Going Industrial

Last Sunday saw us hooking up with several other photographers at an old abandoned warehouse in downtown Jozi. This is an area I would never of dreamed venturing into, but safety in numbers was enticing as was word that the security guards were armed with dogs that apparently will bite if approached. Comforting to know when you're about to head into a dingy rundown area.....

Kicking off with a huge thunderstorm, we all took refuge in the enormous warehouse and set about rigging up gear while Tiffany, our dancer for the next few hours, pirotted and twirled her way across the floor as she warmed up. The setting was perfect and right up my alley.... Gritty and grungy surroundings really showed off the grace and beauty of the dancer....

After Tiffany had satisfied us photographers, the Parkour guys arrived, warming up by bouncing around the interior of the warehouse, fitness levels at their highest.... (note to self, must get back to gym...!)

With a bit of colourful Holi powder and some helping hands, this was the final product.....

While the rest of the photographers busied themselves with other shots outside with the Parkour guys, I took advantage of the approaching storm and captured some amazingly moody skies... one of my favourites.....

Once again the heavens opened and chased us back inside. Fire-eaters were next on the menu, and this was a real challenge for me having never photographed fire before... Definately something I need to work on.... Most of the shots ended up in the bin, but one can always rely on good 'ol black & white for a vaguely OK sort of image.... like this one....

Some fancy light instruments were then pulled out and created some pretty cool effects against the grungy warehouse.... Incidently, the sun glowing through the slit in the wall was caught purely by accident. Just love the sunlight glowing through the door...

Once the sun had set, everyone donned their head lights and camping lights. With the warehouse now in near pitch darkness, it was time to experiment with some steel wool, a whisk and a dodgy SAW mask to complete the picture... This effect is something I've been itching to try for ages, but one really needs a fireproof area to do this due to the flying sparks.... The effect was incredible!!

And then we created this....

And this.....

All in all, a flippen' awesome afternoon/evening filled with a smorgasbord of props and peeps to photograph and experiment with, all while learning new techniques and meeting some really cool, fun people.....