“The nude in the sheep is probably my all time favourite.” – Michael Joseph
This striking image was shot for the International Wool Secretariat and was one of the first advertising shots Paul Arden and Michael Joseph worked on together.
The best exposure was in black and white, with the black-faced sheep staring straight at the model for one instant of a second. The girl’s pose was just right, with the sunlight shining on her.
It really was a trillion to one chance image. There was a single negative where the sunlight hit the girl perfectly. In the following negative, the black sheep had disappeared into the flock.
The entire session took about two hours and required two flocks of sheep. Three shepherds held the sheep in with mobile fencing to prevent them from straying.
A stylist armed with a walkie talkie swooped in every now and then to fix and adjust the model’s hair and makeup.
Michael Joseph was dressed in a fur coat and fur hat, looking like a bit like a mad Rod Stewart! The model was on a 60° incline and the 600 sheep just about filled the frame. Of course, being England, it was raining throughout the shoot. Michael used a 1000mm lens on a Pentax and shot from across the valley.
The final advertisement appeared in publications throughout 1975.
