Catapulted: Scott Mills by Dannyb66

'A shoot you can walk away from, unharmed, has been a good shoot'

Danny Barson

With a life long interest in photography, Nottingham, England's Danny Barson had mostly only shot landscapes and wildlife until about a year ago. It was then he decided to join Model Mayhem and connect with models to gain experience and try his hand at portraiture.

With landscape and wildlife work there is little need for a studio. With the transition from land forms to the human form comes the need for locations. Danny's previous experience clearly came in handy as one of the things that first struck me about his work with Scott was how beautifully he mixed model with location.

With most of my favorite photographers, and in most of my favorite images, the artist does not shoot a model in front of a location, instead they make them apart. The first set of images were taken at a dangerous derelict place Danny found and I love how Scott is positioned and framed within the environment.

The first shot of Danny's that I saw was his MM avatar, the third image below featuring Scott, standing in the middle of a field, throwing his shirt into the wind. I love this series of images. There is something special about the Cleethorpes location, a freedom, and deep connection between Scott and his environment that struck a cord. Danny believes that beauty is captured by the eye, not the camera and I like how Danny was able to highlight Scott and still capture the incredible beauty of the field, the sky and clouds, and the North Sea on the east coast of England in the distant background.

I love the ease and freedom Scott displays, he is a natural in front of Danny's lens, especially impressive given this was his first time shooting nude. Danny connected with Scott through MM and Danny says they clicked right. Scott had never really thought about modeling until he was asked to about seven years ago. At first things were bumpy and Scott says initially he was unsure of what he was doing. With support from his family and the endorsement of an agency, he continued to work hard at it. The 23 year old Sheffield model says it was not until he was catapulted into the studio for all day shoots and meetings that he discovered how much he truly enjoys it and says his work with Danny has re-energized the passion.

'We have a mutual respect for each other, and know each others boundaries. Although those boundaries have been pushed at times for the sake of a great picture, we trust and have faith in each other to get the best we can. We always discuss what we both want from a shoot, but sometimes work on the fly and suggest ideas and those shots can be the best of the day. Scott has a brilliant personality, and a great guy to work with.'

Danny Barson

Danny Barson Photography

Dannyb66 on ModelMayhem

Scott Mills on ModelMayhem