Mills,Musicians and Midges
You might think (as we did) that organising an outdoor photo shoot in June would be a doddle. The days are long, the light is good, the weather is reliable - what could go wrong?
One thing we have learnt about our collective selves during the process of making this album is that decisiveness is not one of our strengths. Combined with a collective desire for perfection and five different versions of what perfection means, even the simplest decisions can become quite drawn out.
Firstly - where shall we go to get a good photo? Living in West Yorkshire we have an abundance of beautiful scenery with the Pennines and Dales on our doorstep. After discussing many possibilities, including taking a long walk down the Wharfe valley to see what opportunities sprang upon us en route (a devious plan by Henry and Nathan to examine many a tavern on the way), we decided on Gibson Mill in Hebden Bridge (home of the famous Trades Club, New Model Army and Clogs). This was a serendipitous decision as it happens as we ended up with a number of shots that beautifully linked to the Jo Holdsworth Artwork 'Linear' used for the album cover - and at this point Debbie hadn't discovered it yet (see Debbie’s blog.
Then the question of what we should wear? Let's be honest, at the best of times none of us are style icons, and this was evident in some of our discussions. Double denim was a serious suggestion - which for Nathan seemed to be linked to rock heroes of the 70's but just made Henry think of B*Witched (90s Irish Girl band). In the end we settled on nothing more specific than Jeans, Boots and 'bring some options' on top. We won't be styling Simon Cowells next act based on this.
The question of 'When' introduced the usual diary nightmares but we ended up with a couple of dates to allow a contingency for bad weather. Typically, on both days it was persisting it down so we had to quickly arrange a third. So here we are at the end of June with pretty much the last date we can all do before holidays and other things get in the way and...
...its bucketing down again!
With 4 of the 5 travelling over an hour to get there, and our photographer Justin in tow we needed to decide if we were going to get anything useful. Thankfully our usual indecision was put to one side as we had an expert with us - Justin was up for it so we cracked on.
Arriving at the mill we all congregated in the car park for a short discussion in which Debbie, Henry and Rick compared outfit options and changed accordingly. Decision making was essentially based on fitting around Rhys (He's the singer so traditionally the world revolves around him) and Nathan who turned up in... You guessed it - Double Denim!
As we walked the mile from the car park to the mill the rain carried on but slowed down and stopped as we got to the mill. As if by magic the sky brightened and we rounded the corner of the mill to find the mill pond being as still as - well a mill pond!
The conditions were perfect for the reflections we wanted to capture so we set about finding the perfect positions and poses while Justin set up lights and camera ready for action. This is when we started to become aware that the conditions - still air, the cool of dusk, just after rainfall - were perfect for something else - Midges by the million.
What you will see in the results are some beautifully shot photos capturing the magnificent mill building and pond, with the five of us reflected in the water. What Justin had to contend with was attempting to wrangle five people all flailing arms like a band of whirling dervishes, in a vain attempt to fend of the mass of munching menaces, to all be calmly posed for a photo at the same time. Somehow Justin retained his composure throughout and rarely seemed that bothered by the little blighters.
Justin's dedication to getting the best shot extended at one point to taking his shoes and socks off and attempting to wade into the pond for a better angle. Sadly, the bottom of the pond was deeper than it looked and was covered in a layer of about 200 years worth of duck shit. The smell it released was epic!
After about 2 hours of being eaten alive, a short break for some of Debbie's homemade Sloe Gin, a serious foot injury caused by wearing new shoes and a long walk back to the car park so we could come back for the now incapacitated Nathan, we packed up the gear, had a cold beer and parted company. The following day was spent comparing notes on who came off worst with the midges (fairly sure it was Justin). Justin spent quite a bit of time airbrushing the clouds of midges out of the photos!
The results of our photo shoot are visible on our website, the CD, Spotify, Facebook, Instagram etc. Our photographer was Justin Leeming (Justin Leeming (@jglcreate) • Instagram photos and videos), who also worked with us to create the album cover. We would highly recommend Justin to anyone wanting great photos or graphic design work - especially as he is a huge music fan himself and big supporter of the arts in general.