Woodchester Ballet
A rare organised shoot took me to the unique Woodchester Mansion. Nestled in a deep valley in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds, Woodchester is an unfinished, rather than ruined, Victorian mansion built in the Gothic style. Started in 1857 the architect ran out of money before floors and ceilings could be put in and it's stayed in that state ever since. Now owned by Stroud Council and let out for events and shoots like this one organised by Tabitha Boydell, consisting of four ballet dancers posed around the building.
The Main Hall
The best space with a high vaulted roof, due to there being no ceilings and large windows.
In the first image the dancer performed a jump (that's the technical term) and the trick was to capture it at its apex. Pressure on as Erika was rationing each photographer to two per person for fear of injury.
The white background image was setup with a a large backcloth and backlit.
Fabulous space. Fabulous model.
The Kitchen
The kitchen, although cold had a large window that just caught the light for about one hour. This made the surrounding walls and the Delph style china vibrant and by fortune it matched the model's dress colour.
