WALK ON
WALK ON charity fashion show, is the second largest fashion show based in Durham and prides itself in acting as a hub for creative talent from photography to poetry, art and music. The initiative is a year-round project, with a rotating presidency and executive team every year. Each year revolves around a certain theme and culminates in a fashion show, which rose £34,000 in 2022 for climate charity Cool Earth.
In 2022, as director of photography/videography, Callum produced and directed 5 photoshoots and video shoots to reflect the year's theme: Fear of the Sublime. As well as this, Callum's role oversaw headshots, event photography and a 10 minute short film which was released at the end of the 2022 project. Written, directed and produced by Callum, the short film focussed on an abstract fictional narrative to summarise the theme of the show and involved 3 days of shooting across different locations in Durham and Yorkshire. Below are some extracts from the 'Nurture from Nature' photoshoot that was influenced by the notion to immerse yourself amongst nature and surrender to the serenity of the breeze.
This was apart of a mental health campaign to encourage connecting with nature post-pandemic.
THE CREATIVE CAMPAIGN
'FEAR OF THE SUBLIME'
This shoot for Walk On visually represented one of the four walks in the charity fashion show. The other walks: Biophilia, Protect and Destroy, develop a narrative to the show aiming to deconstruct the complex relationship between ourselves and the planet on which we reside. The Fear of the Sublime walk, echoing the wider theme of the show, presents the process of paralysing fascination with nature. Inspired by William Wordsworth's 'The Prelude', The Fear of the Sublime charts the complicated evolution in which nature goes from being something beautiful to something terrifying, an uncontrollable force which humans cannot contend with.
This untold ontology is reflected in this shoot through use of projection. The models cannot see what is being projected onto them, yet it consumes them. It is encompassing their entire being without them knowing it. Visually, the shoot created dark, shadowey images which further emphasise the fear of the unknown and the murky connotations of such.
'Uncertain, the world expands around us,
Grows, until we are nothing but shadows'
— Maiya Dambawinna
'DESTROY'
Destroy emulates the destructive, toxic relationship humans can have with nature which is contextually relevant today. Humans have had a negative impact on their physical environment through pollution, deforestation and global warming.
This shoot aims to draw attention to this through evoking hurt with the harsh, austere lighting and setting. Taken at a dilapidated priory and in clothing which is torn and ripped, the ambiance these photographs reverberate is unsettling and discomforting. The accompanying film also echos this sentiment by following a sense of being lost and coming together. This clichè is repudiated at the end when the models once again become separated and the video feels empty. This speaks to the finality that will come if measures aren't put in place to heal the destructible relationship between man and nature.
'PROTECT'
Protect achieves the opposite of Destroy, by involving rich, bold colours to contrast the austere, monotone nature of Destroy. Instead the ambiance this shoot creates is colourful and playful. The use of a fish eye lens emphasises this by warping reality and playing with dimensions.
'BIOPHILIA'
Protect: The Film echoes this by taking inspiration from Alice in Wonderland and utilising interesting compositions. Indeed, the 'tea party' reaches its apex once the actors realise the need to protect the plants that they are indulging in. This is until all returns to normal and the actors exit the scene. Did they protect? Or did they forget?
Biophilia represents a focus on human affection towards nature, a reciprocation of feeling and intense relationship. This shoot reflects this with the models forming part of the landscape, being at ease and subsuming the topography that birthed them.
The accompanying film presents an initial stillness - for the audience to appreciate the natural scenery. This evolves into the model's rejoicing amongst such scenery, to allow the duality of pleasure for the audience and subjects of the film to occur.