Raphaella and 'that sofa'

Its seems ages ago, probably because it was, that I had the pleasure of working with Raphaella, a model from the North of England, although she has since moved to the states but am assured it was nothing to do with our shoot !.
I booked her for a half day at good old Contrast Studio in Glasgow to do some more for my dancer series and so glad I did, amazing young model and got just what I was looking for to compliment the rest of the work. Have had the first full sized print done and its safely in a frame, not one to brag but its stunning, will be showing online once it has been previewed in a gallery, its still several months away from finishing but have already got one art gallery interested.... brill !
Anyway, back on subject at the end of the session we did some portraits and some arty stuff, she has got an amazing look and is very versatile, some of these shots were a bit rushed as we were both somewhat worn out with the dance shots but in a way this can help as we were both thinking on our feet, some images are ruined by too much planning and thought, we just went with the flow and let instinct take control.

For those that have used Cons place you wil recognise the sofa and I make no apology for using it, almost a testament to the location and I bet it could tell a few stories over the years!
Thanks Raphaella, when you back in the UK let me know. And also thanks to Con, just about the best studio owner around, but then his normal day is filled with models like this hanging around with very little on, no wonder he always looks happy !!

Formal recognition.... :-)

Great personal news !!! the Royal Photographic Society as honored me with an Associate Distinction in the field of Visual Art.
What the heck does that mean ?, well, basically I have become an ARPS !
The work submitted was from a year long project using my life drawing background and fine art photography for a figure study looking at the form, balance and symmetry of the human form. I am really pleased to gain recognition with art nude photographic work as it so often gets put to one side as as being somewhat under appreciated as an 'accepted' subject. Also I had recently tried for a similar qualification with work from this project which was not quite so successful, but that's more about the RPS seeing this genre of photography in a different way. I was somewhat reserved about this submission for various reasons but thanks to Roy for persuading me to go ahead.A selection of images from the full panel of 15 images, one from each subject.

Finally a huge thanks to models Hannah, Holly, Joceline, Justin and John for your creative help ... and your patience !

A day with Katie Louise

Working with a new model is always a mix of excitement and anticipation, you see the profile, read the gushing credits, chat about what you want to do etc, but its only when you meet and start working that you know if its all going to happen for both of you.
Well, last week was one of those situations, Katie was on a trip to the highlands to 'work with new photographers in stunning locations', and I am so glad she did just that !!We started with a few shots in a rather dilapidated old building nearby, it was rather cold , damp, with stuff on the floor you really don't want to know about (lets just say there are a lot of sheep around...sorry, too much info there !!) but the light and atmosphere was great and Katie really got into it like the pro that she is - a minor sacrifice for our art ....


After a few short outdoor sessions to use the local scenery we then retired to the warmth, comfort and privacy of a village hall for some arty dance shots which have turned out just stunning. One of the reasons for wanting to work with Katie was her dance / ballet background and so I had high expectations for these images, and she was just perfect for the series which is an ongoing project that is now almost ready for print .... more on this when complete ...

So, a great day in great locations, and working with a terrific model who is just so easy and fun to work with... and wearing just about the best pair of purple fury boots you could imagine !!
She is threatening to come back in the spring and we have plans already for what we will be looking to do.... really looking forward to it.

...oh, and one last thing ... not only did Katie muck in setting up and help break down the lighting etc in the hall, but what others have not mentioned is that she also knows how to coil up cables - am well impressed !!!

Thanks Katie xx
ps - we must do pie and chips again sometime !!

Katie on Purestorm

BIPP Anual Conference workshop.

I was honored with a request to speak at this years annual conference for the BIPP this week, ( British Institute of Professional Photography - Annual Conference). The subject of the talk was Photographing the Human Form and despite never speaking so formerly on this subject before I felt it went rather well, at least there were lots of smiles and good questions (and no snoring in the back row!), and it started to run over time which is always a good sign so many thanks to those who attended and helped make the workshop a success, both participants and organisers.
I was also fortunate enough to have model Holly to help out and with her relaxed and professional manner she was the perfect subject for the 2 hour workshop.


More for the benefit of those that attended I have published the notes and images from the workshop on my main site link....

New Work....

I had an mail from model KatyT last week, she moved to the US last year but was back touring through Europe and had a few days in Scotland. She had some spare time and was I up for a session, so following in the same spirit as the last post having worked together many times over the past 4 years with every shoot producing some fantastic work it would be fun to meet again to see what we could produce together. I hired Contrast Studio in Glasgow for just a couple of hours intending to just do some work on my dancer series which with Kate's dancer background was guaranteed to produce some extremely creative images - and it did !!
As a warm up we worked on some fine art nude figure work with a specific theme, I had an idea of what to expect but knew that once I gave Kate the props she would bring her own flavour to the images, which she did.


