Eva in Black and White (and colour)

While I am in my element doing staged shoots with a team of people all collaborating to help create something special, my first love was moody close up portraits (usually in black and white) and I will still look for any opportunity to grab one when I can.

I've photographed Eva a couple of different times over the past year and she's great for throwing attitude down the lens. She's friendly smiles in real life, but my camera connects to her on a different level when I bring it up to my eye.

So at the Renaissance Punk shoot (see – https://kimayres.blogspot.com/2023/01/renaissance-punk-at-rosefield-mills.html) we were doing as part of a Re:Dress Scotland project, I thought I would try and steal a few head shots with her, even though it was primarily a fashion shoot.

Aware that I was really needing to get the full length, and larger environmental images, I only shot off a handful of close-ups, and didn't have much time to think about what I was doing.

However, a couple of weeks later, after I'd edited the main photos, I went back to see what I'd got with the head shots and really enjoyed deep diving into the editing, creating photos that made me sit back in my chair and go "wow!"

I remember writing several years ago that over and above making the client happy, what I'm ultimately chasing in a photo shoot is to create something beyond what I thought I was capable of. But as I improve in my photography, this bar gets set higher and higher, so happens less and less often.

These photos of Eva triggered that elusive feeling in me.

However, I've also been reminded that what I'm looking for in a photo is usually quite different to what anyone else is looking for. The response on social media to the images has been OK, but not at the level I was secretly hoping for.

But that's alright.

Most photographers will complain that what they feel are their greatest ever images get little response, while something that was quick and easy can sometimes gain traction and praise that feels completely out of proportion to the effort in creating it (how often have I commented about the fact I will get 10 times the amount of likes for a quick selfie of me and my daughter than I will ever get for a finely crafted narrative photo?).

But over the years, I have (mostly) come to terms with that. The important thing is for me to keep chasing some kind of aesthetic satisfaction deep within me, regardless of anyone else's taste in imagery.

My wife will sometimes talk about scratching her bones to describe that internal itch or drive that cannot easily be relieved.

This image was my favourite of them all. I added the anarchy graffiti on the wall behind to contribute to the mood I was after, but so much more subtle editing went into this, there were times I was pixel-pushing at levels no one else would ever see or notice.

However, I also discovered I really liked the colour version of this too

And then, following a video I saw on YouTube, I decided to try it out with a blue-pink colour shift, which created a cyber-punk feel (rather than the Renaissance Punk theme of the shoot) that grabbed me as well.

Feedback and thoughts are always welcome – and you are allowed to admit to not feeling the same way about these photos as I do!

---

Model: Eva Taylor
Hair: Nelson Brown and his team
Makeup: Alanna Barszczynski
Outfit: Circle Vintage
Location: Rosefield Mills, with thanks to Dumfries Historic Buildings Trust

Renaissance Punk at Rosefield Mills

"The show-stopping, finale outfit is going to be worn by Angela, the key piece of which will be a 15 metre long cape painted by artist, Emma Visca, and we'd really like a good photo to show it off," said Marie.

I knew from the outset that the stage set up with live audience and low-light conditions were going to make it practically impossible to get the best possible image of the cape on the night of the Re:Dress Slow Fashion Festival, without disrupting the show.

We were going to have to do a separate photo shoot in a separate location.

And so began the search for a suitable venue and a date when everyone would be available. And if we were going to this much trouble, we may as well get a few more models and outfits that reflected the ethos of Re:Dress.

Luke Moloney of the Dumfries Historic Buildings Trust allowed us access to Rosefield Mills - an old building complex on the banks of the River Nith in Dumfries, that ceased tweed production back in the 1930s. Since then it has been slowly decaying, but a few years ago was bought by DHBT, who are now looking into ways to raise funds to convert it for community use.

It has one watertight building that is about 12m by 15m, while still having the paint-peeled brickwork that gives a wonderful urban decay feel, which was ideal for the mood and feel for this project.

Luke also lent us another ladder and a wooden chair for props

On the morning of the shoot, Nelson Brown and his team set to work on the hair for the models, while Alanna Barszczynski did the make up and Circle Vintage the clothing and styling.

Initially I thought our models - Angela, Chelsie, Eva, Joe, Marie and Sahar – would be arriving up one at a time, and I arrived early with Willie Johnston, who was acting as my assistant and shooting some behind-the-scenes video (see further down the page). However, after waiting around for a couple of hours, they all turned up together.

And then it was full on for the next few hours.

