Something new happened this week — I was referred to as a coupon. Not a photographer, not even a prize, but a coupon. LOL!
This curious title came courtesy of the ever-delightful CloClo La Hoop, who had “won” me at a charity event. To clarify, they hadn’t won me exactly — they’d won a photoshoot with me. There’s a big difference. If I really were the prize, I’d expect to be returned along with the other raffle tickets — “strip of five for a pound, sir?” ‘ermm no, no thanks!’
CloClo was brave enough to cash in their prize, having won it at the Cat’ Cats Rescue Fundraiser, and promptly got in touch. We arranged to meet on the north side of Hyde Park, opposite Lancaster Gate station. I took that instruction literally — so literally, in fact, that when CloClo arrived, I was hiding behind a post box.
Realising this might look a bit odd — and sensing I was in danger of becoming part of the next Lost Property collection — I scampered across the road, narrowly avoiding taxis, tourists, and at least one double-decker bus.
Our adventure began in earnest when we immediately ignored the carefully marked map I’d sent. In true artistic spirit, we decided to improvise. This meant we managed to miss almost every major attraction in Hyde Park, despite being surrounded by them.
Eventually, we stumbled upon Queen Caroline’s Temple — a lovely structure currently occupied by a homeless gentleman who had, understandably, claimed it as his own. We moved on respectfully, and after being thoroughly inspected by a passing pack of dogs, found a conveniently shaped tree to use as our first backdrop.
For the technically minded: I had my Sony a7RIV paired with the Sony 85mm f/1.8 and Sigma 28–70mm f/2.8 lenses — a combination that’s fast becoming my go-to setup for location portraits.
We started, as I often do, by having the subject “lean casually against a tree.” It’s simple, effective, and it works — as you can see from the first image below. Clo Clo nailed it. Then came the hoops — quite literally. CloClo produced a hoop (it’s in the name, after all) and began to spin, balance, and play with it while I framed shots using nearby leaves. The leaves, to their credit, didn’t complain once.
A little later, I had CloClo lie down among a carpet of autumn leaves — their vibrant browns and reds contrasting beautifully against her outfit. The scene looked like something from a fairytale — if fairytales featured slightly bewildered photographers muttering about aperture settings.
After much wandering, we eventually found a bridge — which, I assume, had been there the whole time. It turned out to be the Serpentine Bridge, built in 1828. Nearly two centuries later, in 2025, I found myself asking someone to climb on it for a shot. National Heritage monument or personal climbing frame? You decide.
A short stroll and a quick coffee later, we made our way to Henry Moore’s “The Arch” — or rather, the fenced-off area around The Arch. We couldn’t get close, but a pair of herons had somehow managed to slip past the barriers. I’m not sure how they got tickets — possibly a two-for-one deal with the pigeons.
With the fading light, CloClo threw hoops into the air while I fired off a rapid sequence of shots, one of which perfectly framed a passing plane mid-flight — pure luck, but I’ll take it.
As dusk settled, we packed up and walked the 1.6 kilometres (yes, I checked on Google Maps) to Kensington Tube Station. We parted ways there — CloClo heading west, myself heading east… I even got a seat.
You can follow CloClo La Hoop at @cloclolahoop on Instagram.