Madonna and Child Project - 1999

Mother Goddess images from all cultures play a huge role in the human experience. The giver of life, or the taker of life in some instances. She invokes in us the physical and psychological need for comfort and reassurance. I thought I would have something special if I could capture what I experienced with Adrian on film. We had fun taking pictures, and as usual, Adrian and Miles had me laughing and smiling the whole time I was there. Adrian's love and understanding of art was a huge help in shooting the photos. We got our ideas from renaissance paintings and did the best we could to set up her living room in a peaceful way, including fresh flowers. We had to move lots of stuff outside on to the lawn to make room for the scene. Looking at the photos now, I can see where it would have been better to arrange the table and the flowers a little move to the left to improve composition and to eliminate the distraction of the flowers too close to my subject. I used available light from the window and a reflector made of butcher paper which I hung from a microphone stand. I took some pictures from the tripod, using the cable release, then switched to hand held to get in closer. Two rolls were shot and I was amazed at how many good pictures were achieved with no flash! I used a roll of ASA 100 and a roll of ASA 400 Ilford black and white film. Kent Schneeveis 12 March 2000