While there was a certain amount of ambient light coming from the skylights in the building, it wasn't creating the drama I wanted. So I set up a large softbox as my key light, and then another off-camera flash to use as a backlight. This gave a greater sense of depth with more shadow play coming into action.

Above - test shots: Dan from Circle Vintage in ambient light, then I set the camera to underexposed so he would only be lit by the lights I could control.

Although the lighting was set up to get create photos of the models in the outfits, I quickly realised they could be props in the shoot too. Some of my favourite images are where you see the model and the whole set – it creates more of a story - like this one of Mariel, a Ukrainian ballet dancer who was 8 months pregnant at the time of the shoot.

Willie created a great behind-the-scenes video with the footage he shot, which I think gives a good insight into that part of the day.

The original plan had been the photo shoot would take place a couple of days after the fashion show, and the images would be released within the week while it was still fresh.

Then came the possibility of getting them into a magazine, which would mean holding them back a bit longer.

Then trying to find a date when everyone was available proved more difficult than expected and pushed it back several weeks.

Then it fell through with the magazine.

Then Christmas got in the way.

However, thinking of ways to turn adversity into opportunity, I wondered if it might be possible to make our own online magazine using the images from the shoot.

I thought I was having an original idea, but when I spoke to Marie it turned out she had been thinking about creating a magazine for a couple of years, but the world of the pandemic had diverted her down different routes. 

And then we discovered Nelson had long been thinking about creating one too!

So we are now in discussions about developing something bold and wonderful, but in the meantime have put together what is, in effect, an early prototype to start seeing what's possible.

Scroll to the bottom of the page for the link to the online magazine

Below are a few of my favourite images.

Here's the link to the magazine on Issuu.com - https://issuu.com/kimayresphotography/docs/redress_rpunk - take a look and we hope you like what you see.

Any feedback welcome! 

2022 in Photographs

Every January, I put up a post of my favourite photos from the past 12 months.

In contrast to most social media selections, these are not about the number of likes, comments or shares. Instead these are the photos I was most pleased with. It might be because I felt the shoot or editing moved my photography forward a notch, or it might just be that it was a lot of fun to create.

Either way, I've often found that the response to my images on social media is quite often at odds with my own. Photos I thought were OK but nothing special can end up with a big response, while those I am immensely proud of can often produce reactions that are little more than tumbleweeds rolling past.

So if my last post (see Less surprised, but still faintly disappointed...) was my bemusement at how a casual selfie can vastly out perform a carefully crafted creation, this one is the complete self-indulgence of me showing off what I consider to be my best photos of the year, to anyone who cares to view (even if it is only me in future years looking back to see what I used to think was good).

You'll find a varied selection of photos below, so hopefully there's something for everyone.

I'm always interested in feedback, so if you'd care to leave a comment about which one(s) are your favourite, or any personal observations, it would be warmly appreciated.

If you're curious as to how my photography has progressed since I began back in 2009, then you can find earlier years' selections here: 2021, 2020, Decade Review, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

Wave Blues Band

Bands are nearly always the best kind of people to do narrative photography shoots with. Musicians are creatives, and also performers, so narrative photography is always a good excuse to think bigger, or go off on interesting tangents - create something a bit more cinematic - something that looks like it could be part of a larger story. So instead of going for a shoot where it looked like they were playing live, we developed the idea that in a smoke filled room, 2 people could be playing cards while the rest of the band were setting up around them.

If you'd like to read more about the shoot (and see some of the individual band member photos), then you can read my blog post here:https://kimayres.blogspot.com/2022/01/photographing-wave-blues-band.html

Or if you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into more detail about it, then you can find it here:
https://youtu.be/edLEIbrStz0

A Day in the Life of Kirkcudbright Galleries

I was commissioned by Kirkcudbright Galleries to do "A Day in the Life" of the building. Light was low, and I didn't want to be blinding visitors with flashes going off all day, so I decided to make a feature of slow shutter speeds and "smudging time"

If you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into detail about this shoot, then follow this link: https://youtu.be/Tjea_XrVB0g

Storyteller, Renita Boyle

With 2022 being Scotland's "Year of Stories", I was asked by Dumfries & Galloway Life Magazine to photograph local children's author and storyteller, Renita Boyle, who I've known for many years and is always up for a fun photo shoot. Despite the look of the dark, mysterious forest, it was in fact a sunny day and I had to play around with lighting and exposure settings to get the mood I wanted. I then played around with the editing so the trees blurred up out of the image to give it an otherworldly feel.

