From the moment I arrived
I loved North Island Okavango. The design and details, and the professionalism of staff leapt out at me from the first ‘hello’. I can tell immediately when it is going to be a good shoot! Staff + management went far beyond what I asked for, setting up areas to their best expression and hovering behind me with a broom in hand lest an errant leaf fall astray. These are the things that make the difference, especially when time is short, like it was with our shoot. I was at North Island for one full day (afternoon through to morning). It was just enough to cover interior photographs of the family room and main areas.
The Brief
Capture image updates to lodge interiors, including:
- Family suite
- Updates to spa
- Guest areas, where possible
North Island Okavango Family Suite
What bliss, to have an afternoon of good light and only one main subject to focus on. I moved between the two bedrooms and the lounge area, styling scenes as the light slanted lower towards the horizon. Mindful of how brilliant the light must be looking in the central area, I ducked out just before sunset to go and frame a few angles. Imagine my surprise to arrive to a fully set sundowner scene on the jetty – something I hadn’t explicity asked for, but immediately started shooting!
Main areas
I’m a sucker for golden light and contrast, and I found this aplenty in the central area in my sunset gap. The next morning we worked on the spa, covering room layout and touching on guest experience before heading back to the main area, where flame, rays of light and breakfast awaited.
Typically, I shot right up until the moment before I had to leave for the airstrip. Just as I was being ushered towards the car, I realized I’d left my hat in the family suite. One exhausting dash down the boardwalks and one helter-skelter drive to the airstrip later, I made it to my plane with hat clutched in hand – only to pass journalist Pippa de Bruyn getting off the flight, about to head to the newly opened Mbamba Camp, which I had just finished shooting! I bump into more work friends and colleagues at the airport (or various airstrips, like this one) than I do while living in Cape Town.
