Well, the 2026 blog postings are going well … it’s already almost March and this is my first post of the year. At this rate I’m going to fall even further behind!
So, here we are in May 2024 … somehow nearly 2 years ago now. Chiara had let me know she was coming to Devon for a few days shooting and was I interested in working with her again? Since a fun session with her in 2015 at the start of my journey we’d not shot since and although we’d bumped into each other at a few socials and The Photography Show, plus stayed in pretty regular social media contact, this was really an opportunity I couldn’t turn down … I jumped at the chance.
Sadly I couldn’t afford (because I spend all my money on Thailand holidays) to book her for a full day, but we agreed that we’d fit in a couple of hours on a weekend evening and rather than shoot in the studio where she was staying I suggested heading to the beach for some fashion and ‘boho’ portraiture. Chiara is super easy going and was very on-board with this plan (luckily for me!).
Of course, the day arrived and with it … the rain! Hey, it’s England .. it just had to be!
Keeping a positive outlook, I crossed all my fingers and toes and picked Chiara up as planned. The drive to the beach was peppered by raindrops hitting the windscreen, but I had hope it would clear up … there was a clear patch in the clouds and I was willing it with all my might to Dawlish Warren. The mood was definitely high as we passed Cockwood Harbour with Chiara completely unable to keep a straight face …
The first set at the beach was a short one as it was still spitting occasionally, but as we moved into the second set it started brightening up considerably and we started to get some lovely soft light. I was anxious of running overtime but as we started to leave and climbed over the dunes we were met with some golden light … such is the artist in Chiara that she couldn’t pass this by and encouraged me to grab some final frames with a final set. I hadn’t expected this and was really moved by her kindness and commitment to the shoot.
Tired and hungry we got back to Exeter and spent a pleasant half hour reviewing the images on the back of the camera with a welcome hot coffee from lovely Mr Dave at Sowton Studio. I was pretty nervous at the time that I’d let her down, but she was full of enthusiasm and encouragement which helped reassure me that I hadn’t wasted her evening.
When I came back to edit the shots many months later I was really delighted at how they turned out and have included a selection below. What do you think? How did we do?
For those of you who like the videos … yes, there’s a vlog! You can see it here: https://youtu.be/jZgULP3ou4Y?si=upKwlAUYkaSML8dV
At the time of writing Chiara is in Thailand escaping the winter. We’ve talked about shooting again this coming Summer once she’s returned … and I can’t wait!
