I’ve always been interested in medieval legends, creatures, weaponry, and warfare. I wanted to create that kind of feel with this shot.
I had planned on using a 64” long bow (for authenticity), but the string broke and none of the stores around here had the right size string in stock. So, I had to use the compound bow instead. I bought some cheap arrows and cheap spear tip target points because I didn’t want to risk my expensive arrows catching on fire / melting. I used large size marshmallows dipped in lighter fluid to create the flaming effect. The large flame only lasted about 5-10 seconds and then died down fast. I went through about half a bag of marshmallows!!
My model was originally going to be female (sort of an Amazon Warrior / Valkyrie style shot), but she wasn’t strong enough to pull the string on the bow back. So, I ended up being the model in the shot! I had her stand where I would be; then I focused in, and locked the focus in manual. Next, I had her stand with an arrow on fire so I could also dial in the exposure settings in manual mode.
I stood on the spot I marked in the field, lit the arrow on fire and quickly dropped the lighter in my pocket, got into the right posture / expression, and shouted when I wanted her to click the shutter release. I then ran back to the camera/tripod to look at the photo/histogram, and reload the arrow with another lighter fluid soaked marshmallow. Repeated 48 times, then it started raining again, ending the shoot. Luckily, I got a few decent shots.
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