Anjie Blair Photographs a Serene Cellar Door in Tasmania

by Lexi Taciak August 20, 2021August 19, 2021 0 Project of the Week

Today’s featured project takes us to a lovely cellar door in Tasmania by Cumulus Studio. The amazing Anjie Blair was kind enough to share her photographs and a bit about her process on this shoot, so let’s jump right on in with her favorite shot of the day!”

“When I was setting up for a one-point perspective of the external entry view, the male model was driving up the drive and his little daughter came out to greet him,” Anjie explains. “She was perfectly placed in the shot looking off to her dad. No cueing from me. It gives scale to the image, was a completely natural gesture and a favourite shot from the day.”

Anjie shares “I grew up in this area, so it is always special to document projects here. How the cellar door sits in the landscape and the view it offers inside is super impressive. The materiality, overall shape, and the enveloping entrance were exciting elements to photograph.”

I, for one, just absolutely love Anjie’s compositions throughout this series. She harnesses the building’s angular shape and perfectly timed hard light to create a series of sharp triangles that add a geometric feel and visual interest to the scene.

The pocked of blue sky interplaying with the repeating lines and nicely layered elements in the frame makes the image on the left one of my favorites. On the right, Anjie creates a little vignette for us that is so rich in texture that we feel as if we could reach out and touch the rough brick.

Giving us some insight into the shoot day, Anjie says “[There was] a strong and vibrant sunrise, mostly cloudy during the internal part of the shoot and finishing off with clearer sky for the externals after lunch. A bit of flexibility was required to manage the changing light and I found myself being a little opportunistic with the light…I had reccy-ed with the architect prior and we had a clear direction for shot list and overall feel. The cellar door was closed for the day — with free run. Always handy!!”

She continues “A big focus was on documenting material use and working with models to show how visitors journey through and experience the building.”

Anjie’s perspective here plays off of the strong shapes that make up Stoney Rise. It also creates a few as well!

“The site visit allowed me to prepare shots in my mind, assess how the light would track throughout the day and make a rough timeline of shots,” Anjie explains. “On the day of the shoot, I had time with the building for a few hours from sunrise. Time always passes so quickly…The models were on site for around 2 hours in the middle of the day. The morning part of the shoot gave me time to think about general model positioning etc and shoot internal details.”

Anjie shot this project with a Nikon d850 coupled with a 24mm TS, 45mm TS, and 70-200mm. She photographed this series working with natural light, and used a Camranger to tether while documenting the interiors. She says “Externally, I shoot freer and move around more — especially when working with models (to catch the in-between).”

Look at this gorgeous light illuminating Stoney Rise, perfectly framed by the tall-reaching trees. This photograph gives us a wonderful sense of place and time.