If you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into detail about this shoot, then follow this link: https://youtu.be/OLhKJ1KxoYM

The Artist

My wife, artist Maggie Ayres, was needing a headshot - and I did get one of her smiling and in colour - but during the shoot I also captured this one of her which was far more authentic in reflecting the way she was feeling on that day, with all that was weighing on her mind. She found it as captivating as I did and doesn't mind me showing it here.

The Ultimate Selfie

As the open studio event, Spring Fling, was starting to loom, for the first time in 3 years I was going to be putting up work for the public to view in the flesh rather than online. At the same time, the commissioning editor of Dumfries & Galloway Life Magazine was talking to me about doing a feature on photography as a storytelling medium. I realised I didn't have that many narrative photos to display so it was time to get creative.

I'd been toying with the idea of doing a multiple selfie for some time, so this was the excuse to go for it. In the end I managed to squeeze 10 of me into the one shot (bonus points if you can spot the 10th one)

If you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into detail about this shoot, then follow this link: https://youtu.be/ctQ35dJD3Yc

My Father

Visiting my 85 year old father, I wanted to get a photo of him, but it was a dull wet day and not much light indoors. So I got him to sit in the doorway, while I stood outside, under an umbrella.

Car Stories

One of my favourite shoots of the year was a collaboration with Circle Vintage, a clothes store specialising in original clothing from the 60s to the 90s. A previous client of mine allowed us to use his Citroen DS for the shoot, and Eva and Emily were our wonderful models. I wanted the photos to have a cinematic feel to them, which is reflected in the lighting and cropping style I used.

Balancing the light for this one was particularly delicate, because if the inside light was too strong, then you wouldn't see the cherry blossom reflections in the window, and if it wasn't strong enough, then you wouldn't see the wonderful expression by Eva.

If you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into detail about this shoot, then follow this link: https://youtu.be/aMCX-E9Y32w

You can also find more of the photos in my "Collaborations with Circle Vintage" album in my Flickr account.

Bath Stories

"Have you seen Fiona's bathroom?" asked Marie of Circle Vintage. "She's got one of those baths that's in the middle of the floor, and she says she's OK with us using it for a photo shoot if we want." And so began another collaboration, this time with models Chelsie, who she was going to be put in a white lace dress, and Joe, who was to be dressed in a glittery gold outfit, looking like a 70s sci-fi show spaceman (complete with a crash helmet sprayed gold and silver).

If you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into detail about this shoot, then follow this link: https://youtu.be/Wl54QBo6YtQ

You can also find more of the photos in my "Collaborations with Circle Vintage" album in my Flickr account.

June Nelson

Photographing 86 year old author, June Nelson, was an assignment from D&G Life magazine. She was wonderful company and I was delighted to capture this photo of her.

Morag MacPherson Textiles

In my 4th collaboration over the years with textile designer, Morag Macpherson, this time we ventured into the woods with model, Anna. The lighting conditions with shafts of strong sunlight and deep shadows tested my light balancing skills to the limit, but we did end up with a set of photos we were both pleased with.

You can find more of the photos in my "Collaborations with Morag Macpherson" album in my Flickr account.

Bippity - Performance Collective Stranraer

Moving in a completely different direction to my staged, narrative photography, I was asked to photograph Performance Collective Stranraer doing improvised live street theatre. With no control over the subjects, the lighting or the background, I had to watch really closely, tune in as best I could, and begin to anticipate their movements. It was a fun challenge.

During a break though, I made couldn't resist getting some portraits. I still find photographing faces close up completely irresistible.

If you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into detail about this shoot, then follow this link: https://youtu.be/j_duGEK4EyQ

Generations of the Ayres Family

Back in the summer on one of the hottest days of the heatwave, my niece, Holly, got married and asked everyone to wear something colourful - not a straightforward request considering at least half of us are most comfortable wearing black, or at least very dark colours, most of the time. 

However, it's a long time since we had this many of the Ayres family together, so I handed my camera to the wedding photographer and asked him to get a shot of us. With the exception of my son, Rogan, and my sister's other daughter, Kesha, who weren't able to make it, this is the most complete photo we have of my father with his direct descendants.
(Left to right: Callum (my brother's son), Holly (my sister's daughter), Charlotte (my brother's daughter), Coralie (my sister), Meg (my daughter), me, Donald (my Dad), Myke (my brother)

The Galloway Players

Rebecca and Iain are amazing musicians. They met a couple of years ago and formed The Galloway Players. I also did a set of photos against a white background with a 2 light set-up, but when I tried a single softbox set-up against a dark background, the whole thing became very painterly, and I was really pleased with the images.

