CrossFit is a core strength
and conditioning programme that is taking the UK by storm. When I visited I
found that this is no ordinary gym. It’s open to novices all the way up to
professional sportspeople but the focus is firmly on fitness and health for
everyone, whatever their shape and size.
The interior of the building,
part of the former Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Club on Neasham Road, reflects
that theme with a look and feel that is almost industrial. Steel girders,
textured walls and clean lines presented some great elements that I was able to
incorporate into my pictures.
For this Darlington commercial photoshoot I took some shots in colour and some in black and white to add a
grainy, real feel to the images and meet the client’s brief. A brand made up of grey and white with
some added splashes of colour gave me a strong palette to work with and a clean
background to the action shots.
Head Coach and former Royal
Marine Lee Howe and the CrossFit team were very accommodating, helpfully working
out on a range of equipment as I moved around them, seeking out images of the effort
and determination that sums up the whole CrossFit ethos.
Reportage photography – my
specialism – is all about capturing the moment exactly as it happens, so the second
a cloud of chalk floated in the air after Lee had dipped his hands prior to
using a machine I was there with the camera to pin it down.
It was a really interesting commercial photoshoot in County Durham to add to my portfolio and as CrossFit DL2 was established by North
East entrepreneur Joanne McCue Bannatyne (Nike top below), the launch and its imagery attracted
all the local media, and made the nationals too.
The pictures will be used in
the press, online across the website and social media feeds and in print and
outdoor advertising, and will hopefully get across the physical and emotional
benefits of training at CrossFit DL2. As Joanne herself puts it on the website:
“Being fit is inspiring, feels good, enriches your life, and adds both years to
your life and life to your years.”
And you can’t ask for more than that.
No comments:
Post a Comment