Irina and my favourite beach (10 photos) (Patreon)

The sky above Fuerteventura appeared to be holding back a storm, and the sea was just as passionate. It wasn’t cold, but the wind channelled sand and salt against the skin. This wasn’t a kind place in the way a forest or mountainside can feel. This was raw and edgy, and I was instantly hooked.

The volcanic black sand stretched the length of the beach and was framed by a ring of cliffs, each composed of different forms of stone that had been pushed up from the ground. The left-hand side was mostly basalt, black, fractured and broken. Giant boulders had been thrown down onto the beach, the relentless waves unable to budge them. On the far side was a very different scene. Smooth plutonic rock hung like a curtain, its cream-coloured surface filled with long veins of calcite that threaded across the walls like an ancient map.

We’d seen the beach the day before, a recce ahead of today’s shoot. Honestly, I could have spent several days here. I had a mix of ideas, one of which was an editorial on the beach with my black backdrop, a studio within a wild location. The soft light created by the angry clouds was perfect. We’d used the protection of the cliffs to stop the fabric blowing away and to give Irina a bit of a break from the elements. After the main set was done, Irina and I jumped into the sea before gravitating toward the cream coloured walls.

I like juxtaposition in an image, the studio on a beach being a good example. Colours and textures can follow the same concept. But the combination of Irina and the energy of this place meant there was nothing to juxtapose. They were both as dramatic as each other.

It’s funny, now I think of it. That’s one of her best qualities. Irina will always dominate the frame, regardless of the crop, the negative space, or even if the backdrop was created thousands of years ago.

💃 @aireenel_2