Cameron’s Diary
Before the Shoot
How are you feeling? Are you nervous, or excited?
I am unsure what to expect as this is my first shoot of any kind, clothes on or off. I am quite nervous, but also looking forward to spending a few days with the close friends that I have got to know over the year and not having to worry about revision or exams, which have finally finished!
Is this your first shoot?
Yes.
What are your concerns?
I have never been fully naked in public, so I don’t know what to expect!
Have you talked to friends/family/other Club members about taking part? What reactions have you had?
I kept it quiet from my friends for a while until I had fully decided to take part. I spoke to my parents about it from the start and discussed the reasons for doing this. In the end it was fellow club members who convinced me to commit to the calendar project as there was a good group of us and it’s all for a good cause.
There’s always time for some friendly banter!
Have you spent time in the gym toning up for this? How long have you spent roughly preparing? What else have you done to your image? Hair cut? Face shave? Anything else?
Training this term has been increased anyway so I haven’t made a significant change to my routine in preparation for the calendar shoot but I definitely have been more conscious of what I eat. I had the majority of my exams the week before, which reduced training slightly. Nonetheless, I inevitably had more motivation for certain exercises in the gym than during general training.
What are your main reasons for agreeing to take part in the calendar shoot?
I had heard about the successes of previous years and thought it would be a great thing to be able to say I have been a part of. The calendar raises awareness all over the world for a great cause and is an opportunity for me to contribute toward this goal. As a member of the Warwick University Boat Club, which has such successful and well known calendars, I didn’t think I would like to miss out on taking part, especially having heard how much fun it is to shoot!
Day 1 First day of the shoot
What happened at the beginning of the day?
It was an early start for everyone in order to get down to the boathouse early and having had some short introductions it was time for the makeup. Having never worn make up in my life this was interesting in itself. Luckily it was a warm day, so keeping t-shirts off after having make up done was easy enough. I felt like a minor celebrity when I heard that our makeup artist had recently prepared Pharrell Williams for one of his shows.
Zach getting the Pharell Williams treatment!
Was it easier/harder to get naked than you thought? What helped break the ice?
We then had our first talk as a group with Angus giving us the plan for the week. The first time we got naked was unexpected, but that was probably for the best as it avoided the awkward build up to it. Angus asked if we had any questions and one reply was “when are we going to get naked?” This was duly answered with “Right now!”, and so it began. From then on it was much easier to do and we gradually became more comfortable with stripping off.
What was the most surprising thing about the first day?
I was most surprised about how quickly I got over the initial worry of being naked with everyone. Soon enough it became quite normal and the feeling of freedom was quite strange as we posed for different shots.
Any funny incidents?
The water fight shots were particularly funny as most of them descended into chaos with several people ending up in the river by the end. But, when all of us then had to jump in the river it wasn’t as funny because the water was freezing!
That water was freezing, but we were having fun!
Day 2 Second Day of Shoot
Was it easier to get started today?
Day three was shot in the grounds of a nearby manor house. This was very different to day one in terms of the location, but it still got off to a slow start with make-up. There were a few photos taken in the morning with gradually more people taking part once their makeup was finished. Some of the group had to go off at lunch time to train whilst the rest of us went off for a pub meal, which was much appreciated! This took quite a bit of time out of the day, but we knew that shooting in the middle of the day was most difficult due to the height of the sun in the sky, so this wasn’t a problem.
What do you do between shots?
I particularly enjoyed learning the proper rules of croquet as there were several lawns around the house for us to play on. It turns out that there are many more rules than you might expect and a game with all of us playing took a very long time!
What was the rule about putting the ball through the hoop?
Are you having fun? Who is the joker who makes everyone laugh?
The shoot is much more fun than I anticipated and lots of inappropriate jokes were made while we put our bodies into often unnatural positions, and really tested the boundaries of our comfort zones.
Day 3 Third day of shoot
How do you feel as the shoot is coming to an end?
I was only available for the first two days of the shoot, but I was extremely tired by the end of it! Long days on my feet made sure of that, even though I didn’t have specific gym training to do each day unlike some of the others. It is a shame for it to be ending so soon for me, but I am looking forward to waking up at slightly more reasonable times and pigging out a little bit on some of life’s treats now that the bulk of the calendar shooting is done.
Time to relax with a Pimm’s after two days on our feet!
Would you take part in it again?
I would definitely take part in this project again as it was really good fun and should make a real difference and raise awareness for the Sports Allies programme. The good weather was a real bonus because I’d imagine rain and cold would make it a lot less comfortable.
We’ll be back with more diaries soon!
If you’d like to know more about Cameron read his profile, and to see him in action, download our 2016 England film.