Art for Art's Sake...

..Money for God's sake. That's a 10CC song, for all those under 40. Today I had a great time down at Dunedin Public Art Gallery, shooting promotional pictures for their "Beloved" exhibit, a collection of some of the best loved works held by the gallery. I'm going to hold off displaying the shots for now, until I'm absolutely sure I have clearance to use images of other artists work. Gotta respect those intellectual property rights.



I asked for a couple of museum staff to model for me and I got the best - the marvellous and patient Tim "please watch out for the art work Clive" Pollock and Geva "Haunted Love" Downey. We shot some of the gallery's real icons, so I wanted Tim and Geva to be faceless and low lit, to make the paintings the centre of attention, but at the same time helping to frame and draw us into the art.

I got to play Strobist with all my flashes again. Every session is an education - and a thourough test of my gear. I've just got a new 2nd hand 540EZ flash, which really helps light the big spaces. The gallery's Monet was a bit of a challenge, so I created some shadows for added drama, and threw in a tilt for a little extra intrigue. Tim felt it's not Monet's most striking work and needed a little oomph. I think he was pleased with what we got.

My favourite - and everybody elses - is the Goldie. It's one of the gallery's most popular works. There's the wonderful character of it, but it's also a genuine Kiwi icon. It didn't need much more than a little light and someone to draw your attention to it.

I really enjoyed this shoot. Not just for the joy of working hard and creating pictures, but I got a good look at other peoples work and their approach to lighting. You can learn a lot from Gainsborough and Cooper. Art for Art's sake. And I get paid for this. 10CC.