An Italian Photographic Adventure

In September 2025 I travelled to Tuscany with my friend Elena (Nausicaa Yami) and new friend Tezz (Bosatezz) to visit two amazing locations and capture them as part of my Elemental project. This is the story of our adventure, a roadtrip and friendship as well as the unique bond that Elena and Tezz share, plus a bonus visit to a hospital thrown in for good measure. I. promise you this is a story unlike any you have read before.

Elena and Tezz holding on in the thermal pools. It was still dark wen I took this.

It was the end of July and I was in a cinema foyer trying to get my head around the price of popcorn when my phone vibrated. It was a voice message from Tezz, her gentle tones a welcome respite from my vibrant surroundings. She had been chatting to Elena and learned of our planned trip to Tuscany in September and was asking if this could be the opportunity for us to shoot together. Tezz is not native to Tuscany but her boyfriend is so she spends a number of months a year there.

I had not met Tezz before but we had exchanged a number of messages, shared views on a few photos and a failed attempt to try and find a time to work together in 2024. But I’m someone who recognises when stars align, plus if Elena thought this was a good idea, I’d have to agree, afterall (as she would remind me many times in Italy) she is always right.

As I sat down in my seat I was excited about the movie ahead, but also considering how my trip to Italy might suddenly have a plot twist.

Once home, I pinged Elena, I wanted to hear her thoughts. Thinking practically, we’d planned locations, accommodation and a rigid itinerary to make all the logistics work. But I also wanted to hear if she was okay with the idea. With the benefit of hindsight, I think I was also asking her so I could hear the same words out loud, “was I okay with the idea?”

In my head this trip was important, an opportunity to seek out otherworldly locations to add to my Elemental project, something that had been on pause since Iceland last year. I’ve had a brilliant 2025 so far, but this was an itch I really needed to scratch. I just love to go off into the unknown and capture the beauty of the human form in wild locations. To date I have travelled to some incredible places, but always with one person. Would it work with two and was I good enough to make it work? Elena was confident and reminded me that she was good friends with Tezz, a bond that would help create those honest images.

But something photography has taught me is you can’t truly capture a person without a genuine connection, I needed to meet Tezz somehow. The solution was a video call one afternoon, almost an hour of chatting about everything and nothing plus a lot of laughter. I know it was a good call as we ended it having agreed to meet in Italy, and a rough plan for another shoot in 2026.

For me this was a five day trip to Italy, two days of travel and three days of shooting in two locations. The first was a cascade of thermal water framed in limestone that was almost a sister location to the salt pans of Gozo where this all started. My wife Cleia had first suggested this place, she’s constantly on the look out for wild locations for me. The second was quite different, an old iron mine with alien looking formations of discarded iron ore. Seen from above I was sure they would both fit my otherworldly brief perfectly and now with two people to bring them to life. September couldn’t come soon enough!

I arrived in Florence in a gap of good weather, the days prior had seen heavy rain and thunderstorms. Elena greeted me, as always, her big hug betraying her small frame. The last time we’d seen each other was over dinner in London the month before, with our mutual friend Dave. Funny thing is, I recently realised we’ve spent far more time hanging out than actually shooting together. Somehow, this would only be our third shoot.

We got into Elena’s little white car and headed for Siena to pick up Tezz, our roadtrip had just begun. We’d agreed to meet on the outskirts of Siena to keep to the main roads, there was no time for a quick tourist check in. We met Tezz and her boyfriend Giona in a car park by a restaurant, these were two very happy people and it was also lovely to see Elena and Tezz catch up. It would only be later that I’d discover just how close they really were.

Back on the road it was now the three of us in Elena’s car, we had another two hours ahead of us before we’d reach our destination, location number one. The weather seemed to change as we wound our way along the Tuscan roads, the beautiful countryside was peppered with cypress trees and the sounds of Tezz and Elena laughing. My day job suddenly felt a million miles away and I could feel my body relaxing. This was going to be a great trip.

Smaženice!

We reached the top of a hill and looked down to see the beautiful blue water of the thermal pools as our first location flashed past the windows of our car. Our villa was down the road so we dropped our bags off and returned by foot to explore this beautiful place. This is a popular tourist attraction with convenient parking so it was busy with people, there was no chance of a sneaky photo here or there. But we used the time to pace out the various pools and established how we would shoot together. This was a perfect location, I was in love, but to do it justice and to incorporate the nude shots we had planned we would have to come back at first light.

That evening Tezz cooked us a meal. She is half Czech and half Vietnamese, a cultural cocktail that is perfectly normal in her home, the Czech Republic. Her appearance is gently Asian and her accent is softly Eastern European in fact everything she does is gentle. That evening her home cooking included Smaženice, a dish of eggs and mushrooms (two of my favourite things). I quietly ate my food and enjoyed watching Elena and Tezz reunite, they were clearly more than just friends.

