Some months ago, some friends invited me to walk a part of Dartmoor I had not previously explored (there's still plenty more of that!). I was delighted for such an opportunity and, obviously, took along my camera to truly enjoy the event:
It was a splendid Spring afternoon, and as we hiked further into the stark but grand surroundings, I found myself truly missing something else - a model! I knew, all too quickly, that I needed to return soon and really work in these locations.
I really didn't know how long it would be before this would be possible. With my muse now busy with a new arrival (something now common to most of the regular models I have worked with locally in the last decade), and given the difficulties of reaching the area, I thought it would be some time, possibly next summer, before a shoot would happen, but events took an unexpected turn in June. Erin, who had suspended modeling over a year ago to become a parent, contacted me and was keen to create some new work. We discussed the location on Dartmoor, and, a few weeks ago, spent the most splendid Saturday working there. The weather was... interesting. A severe thunderstorm had spread across much of the country, and this thrummed away in the distance as we worked amidst warm, cloudy and on occasion, bright conditions. The result was some truly rewarding images, now compiled into a video.
In a week which has itself rumbled here with the question if being naked in nature is moral (!), it's good to remind ourselves how we were fearfully and wonderfully made, and that beauty itself causes (or should cause) pause for thought about what really counts - the splendor of a world that is His handiwork.
Images: Tor. Splendor. Model: Erin. Unison Photo Arts 2014.
