Editing The Dream - Part Nine.

Well after a couple of fits and starts, the cover shoot for the novel finally went ahead last Saturday (the 19th) at Henley Beach, South Australia. My good friend Mel of Silver Photography gladly stepped up to take some shots that will eventually become the cover of the novel. We got to the beach in plenty of time (after all, it's only five minutes from my house - give or take a few) and spent a little while brainstorming ideas for the kind of image I was hoping to get. Everything about the environment was perfect except for the very stiff southerly that was whipping up the beach. That made things a little interesting but we didn't fail in our goal.

Mel of Silver Photography.

So here we were, in the evening of a beautiful Saturday lugging a swag of photographic gear down to the beach, all for the star of the show - a bouquet of rosemary and mint, that was tied together with a lavender ribbon - the plot device in the story that makes all the difference. A few evening walkers out on the sand regarded us with curiosity as we were shooting away, with me holding a light reflector that was doubling as a wind break for the posy. It wasn't really effective but we managed to keep the posy in place most of the time. I came prepared - arming myself with a some esky with some additional rosemary and mint just in case. Fortunately, they weren't needed.

Up close and personal with some kitchen herbs.

I was amazed by the color palette presented to us down there. By the time the sun began it's drop towards the horizon there was just the most amazing explosion of color and light. Though there weren't any clouds - which probably would have added even more color to the environment, this didn't seem to matter at all. These shots that I have posted here don't really do the scenery justice but you can get an idea. The preliminary shots that we will consider for the cover are actually quite a lot different to what I had in mind initially but we have some unexpected gems in amongst them that are worthy candidates.

Wrinkles in the fabric.

What better could I have asked for out of this shoot? Not much - except maybe for no wind. But of the 100 or shots that Mel got there were quite a few that already seem as though they are going to cut the mustard. Mel will play around with them over the next few days and identify the candidates for best picture (ha ha ha) and we will discuss them before making a judgment call on the final one.

Little Explorer.

Good news on the editing front. My editor is 1 or 2 days away from completion and I should have the revisions in my hand by Christmas day. I will then take my laptop with me away on holidays and look forward to working through her revisions, additions and subtractions with a glass of wine or three.

Day's last performance.

The photos here-in were taken on my Samsung Omnia 2 mobile phone by me. They aren't candidates for the final cover art but are intended to provide the reader with an idea of what we were up to on the beach last Saturday.

DFA.