Adjacent to the Ridgeway, on the chalk downland above the Vale of the White Horse and under 2 miles walk from Uffington Castle and the White Horse itself. This shoot required carrying almost 60kgs of photographic equipment half a mile (0.8kms) from the car – surely one of the over-riding reasons why I took up this profession?
Wayland’s Smithy, take 1
Wayland’s Smithy, take 2
Details: Phase One c/w IQ160, 35mm, ISO 200, 1/4sec , f12
The difference between these two images is purely time. They are 5 minutes apart and in that time the ambient light level dropped by over 2 f-stops as the next rain storm approached.
Again the versatility of working with the Phase One & this time shooting tethered direct into a Mac enabled me to set-up, light & shoot all of this in just 3 frames. My intention was to frame this ancient chamber tomb with the silhouettes from the beech trees whilst lighting the the tomb entrance in particular in such a way to lead the eye inwards and add to the mystery of the place. Lit with a combination of Lumydine and Elinchrom Ranger lights supplied by TFC in London. Legend says (amongst other things I’m sure) that if you’re a traveller whose horse looses a shoe then leaving it overnight here will mean that when you return at dawn it will have been reshod by Wayland himself.
Two other essential tools to me on this shoot where:
The Photographer’s Ephemeris (more soon) in conjunction with the weather from the BBC online.
The Photographer’s Ephemeris
Beautiful pictures! Complicated to set up, wow! And I must try the tethered shooting approach. But arent you constrained by battery life on the Mac?
7 flash heads in total – 3 in the entrance, 2 behind the the stones that flank the entrance, 3 in the from lighting the 3 x standing stones. I shot tethered partly to see what it’s like but also because it’s so immediate. And as I only took 3 frames I’m keeping battery use low.
60kg? Only half a mile? If you keep going, that path goes all the way to Tring. And a very nice walk it is too.
I didn’t do it alone. No way am I carrying all of that. That’s the downside with photography, lots of heavy kit!