Embedded Photography at The Old Mill in Palnackie

Edward and Lucy Campbell at The Old Mill in Palnackie are not only artists - they also create all their own paints, inks, pastels and pigments from locally sourced rocks and plants, and they even run courses on how to do it for anyone interested.

My photo session with them had a different quality to most I do. Instead of turning up organising the space and lighting, taking the shots and then heading home again, I shared the day with them.

The idea was I would follow them as they set about gathering materials, preparing their space, and working. We also had coffees and lunch together, and wonderful conversations about their life, work, and artistic practices.

But this was more than just documentary - it was embedded photography - where I was a part of their world, photographing as an insider, not a dispassionate observer.

This way of doing photography allowed for a wide range of imagery, in a way that was more comfortable and less intrusive.

I fired off a few shots as we prepared to head out, then photographed Ed and Lucy collecting materials at the beach and along rural paths.

I captured them being active in their workspace, as well as losing myself in finding fun and interesting little details in and around their studio.

We set aside some time to do some portraits, but this was later in the day by which time they were completely relaxed in my presence, and the usual defensiveness people feel when they are asked to look into the camera had long since dissipated.

What was so different about this shoot was it was relaxed, unhurried, and exploratory.

It wasn't even fly-on-the-wall documentary – for while there were certainly times I was taking photos when they were unaware, lost in their own worlds of thought or activity – mostly it was a shared experience.

Sometimes I would notice something and suggest we try out an idea, and sometimes they would, but it was an organic process.

In the end it was like spending the day collaborating with friends rather than clients. Not only were they completely at ease, but so was I.

The result of this was an extraordinarily high hit-rate of successful photos. The selection here is just a taster of what was created that day.

Of course it helps that they are such lovely people. From the outset they made me feel warm and very welcome, and produced delightful edible treats from Earth's Crust Bakery to accompany great coffee as well as a wonderfully tasty home made soup for lunch.

As photo shoots go, it doesn't get much better.

Here are links to their website and social media sites:
https://theoldmillpalnackie.com/
https://www.facebook.com/oldmillpalnackie/
https://www.instagram.com/theoldmill_palnackie/

And for those who are interested, in Episode 225 of my podcast, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres" I show more of the photos from this session and talk about some of the decisions behind the creation of the images

1:54 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
5:03 - Smug Points Leaderboard update
8:05 - Introduction to the shoot with Ed and Lucy
10:38 - The concept of "embedded photography"
12:40 - Identifying "my tribe"
16:48 - Loosely planning the day
18:12 - Photos of when we were getting ready to head out
22:20 - At the beach using the sun as a backlight
30:08 - Collecting berries from wind-sculpted hawthorn trees
35:08 - Back at the studio
42:32 - In the bookshop gallery
44:44 - Activities in the studio
56:50 - Looking for details
59:30 - A few portraits
1:07:03 - What happens when you do a more cinematic crop
1:08:08 - Adding a warm colour grading
1:09:42 - Adding a cool colour grading
1:13:13 - Uncertainty about the next couple of podcasts - in fact the computer randomly rebooted itself 6 minutes after the end of this podcast...
1:16:13 - End