All names and places have been changed to protect the innocent, except myself, John, Marion & Ruby, am hoping they will find their mention a novelty.
4.30am - 5.20am - Awake!! My partner tells me that it takes me exactly 1 hour to get ready, on early starts like this, I’ve got it down to 40 minutes (including coffee). As I get ready my thoughts are mainly occupied by the reality that when I actually arrive on the job 5 hours from now, I must look presentable to the client, this stresses me more than the job itself.
5.20am - 5.45am - Transit to the studio to collect camera gear. Upon arrival at the studio, run into Marion who has just returned from taking Ruby for a walk (Ruby is a beautiful Labrador). Marion is also preparing for work on a film set. Marion is a costume designer who looks beautiful no matter what time of the day it is. The greetings aren’t as jovial as those we exchange on a Friday afternoon. Yes, it’s that kind of building, we all run into each other at the most ungodly of hours. You can call it a creative mecca or just god damn uncivilised. Check camera gear… re-check camera gear, the re-check is very important, I once left the camera behind when assisting John - big, bad mistake, I did not get assistant of the year for this error (no it wasn’t an interstate job). Make sure am carrying no sharp tools - have had to post back my leatherman tool twice on account of having it in carry-on luggage. Labor over whether I really should be taking more gear. Will I need the architectural camera? It’s another bloody kit to carry - decide to leave it behind (mostly as a result of advice by John). Take laptop as job has to be submitted tomorrow morning - awards deadline, bloody awards, wonder how we survived before the advent of digital?
5.45am - 6.45am - Airport Transit & check-in
6.45am - 7.10am - Airport breakfast. As awful as these are, I have come to rely heavily on them for sustenance. Have not however mastered eating with plastic cutlery any more successfully, toast flies off plate in attempt to cut.
7.10am - 8.00am - Flight was supposed to leave at 7.25am - Flight delayed. Bugger!!
8.00am - 9.10am - Transit to interstate destination. O.K. since we’re changing names and places… transit to Bahamas. Read trash - I know this is something not to be admitted too, I would love to say I was reading Kafka, but tis not true. Reading trash relaxes my brain, or lack thereof.
9.15am - 9.30am - Collect tripod and transit to job. Weather is crap - now the relaxation of the trash wears off and the neuroses sets in. When I was an assistant I never understood this neurosis and why we couldn’t shop in bad weather.
9.30am - Arrive to building. EEEK!! All landscaping is surrounded by poles and red tape to keep people off the freshly laid turf. Builders, tools, a bobcat, a generator and a lot of florescent stuff is sprawled all over the forecourt, great for a ‘Wham’ film clip, not so great for an architectural shoot. This is more distressing to my assistant, who will inevitably have to remove them all (while singing ‘Wake me up before you go go’ just for my entertainment). Enter building to be welcomed by an unexpected conference of 80 delegates. Main cafe has not yet been fitted out and workmen have made the rear of the building their home. O.K. It’s going to be a long day.
9.30am - 10.30 am - Call my site contact. Fortunately he is a lovely man who shows some sympathy for our position and offers to assist with the removal of the tape and poles. He gives us master keys to enable us to access offices to turn on lights. This is the joy of ‘Green’ buildings, you see the lights are on movement sensors - no movement, no light. Very clever, thank you to the environmentally friendly architects, sorry to sound ungrateful.
My assistant starts to assemble the furniture in the Cafe in an attempt to make it appear functioning rather than desolate. I start making friends with the conference organisers so that they are aligned with our objectives. They were absolutely lovely and accommodating. The success of our job relies heavily on the cooperation and understanding of nearly everyone - not always easy to get - we lucked in on this job.
10.30am - 11.30 am - I shoot the interiors and make about 30 mobile phone calls to my assistant while he runs around trying to keep all the lights on…quite funny actually - not to him though - great for Telstra.
11.30am - 1.00pm - Go back outside in the hope that weather has miraculously cleared, only to find it has started to rain. We’ve now been awake for 7 hours, so I give in to my assistant and agree to a coffee. Whilst having a coffee, my assistant is enjoying the break while I sit there edgily checking the weather. We’ve had about a third of our coffee when I see what looks like a glimmer of sun… that’s it we’re off, it’s like we’re in the Amazing Race (yes I’m the overbearing bossy one, insisting we hurry, devoid of all logic and mesmerised by the possibility of sun). We franticly race back to the building and try to start shooting the the exteriors. Actually not quite true, we race back and start disassembling the temporary home the builders have made for themselves. Not winning any popularity contests at this point, you see the landscaper’s have a 2.00pm hand over and I have asked them to stop work as their wheelbarrow’s and their shadow’s are impeding the shot. I am normally very aware of the support that the builder and tradespeople provide to us in executing our job, but this is 10 minutes of sun that I’ll never get back. After about 20 minutes of shooting my assistant gives me a blow by blow account of the comments and facial expressions of the landscapers I have clearly upset. Like a true professional I am unperturbed by this, my rule now is that unless you are physically violated or threatened, just keep shooting. I know this is terrible, but I fear the wrath of a bad outcome. The sky closes and that’s it for the sun. I apologise to the landscaper and explain that I am here for one day under trying circumstances. He does nothing to change my admiration for all builders and tradesmen who have saved me and helped me on many photo shoots and replies, “we’ve all got a job to do, I understand love”.
