Secret Garden

These images are from my shoot with the lovely Brian Martin on my last trip to Scotland... I worked at some awesome locations up there but this one was a real gem... it had such an enthralling feeling inside, quiet but buzzing with something. It reminded me of a bit from the film The Dark Crystal, where the Gelfling enter the ancient homes of their ancestors, with vines growing all over the walls and mystery everywhere. It really felt like their was magic inside those gates, with a presence in the air, memories lingering. The colours inside were beautiful, but I think the black & white edits capture the textures and atmosphere there. Brian was an absolute joy to work with and it was such a fun and productive shoot that I'll always remember.

Here are some iPhone captures I stole from the inside of the secret garden! We finished the shoot in the bluebell wood, so I've added some colour shots as well.

There had just been a short rain shower, and I'm gonna try and help you picture what it was like... the sun was glistening through the trees, and down onto the bluebells and ferns which were lush green, quenched by the fresh dew. You could almost hear the forest absorbing it all up in ceremony. Tiny winged insects were illuminated by the soft light, slowly rising above and glowing like floating fairies, beetles crawled through the undergrowth, the birds were singing all around. It was one of those moments where you feel honoured to be witnessing - the wonder of the hidden world of nature. It was just so pretty and so peaceful. It's shoots like that when being there, as a nude model, barefoot, bareskinned, is honestly such a sacred experience; the air on your skin feels amazing, and you get such a sense of awe from being part of something so quietly strong - living & breathing in it's graceful harmony.
I luckily get to work in these environments occassionally, but it's so important to remember to make time to surround ourselves with nature, when you get chance, away from busy jobs, the grey city, flashing televisions and the stress & sparkle of money. Entering the natural world reminds you what is real, and gives you time to just 'be' and feel serenity. You can observe it and sometimes it lets you in, and occassionally it majorly shows off how freakin gorgeous it is :-)