Last week I worked with independent film maker, Bridget Driscoll, of Mill City Studios, photographing her at the famous West End Gym, in Lowell, Massachusetts. We were after environmental portraits of her shot in this unique location where she has been documenting the gym, the owners, staff and athletes, and how they all contribute to the community.
Mill City Studios produces all kinds of videos for the academic, business and public service markets. The idea with these shots was to put Bridget in the ring, a central theme of the studio's made-for-TV documentary, "Fighters: Road to the Golden Gloves". I also had the pleasure of meeting the gym's owner, Art Ramalho, and seeing the location first hand. I can attest that this is not a movie set, but the real thing. I really wanted to capture the real look of the gym, so nothing in the scenes was moved and I lit Bridget without gels and allowed plenty of ambient light into the shots so that I could get the color of the fluorescent lights around her.