1.15pm - 1.40pm - The conference organisers have kindly let us slip in to shoot the conference space in full swing. Anticipating that this will be something that the architects want, we take full advantage of this opportunity. We set up, we’ve tried to work out where people will sit and where we don’t want them to sit. We’re on a very wide angle lens at the back of a small ramp so we can’t have people too close to the lens. Fantastic, no one sits in the closest 2 seats, we’re set. Just as the speakers come in and everybody settles the man in the second row from the back decides to relocate to the back seat - it is a law conference, so I fear saying anything and accept that I will have to do a montage of images in post (this is the crazy ‘PC’ world we live in, or maybe it’s just the guilty inbred fear of a Catholic education).
If I haven’t bored you or whinged enough, do read on……
1.40pm - 3.00pm - We continue on with interior shots of various spaces under much more comfortable circumstances, we are now dealing with discrete spaces so it is much easier (mental note: change business to specialise in interior photography of small spaces with no people).
3.00pm - 3.15pm - The conference afternoon tea has finished and I notice a large tray of untouched biscuits, haven’t had lunch (trying to make the next move sound less desperate), ask caterer’s if we could have a coffee and a left over biscuit - my assistants eyes light up, probably because I didn’t ask him to ask.
3.15pm - 3.30pm - Head back outside to check ambient light conditions - still overcast with slight rain. See more tradespeople fitting exterior forecourt lights and make a joke that it’s knock off time - get a laugh. Go to sit down for 15 minutes and relax. Return, see same trades people, make same joke - get another laugh (surprisingly!). The penny drops, realise it might be wise to enquire as to whether the lights actually work - oh important - yes lights - this is important. Enquire as to whether the lights will be working tonight - reply ‘Yes’. Now this is where I demonstrate my true savvy and professionalism (or years of experience with disappointment), I notice that there are two different types of lights - small ones and big ones (yes I was educated with the Hexagon with the various different shapes that fitted into different slots) and I ask “Will both types of lights be on?”. The tradesman replies, “No, just these small ones, the others haven’t been sealed…..” and something about water, danger and something… see if it gets too technical you just lose me. Now I promise that I am being honest, I just nodded, thanked him and started to walk away and then he said “Do you need them on?”, ”That would be great” I reply. ”I can leave them on for you tonight if you like” the tradesman says…. the warmth in my heart for all the builders and tradespeople of the world grows even stronger (if that’s possible).
3.30pm - 4.45pm - Scout around and work out dusk shots - no time to waste when dusk decends. Go back and do more interior shots.
4.45pm - 5.45pm - Dusk neurosis, followed by dusk shooting - This is the critical window where all the magic of architecture happens, actually the window is about 15 minutes, the neurosis precedes this by about 30 minutes. This was hell for my poor assistant who had to run throughout the building for 45 minutes to keep every light in the building on. I know if John is ever reading this he will ask why on earth I had someone run around for 45 minutes when dusk is really only a 15 minute window? This is because even though I have been shooting for 8 years, I still fear I might miss it. I was a girl guide and their motto is “Be Prepared” - I can’t believe I have just admitted this.
5.45pm - 8.30pm - Head to airport. Supposed to be on an 8.00pm flight - flight delayed again. By this point we are not for public consumption, or rather the public is not for our consumption so we head to the Virgin Lounge where we can start processing all the days shots. Noone is in the lounge… LOVELY - wash down some wine and cheese - have a bit of a whine and keep processing.
8.30pm - 10.30pm - Air transit, car transit - HOME!!!!
10.30pm - 1.00am - Keep processing files so that contact sheets will be with client by 9.00am. Am nervous about density of files, have processed most on a laptop monitor with 2 glasses of wine under my belt but don’t want to start again now at home with proper monitor - images are not finals - just for selection - hope client understands.
9.00am - Client sends email thanking us and most importantly they are happy - this makes us happy…
No… this is not the end of the job…..now we must optimise all of the shots for press on a proper monitor without tiredness and wine……..
THE END!!
