Figure & Form - Issue 3 - 2016

ISSUE NO. 3

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P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y C A M AT T R E E

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W W W. A R T Z I N E S . C O M / F I G U R E

NEW ZEALAND

NE W ZEAL A ND In April 2015 I ran my first overseas workshop, based in Queenstown, Zealand.It also happened to be my very first trip to New Zealand, a place which is only a three-hour flight away from my home in Brisbane but with a landscape is so vastly different, it could easily be on the other side of the planet. The idea for this workshop was spawned though a conversation with Romi Muse who was living in Queenstown at the time. We were trying to figure out if she was going to be able to come back to Australia to work with me one more time before she moved to Europe.

That seemed unlikely so me running a workshop in Queenstown and using her as one of the models turned out to be a fantastic idea. We set the dates of the workshop for the end of April, which happened to be the time Zoe West from the USA was planning on coming to Australia. I had originally planned to run a workshop with Zoe here in Brisbane but a quick message to her to see if she would rather meet me in New Zealand instead of Brisbane was replied with a “hell yeah!� so our second model was locked in. Romi and Zoe were the true professionals I expected them to be and then some. They both braved the cold on many occasions, posing in the lakes and even while it was raining at times. Both girls demonstrated their lack of fear of heights as well which is more than I can say for myself!

Queenstown is such an incredible part of the world with scenic locations just perfect for shooting artistic nudes in the landscape. We had a small group of photographers from Brisbane, Sydney and Queenstown which meant they had plenty of shooting time over the two-day workshop with our incredible models and everyone came away with not only great images but some great new friendships. The 2016 workshop will be even bigger and better as we add another two models and the workshop gets extended to a full three days and four nights with the option to stay on an extra day or two and book the models on an individual basis. Amazing art nude models Nicole Vaunt and Floofie will be joining Romi and Zoe this time around.

As an added bonus we will also have a special guest lecturer, Corwin Prescott, from the USA.

ZOE WEST AT LAKE TEKAPO

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met Zoe in Christchurch a few days before the workshop so we could drive down to Queenstown and have a stop over in Lake Tekapo to do some shooting along the way.

We were treated to some incredible scenery along the drive with every corner turned revealing even more beauty.

Lake Tekapo was stunning and we spent the afternoon when we arrived shooting in some gorgeous light and the morning before we left for Queenstown shooting in rather cold and overcast conditions. It’s a popular tourist spot but we still managed to find some great spots away from the crowds.

Equipment: Fuji X-T1 / Fuji 18-55mm f2.8-4 OIS / Fuji 50-140mm f2.8 OIS

ZOĂ‹ & ROMI AT MOKE LAKE We spent the day before the workshop scouting locations with the help of local photographers Dan and Paul who were joining us for the workshop. They kindly drove Romi, Zoe and I around all day and we found some great locations.

Moke Lake was only 15 minutes away from our cabin which was our base of operations for the length of our stay. We had some amazing light, clear skies and stunning reflections on the day of our scouting mission but of course the first day of the workshop was overcast with a bit of rain about.

To make the clouds even more dramatic for the workshop photos, we added in some offcamera flash to allow us to underexpose the background.

Equipment: Nikon D750 / AFS Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 / Nikon SB800 Speedlight Fuji X-T1 / Fuji 18-55mm f2.8-4 OIS Fuji X-100T

ZOĂ‹ & ROMI AT SKIPPERS CANYON Skippers Canyon provides some amazing vistas with plenty of great spots to place a model with a background of the canyon leading to jagged peaks off in the distance.

It’s here where Romi and Zoe showed their climbing skills akin to that of a mountain goat and I tested my apprehension of heights.

Further down the canyon and we found a lovely (but somewhat creepy) little stone cottage which provided another perfect backdrop for some art nude images.

Equipment: Fuji X-T1 / Fuji 18-55mm f2.8-4 OIS / Fuji 50140mm f2.8 OIS Fuji X-100T

CABIN FEVER WITH ROMI MUSE AND ZOĂ‹ WEST On the second morning of the workshop we awoke to the sound of pouring rain.

Not the ideal situation for a location art nude workshop by any means. So we took the opportunity to shoot some beautiful window lit art nude portraits of Zoe inside our cabin using a reflector for a little bit of fill light. The warmth of the wood walls provided a great background as we explored a number of different angles, each providing a different light on Zoe. By mid morning the rain hadn’t eased up and Romi was going a little stir crazy so she suggested we shoot on the deck of the cabin in the rain. Our normal stunning view from the deck looking out onto Lake Wakatipu was a complete whiteout due to the rain but this actually worked in our favor by giving us a simple, clean white background.

I had the idea of raising the outdoor table up onto the chairs so we could avoid the railing around the deck and avoid any background clutter. Romi then braved the cold rain for 10 minutes so we could capture her in some incredible poses.

Equipment: Fuji X T1 / Fuji 56mm f1.2 Fuji X T1 / Fuji 18 55mm f2.8 4 OIS

ZOĂ‹ & ROMI AT ST BATHANS The day after the workshop was a free day to explore the area further so Mark Rhodes and I took Romi and Zoe for a drive to St Bathans which is about 2 hours from Queenstown.

St Bathans is a former gold and coal mining town well known for its scenic man made lake with beautiful looking clay cliffs which attracts many landscape photographers.

We left Queenstown early in the morning and the closer we got to St Bathans, the heavier the fog became. When we arrived it was very still and eerie but also very beautiful.

It’s a fascinating area to explore and we spent a few hours shooting around the lake and the clay cliffs before heading up to the supposedly haunted pub for a warm drink.

Equipment: Fuji X T1 / Fuji 18 55mm f2.8 4 OIS

BEHIND THE SCENES

C A M Z O E A N D R O M I AT S T B AT H A N S

C A M A N D Z O E AT T E K A P O

CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD LAKE TEKAPO

DAN CHILDS AND ZOE WEST

DAN CHILDS WITH ROMI AND ZOE

MARK RHODES AND ROMI MUSE

MARK RHODES AND ZOE WEST