Shot Full Of Rock
Back in April, I did my first photoshoot with Shots Fired. Most of that shoot was documented here and for a feature I did for Desktop magazine’s blog.
Since then, the band have lost a member so we were all needing to do a fresh shoot to reflect the band’s new line-up.
We had planned a photo-shoot within the abandoned mental asylum in Aradale. A couple of weeks ago all had been finalised and we had been granted access to both the Aradale asylum and the Old Ararat Gaol for the criminally insane!
For some reason or another, the asylum denied us access but the Gaol was all systems go.
We had all scheduled to depart from Geelong just after 10am and we all managed to stick to that time. In a four car convoy we began the three hour drive to the north-west to get to our destination.
It felt like hours and hours on the road and I was very thankful for our pitstop in the town of Skipton. As the four cars pulled up into a local service station, we all made quite a sight heading into the store to stock up on drinks and snacks. I don’t know why I didn’t take a few photos at this point as they would have been funny to look at down the track. I just wasn’t thinking clearly and the camera gear was neatly tucked in the back of my car.
Still, it was an astoundingly beautiful day so it was just so wonderful to feel the sun on one’s skin and listening to cool music on the drive up. It was an enjoyable ride taking in the countryside and the weather.
Once we got to Ararat, there was a sign just outside the Gaol and as if on cue, the boys jumped out of their rides and posed in front it.
As we reached the gaol and assembled in the courtyard – I noticed all the band and the sound-guy clasping onto booze bottles and the like. I turned to Hakan and asked him to tell them all to kill the bottles – we cannot go in like this. We had been granted all access to the gaol and its surrounds, and that needed to be respected greatly.
Once inside, I think everyone was left aghast. We all seemed to splinter off into individual groups and explore the area and its surrounds. I was lugging a lot of gear so I trailed behind trying to scout locations on where and what to shoot. I had studied the complex from photos I had found online so I had a fair idea of what we would find here.
We set up base in one of the floors below the main complex. As you walked down the stairs you could feel the temperature drop suddenly which just added to the creepiness of it all.
We did some test shots in this area to get a feel for the place and to see what sort of colours we could capture with the camera.
We then moved upstairs into the main prison courtyard and did a shoot there. We managed to get some good shots here before moving upstairs to where the gallows were. We read about the three prisoners who had been executed right where we stood and as if on cue, Dan jumped the fenced area, placed the noose around his neck and supported his weight with his hands. The camera of course was working overtime here.
As we moved back down into the main courtyard, I told the boys to assemble at the foot of the stairs and it is here where I believe we got our money shot. I got some nice light bouncing off the polished floor and that created a nice contrast with the band in the foreground and the caged-off staircase around us all.
Done!
Next we moved downstairs to the cool, dark room with the creepy bathtub. Here we were going to do the straight-jacket and blood shots. Now, from the outset, I really don’t know who suggested we get blood as it really was/is irrelevant to the band’s general image. Still, I didn’t argue my point too much and just went with it.
We got some great individual shots at this point but no real outstanding band shots I felt. The area was incredibly small and the light was minimal but we did the best with what we could.
It was now close to 5pm and everyone in the entire entourage was tired and hungry. We had been on the road since 10am, not had lunch and worked a good couple of hours doing the shoot.
We said our goodbyes to the Gaol and tried in vain to find a pub that was open in the town of Ararat. The whole town had shut up shop hours ago it seemed.
One local, however, did give us instructions on how we could go inside the Aradale Mental Asylum. So with nothing to lose and seeing as we were in the area – we decided to give it a try.
The outside of Aradale looked sinister enough. Imagine what those walls have seen! Alas, the entire place was completely boarded up and there was just no way inside.
We did find one outer room open and quickly did some shots in there but at this point of the day, no one was in the mood. Tired, hungry, weary – we decided it would be best to begin the long drive home.
Please visit the Shots Fired website for more info.
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