Kate's enthusiasm and dedication to her work is infectious so the short session was as productive and creative as ever - and great fun !
This shoot has given me some ideas for more in his series, and as for the dancer work I have dancer and model Eenia booked for next week, we have already done a test shoot and if all goes well will finish the shooting for this project very soon and will publish the work when complete.
ps - Kate and I still have some unfinished business with 'that tree' - one day !!

Shared development ???

I find it interesting to go back over old work, sometimes this brings some embarrassment... "did I really think that was good then ??", but more often with a sense of fresh appreciation when the events and memories of the day have long past allowing me to see my work as hopefully others will.
However what is really interesting is looking at work over time with the same subjects and seeing some development in our work which I can see with all he models that I have worked with more than once. One such model is Holly (Ivory Flame). My very first shoot was in Sept few years ago where I wanted to create some outdoor nudes in remote settings. We had never met and the day started badly with rubbish weather and the poor lass being kicked off the bus about 40 miles too early and got dumped by the roadside for over an hour in the rain, but being a true pro she just got into the shoot from the first frame as if nothing had happened.

The day ended with some great work and we had a thoroughly good time in the process and looking back I am still pleased with the shots. Since that day I have seen us both move forward and the next few images are from our last session a couple of months back, the shoot was really as an introduction to a colleague wanting to try art nude so there was very little brief, just playtime, but these shots are far superior to my studio stuff in this style a few years back .... and not just the technical but in the 'spirit' of the images, something that cannot be learned from a magazine..!!
I now certainly have a different view on my photography and Holly just gets better (if that's possible). Nowadays I take far less images per setup, partly due to knowing more what I want - well, sometimes, but also as one gets to know individual models this helps to create stronger work. I used to think it partly due to being more at ease with the subject, but now I think its more about being at ease with ones self, confident in your own ability, and knowing what works (sometimes !).
My greatest inspirations come from photographers and models that are not afraid to experiment and avoid falling into the trap of creating the same images but with a different subjects or locations, that's just turning the sausage factory handle !! Working with models that strive to make every photo session better than the last are the ones that develop, but as a model you often give a lot of the creative control to the photographer as they are (normally) setting the theme, which is why for me this style of work has to be collaborative, and this means working with subjects that bring that little extra to the session and that have the same aims in life, to enjoy every shot and just get better !!
Thanks Holly.

From the Sand Dunes to the studio with Chrissie Red

Last week had a morning on my favorite beach, well, favorite 'Scottish' beach at least, with a male life model and I dragged along pal and model Chrissie Red to help out. I have had one session with Chrissie before and she is just so much fun to work with and always produces some fantastic images. so naturally could not pass up the opportunity to work on a few shots with her, this one is one of our faves that will make a dam fine large scale print !!

After playing on the beach we headed back to play in the studio with model James Foreman aka Jaystar, I wanted specifically to work on the bodyscapes project with a male but more on this and the male beach work soon.
A sample shot with Chrissie whilst waiting for James....
..thanks Chrissie...

Bodyscapes

This is a project that I have been working on for quite a while but recently started to take this a little more seriously. This style of image is far from new but sometimes its good to put your own style to an old idea. Here are a few sample images produced for exhibition and print sale from sessions with pro models Ivory Flame, Joceline, and Dancer & life model Eenia.

These 3 samples are fairly similar in style re pose and lighting, other works offer variations - for up to date works I have stared a gallery on my own site www.davehunt.eu/collections/bodyscapes/

New blog

I have been meaning to start a blog dedicated to my art nude work for far too long but here it is at last (thanks for the prod Holly). I will be showing a mix of earlier and new work and will be sharing some info on how the shoots were done, and why. For many shooting art nude is an expensive hobby, but for me it is for 2 reasons.

Firstly this work really helps my portrait commission work, even for clothed clients as the lighting and posing is more of a challenge working with a nude, this is not dissimilar to life drawing helping an artist working with pencil, paint or clay. This has the added benefit as many individual have a secret passion to be photographed naked but may be too shy or scared to suggest it, having a portfolio of tasteful images helps break down these reservations.

And secondly some of the works are offered for sale as prints as I live in the world where I need to make a living - and its good to share my work with folk that are prepared to pay for it.

To kick off here is an old favorite that has been rather successful in print sales, in competitions and general public response. Shot 2 years ago locally to my home with professional Model KatyT.