The Newcastle Castle Keep isn't the first place that I would think of for an elegant ballet photo shoot. Standing on raised ground above the River Tyne, this fortress was built by the Normans on ground that originally had a Roman walled fort. William of Normandy sent his son to the region in 1080AD to help with raids from the Scots. This castle was called "Novum Castrum Super Tynam" translated from Latin to "New Castle upon the Tyne".
In 1168, Henry II commissioned a stone castle to be built to replace the wooden existing one. Today's Castle Keep is what would have been the Great Tower - the final refuge place if the castle was attacked. A North Gate was added about 80 years later, this is what we call the "Black Gate".
So much history in this very ancient city. To learn more about this incredible building head over to Newcastle Castle website.
So to be in the Great Hall of the Castle Keep really was a special thing. The hall itself is 43 foot high, so the work involved to set up the backdrop and lighting rigs was no mean feat, organised by Event Photographer maestro Phil Punton.
Working with flowing fabrics is quite tricky, you just cant predict exactly where it will land and there are so many other things affecting the movement - whether it's the strength of the fabric throw by the model, or the moment the shutter triggers the flash, or the breeze that runs through the castle. The perfect shoot ration goes out the window!
We wanted to create soft, beautiful, moving images and I think we did just that. Have a look at behind the scene footage and my favourite few edits.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Emma x