Here’s something a little different this week: portraits of members of the Wuffa Viking and Saxon Reenactment Society. Wuffa are based across Norfolk and Suffolk and are dedicated to living and learning the ways of our ancient ancestors. They perform at events around the country, covering combat, blacksmithing, leather and woodworking and tailoring, among other crafts that show what life was like over a thousand years ago.
This started because I needed to borrow a helmet, shield and spear (as you do) for an upcoming shoot with The Southwold Flower Company and Martin Dobson Couture, both of whom I’d worked with before. It struck me that the group’s portrait would be great fun to take, so I offered to trade my time photographing them for the loan of the kit.
Since then I’ve become genuinely interested in how Wuffa’s members picture Viking and Saxon life. The care and attention to detail they put into their reenactment is something else, and learning about it beats any history lesson I had at school. I loved taking the group’s portraits. It was unlike anything I’d done before, we had great fun on set, and I’d happily work with them again.
We kept the images simple and let the detail in the costumes and props do the talking. We also shot a behind the scenes video, to give you an idea of how a portrait session usually goes. If you get the chance, do go and see Wuffa at one of their shows, the next being the Viking Invasion of West Stow on Friday 8th May. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
I hope Wuffa are pleased with the photos and can use them in their advertising and across Facebook and Instagram. Do you need portrait photography, or images from an upcoming event? I’d love to be involved. Contact me with any questions, and take a look at my portfolios for a sense of how I work.
