Day ( 7 ) The Coromandel Peninsula

Today marked our last day of shooting on New Zealand’s North Island with us having to catch a flight from Auckland that afternoon. We rose early this morning to visit Pauanui Beach to catch the light before the Sun was too high. With it only being a short drive away from the resort we had packed our cases the night before in preparation of our journey ahead and Brit had just left out some dress designs by Romeo Pires for us to use on the shoot.

The beach was a wonderful location for a shoot with clumps of pine trees leading down towards the grass covered dunes with the golden sands and raging surf just beyond. Brit selected  one of three dresses she’d bought along with her and we proceeded with the shoot.

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

I couldn’t have asked for better natural lighting this day, neither could I have asked for a better location and this particular shoot ranked very highly in my list of favourites from our trip.

Designed By Romeo Pires

Changing in to another dress from the stable of Romeo Pires we made our way down the beach using the surf as a backdrop.

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

In the knowledge that we had to make our way back to Auckland  to catch our plane later that day we decided to make our way back up the beach towards the car and to quickly shoot the remaining garment from Romeo Pires that Brit had bought along with her.

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

It was not with out a certain amount of regret that with our schedule we had to bring  the shoot to a close and head back to the resort to collect our cases etc. Perhaps one day I’ll find myself back on New Zealand’s North Island with more time on my hands to make the most of the scenery and the opportunities that exist for me to be creative. I do hope so!

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

Later that day would see us flying out from Auckland and on to our next location as we headed towards New Zealand’s South Island.

Day ( 6 ) The Coromandel Peninsula

If there is one thing New Zealand is definitely not lacking in it is the spectacular scenery. Our sixth day of shooting saw Brit  driving us to The Coromandel Peninsula, a popular holiday destination for the New Zealanders.  Coromandel is renowned for its rain forests and golden beaches and Brit and I stayed in the heart of a rain forest at Puka Park Resort.

Brit Outside Of Her Chalet

Arriving at the resort quite late in the afternoon we felt we should try and capture some material as soon as possible and elected to shoot around the chalets tucked away in the rain forest. The sun filtered through the trees and made for some beautiful lighting despite the forest floor being in shadow. I had to bump up the ISO speed on the cameras to cope with the low light conditions and use the flash guns set up on lighting stands to provide the necessary fill flash.

Britney Lee

As was the case in all of our shoots in New Zealand Brit applied all of her own make up. With us selecting items provided by designer Joe Blake and Rufus and given the setting of shooting in the rain forest we decided on a tribal look. Remaining close to the chalets provided some excellent lighting with the Sun shining through the trees and providing some beautiful back lighting.

Designs By Joe Blake & Rufus

Designs By Joe Blake & Rufus

Designs By Joe Blake & Rufus

Designs By Joe Blake & Rufus

Having spent the best part of the day driving and having only stopped off for snacks Brit and I decided to freshen ourselves up and go for dinner. With Brit dressed in another offering from Romeo Pires I quickly shot a handful of images of her. One thing that really stuck in my mind was with the light pollution of the city being absent the number of stars you could see at night was quite incredible and I feel quite sure you could see more heavenly bodies than actual space.

Designed By Romeo Pires

The next day we planned to shoot fairly early in the morning as we also had a long drive ahead of us as we made our way back to Auckland to catch a flight on to our next destination. On account of our travel plans we chose to shoot locally at Pauanui Beach.

Designed By Romeo Pires

Day ( 5 ) Rotorua NZ

Overnight Bit and I stayed in The Prince’s Gate Hotel which is steeped in history having once been used as a military hospital during the First World War. Whilst eating out that evening  we discussed our second day of shooting around Rotorua and thumbing through tourist information brochures decided to visit Waimangu Valley which is a geothermal National Park about a 20 minutes drive away from where we were staying. On arrival we introduced ourselves to the park manager and sought permission to shoot around the valley. Not only was permission granted but also the entrance fees were waived.

One could be forgiven for thinking when entering the park that they had stepped millions of years back in time and the terrain had a very prehistoric look and feel to it. Waimangu Valley is the youngest geothermal site in the world and is still very much volcanically active. There is a mixture of acidic  bubbling hot lakes, beds of sulphur and rock faces steaming away.

