The Dramatic Blue Atlantic

Hello all,

Recently I have been taking lots of outdoor photos of my scarves and shawls. I wanted to share with you my shawls and scarves in a real life setting. I am really new to photography but thought we could have a go and see what we could come up with. After some research and coming up with a plan we set off for a wonderful location with a bag full of scarves and oodles of energy.

Botallack

For our photo shoot location we choose the cliffs at Botallack, in Cornwall, with its beautiful backdrop of the dramatic blue Atlantic, its array of old engine houses, and its inspiring vistas I felt it was a wonderful place for a first shoot.

So, in the Botallack area are the most outstanding remains of the Cornish mining industry, dating from the 18th century up until the late 1980's. From its Crown engine houses hanging off the edge of the cliffs, its West Wheal Owles and Wheal Edward engine houses, standing proud, to the tunnels of the arsenic works, it is an idyllic location filled with many interesting nooks perfect for photography.

One of the reasons I love this place is that walking down and just sitting on the cliffs fills me with inspiration. I love the colours and rhythm of the ocean, the greens, purples, pinks, blues of the flora to the greys and browns of the old, tumbledown, ancient walls and industrial buildings, and find that these colours transfer to what I make so it was very special to bring these items back to the location that inspired them.

Overall it is a special place indeed.

The Photoshoot

When we arrived at Botallack it was a beautiful sunny day but very very windy, this was at times a bit of a battle and a tad chilly but luckily these shawls are lovely and warm and they do like to fly in the wind, as you can see some of in the photos. Initially I imagined photos of myself sat at my spinning wheel modeling items with a backdrop of the cliffs and sea but most of the time we had to hide from the wind beside one of the engine houses but we made the best of it. I'll certainly choose this place for all my photo shoots, there is so many options for some great shots.

At the end of the day, we had a good giggle, when I looked through the shots at home there were so many of us battling the wind. But most of the shots turned out great. The sun really showed the colours and weave off, and I found I had a nice variety of shots to show off my scarves and shawls versatility.

I am really pleased with how the day went and feel I have really learnt a lot, that I can apply to my next shoot. I am finding my look and what inspires me and I hope that these places inspire you too, they are beautiful and I am very lucky to live so close to them.

Here's to the next shoot and fingers crossed a little less wind.

Lisa