Bianca in Europe Photography - M1key - Michal Huniewicz

Let the trip begin!

Bodiam Castle, East Sussex, was the first castle for Bianca to visit in her entire life.

This is in the Battle Abbey complex, near which the Battle of Hastings took place in 1066 (Normans vs. English). The picture shows Bianca in the ruins of the monks' dormitory.

Bianca minutes after learning why one shouldn't touch stinging nettles (common knowledge, you'd think). I often re-enact that scene for people's entertainment.

Inspired by a photo by Adrielly Alves.

At the seaside, near Eastbourne. "This is not a beach!", she complained.

Bianca trying to stand still for the long exposure picture.

The hotel where we stayed.

Bianca, desperately looking for a way out of the Pevensey Castle (not really).

Bianca: I want to rob some graves.
Me: What?
Bianca: I want to rub some graves.
Me: Oh.

Bianca looking moderately badass in my cool sunglasses; the Long Man of Wilmington on the left hand side.

"I like kubush." Bianca and the pride of Poland, Kubuś the Juice.

This is on a cliff near Eastbourne.

Our train to Nottingham was late, and we took some pictures near the platforms. Bianca was wearing authentic Arabic make-up.

Waiting for rain to go away. Bianca is wearing my kufiya (ladies' favourite). I very briefly wrote about kufiyas in my Bedouin gallery.

In Nottingham, near the oldest inn in England, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, where Bianca almost got herself pregnant using a magic chair, however strange that might sound.

All the professional tricks I know, "close your eyes", "open your mouth a little", "breathe in", it takes years to learn, years...

Goodbye England, time to go somewhere warmer.

How about Spain? This is Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, also known as the Mezquita.

In this Mosque-Cathedral, we were followed by security guards, who prevented me from taking pictures of Bianca, threw my equipment in the street, and were generally rude. I have sent a complaint - no reply from those cabrónes.

Originally, this was a Christian Visigothic church of St. Vincent. After the 8th-century Islamic conquest of what is now Spain, the church was divided between the Muslims and Christians. Eventually, the Muslims bought the Christian part and turned the whole thing into a mosque, which then evolved until 987, when it reached its current dimensions.
After the Reconquista, when the Christians took over again, the mosque was converted to a cathedral, to Charles V's dismay: "They have taken something unique in all the world and destroyed it to build something you can find in any city". It is however the conversion to a Catholic Church that helped to preserve the building during the always unexpected Spanish Inquisition. The current structure reached its final form in the late 18th century.
Muslims are not allowed to pray in the Mezquita. [1]

The plan was to shoot pictures of Bianca wearing a Spanish dress. It turned out, I was more picky about the dress than she was, and we spent a day and a half looking for the right dress. It also had to be tailored to fit.

The biscuits of my childhood, BeBe! I forgot they even existed, but it turns out you can buy them in England.

Bianca relaxing before the dress shoot.

To honour my conservative friend Kartik, who would disapprove of such shorts, Bianca and I called them "kartiks".

Bianca, already wearing the dress (and the wrong bra...), on our way to the other side of Guadalquivir.

Here, Bianca on the south bank of Guadalquivir, the Roman bridge of Córdoba behind her, Plaza del Triunfo and the arch to the left, and la Mezquita towering over the city.
This was quite challenging actually, as the lighting was to the right, and it was constantly falling due to the wind. I had to run between the camera and the lighting to keep it from falling, to no avail, but much to the amusement of our audience.
Afterwards, the photo umbrella was broken to the point of me having to toss it 2 days later; and something's still rattling inside my speedlight... I need an assistant.
Anyway, hopefully you'll agree that the picture was worth it.

As I was taking this picture, a huge cockroach carelessly strolled about, right next to Bianca. "¡Una cucaracha!", she screamed in sheer terror, pointing at the cockroach as it frantically rushed towards the nearest safe haven - our bags. Jesus Christ, I thought in panic, grabbing the bags and not even trying to look tough. "There might be more of them in my dress!", whispered Bianca as our terrified eyes eventually met. "Fire!" I thought, but then contained myself. Uttering inarticulate squawks, I forced myself to shake the dress, looking out for more insects but, to our relief, there weren't any.
Next time I go to South Spain I'm gonna wear a space suit...

This church tower apparently has a minaret inside, as the Mezquita used to be a mosque before being turned into a [Christian] cathedral into 1236. [1]
How is Bianca looking?

Looking good. Why so much fuss with the dress?
You see, the regular Spanish (they said "Gypsy") dresses we were offered did not have what is called bata de cola. That's the "tail" of the dress. But that was exactly what I wanted since age 12, after having seen a video clip called "Los Tres Delinquentes" by Delinquent Habits (when MTV still played music). And this is what I got, thanks also to my friend Daniel, who equipped me with Spanish vocabulary for buying dresses.
There you go, dreams come true.

What you cannot see in this picture is a crescent of people behind me, using this opportunity to take a picture of Bianca. Because the dress was very heavy (6kg), she would only move when I told her to. And so, I would go "3, 2, 1, now!", and she'd make a dance move, and I would hear a symphony of camera clicks behind me.
Every so often I had to grab the dress and shake it, to let some fresh air in, as it was really hot that day (40°C and more). And if you are wondering where her yellow top had gone, I was wearing it on my head, to protect myself from a heatstroke. We both looked fabulous.

Time's up, we must now catch the train to Málaga. Actually, as we were walking away, a very polite man said to me, almost apologetically "Excuse me, I am not a professional, but I would still like to take a picture of your model, if that is not a problem for the two of you."
I didn't have the heart to tell him I wasn't a pro either, and moved almost to tears (especially after being treated badly by the security guards), replied "Of course". It made my day.

Bianca in the hotel.

Of course, we couldn't miss my favourite pose.

Smile for the camera!

Good girl, Bianca.

Bad girl, Bianca.

Posing in the dress one last time.

One more, actually. Bianca caught off-guard.

Finally, Bianca lying exhausted after almost 10 days of travelling and taking pictures. The trip was intense, and we didn't have a lot of time to sleep or eat, and took over 3,000 pictures total. We both lost weight, too.
She enjoyed Europe a lot, and I must say that it was a pleasure to take her pictures; she was very natural when posing, and, in my opinion, better even than the (few) professional models I have worked with, very patient to my "Arch that back!" remarks.
And she wasn't cranky even once! Which should be inspiring to some of my other travel companions - don't want to name anyone, you know who you are...

Bianca had a long flight awaiting her, and a bit of grief from the customs officers because of the dress.
As for me, I had to spend a few days doing the laundry, buy another photo umbrella, and charge my batteries for another trip - to celebrate my birthday with style. Gallery coming soon.

See You Cowgirl, Someday, Somewhere!