- Neglecting all the snoring and champagne overload drinking last night the fact was approaching us despite all our resistance: we all had to wake up at 0530am to get ready for the make up and hair... the next day had to bring us new animals and I was very nervous as apparently deer were wild. Tim and Michael Vella have been running their deer farm for many many decades now but the 300 animals on the property that they have were far away from being pets ... The bucks were in full horns decorations and some of the does were heavily pregnant and with one wrong move these wilds could smash our models and photographers to dust... I was nervous... I was though hoping for the best...
The weather was as cold as only second summer day could be - 10 degrees and winding like hell... Make up - done, hair - done, fitting - done... cleaning up the Alpaca cottage, driving to the location after saying biggest thank you to Brigitte - done... one and a half hours late we are still though...
our make up artist: Juedd Mari with so much patience (no idea what she though when she saw she had to prepare 5 girls in full bloom) ...Juedd, our star!
our new models have arrived: Jesi Faun and Brie (p. Janelle Bellydancer with a cute assistant and Brie's sister)... Look who does not want to wake up ? No not Misha... He is dancing with Erkin and Ali to Michael Jackson's tune... The are sleepy pups - too much fresh air... and no food... make up to those who wake up! Andrew J Liu knocks at the door and snoops around the Alpaca farm for the good images and footage...
arriving to the location -finally and meeting our hosts: Michael and Tim Vella from the Terramirra Deer Farm at Koonwarra... 30 min drive from the Alpaca Farm - another beautiful country of meadows and endless pastures. Peter Elgar joined us as a second photographer. The models are freezing... 10 degrees and it is getting winder and windier... Hansika on more model joins us at the deer sheds and Juedd works non stop... while we suddenly discover geese and small deer baby at one of the sheds... Sam Jones is there too to join our male models small crew. oh, deer...
the fitting is finished and we are all ready to drive down the hill to see the real thing, not the coca-cola now... the deer herd.. huge... it appears in front of us in all its glory headed by the most beautiful stag I have ever seen so close in my life... .they all come to check us out.. not they are scared of us. Tim Vella spent weeks before the shoot feeding the main heroes so they feel comfortable next to humans ... they are timid and the eat non stop like cows following models' hands... TIM< THANK YOU! So much work.. so much cold... my body is shattered so I think most of the crew members feel... I'm so hungry too as we have not practically eaten anything apart from champagne and my morning gorgeous vegimate bread (thank you Blaise!) time to go home and I fell asleep in the car after 15 min of driving - good thing Misha takes over... I only wake up at his place.
Such a fruitful day.. .Such fruitful two days in a row... shooting is fun - if only we all had 48 hours a day for all of this.. The costumes were all stunning, the models were all terrific. I am so happy it all went well... My brain had so much air and information in these two days I had to fall asleep again... and again and again.. two days of sleeping! Dear Deer and dear Alpacas, thank you! Something to take with me: best memories... only the best of them!