A Star over Hearsall
It is always special when a friend trusts you enough to ask you to take photographs for them, however this was a very special and emotional shoot for me…
Just before Christmas 2018 a friend asked me to take photos of the Christmas Star on top of the spire at Hearsall Baptist Church in Coventry as a memorial for his Dad. Paul Eaves had unexpectedly passed away earlier in the year. I have many memories of my friend Andy talking to me about putting up the Star with his Dad at the church ready for Christmas each year.
Paul was an amazingly kind and special person, he always had a lovely smile for us young musicians as we entered the hall on a Friday evening ready to attend Coventry Youth Orchestras weekly rehearsal. Paul was always supportive and would often give a nod of encouragement during concerts whenever needed.
Andy has refurbished the Star this year in honour of his Dad. This year things were no doubt very different for Andy and his family at Christmas and I was blown away by my friends trust in me as a photographer to carry out such an important shoot. I haven’t had much experience with night photography but I was determined to do my very best to get a photo that could really do justice to the Star and what it represents for Andy.
For this shoot I ventured out in the early hours of a very cold December morning, heading out to capture the Star in its newly refurbished glory. My car showed a temperature of -5C and the roads where empty. The world was peaceful and the sky was perfectly clear. Gradually the world began to wake as the early commuters filled the roads. I started using a long exposure to capture some trails from the car lights when the biggest and most beautiful shooting Star shot across the sky above the Church. It was such a special moment. I didn’t believe I could possibly have caught it on camera however…
This is for you Paul x