This was also the first real set of photos I did with my new Canon R5, where I finally felt I was working with the camera, rather than wrestling against it. Whenever I get a new camera, the quality of my photography falls off for a month or so while I work out how to customise the settings and create a new muscle-memory for where everything is. And I was delighted to realise there is a quality to these images that I wouldn't have been quite able to achieve with my previous camera.

If you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into detail about this shoot, then follow this link: https://youtu.be/-agTnV7MmsU  

Rock for ReDress

In 2021, Circle Vintage launched the Dumfries Slow Fashion Movement with a fashion show at the Theatre Royal, featuring upcycled, recycled, vintage and eco-friendly clothing. In Autumn 2022 it shifted up a level when they moved to Loreburn Hall, which allowed them to have a full length catwalk, and a VIP lounge for sponsors. The lighting on the catwalk was very low, and a couple of other photographers gave up with their cameras and reverted to their phones to try and get some shots.

Initially I didn't think I had any hope of getting some decent images, however the new camera had much further limits to be pushed to than my old one, and I was delighted to end up with a batch of photos that were good enough to be printed in D&G Life magazine.

If you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into detail about the low-light, catwalk part of this shoot, then follow this link: https://youtu.be/d1QKo25Zlhw

In The Alcove

Strongly suspecting in advance that the low light of the catwalk could be problematic, I set up a mini-studio with a single light in a small alcove in the VIP lounge to try and get some interesting fashion shots with some of the models. I deliberately used a wide-angle lens pushed to its maximum - not only to fit them in, but to create an off-kilter, slightly unsettling feel to the photos. You might recognise Chelsie from the bath shoot in the first one, along with Joe from the bath shoot and Eva from the car shoot in the second.

If you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into detail about this part of the fashion shoot, then follow this link: https://youtu.be/SEaJUv7Sr4M

You can also find more of the photos (including the ones from the 2021 fashion shoot) in my "Collaborations with Circle Vintage" album in my Flickr account.

Emergency Pottery Photography

My potter friends Doug and Hannah - Fitch & McAndrew - found themselves in need of some emergency photography when their usual product photographer wasn't available, and they had a set of creations they needed images of for their annual autumn online exhibition. This was quite new to me and it took a wee while to get a set up I was happy with.

In the end they were delighted with the photos but later, when I later looked at the way their usual photographer does it, I realised my images were shot in a way that were more like portrait than product photos

If you'd like to watch the podcast where I go into detail about this shoot, then follow this link: https://youtu.be/hCxVokMTdZU

The Firelight Trio

I've photographed Ruth and Gavin as part of Bellevue Rendezvous, Journeyman, and Whirligig. This time, however, they have teamed up with accordionist, Phil, to form the Firelight Trio, who will be officially launching their new album at Celtic Connections later in January. However, I'm feeling smug about the fact I already have a copy of their wonderful CD, which they gave me at the photo shoot.

The Curious Case of the Red Hat and the Half-Eaten Mince Pie...

Several times over the years I've attempted to do a Christmas-themed self-portrait where I wanted to create a Scrooge-like character who was annoyed by the event. I've never successfully managed it. Instead I have several folders of photos which never quite worked.

This year I had the idea of approaching it more like a detective story. What if someone didn't know about Christmas and came across a red hat and a half-eaten mince pie? This time it felt like I'd finally succeeded in creating the photo I set out to make.

Anarchy

This is a bonus shot from another collaboration with Circle Vintage, but the photos have yet to be released (one or two may well appear in next year's "Best of 2023" blog post). Although most of the photos are fashion shots, I couldn't resist doing a quick set of portraits of Eva (from the car and alcove shoots above). We were in an old warehouse building - part of the same complex I did the "Peaky Blinders" themed shoot a few years back. I added the anarchy graffiti afterwards in the editing, as I felt it really intensified the mood of the image.

As of this moment (and of course it could change in anything from a few minutes to a few months), this is quite possibly one of my all time favourite photos, although judging by the response on social media and photography sites, few other people see it in the same way I do...

---

I hope you've enjoyed my selection - please leave a comment below with any thoughts or observations, and let me know your favourite(s)!

Wishing each and every one of you a less stressed 2023.