Baker’s Daughter

The European Tour Group is taking Hamlet on tour this autumn, which of course meant that we had to do an Ophelia themed photoshoot. Matilda Wickham, Lucy Dickson, Ashleigh Weir and Emma Blacklay-Piech were free and keen to join the photoshoot. The Cam might be a bit cold this time of year, so instead we opted for using a bathtub at Queens’ College. To make it a bit more visually interesting Matilda came up with the idea to use milk powder to make the water semi transparent, she had also gone flower hunting the day before in the surrounding gardens.

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Ashleigh Weir framed by two ferns
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Ashleigh Weir. When I was shooting this I was trying to get Ashleigh´s reflection. It was not until afterwards that I decided to turn it upside down to give it a more jarring feeling.
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Ashleigh Weir with three right hands. The bathtub got a bit crowded.
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Lucy Dickson
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.
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Matilda Wickham. I really like the interface between the water and Matilda’s face here.
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Matilda Wickham. There are a few photos floating around where people photoshop together a person’s face from the front with their profile. It was fun to see that you could do a similar effect by using a bath.
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Matilda Wickham. The petals and other debris floated around on the surface, so you had to either wait for it to travel into position or help it along with your fingers. I really like that you have this trail of petals originating from Matilda’s mouth.
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Matilda Wickham. Here I have played a bit with the white balance, to give the photo a more frozen quality.
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Matilda Wickham. Shot from a bit higher up to show her beautiful dress.
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Matilda Wickham, as Ophelia.

Queen

There is a Willow growes aslant a Brooke,
That shewes his hore leaues in the glassie streame:
There with fantasticke Garlands did she come,
Of Crow-flowers, Nettles, Daysies, and long Purples,
That liberall Shepheards giue a grosser name;
But our cold Maids doe Dead Mens Fingers call them:
There on the pendant boughes, her Coronet weeds
Clambring to hang; an enuious sliuer broke,
When downe the Weedy Trophies, and her selfe,
Fell in the weeping Brooke, her cloathes spred wide,
And Mermaid-like, a while they bore her vp,
Which time she chaunted snatches of old tunes,
As one incapable of her owne distresse,
Or like a creature Natiue, and indued
Vnto that Element but long it could not be,
Till that her garments, heauy with her drinke,
Pul’d the poore wretch from her melodious lay,
To muddy death.

From 1623 First Folio text.
Act 4, scene 7. TLN

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Emma Blacklay-Piech. The director could not resist the milk bath. We decided to play around a bit with floating candles for this one.
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Emma Blacklay-Piech. To remove the bathtub I added a series of textures on top of the photo, which almost makes it look like a painting.
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Emma Blacklay-Piech
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Emma Blacklay-Piech. One last photo with Emma before it was time to pack up and head off to the next photoshoot.

Milk baths are a lot of fun! A huge thank you to Emma, Matilda, Lucy and Ashleigh! There is one more photoshoot with the Hamlet cast from this, but that is for another blog post.

For more theatre photos, see the theatre category on the blog.

— Johannes

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