When I booked this trip it was just Elena and I, so this meant that there were two bedrooms, but not three. The girls were happy to share the one double bedroom and I got the single room with a metal bed and stripy covers. They quickly coined it the prison cell and it was hard to disagree. I’m sure I would have had this room regardless as I knew sleep would be fleeting.

At 5 am my alarm went off, it was dark in my prison cell and dark outside. We all moved slowly, still half asleep. Elena made coffee and Tezz made Matcha, drinks to clutch as they applied their morning ablutions. By 5:45 am we were in the car, ready to drive the short distance down the road, this alone felt like an amazing accomplishment. As we reached the falls the sound of the water crashing down the hills came first, it grew louder and louder and helped to wake us up. The place was empty, illuminated by the stars and a safety light by the entrance. 

First light

We all congratulated ourselves on achieving our goal, we had this brilliant location all to ourselves, we just needed the sun to rise a few more inches before we could start shooting. Five minutes later a man walked past in the dark with his dog and happily greeted us and proceeded to sit in one of the pools by the entrance… He was followed by another couple. It was clear we needed to get on with it. With my drone in the air I made for a central area away from the people and directed the girls to a large empty space below me. This would be our canvas.

When you ride a motorbike you are taught to drive in a dominant position in the centre of the road so other cars don’t overtake you. I did the same here, standing in my chosen space and owned it. I stood out from the bathers behind me as I was wearing clothes and a hat, it was clear I was on a mission and this meant we were not interrupted. We quietly relayed instructions to one another and changed poses and pools swiftly. For almost an hour we were able to capture this magnificent location without interruption. The bond the girls had was evident as they held onto each other. This was part pose, part necessity to ensure the rushing water didn’t push them further away. 

By 7:30 the light was higher and beginning to get harder (not good for drone shots). The place was busier and soon our position would soon be overrun. We all deserved a break and decided to call it a day. Standard practice with these early starts is to go back and sleep, my prison cell beckoned. But not before we all reviewed the morning's photos. They were good, really good. We had done well and were still amazed at how empty our part of the location was.

Note: I’ll share the good and edited shots later, this crop is a SOC to give you a feel for the scene.

Making favourite photos

The nice thing about these sort of trips is you can quite literally choose your own adventure. It’s tempting to want to go back and shoot at the falls, complete the assignment as Tezz called it of portrait and detail shots. But it was going to be busy. Our secluded villa provided the perfect shade for some outdoor portraits, I had packed my black backdrop knowing I wanted to take more ‘Body & Soul’ shots (a new project) and that would be our afternoon shoot.

After a late lunch we used the soft light of a shaded wall to shoot against my black backdrop. An outdoor studio with the benefit of a warm Italian afternoon. With my camera tethered to the laptop I started photographing Tezz whilst Elena touched up her make up. She was soon behind me taking Behind the Scenes (BTS) shots and whispering quiet words of encouragement to Tezz as she saw the photos come through on my laptop. Next it was her turn. I was reminded that the last time I had photographed Elena was in East London with the same background (was this becoming a thing?). Elena’s elegant poses moved in sync to the rhythm of Tezz saying the word “beautiful”. Soon Tezz slotted in next to Elena and they both began to pose together. I thought that the music from Tezz’s playlist helped to choreograph their shapes but it later became clear that the two of them shared a deep connection, music and photographer were of little consequence.

Two days later Elena would share that these were her favourite photos of the trip. She loved the images visually, but also for what they meant to her.

Elena and Tezz intertwined

Tuscan dinners

We used the afternoon to briefly plan the next morning. We went back to the falls and picked locations to use for portraits and detail shots. The idea behind my brief being to move down from the overhead shots and see the person in situ and include the context of their environment in detail.

Tezz tagged along with me and I snapped a number of shots of her moving her hands through the water, the detail the drone sees, but the eye wants to see more of. We’d all accepted we had to return early in the morning to capture these shots properly.

That evening we ate in a beautiful Tuscan restaurant chosen by Elena. A cinematic setting where a narrow road lined with cypress trees lead up to grounds of a hillside vineyard. We joined a handful of guests all enjoying a holiday but I was confident we were the only ones who had another early start ahead of us.

Completing the assignment

The next morning I woke to the sounds of the girls bumping around in the bathroom. I stared at my phone to see I had set my alarm for five in the afternoon. Bugger, I was late… This time it was daylight as we arrived at the location. We soon found our spots and I waded into the water clutching my camera. I like to shoot with primes as I prefer the quality of the image and today this was a 35 mm shoot. We carefully moved around the pools and I photographed the two of them together and also alone. The light was beautiful as it carved its way through the natural mist from the hot water. The soft stones beneath my feet emulated the ones from yesterday and allowed me to move with the girls as they changed their poses.

