A quick preview post tonight, from one of the photo shoots I've most enjoyed recently. The opportunity arose to photograph Rachel Duffield, who works as a freelance Queen Elizabeth I. A fantastic opportunity really, as Rachel has a strong background in Drama and an in-depth knowledge of things Elizabethan, as well as it being a rare opportunity to photograph somebody in this role. Rachel impersonates ER I during educational sessions in schools but also uses the tactile element of her fantastic costumes in sessions for the visually challenged during 'touch tours'.
The shoot was a lot of fun, and we spent the greater part of an afternoon in the beautiful St Mary's Church, in Great Witchingham, Norfolk. The church was built in the thirteenth century, though contains influences from other periods, and I hope only the sharp eyed will be able to spot differences in the building which would not be pertinent to the Tudor age.
My focus was to portray the majesty of Elizabeth the First, as well as use the church background to shoot images which demonstrated the strength of the Queen's faith. I always take my shoots seriously, so I did not fail to do my part of reading on the Queen's life and also revisit Cate Blanchett's 'Elizabeth' and the BBC serial 'The Virgin Queen' with Anne-Marie Duff.
Rachel herself was the font for all knowledge on Queen Bess's clothing and lifestyle and I came back from the shoot much informed about life in that period.
So just one photograph for today, a taster, as I continue to post-process the rest the set, which I will blog in full about, soon! Hope you like it!
A big, big thank you for the shoot goes to Cassie and Selwyn Tillett for help in making this shoot possible and for access to the Church. Rachel's blog about her wonderful work as Queen Bess is here.
have a wonderful week x
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