Claude Schneider's Photoblog

Cambridge Ballerina Project – Suzie

Claude — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:06:00 +0000

Suzie is a second year Theology student, and performed in the last Cambridge Ballet Club show in February. I saw her again at a ballet class that Glory was teaching, and we arranged an autumnal shoot very promptly, while the weather was warm and all the leaves were golden. The clocks had just gone back, so these sunset photos were taken at around 4pm.

More photos from this Cambridge Ballerina Project shoot on Facebook

Bodrum, Turkey

Claude — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:14:21 +0000

A few photos from my recent holiday to Bodrum, on the South-West coast of Turkey.

: An Aladdin’s cave of spices, dried produce, and plenty more inside.

Yachts outside Bodrum Marina...

...and inside the Marina...

...and at night

St. Peter's Castle in Bodrum at night

The captain's wife on the sail home

Black Island, off the coast of Bodrum

Sunset at the Cafe Delmar, Bodrum

Scuba Diving in Bodrum, Turkey

Claude — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:37:04 +0000

The tourist resort of Bodrum, in Turkey, has many great dive sites and crystal clear waters.

Golden Grouper

Dolphins swimming along with a boat

Bearded Fireworm

Octopus underwater, hiding in rocks

Saddled Seabream

Cuttlefish, exhibiting bioluminescence

White-spotted Octopus

Cos, Greece

Claude — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:29:54 +0000

A day trip to the Greek island of Cos, which has lots of free-roaming cats, just as in Bodrum.

Pamukkale, Turkey

Claude — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:33:11 +0000

Pamukkale is a fascinating natural wonder in South-Western Turkey. The sides of a large hill are covered in Travertine Terraces – calcium carbonate deposits left by thermal spring waters. I visited on an overcast day, so the photos I got don’t do the site justice. You’ll find plenty of photos online of snow-white slopes against bright blue skies…

Varied Textures of Pamukkale

360 Panorama of Pamukkale

The drizzle didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the thermal waters in Cleopatra’s Pool, replete with sunken ruins from Hierapolis.

Underwater chasm in Cleopatra's Pool

Sunken ruins from Hierapolis

Photoshoot with Raphaella

Claude — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:38:08 +0000

Raphaella is one of Britain’s top web models, and with her dance background, it was only natural that she’d be ideal for me to photograph. She also happens to be very good friends with Monika, (another model I’ve photographed and who is now studying children’s illustration at the Cambridge School of Art), so took the opportunity to travel down to Cambridge to see her and shoot with me.

Sadly, the warm weather of the Indian Summer had ended, so we weren’t able to shoot dance outside, but we still got some stunning photos in my home studio. I normally only post-process in Lightroom, but this time I put even more time in and post-post-processed in Photoshop. The results are definitely another step ahead of my usual results, especially for photos taken in my home studio, but are also due to Raphaella’s beauty and experience. I look forward to a dance shoot with her, the style that we both excel at.

I think this must be about the 13th model I’ve photographed in this red dress, and it never fails to produce amazing results.

More photos from this shoot at http://claude.gallereasy.com/gallery/406/

Cambridge Ballerina Project – Glory

Claude — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:05:23 +0000

I first met Glory at a special ballet shoot for Varsity Fashion at the Fitzwilliam Museum – she was the only dancer in the shoot from the Cambridge University Ballet Club whom I hadn’t yet photographed for the Cambridge Ballerina Project. I bumped into her at an outdoor sunset yoga class (during the extraordinarily warm Indian Summer in October), and we arranged to shoot the following day, before the heatwave ended.

She received permission to shoot in her college, Clare, which is famous for its bridge and gardens.

First year undergraduates on their way to their first formal hall

More photos from this shoot at http://claude.gallereasy.com/gallery/409/

Vancouver Aquarium

Claude — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:28:04 +0000

A few photos from Vancouver Aquarium, located in the centre of the beautiful Stanley Park.

Jellyfish

Garden Eel

Daisy, a harbour porpoise, making friends with
YouTube legend NerdzRL (aka Cassandra Croft)

Vancouver Ballerina Shoot with Amanda

Claude — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:30:33 +0000

Become a fan of the Cambridge Ballerina Project on Facebook

Before my trip to Vancouver, I looked up some models for potential photoshoots while I was out there. Given I was already planning to do a shoot with my friend Cassandra, I thought why not take arrange another shoot or two and take advantage of some stunning scenery and new models.

Due to uncertain weather and my plans during the week, none of 4 potential shoots I’d lined up materialised. However, Amanda replied to my initial message while I was out there, and was communicative enough to arrange a shoot just after my shoot with Cassandra. Her portfolio mentioned that she had awards for her ballet, but there were no images taken by other photographers to show just how good she was.

When we finally met (at Second Beach in Stanley Park) for the shoot, the sun was about to set, so we just had enough time to quickly look through the clothes she’d brought along, and walk along the Sea Wall towards Third Beach, where I’d figured we’d have a clear view of the sunset over the water. The golden light was mostly obscured by clouds, but we had a few minutes just as we started shooting with great light, and Amanda had no problems climbing onto a boulder and striking some stunning poses straight away. The resulting stunning photos are testament to how quickly, beautifully, and perfectly Amanda was able to pose.

The light faded pretty quickly, and we carried on shooting beyond my eyes’ vision, until even the camera was struggling. However, we did get a couple of striking shots, including this one with great lighting from West Vancouver shining across the water.

More photos from this shoot at http://claude.gallereasy.com/gallery/404/

Vancouver Photoshoot with Cassandra

Claude — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:42:19 +0000

Ever since seeing a poster of Vancouver on a friend’s wall, I’ve always wanted to visit the city. I also have several friends who live there, one of whom I met in London earlier this year. Cassandra vlogs on YouTube every day (aka NerdzRL), and has an incredible optimism and joie de vivre, as well as a love of superheroes.

This first photo is one of my very favourites of all time, not only because it looks like a movie poster (and straight out of camera, no less), but also because it makes Cassandra look: 1) tall (she’s not), and 2) like one of the superheroes she so admires.

The first time I saw Cassandra, I wanted to do a photoshoot with her, and these results just prove why I found her photogenic in the first place.

These two headshots were taken during our lunch break at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Gas Town. The white table and our seating choices round the table made for perfect lighting!

And to finish the shoot, a clothing-catalogue style shot on the waterfront.