Liset at the end of the path
Liset: "Here it is", Tom says. The end of the path. This is where we start. We stamp the reed, the flat ground will become my frame. Softly I thank the green for carrying us.
Together with the drone, I take flight. Higher and higher. As the noise around me diminishes, the sounds of the forest recur. From up here, I can see everything. Over the tops of the trees, I peek down to the waterlilies, tiny like duckweed. My feet in the earth.
Where am I? Nothing matters, but it all has a reason.
What do I feel? Fear, sadness, loneliness. Affection, strength, freedom.
Twist. Turn myself into a little ball, a long line, a circle. Meander. Remove the ants. Look up, smile.
Creative with my body. Uneasily I move, for whom? Nobody waits. Required is nothing. High above me, the drone. I soften.
Empty your mind. Full your body. But I think of everything at once. Warm tenderness, the sun behind clouds, a strawberry. My head overflows. Everything that is with me in abundance escapes through my eyes, until I am left with precisely enough.
Now.
I am in charge of the memory. Irresistible freedom.
~ ~ ~
The first time I met Liset was twelve years ago in 2005. From all the people I know she is perhaps the one who has seen the most of the world, in all of her travels. Because she has spent so much time abroad, we met only every two years, but for the last five years we did not meet. Liset became older, wiser but she is still as pretty and adventurous as the first time we met.
I planned this shoot on a grass strip near some water in a part of the Gagelbos where I had never been before. I had discovered this location when I flew the drone over it at earlier shoots. I had located a way to the spot using Google maps. The route was not easy, we had to cross high grass, reed, nettle. Many parts had 2,5 meter high vegetation. Not impossible to cross, but each step could be into a hidden hole for example. But we managed to cross one kilometer without many problems and reached the location.
This was the first time I used the P4P (Phantom 4 Pro) for a shoot, all went well. Not much difference from shooting with the P4, only some minor things: e.g. the footage can have a high quality which my computer cannot play fluently.
At the location, near a pond in a forest, we had to create a spot for the drone to take off by stamping down vegetation. The spot was surrounded by 1,5 meter high vegetation. This resulted in sensors seeing obstacles all around when using tripod mode. When flying within a confined space, the drone can only go up or down, this makes landing different.
For a start, we first tried some simple poses on the shore near the water. The flattened grass created a beautiful frame for Liset. She tried all sorts of flexible poses.
After that, unfortunally Liset did not feel perfectly well, so we called it a day after the first flight. But we will return for more, we saw some inspiring spots.
Lessons learned: The P4P works fine, the new location is accessible and provides opportunities.
To do: explore the possibilities of the new location, more testing of the P4P.
Ideas for future shoots: shoot with a model in the water, photograph Liset between water lilies.
