“On the day of this picture, I think we’d just had lunch and strolled down to the beach to have a swim. It was September but it was still vey warm. I was just snapping away and said, “I love this beautiful house, just please sit down here.” So Marianne sat down and I did a few pictures with my Pentax 67 which is actually pretty big for carrying on the beach, but I just have to have a camera with me all the time. It was a bit like a fashion shoot because I was directing her rather than just letting her do her thing.I think I even said, “Please put your hand up to your head and close your eyes. Head up a bit and just go into a dream world”. The scene was very posh and I wanted to get that across. I always say my wife belongs to the 1950’s”.
~ John Swannell
John is one of Britain’s leading fashion and portrait photographers. A totally self made man who I respect very much. He left school at 16 years old and apprenticed at British Vogue and then assisted David Bailey for four years before setting up his own very successful studio.
I love the timeless feeling of this image. As the weather now starts to turn colder we can all but dream. But it will soon be summer!