You must be very considered when pinpointing location options for an autumn-winter fashion shoot. The shoot date is a summer month, and the clothes will inevitably be autumnal, so the weather and shoot backdrop need to be consistent with this.
I had landed on the idea of The Great Outdoors for both the fashion and mood, planning to incorporate eclectic and layered combinations of rich textiles, hues and textures, which I had noted at the February fashion shows. So the journey began to find a fitting landscape…
The place
I have long had the Faroe Islands in the back of my mind as an intriguing and otherworldly destination, so I researched to understand its climate and see what the landscape might look like in June. As it happens, temperatures remain relatively low in the Faroes, and daylight hours are at their longest during this month. With landscapes of epic proportions and unique natural features (grass roof houses, fjords, sea stacks, waterfalls, lagoons), this seemed like the perfect place.
Transport was paramount
Each day was a road trip. Plotting out the daily routes to incorporate the key elements of the Faroe Islands in the pictures meant all-day travel. Ensuring every backdrop and location is different is no mean feat, but these islands have diversity in spades. We endlessly weaved in and out of the island’s long tunnels beneath the sea connecting one island to the next. The vans housed all the looks and also doubled up as a changing room as we were mostly in very remote places with nowhere to change. No people, no phone signal, nothing, just wonderful wilderness.
The unforgettable shooting spot
Almost every spot in the Faroes is extraordinary and unforgettable. From its staggeringly vast landscapes, unfathomable cliffs and precipices – not forgetting the grassed roof houses and delightful, innumerable churches (there is one in almost every village). The Faroes are islands of great charm.
A tricky shot the photographer pulled off
Shooting beneath Fossa in Streymoy (the tallest waterfall in the Faroes) required a tricky hike up and some very precarious manoeuvers. The water drops in two levels and is within very dark basalt walls. It was rocky terrain but worth the challenge. Due to the deafening, unending water tumbling, the model could not hear what the photographer was saying, so this picture was done entirely via hand gestures.
