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Initially the idea was to remove the “The costs were coming in at
existing office partitioning in the between £12,000 and £20,000” he
buildingcompletelyandbuildalarge recalls.“Sothepaybackonmylease
scoopalongoneend. termswouldhavehadtobe£5,000a
year,justforthescoop.
“I am passionate about cars”, says So I looked at other options and I
Ian.“ButthenIquicklyrealisedthatI decidedthatifIcouldn’thavethefull
would probably be shooting infinitycurvecornerthenIcouldstill
everythingfromaflowerinavaseor haveascoop.
a corporateportraitorvarioussmall Ijustneededasmoothstudwallwith
product lines, as well as the bikes, a curve into the floor. I hired a local
Hummersandclassiccars-sowhy carpenterandhefinishedthewhole
would I want to heat 3,000 sq ft of thing for £800. We built the wall off
spaceforwhatcouldoftenjustbea site with curves at the bottom,
30minuteshoot?” blendedthemallinandfilledbetween
Soheremovedsomepartitioningand thefloorandtheboard.”
createdasecondstudioarea.
Hestates:“Thelargerstudiohasthe “NowIcanalsoextendthewhitearea
vehicle entrance and a fiver metre ofthefloorjustbyusingwhite,matte
wide scoop at one end. But the finishmasonrypaint.
smallerstudio,whichcanbeblacked It needs repainting every couple of
outifrequired,caneasilybeheated weeksaftershoots–butthat’sallpart
inabouttwentyminutes.” ofongoingmaintenancecosts.”
The complex also houses smaller
rooms with myriad props and an While the scoop was being built Ian
assortmentofdifferentbackgrounds organised phone lines, rates, and
– and two further areas are being various insurances and wasted no
turned into changing rooms for timeinworkingonpromotingthenew
models. facilities toboth existing clients and
potentialnewcustomers.
On the day he finally opened the
doorsIanlookedoutattheexpansive Getting his kit on.
unit and exclaimed: “Bloody hell –
that’saverybigcowshed.” SaysIan:“IshootwithCanonandfor
He took advantage of the imminent mediumformatIusetheHasselblad
recessionandnegotiatedatwoyear H3D. When it came to lighting I
breakclauseinafouryearlease.” lookedat manydifferentsolutions.I
“IknewadownturnwascomingsoI decidedonBowensforthefollowing
wasabletocutagooddealwiththe reasons: it was tried, tested and
landlord”hesays. robust–anditoffersallthelflexibility
Butheadmitsthathadheownedthe I need. The company also has an
building outright he would probably unmatched accessory range that
have opted for the luxury of a enables me to remain constantly
professionally-builtinfinitycove. creative.”
www.bowens.co.uk [22]
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