Over Looking Waimangu Valley

One of the biggest challenges I was presented with this day and as was the case throughout the duration of our world tour was that more often than not our itinerary required me to  shoot in far from ideal lighting conditions.  With many of our shoots taking place during the day time and with it being summer time in the Southern Hemisphere I was left combating harsh shadows in the mid day Sun.

Over looking Acidic Lake

As per usual Brit had packed a holdall of outfits that we selected to shoot around the valley and seeing as she was already wearing one of the dresses from Romeo Pires we proceeded with the shoot.  Not only was the sunlight a challenge but the park was a popular tourist spot and every now and again we had to stop to allow groups of people pass by.  If there is one thing I look out for when shooting outdoors it’s natural back lighting which can bring an image to life.

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

Walking further down in to the valley Brit discretely disappeared in to the bushes for a change of outfit and emerged wearing a skirt from UK designer Whereareyounow.

Designed By Whereareyounow

Designed By Whereareyounow

The day was blisteringly hot with temperatures soaring in to the nineties and Brit and I had packed copiuos amounts of bottled water in anticipation of the heat. If I was challenged by the light for Brit the challenge was keeping her make up intact.  In Los Angeles we had used Susie Chhuor to assist with make up but then we were only staying at one location.  In New Zealand with us travelling each day it simply wasn’t possible to employ the services of a make up artist and that side of things fell on Brit to do herself.  Walking deeper in to the valley and past the smouldering acidic lake we came across a shallow stream flowing in to it which gave of the characteristic sulphuric stench we had started to become accustomed to.

Designed By Whereareyounow

Brit Posing By Sulphuric Stream

Once we reached the stream we felt it might be an idea a good idea to break for a while as even with out the heat of the day both intensive modelling and photography are hard work and tiring.  Once we decided to resume with the shoot Brit selected another garment from designer Anna Steele. During this particular part of the shoot Brit was wearing a pair of flip flops which would not appear in frame as I was only shooting her three quarter length.

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

All around the park were areas that were fenced off and even carried danger and warning signs and we had been briefed that we should keep to the path.  However on this occasion I chose to ignore good advice in the name of art and stepped over the fence and crouched beside the stream.

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

It was at this point that certainly for Brit provided one of the more humorous memories of our trip. As I was crouched down looking up at Brit I notice her footwear was smoldering. Upon making mention of this I was oblivious to what was happening around me  and the immortal words rang out from Brit ” Nick your arse is on fire”.  My combat trousers were engulfed in a cloud of smoke and once back at the hotel had to be discarded as the sulphur I’d been crouched down on started to rot them away.

Designed By Anna Steele

Designed By Sugarhill

Designed By Sugarhill

With the day being especially hot and with our supply of water rapidly diminishing Brit and I elected to start walking back towards the car. We decided to spend an afternoon of relaxation around the hotel swimming pool.  As was the case with other locations we shot in we approached the hotel manager seeking permission to rattle off a few shots around the hotel that evening and once again permission was duly granted. Through out the entirety of the trip we found everyone to be very accommodating.

Designed By Gajda

Designed By Gajda

Designed By Gajda

Designed By Fanni Ann

Designed By Fanni Ann

Designed By Fanni Ann

As the evening came to a close Brit and I made our way in to town to discuss our plans over dinner with regards to our next day of shooting, which would see us once again packing everything  in to the car and driving off to an entirely different location.

Day ( 4 ) Rotorua NZ

Our second day on New Zealand’s North Island saw us checking out of our hotel after breakfast and loading all of our cases and holdalls into the back of the car which once the back seats were down was surprisingly spacious. One of the locations we pin pointed before we flew out from London as a must see was Rotorua, famous for its geothermal activity. There was no mistaking that we had arrived in the town, the stench from the hot mud pools and sulphur beds took your breath away and one can only assume that the locals have become immune to the smell.

