So yesterday I did an impromptu photoshoot of DeAnna of It’s Raining Neon.
I’d like to say that this shoot was planned. I really would. But we didn’t know when the next time she was going to be in NY, and we didn’t know what my schedule with work would be, etc.
Turns out, a couple of days ago, I get a text from DeAnna saying “GUESS WHO’S COMING TO NY THIS WEEKEND.” I happened to have Monday and Tuesday off from work, so she said she would try to extend her stay, and wanted to know if I wanted her to bring a costume. We decided on Black Canary, because that’s a character I haven’t gotten the chance to do an on-location shoot for and she needed pictures of. Sounds awesome, right?
THAT’S WHEN WE FOUND OUT IT WAS GOING TO SNOW. I was then freaking out about locations, the type of photos we were gonna get, how we were going to do this, and all that jazz. So you can imagine my excitement when I woke up yesterday morning and saw that the ground was bone dry. Not even a dusting of snow. Yeah, it was friggin’ cold out, but we could deal with a little cold for some awesome shots.
I pick her up (after both of us sleeping in for way too long) and we travel to the location we decided on an hour before the shoot while she was getting her costume on.
(A few of you may recognize the area from where I took photos of Riley’s Badou cosplay. I’ll write about that, too, on another date.)
We hike to the location and shuck our equipment on the ground at the base of this rocky hill under the bridge. Luckily, it was cold enough that normal hikers and fishermen wouldn’t be out, plus this was in the middle of a normal work day. So I didn’t need to worry about bystanders when Dee starts taking off her extra warm clothing to start posing in fishnets and a leotard. We take some photos under the bridge, with me using my 50mm and having to stand way too far away to get shots. (My lens of choice until I save up enough for my next one. Just wait.) And Dee starts commenting on how I’m leaning over way too far onto a small tree to get the angle I need. So I have her take this shot with my phone:
What you CAN’T see from this is the fact that the rock slope under where I’m leaning is actually non-existant and basically just goes straight down to meet the ground. ANYWAY.
I start running into a creative slump trying to figure out how to use this location. It was cool, and all, but I wanted more “Black Canary-ish” photos. Not just pretty pictures on graffiti, though there’s nothing wrong with those.
We come up with the idea to have Neon climb up into the break between supports on the bridge so I can get photos of her “perched” there. Once I give her a leg-up the concrete wall until she’s in position, she just cries down to me “Nikita. You need to get up here. Now.” SO I grab any photo equipment I might need, and she pulls me up to where she is.
CUE MINOR LOCATION FREAK OUT.
And by minor, I mean MAJOR.
At this point, we’re about 15 feet off the ground. Not too far, but enough to get my adrenaline pumping for a while while balancing around until I got used to everything.
Perspective shot of where we were from the base of the steep rocky hill. We were maybe 25 feet from this area, that was just where we climbed up to get there.
Now most of these photos stink, I know. But they were on my phone. So, bite me. ;D
And this is when we started to have fun. We were balancing on small beams with a thin handrail there to support us (which I actually ended up using like a ladder at some point so I can stand on it to make myself taller for another angle. I could feel the vibrations from the cars above us through my feet.) Once we got used to being up there, we just derped around. I was running back and forth on the beams to her to show her shots, I was hanging on some of the beams above me to get higher perspectives, etc. Meanwhile, she’s posing like a boss in HEELS on this bridge. I don’t know how we did it…but we did. And the result was amazing.
There will be a lot of shots in the future, but this is the only one I have edited so far.
I hope the photos will be to your liking, and I hope you enjoyed the retelling of our very adventurous photoshoot inside a bridge under the NJ Turnpike.
Nikita of Cozpho 