Steamcard 004 (Patreon)

I had first met Shona at PAX is 2014 where I shot her at the end of the day next to the river in her classic Lara cosplay. I was shooting with a single speedlite on a stand with a small pop up softbox. It was quite a windy day and while I was looking at the back of my camera at my previous shot I heard a crash and I looked up to see my light had blown over the chain railing and was sliding down the sloped embankment towards the water with Lara leaping to action to save it, quite a surreal sight that I will always remember.

A year later at PAX 2015 I ran into Shona again in her 'Rise of the Tomb Raider' outfit. She had a number of props including a pistol, bow, the iconic red ice pick as well as a glow stick which we try to use but really looked a bit small and ambiguous what it was.

My friend and fellow Adelaide photographer Houng was standing next to me and he uses Ice Lights which I've always wanted to play with more so he lent me his for this shot, so the image is entirely lit with the Ice Light that Shona is holding. The red glow down the bottom was added in post to add more atmosphere. So I really love this photo because its the only image I have done where the model is basically lighting themselves in frame. 

There is of course a logic issue as you would obviously be pointing the light ahead of you so you can see where you are going and not lighting yourself.

Shona is famous for her portrayals of Lara Croftand was one of the cosplayers featured in the anniversary retrospective book ' 20 Years of Tomb Raider: Digging Up the Past, Defining the Future' where she chose one of my photos to be featured.