Before we checked in to our hotel Brit and I had a quick walk about just to view some of the thermal activity and it was quite an eye opener with peoples back gardens being just a few yards from some of the pools, some of which had only recently developed. Sometimes you’d spot a rock covered in sulphur simply smouldering away and then spot a hole in the ground where a hot spring had literally sprung forth.

We realized that once we were in Roturua it wasn’t a location that we could only cover in one day on account of the opportunities that presented themselves to include in our shoots. The first day of our arrival we elected to shoot around Lake Roturua itself with us planning a visit to one of the national parks the following day. Late afternoon we headed off in the direction of the lake and found ourselves a spot on the bank to start shooting. The light was especially harsh and cast some unsightly shadows but never the less using the flash guns for fill light we proceeded with the shoot, choosing an outfit designed by Sugarhill to start the ball rolling.

Designed By Sugarhill

Just further along the shore line a shallow river entered the lake and we spotted an interesting little island  and dead tree lying just off shore. Brit proceeded to remove her shoes and wade out towards it with me following on behind her. For me to get the right framing and composition meant me having to kneel down in the water and left me soaking but with the Sun blazing away I had no doubts in my mind that I would dry out before we returned to the hotel.

Designed By Sugarhill

On account of most of our shoots very much taking us off the beaten track prior to setting out we would just make a selection from the outfits we had available to us and pack them into a holdall.  My photographic equipment that I had flown out in a very robust flight case fitted nicely in a small back pack. The next designer we shot for was Anna Steele again who had presented us with by far the most outfits that she wanted us to shoot.

Designed By Anna Steele

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

Designed By Annna Steele NZ

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

With us both feeling quite tired having driven from Auckland and not having really stopped all day, Brit and I decided that we would head back in the direction of the car and just shoot for one more designer. We walked past where we had parked up and headed towards a glade of trees on the shore line and was richly rewarded by the golden sunlight that filtered through the branches.

Designed By FE Essentials

Designed By FE Essentials

Designed By FE Essentials

Designed By FE Essentials

Every day before setting out on each leg of our journey Brit and I would make a point of eating a hearty breakfast and in most instances we wouldn’t have the opportunity to eat another proper meal until the evening. Whilst driving between locations we snacked on sandwiches, crisps, sweets and cookies and always made sure we had a plentiful supply of bottles water in the car.  As we drove back to the hotel we planned on exploring the town of Rotorua that night, finding a retaurant to eat in and sitting down to discuss our plans for the following day’s shoot.

Day ( 3 ) Karekare NZ

When I first approached Brit with the proposition of us shooting overseas together I simply put to her the question ” If there is any country in the world you’d love to do a shoot, where would it be ?” Both of us were agreed upon New Zealand on account of the diversity of the landscape on offer and it was as a result of choosing New Zealand as our destination that our original idea grew until it eventually became an around the world fashion shoot.

Flying to Auckland marked many firsts for me including the first time I had crossed the equator, visited the southern hemisphere and crossed the international date line.

Just as was the case with Phileus Fogg in the book written by Jules Verne ‘ Around The World In 80 Days’ we were left with the impression that we had lost a day but as we both discovered that was made up for when later on when we crossed the equator for the second time when we travelled anti clockwise on our homeward bound leg of the journey.

Just the night before flying out to Los Angeles I received a last minute email from New Zealand designer Anna Steele who had caught wind of our trip and asked if I would shoot some of her own designs and I made arrangements to meet her at her workshop in Auckland on the day of our arrival.

Arriving in Auckland in the early hours of the morning we picked up our hire car, a Toyota Corolla and drove to our hotel to check in with the intention of visiting Anna later that afternoon. I have never been able to sleep whilst flying and it took it’s toll on me with me crashing out on my bed and raising all sorts of concerns for Brit when I failed to meet her in the hotel lobby at the agreed time. I was awoken by the hotel manager entering my room on account of Brit’s concerns for my well being.

New Zealand was the only destination that we chose to hire a vehicle on account of the various locations we had opted to shoot in and the distance between them and to make life easier for us we also hired sat nav and christened our new travelling companion Gloria Garmin.

