Kate Bradley

Where to start with this one… at the beginning is usually the best place. Those that know me, know that I’m fairly constantly on Twitter. It is both a support network and a business marketing, a place where I connect with old friends and make new. I am fortunate enough that the people I meet for my business often become friends. Anyway, this story begins with a fellow martial artist and twitter friend of mine, @LCTKD who tweeted about a South Devon martial artist called Katie. Katie is a young talented WTF Taekwondo fighter from my local city of Plymouth.

I got chatting to Katie and her father Andy and discovered that Katie is looking for sponsorship to help with the costs of competing in the National and International circuits. Now, a photographer’s life is not abundant with money but it requires passion and dedication, just like Katie’s training regime. I wanted to help Katie and offered her a martial arts photoshoot. Both Katie and Andy seemed really excited at the idea, and we agreed to meet before sunrise on the Plymouth Hoe

The weather was against us.. Every day that week had been glorious sunshine, but that morning was a thick blanket of grey. Never to be put off by such minor things we proceeded to have a great time, although I do wonder what the early morning dog walkers made of our little show. One thing I feel I should mention at this point.. Katie had never had a photoshoot done before and I’d been told she was quite shy, but I like a challenge! She was amazing, the camera loves Katie and by the end of the day I think Katie liked the camera almost as much 😉 . The weather was chilly (freezing Andy would say) and we had to take frequent breaks to warm the poor girl up, but never a complaint and always willing to throw out another kick.

By this point, all were getting a little chilly (yes, including me) so we decided to head off for some breakfast and much needed coffee. Andy led the way to a hidden wonder of Plymouth… the cafe had a ceiling that could only be described as an orange upside down mogul field! Fed and watered we headed for the indoor shoot at the Doryoku ryu dojo. We worked on flying kicks, working the bag, partner kicks and many more.. struggling sometimes to hide the laughter from the camera. Working with natural light and flash, achieving a variety of images for Katie to use and enjoy.

All in all we had a great time and I hope I’ve helped bring Katie to a wider audience. Katie is highly ranked within the UK Taekwondo scene and I really hope she gets the chance to fight for her country.

If you want to find out more about Katie and maybe able to help her out in some way please check out her Taekwondo Facebook page

Cheers

Scot