Assignment 1 - Stories from Cheltenham - Nicola Barz

To begin this story, I made contacts with Nicola via the internet. This shoot to begin with was quite difficult to nail down to a date as it was clear Nicola was quite apprehensive to allow me into her home to take photos. This is incredibly understandable as it's not everyday you allow a random teenager you have never met come to your home to take photos of you. Nicola was shot, petite build and was a stay at home mum with a baby. her house was bright and held perfect ambient light to get some good portraits. For this shoot I decided to really take control and ask her where to stand, for the portraits and tell her that through out the day I will be following her and taking photos of her as she goes. Our most communications came through her daughter Betsy and in this story it was clear how close the two of them were. Although there were pictures of the father about the house mostly of their wedding, he was barely spoken of. She was careful not to divulge too much information about her life but I knew from her decor and attitude that she was a happy and lively lady. 'I don't know if I am that interesting' she explained. 'I just look after Betsy really.' Here is her daily routine:

This is Nicola Barz

her lively cushions and clothes complimented her bubbly personality

As she spoke of her daughters sleeping patterns, she looked out of the window into her large garden.

It is clear how close the two are.

This shot of her wedding ring whilst she made a cake stood out to me as she barely spoke of any partner the whole time I was there. Her help came entirely from her mother who took little Betsy for a walk when I arrived. It left me wondering that perhaps there was more to her than what meets the eye.