We met up with Anna in her workshops as planned and she selected a number of designs she wanted shot and which we would return to her at a later date once we had completed our tour of New Zealand. Anna suggested that Karekare Beach about a 20 minute drive away would prove to be a very scenic location for our first shoot and on our arrival we were certainly not left disappointed.

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

The drive from Auckland to Karekare gave Brit and I our first insight to the photographic opportunities that exist in New Zealand. The drive to the beach took us around winding roads which went up hill and down which were skirted by dense and lush vegetation growing from the volcanic soil synonymous with this part of the North Island. The sand on the beach at Karekare swayed more towards being a volcanic ash and was dark and grey in comparison to that associated with the coastal regions of the UK.

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

On  our drive towards Karekare we stopped off to purchase a pair of shoes for Brit on account of feeling that we didn’t have a pair that suitably matched some of the outfits we were showcasing.  The walk from the car to the beach was quite some distance and gave Brit the opportunity to try them out and to break them in.

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

As we made our way to the beach we still had no idea of what it might look like and only had Anna’s word for it that we would be suitably impressed.  The walk towards the dunes ahead was decked out by a variety of plant life with their being a mixture of the deciduous types of trees we were used to seeing back home and those more associated with being found in the rain forest.  When we finally scaled the dunes ahead of us we were certainly not left disappointed by the vista that awaited us.

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

Once we reached the beach we only had a small window left to shoot in as late evening was starting to fall on us and the Sun was starting to go down so we hurriedly shot as many different outfits as we possibly could. From my perspective the lighting couldn’t have been better and I used my normal set up utilizing my three speed lights and ocassionaly resorting to just the one 580 EX attached on top of the camera.

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

As the Sun began to drop I found myself rapidly changing the settings on my camera bodies to keep up with the changes in light which was altering by the minute and at times wrapped Brit in an almost golden glow.

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

Barely anything could have compared with the magnificent sunset that marked the end of our first day of shooting in New Zealand and if this was an indication of things to come we had much to look forward to.

Designed By Anna Steele NZ

Sunset Over Karekare Beach

With the Sun going down Brit and I gathered up our gear and headed back towards the car and the drive back to our hotel in preparation for the journey that lay ahead the following day. Before we left the UK Brit and I had pin pointed a route that would mean us driving each day to different locations with the intention of trying to avoid shooting in the same place twice. With this in mind we had chose pre paid hotel passes as the most flexible option that allowed us to be some what nomadic with regards to where we drove off to and would stay over night.

Day ( 2 ) Los Angeles

With Los Angeles only being intended as a stop over on our around the world trip day two was marked down as our day of departure and the long flight ahead to New Zealand.  Before then we had time in the morning to fit in some more work and it was eating out at The Warehouse the previous evening that gave rise to our next location. I can hardly forget the look on our waiters face when I asked to speak with the manager, obvious first thoughts must have been that I had a complaint but having put their mind to rest that all was well, Brit and I made managed to make the arrangements for our next shoot.

At the front of the restaurant was a beautiful koi carp pool with a rope bridge across it and we saw it as a must have location. Once again the management very kindly allowed us to shoot there on condition we were finished before they opened the doors to customers. So it was that after an early breakfast and before the sun created too many harsh shadows Brit and I turned up on site to start a morning of shooting.

Designed By Romeo Pires

The first designer of the day that we shot for was once again Romeo Pires and the outfit we shot blended in very well with the colourful and cluttered background. The outfits we took along from Romeo proved a popular choice of ours through out the trip but of course with us shooting for other designers it was important that we kept in mind that we bought back a good mixture of material for all of those involved.

Designed By Romeo Pires

Unlike the studio environment outdoor lighting is far more of a challenge and I used my three speed light set up in an attempt to kill off any really harsh shadows.  Ideally I could have done with another pair of hands lending assistance by holding a reflector. Making the most of the position of the Sun in the sky and the back lighting it was providing me with we did some more shooting around the pond area with Brit this time modelling designs from the Rufus label.

Designed By Rufus

With Brit posing on the bridge and me standing on the bank opposite her I used the 70-200 lens to fill the frame as much as possible and had a polarizing filter attached to the front of the lens to enhance the colours.

