Return to Mt Yarrowyck
02/11/25
Back in September, I put up a post about checking out Mt Yarrowyck as a potential location for shooting some fine art nudes. While I did get one shot on that particular day, it wasn’t at the specific spot I’d been aiming for, which was at the time cut off by incredibly boggy ground. Evelyn from Peacock Photography and I decided that, after almost six weeks of relatively dry weather, the location should be in good enough shape to try again, and that’s exactly what we set out to do.
And lo and behold, we were right. The ground had well and truly dried out, though ironically, the plant life in the reserve was far greener than it had been on our last visit (not that it really translates in these black-and-white photographs taken on the Canon 200D with the 24mm f/2.8 and red filter). I can’t say we timed the actual shoot well, it was near the middle of the day and incredibly warm, with flies absolutely swarming around us no matter where we went. As if the harsh light alone wasn’t enough to deal with. Still, that was the only time we had available for this second scouting shoot, and you just have to roll with the punches on these things.
When we arrived at the planned location, a big boulder in the middle of an open space with a dead tree beside it and an amazing rock formation in the background, we were excited to see a lizard of some kind chilling in the dead tree. He didn’t seem too bothered by our presence, or at least thought he was so well camouflaged that he didn’t need to worry about us. I got a couple of cute snaps of him. I’m used to seeing skinks and water dragons, but I have no idea what this little guy was.
It was a bit of a risky shoot, this spot is right on the main path through the reserve.
But I suppose that’s the nature of shooting fine art nudes in any public location.
I do love the framing of these wide shots with the rock formations in the background. In retrospect, I wish I had waited for the cloud’s shadow to make its way over the rocks, but again, when you’re shooting nudes in public, it’s not always easy to sit around and wait.
This second shot, I believe, makes for a stronger image.
Evelyn’s pose feels more natural, it’s casual, relaxed, and very her. It really speaks to her confidence and comfort in her own skin. As much as I love this image, I do find the tree shadows on her arm a little distracting, so if I were to shoot this again, I’d definitely aim for later in the day, closer to golden hour.
On top of the wide shots, I also wanted a couple of close-ups.
It’s worth noting that I shot these on the Canon R8 with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art lens, fitted with an ND filter. I believe I was shooting at f/1.8 with about five stops of ND. I like this particular pose, it’s kind of cute, but it doesn’t quite feel like Evelyn to me.
This second close-up, however…
That one is so Evelyn. She looks natural and completely at ease (and her socks don’t match, which is very her). I find it to be a cozy, comfortable photo, even if the shadows are a little harsher than I’d have liked. Again, we worked with the conditions we had. I really love this image, and it was easily the best shot of the day in my opinion. I’m not sure if it will make it into my portfolio, but it has a feeling I definitely want to keep exploring.
I still think that Mt Yarrowyck has a lot to offer as a photography location, with plenty left to explore. As the weather heats up, though, it’s going to become harder to use, it’s just too exposed to shoot comfortably. I’m not sure what the lighting would be like there early in the morning, but that might be worth investigating next. Either way, I’m excited to see what else I can capture out there after this afternoon of shooting.
