent, and circumstance that unfolded to lead us to a creative place we’d only imagined.
Yinsey, my friend and model for this shoot reached out to me mid last year with a picture of her hanfu and it sparked my imagination. I’ve wanted to create a set of images that celebrated Chinese culture as it’s one that has often inspired me in my creativity too. So, for this shoot, we decided to collaborate and bring together a team to see what magic we could create.
Minaz joined us on makeup, Netty on hair, Safia on flowers, and Sammy, also known online as Mr Mortimer’s Wife, created this headpiece especially for this shoot! Working with other women, especially when they are so lovely and good at what they do was such an honour and joy.
It was the day before the shoot when the idea of a golden, floral parasol began to emerge in my mind. The vision for it became clear the morning of the shoot itself and after describing it to Safia, we had to work FAST!
We used a parasol that I had bought home from my first trip abroad back when I was 17. I’d kept it because it’s beautiful, and always wanted to incorporate it into a shoot but the timing never felt right. Well, it’s moment had come!
Safia and I spray painted it gold, and began filling it with a combination of faux and real flowers. One of my favourite memories is all of us learning from Safia and lending our hands to help finish this umbrella in time before all the natural light faded.
While the girls were focused on the umbrella, I started working on Yinsey’s nails. Hands carry so much expression and I wanted to amplify their storytelling power. I spray painted the long nails gold and glued golden gypsophila to them to create a visual and color connection with the floral umbrella.
I color toned these BTS photos with the Mulberry action from the Enchanted Collection.
My favourite moment is always when the character we create comes to life. It’s when the magic in my head enters reality and the lines between worlds feel blurred. This is where my part comes in, everyone else has contributed to the set up and now it’s my job as the photographer to create the moments, capture and honour our shared vision.
We made it to location just in the nick of time and I had about 20 minutes of shooting time before it got too dark. A frosty winter night was drawing in when we retreated back home and set up in my living room. This was our Plan B set up that we fell back on (and fell in love with) when the early darkness made it impossible to shoot outside.
I had an idea for a set of images was inspired by this painting, “A vase of flowers” by Simon Verelst. I wanted to create something that was equally as rich in storytelling, timeless, and elegant.
Since I was in the midst of the shoot there aren’t any behind the scene photos after this point but please do check out the video. It’s made with love, with all of us taking turns to capture the moments of the day so that we could bring you along with us.
It was a pleasure working with this strong team of creative women.
Thank you ladies for the best day!
Click to view bigger ❤
CREDITS
Model: Yinsey Wang
Makeup: Minaz Mawjee
Hair: Annette Gray
Crown: Mr Mortimer’s Wife
Florist: Safia Dahhan
Retouching: Bella Kotak & Pratik Naik
Digital Floral Backdrops: Coming soon to The Color Lab
GEAR
Shot with: Phase One IQ3 100MP Trichromatic
Lighting: 2 x Profoto A1s
Color toned with my color grade presets from onlythecurious - I started with Flickering Firelight from the Nirvana Collection and added other color adjustments.