Designed By Rufus

With the Sun rapidly rising in the sky and with us having our plane to catch later we felt we should make our way back towards the hotel but not before shooting for one more designer. Brit changed in to an outfit from the Fanni Ann label and we left the confines of The Warehouse and decided to quickly get a few shots over looking the harbour as we headed back to pack our suit cases for the long flight that lay ahead of us.

Designed By Fanni Ann

The way the Sun was falling on the harbour front made for some difficult lighting conditions and at this moment in time all I was shooting with was a single flash gun attached to the camera hot shoe. This goes against everything you read about taking the flash off camera but with the Gary Fong Lightsphere attached it has proved in the past to be a worthwhile combination.

Designed By Fanni Ann

Designed By Fanni Ann

As we headed back to the hotel Brit and I waved our goodbyes to The Warehouse and Marina Del Rey as we prepared ourselves for the next leg of our around the world adventure.

Designed By Fanni Ann

Short as our stay was in Los Angeles it was never the less a memorable time made all the more pleasant by the friendly locals and those that had been so accommodating in allowing us to go ahead with our shoots. The following day would see us in an entirely different time zone as well as an entirely different continent as we headed off to the opposite side of the world from our homes back in the UK.

Day ( 1 ) Los Angeles

Los Angeles marked the first location Brit and I shot in having departed  London Heathrow the previous day. Staying at a hotel in the area of Marina Del Ray we approached the hotel manager on the day of our arrival requesting to shoot in the grounds of the hotel and specifically in the pool area. The manager was most accommodating and so long as we didn’t cause upset to any other guests permission was granted for us to go ahead with our first day of shooting.

Eager to get off to a flying start after breakfast we selected a few of the clothing designs we intended to shoot on the day. We also employed the services of a make up artist and met up with Susie Chhour in the hotel lobby ready to go ahead with the first days shooting.

Brit With MUA Susie

Susie had a great eye for colour coordination and made a great job of matching the colours she used to those of the outfits that Brit was modelling. The first designer we shot for was Trollied Dolly and on account of our limited time spent in Los Angeles it was never going to be possible for us to shoot examples of every designers work.

Designed By Trollied Dolly

As is the case with all of my shoots I’ve done with Brit it wasn’t all hard work and no play and with the Californian sunshine blazing away we did some swimwear work simply to update our own portfolios.

Swim Wear

Swim Wear

After a brief break for some much needed refreshment we set about getting back to hard work with Suzie working on Brit for a different look. Working with a Canon 5D with the 24-105 lens attached and using my three flash heads we set about shooting some of the designs from the stable of Romeo Pires.

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

Designed By Romeo Pires

With the day drawing to a close and with Brit and I having received an invitation to meet fellow photographer Ira Meyer over dinner at The Warehouse later that evening we felt we had enough time to shoot just one other design and elected to shoot around the marina itself with Brit wearing a little number from designer Joe Blake.

Designed By Joe Blake

Designed By Joe Blake

Travelling Light

Many people are under the illusion that being a professional photographer entails carting about tons of expensive equipment on shoots. True perhaps when shooting at a single location for a major advertizing campaign when there is a full team involved including make up artists, stylists, assistants and an art director on set but when it comes to travelling and especially so on foot the last thing you need is to be bogged down with loads of unnecessary gear.

Mount Cook National Park

When I undertook my around the world fashion shoot with model Brit Lee the bulk of our luggage consisted of suitcases and nylon bags full of the outfits we would be shooting. I wanted to keep my equipment down to a sensible minimum for ease of portability. Knowing full well that parts of our trip would include some rock climbing and heading off the beaten track I wanted everything to fit into a small back pack.

Each day I packed two camera bodies ( Canon 5Ds ), two lenses ( 24-105 and 70-200 ) and I also packed three flash guns ( 1 x 580EX and 2 x 430 EXs ) along with two small light stands. After returning to base after each shoot I would spend a few hours charging up the batteries for the camera bodies and the flash guns.

