For Passion Sky – a brand that tailors high quality business suits – new campaign we were three models: me, Igor from Russia and Pawel from Poland. We were all a completely different type of a model (see the images in the gallery below), which is what the client was most likely looking for. The location of the photoshoot was the city of Jiaxing, which is about 30 minutes away from Shanghai by high-speed train. It was April of 29th, 2021.
Jiaxing is a city in northern Zhejiang province with population of nearly 5.5 million, lying on the Grand Canal of China. Grand Canal is the longest canal or artificial river in the world, starting in Beijing, passing through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, all the way to the city of Hangzhou. Canal is linking the Yellow River and Yangtze River. Canal played a huge role in reunifying north and south China and it made transport much easier. The canal is not the only attraction of Jiaxing city, but also two bridges that stretch across the Hangzhou Bay on the East China Sea, crossing the Qiantang River at the Yangtze River delta. First one is 36km-long Hangzhou Bay Bridge, the longest ocean-crossing bridge in the world, which connects the municipalities of Jiaxing and Ningbo in Zhejiang province. Second bridge is named Jiashao Bridge, which is recorded as the world’s longest (10km) and widest multi-pylon cable-stayed bridge with eight traffic lanes.
The client chose a beautiful spot in Jiaxing, a resort, which reminded me a bit of famous Venice in Italy. The place is a copy of typical old architectures from Europe. Not many people were spotted at that time, as it was not the peak of the tourist season yet. The resort lies right next to the shore, and with moorings and piers it also provides access by boat. We weren’t taking pictures at the resort only, but on the rocky shore few kilometers away as well. Right from there, I would like to share with you an interesting anecdote, an adventure that happened on that sunny day.
The location was on the rocks along the coast. In order to get to desired place chosen by clients and photographer, we had to use all our climbing skills. When we descended from the concrete platform, which rose a few meters above the rocks, we had to be very careful, because you could quickly slip into one of the cracks between the rocks. Slowly, the entire team, with all the equipment and clothes, made their way to the rock that suited the photographer. Photoshoot has begun. We, models, were changing outfits right on the rocks. A make-up artist and hairdresser helped us to catch the balance while dressing. Immersed in work, we did not notice that the water level was rising rapidly. The tide. At high tide, the area with rocks is completely under water. We noticed the change at the last time. We had to climb back as fast as possible back to a concrete platform about 30 meters away and 7 meters high. However, the water was already that high, we had to take off our shoes and pants and get back through the water into the platform in our underwear only. Because water already covered some of the rocks, we could not see where we were walking, so we followed the first one, who sacrificed himself and paved the way for us. We helped each other with advices, helped each other hold hands and balance, we carried equipment and clothes together. With only a few scratches and no major injuries, we finally reached the goal. We were soaked from the waist down, some of the outfits were wet also. Equipment fortunately stayed undamaged.
As we were unable to complete the photo shoot, we returned back to the same spot a few hours later, when the tide was at its lowest, to finish the work.
It was quite an interesting experience.
Not mentioning the bloody swollen feet due to wearing shoes number 43 and smaller all day, it really was one great day to remember, full of adventures, new experiences and laughter sharing it all with an amazing team.
2021/2022 Campaign for Passion Sky