Wednesday 27 February 2013

Sunken Soldiers Ball

Sunken Soldiers Ball by *GothicNarcissus
[ Sunken Soldiers Ball – Agua de Annique ]

Normally I’m a very impatient person, but when it comes to photography I can be extremely patient. Like, for years. This photo has been lying written down on my “Random photos with BriarRose” text file literally for ages, until I finally got to shoot it.
Today, BriarRose, Nitrogen Frostrhyme and I had a very profitable session and this was the last photo we shot together. We developed a couple of BriarRose’s ideas, then some of mine, including this one. It actually does not have much to do with the lyrics of the song, but the title inspired me this very scene, some sort of Forties ball with a soldier that has return home after the war and greets his girlfriend with a flower, which they eventually drop together with his hat in a fit of tenderness, passion and joy to be reunited. I had no idea about who could pose with BriarRose, but she and Nitrogen work spectacularly together, so I asked him to join the project, which proved to be the right idea.
Technically, this photo has been hell to shoot: I had to use my room’s electric light, which was trouble not much because of the temperature, but because of the intensity, with several of my shirts hung to the handle of the door to screen the desk lamp and get the right amount. Plus, I only had one single suitable background for the photo with very little space on front of it, which forced me to do acrobatics to get a satisfying angle and focus correctly. The photo was definitely worth the trouble, but I really do wish I had a studio sometimes.

A small, posthumous addendum: the photo has been online for a few days now and I’m totally surprised by the huge success it received, both on deviantART and on BriarRose’s Tumblr. It’s not a real portrait, it does not have a very handsome boy in it (well, except for his feet), but it got the recognition I hoped it would have. I’m really glade you appreciate it so much: thank you guys!

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