Mount Cook, New Zealand

The shot above was taken for Anna Steele’s clothing label at the base of Mount Cook on New Zealands South Island. Shot with a Canon 5D and 24-105 F4 IS L lens attached. The essential additional lighting was provided by three flash guns, a Canon 580EX mounted on the hot shoe and acting as the master and remotely firing the two 430EX guns mounted left and right of the model and acting as slaves. I used Gary Fong Lightspheres as flash diffusers.

In addition to my photographic equipment I had several 4GB compact flash cards with me and back at base had a 12″ Mac Powerbook with a DVD burner sitting there waiting for me . After each shoot I made a point of burning the RAW image files to DVDs and also making a duplicate copy of each as a safegaurd.

Queenstown, New Zealand.

A Unique Adventure

The unique story of  photographer ( Nick Vidler ) accompanied by  model ( Britney Lee ) travelling together on a whirlwind tour of the globe.  Shooting fashion on their way around the world.

BlogCatalog

Originally coming up with the concept of doing an around the world fashion shoot and marketing the idea to a number of designers UK model Brit Lee and myself  set about planning what for the pair of us was the adventure of a life time. The entire trip and our itinerary was worked out between us over lunch just nine weeks before we departed the UK.

January 10th 2008 saw both myself and international model and actress Britney Lee taking off from London Heathrow as we embarked on the first leg of our around the world trip. Our primary ports of call were Los Angeles, Auckland, Christchurch, Sydney, Tioman Island and Singapore before returning to London. Apart from those days that were spent flying between countries we visited a variety of locations that offered a wide array of scenery ranging from cities, beaches and rain forests to mountains, glaciers, lakes and hot springs with the intention of capturing some truly unique and stunning images.

With myself and Britney both wishing to work with other creative people involved in the fashion industry and with the desire of helping to promote some of the hidden talent that exists we set about searching for others to collaborate with. As a result there was some exciting developments on account of us having made contact with Jenny Holloway, director of Fashion Enter. Jenny represents a number of independent fashion designers through her chain of boutiques some of who we shot promotional material for and also represented on our travels. Each day after our photo shoots or when time allowed we produced a blog for the the United Kingdoms largest fashion related website Fashion Capital where by people could be kept up to date with regards our travels and shoots etc. Due to her seemingly never ending list of personal skills and talents Britney also took along her video equipment on our travels and filmed events as they unfolded and produced a humorous documentary style DVD to support this unique adventure.

The benefits to the designers who wished to have us shoot any of their garments is that they now have some very unique images to use for their own promotional purposes. The trip we did which was very unique in itself also allowed us the opportunity to highlight some of the creativity with in the UK fashion industry and in particular draw attention to those designers who wished to be included in what for both Britney and I was considered to be a very exciting project.

We considered this very much as a one off opportunity for all who wished to participate particularly with regards to the unique and eye catching images that we captured which have been made available to the respective designers that participated. However having now completed this incredible journey we both feel it very likely that we will both embark on similar projects in the future subject to the level of interest displayed and the financial viability of such endeavours.

Britney visits the Fashion Enter Boutique.

Designed by Anna Steele NZ

Designed by Bellanina

Designed by Fanni Ann

Designed by FE Essentials

Designed by Gadja

Designed by Joe Blake

Designed by Romeo Pires

Designed by Rufus

Designed by Sugarhill

Designed by T & Cake

Designed by Trollied Dolly

Designed by Wearareyounow

Welcome To My World

BlogCatalog

Just to say hello and to introduce myself to the rest of the worldwide web.

I’m Nick Vidler a UK photographer with many years of experience behind the lens and based in Tonbridge, Kent .Previous experience includes shooting for fashion designers and fashion houses, shop window displays, brochures and marketing material, commercial websites, magazines, book covers, catalogues, calendars, agencies, model portfolios, makeovers, family portraits, special events and much, much more!.

I learned my craft way back in the days of film and made the transition to shooting entirely with digital SLRs in 2000. I have my own studio premises and am also mobile and work out of other studios across the UK. I also have extensive experience of shooting at outdoor locations both in the UK and overseas.

World Tour