Suddenly and without warning my left leg hit something hard below the water, I could feel myself tipping over and quickly pushed my right hand into the air, brandishing my camera. If I was going down my camera would stay above water. The water isn’t deep and I was soon upright and inspecting my camera for water damage. It was wet, a few splashes of water but it was still taking photos - a huge relief. My next thought was my leg, something had happened to it but I was busy in conversation with the girls. Tezz exclaimed “It was so nice!” a phrase we later translated to mean that my fall was both elegant and creative in that my camera was protected. I knew something was up with my leg but the thick blue water meant I couldn’t see anything. So I told the girls to wait where they were and I returned to our camp to dry off my camera and swap for another body and lens.

It was then that I saw the gash in my leg. It wasn’t bleeding, but there was definitely a hole. We had maybe 30 minutes before we had to leave the location for the last time so I made an executive decision, I decided to keep shooting. I went back to where the girls were swimming and we picked up where we had left off. There I took some beautiful portraits of the two of them, their likeness was uncanny, they could have been sisters.

But it didn’t take long before Elena spotted that something was up and I was soon frog marched back to our little camp. There was a view forming that I might need stitches, as a minimum we should go and see a pharmacy. As we walked back along the river the sunrise revealed itself and illuminated the mist that hugged the water. All of us share a need to be creative and this was a heart stopping moment. It was Elena who asked Tezz if she wanted to take just a few more photos in this light and I didn’t need asking twice. What a dream team…

A need to be creative

Stitched up!

Back at the villa we washed and packed (it was also check out day). It was evident that I was no longer in charge (had I ever been?). Tezz had been speaking to Stefi, her boyfriend's mother who is a nurse and confirmed I needed stitches. She even sent a video of my wound as she bandaged up my leg. Elena was multi-tasking, packing up the car and planning the best route to the hospital.

A few hours later my leg was being worked on by a very manicured woman in a blue hospital gown. Being inside hospitals is not unusual for me, neither are stitches, but this was the first time I could both feel and see someone tug at my skin to close the gap with each thread. It was quite the hole.

With a flurry of Italian words I was discharged and Elena went off to buy the things I needed to dress my wound in the coming days. Everything was so efficient but all I could think about was how amazing both of them had been. They had taken my medical emergency in their stride and I was back on my feet.

Strange new worlds

Our next accommodation was an hour away so Elena and Tezz picked up some provisions for a nice late lunch and drove north. The new place was beautiful and the bedrooms were spacious and super comfortable. I had booked for two people (two rooms) but this was a three bedroom apartment and I was more than happy to pay the surcharge so Tezz could have her own room.

After a delicious lunch, the porchetta revealing a surprisingly wild side of Tezz (you know when you think someone might be vegetarian and then realise they’re definitely not),  we headed out to scout our second location. It was just four minutes down the road and we had always planned (before my trip to the hospital) to check it out before our shoot day. I was grateful to the girls who by now were fully in charge, but allowed the trip to continue as planned.

With the car parked, we walked carefully through the woods and were greeted by a wall of striking red and ochre that sparkled in the afternoon sun. In front of us stretched a line of mini canyons, their walls rising twenty feet high. Decades ago this land was mined for lignite, and when the digging stopped the iron-rich clay was left exposed. Over time it oxidised and rusted allowing the rain to sculpt these jagged red shapes and giving the landscape its otherworldly feeling. It truly felt like we were on another planet.

We took a number of reference photos and planned our final shoot day. Tomorrow would be another early start.

That evening we headed out to the local town and ate another meal together. By now we were tired, but also comfortable in each other's company. We didn’t need to overly socialise; we were equally content in our silence as we were in our laughter.

That night I slept like a king, the bed was a first class experience compared to my prison cell of before. I was walking with a bit of a limp initially but that soon went and amazingly my leg didn’t hurt. My brilliant team was up and doing and by 7:30 am were alone on the wild red planet buried in the woods.

We walked our way through the finger-like shapes of the rock formations and carefully chose locations to shoot with the drone. The ground was sharp so the girls used small towels folded up to rest on, hidden from the camera high above. This place was a million miles away from our last location, but was also a perfect addition to my project. It was just a very different chapter.

