As we wave goodbye to a summer which didn't really happen, and as we're busy editing a load of photographs from a final week at the coast, here's some shots from an inflatables shoot right at the start of the holidays. Having tried unsuccessfully to do a night shoot with the big red and white ball back in May, I (Ben) was really wanting to try some more of the night beach shots for the "Inflate-Deflate" project, using the new camera to see how well it coped.
This time, I'd be using almost-exclusively Bestway toys (I'd been recommended them to follow on Insta... good old advertising algorithm... so thought I'd use all their products this time). I quite like the designs they've produced over the years, there's some eye-catching toys- the props box is full of them. In fact the majority of the toys I'd be using for this project are actually older than The Childs; so much for single use plastic, disposable toys eh. We make this stuff last!
Attempt One was foiled by an unexpectedly high breeze when we arrived, so we decided to come back another night. To try and save time on location, we'd partially pre-inflated as many of the toys as possible, which no doubt looked interesting to people who saw us drive past.
Attempt Two, the next night; this time the weather was co-operative, the evening warm, there was no breeze... but surprisingly, and annoyingly, the layby next to the beach was heaving when we arrived at 9.15pm.
There were swimmers in the water, multiple fishermen... and it was still quite light when we arrived.
Elder Child and I took a walk, watching a seal bobbing about, and an RAF Atlas transporter cruising around in the twilight. When they made another circuit later in the night, they must have wondered what the hell we were up to, if they'd looked at us with the night-vision gear...
By 9.45 the light was fading, and the public thankfully leaving, and we went back to the car and dragged the toys out. No doubt it would have looked a bit puzzling, given the toys were all 3/4 blown up as we carried them the quarter mile to the location from the car.
I was a little disappointed with how these first ones turned out, just because of how the ball was a little mis-shapen. But then, I reckon this one has been used on at least a dozen shoots over the years and got a bit squashed and generally battered.
The new SLR was coping very well with the shots, better than the phone (which this was snapped on).
The lights were a bit of a last-minute purchase, as my usual ones hadn't lasted as well as the inflatables had. Turned out two had been put away with batteries in over the winter in a damp cupboard, so a quick run to B&M one morning saw me restocking, as well as buying some sealable bags to try and protect them from the salt water.
The tide had come in quite a long way, so I ended up in my beach shoes and shorts, standing up to my knees in the water for most of the pictures. I'd planned on doing shots with the toys on the sand, but ended up having to do more with the shingle and rocks (not least to stop the toys floating off).
The whale was a little problematic, as it was a bit of a weird shape (no flat belly) and hard to disguise the lights. On the other hand, it was so characterful I had to include it. The sea was coming in quite a lot by this point, making the whale move quite a lot during the long exposures.
Last time I used these, I'd got some nice shots with reflections in rockpools, and was a little annoyed I couldn't get to that part of the beach with the tide up. Luckily, by standing in the sea, I could get some reflections with the rising water levels.
I wish I had more of these, I used to have more in a couple of different colours earlier in the project... no doubt they'll turn up in a box somewhere, they've definitely not been lost, given away, or popped.
A non-Bestway toy to finish with, but this beach ball became one of the favourite toys in the "Weightless" open-call location shoots last year. Having survived where all the other toys used in that shoot got punctured by the various spiky hazards on location, I thought I'd do some more pics with this one.
Final shot with the moon in the background. By this time, it was near midnight, and with a massive drive home the next day, I thought it was time me and Elder Child bailed out to get some kip. The new camera really coped well, these are the sorts of shots I wanted when I started the project, it's just taken a while for the tech (and my budget) to catch up with the ambition.
Oh, and reducing the single-use plastic issue yet again, all the toys used survived the night unscathed, to be used in yet more projects in the future.
