Altar-ed images

Alistair Campbell joins Kirk Purnell in church for a classical ballet shoot

- Alistair Campbell

All Saints’ Church in Idmiston, Wiltshire, dates from the 12th century and is the location for today’s shoot with Kirk Purnell, a dance and movement photographer who started taking photos to give purpose to his daily walks during lockdown.

“I was one of the many people who first picked up a camera right at the start of Covid-19, initially to take photos of local wildlife,” he says. “It soon turned into an obsession for me, though, and I was really keen to explore other genres, eventually leading me to dance.”

Recently, Kirk has had a growing relationship with The Churches Conservation Trust, who look after many historic churches in the UK. As many of these buildings can be a little dark inside, Kirk likes to include strong natural light if he can, so his preparations also include checking the weather for clouds, which he assures me will have cleared by the time he’s set up and the dancers are warmed up.

We are privileged to be joined by Rosie (@rosieevans_), Annabel (@dance_and_soul) and Erin (@ehvincentt), three ballet dancers from the South West who are keen to pirouette their way into frame for some portraits in this unique setting.

Kirk sets up his Godox AD200 flash and attaches a Neewer Octagonal softbox. “As much as I can, I try to stick with natural light. I’ll always shoot with the available light first, then if it’s not quite coming together I’ll introduce a small amount of off-camera lighting. It might also come in handy later on if the sun plays ball and I can shoot some backlit images with the Godox to lift the exposure on the dancers. I always set it up regardless, and sometimes don’t use it at all. I’d rather do it at the start because sometimes in environments like this a shot can come and go within 30 seconds, so it needs to be ready.”