A quick reference shot of our location

The reunion

A couple of hours later we were back in our apartment ready for some rest and recuperation. Tezz sat me down and changed the dressing on my leg. As I said before, it was clear they were in charge and I was grateful for their care and attention. Elena had pointed out that I was being too polite and British and that it was okay to let other people take over and tell me what to do - after all she is always right : )

After a nice long rest we returned to our location for the late afternoon sun. We had also arranged to meet Giona there, Tezz’s boyfriend who was coming to take her home that evening.

The dark red walls acted like a diffuser, bouncing the soft evening light and created a nice warm glow. This setting was going to make for some magical portraits. By now I knew Elena and Tezz needed little direction, they both knew what to do, it was as if this was their own project. We completed a number of portraits and were soon greeted by Giona who had found us hiding away in one of the canyons. Tezz gave him a long hug and then told him to take the BTS shots while we finished off the set. 

Our final images of the day were the detail shots. Elena had the idea to cover her skin with the red sand for added context and texture and soon both girls were daubed in red while the little canyons echoed with their laughter. I captured the images whilst also explaining to Giona that this wasn’t ‘normal’ - this was his first time seeing his girlfriend work.

Elena getting ready for her close up

The last frame

That was it. It was a wrap, we had done it! Two wonderful people and two unreal locations plus some bonus Body & Soul shots. I felt complete and very ready for a nice long supper to say thank you to everyone.

That evening we sat around our table and chatted, enjoying each other’s company one last time. Giona slotted right in like he had always been with us and caught up on our adventures. The conversation found its way on to modelling and I saw a natural opportunity to ask a few questions of Elena and Tezz. This soon became a conversational interview - one I have documented - should you want to hear their version of this story alongside the high’s and low’s of working as an art model.

This was a perfect evening, a lovely way to end an amazing trip. I remember saying, “if someone told me I could take these shots and have a brilliant time doing so, but I would have to get some stitches, I would 100% sign up for it”.

Eight seconds!

I also learned that evening that despite paying for an extra room for Tezz it wasn’t used. Apparently one of the rooms had ghosts in, but it also sounded like they enjoyed each other's company, night and day. This isn’t what you might think, they are just two people who are genuinely very connected. Elena would later describe their bond as strong as sisters.

After a final review of the day's photos Tezz and Giona were ready to head off, it was her birthday the next day and they had lots of plans. We said our goodbyes, aware that this had been a special trip. As I went to let go of Tezz’s hug she said, "No! Eight seconds.” and we carried out her ritual of warmth and friendship. To that end Giona got a similar hug from me.

They were both a great pairing and it was nice to see them so happy. As they left Elena I and checked the time, it was late, but neither of us wanted the day to end and we knew we didn’t have to check out until lunchtime. So we opened the bottle of limoncello that our hosts had left us and enjoyed one last Tuscan evening.

One last time

The next morning was a much deserved slow start. The fatigue of the last few days and lack of sleep was catching up on us. I also knew I needed to go home and let Elena rest, she had worked so hard to make this trip as special as it was. As we finished packing Elena offered to change my dressing and quickly pointed out that my ankle was swollen. She exchanged a few messages with Stefi, Giona’s mum and I was soon in the car headed for the nearest hospital, the concern being that my wound might be infected.

The route led us past a beautiful old church with a collapsed roof so we made a minor detour to be tourists and get a coffee before getting back on the road. The hospital saw me quickly and once again were very efficient. As I lay there on the blue bed I was once again reminded how grateful I was to have Elena as a friend. Much as you do in a game, I had felt our friendship had leveled up on this trip. It’s not often you get to take a friend to hospital and this was our second visit.

The hospital prescribed some antibiotics and we were soon back on the road. It was a Sunday and everything was closed. Undeterred Elena was on the phone and soon had a plan. I was about to meet her parents! They were 30 mins from the airport and happened to have the exact medicine I needed.
This family is amazing!

I sat in their living room wishing I spoke Italian and smiled as I watched yet more kindness unfold. I was given pain killers and a drink and the necessary antibiotics. We had just enough time to review some of the photos we had taken. It turns out Elena’s parents knew who I was and in fact had one of my prints of Elena from our trip to Lanzarote last year. That was a lovely if brief visit.

By now it really was time to go, I needed to get my flight home (I had work the next day) and Elena needed some much deserved rest.

I will never tire of saying this, I love taking photos, especially like this in wild locations, but it’s always the people that mean the most. I am so lucky to have met some truly special people thanks to my love of photography and I feel especially fortunate to now be able to include Tezz in that mix. Thank you for your creativity, your kindness and friendship Tezz.

Elena, you are incredibly talented, you laugh at my jokes, you help validate my work and you are a constant inspiration. And now you repair me when I’m broken. I owe you so much, thank you!

I also want to thank Giona, and his mum Stefi. Elena’s parents Elisabetta and Antonio and of course my wife Cleia for her wonderful support.