“Have I told you what I was thinking about for my [bridal portraits] yet?”
“Just that you want to use a chicken.”
She tells me & I can feel myself lighting up with eagerness. Not just because it’s an awesome idea, but also because I can totally previsualize just what I want to do as soon as she says it.
. . .
The day starts by wrangling said chickens. We get one little fuzzy looking chicken and one large colorful chicken. The small one was easy but the other made us chase her all around the courtyard for I don’t even know how long. Finally Meredith pulls some move crawling under a table and reaching back out to snatch it by the legs. If only there were someone to take pictures of us doing that.
While Meredith gets ready and I check light and locations one chicken waits in a cat carrier and the other in a dog kennel. The cats and dogs were very interested.
When it came down to it, I shot several versions on my DSLR finding what would work best and settling into my vision. When I found it I unloaded my view camera and made a couple shots on that.
It’s been said that success is when you can no longer tell the difference between the work you’re hired for and your art. This is the best example I’ve had of that so far. I couldn't be more thrilled.
