I met up with Chantelle today for one of my absolute favourite shoots — a full mermaid transformation. I already had the perfect spot in mind, so we headed back to Clacton‑on‑Sea, near where I used to live. This place is one of my secret locations, tucked away and a bit awkward to reach, but once you get there… it’s magic. Abandoned boats, half‑sunken wrecks, and that eerie stillness you only get in forgotten places. Perfect for a mermaid fantasy. I’ll share more about this hidden gem in a later blog, so keep an eye out for that location deep‑dive.
Once we got to the boats, Chantelle wriggled into her mermaid tail — and if you’ve never seen someone put one on, trust me, it’s an adventure on its own. They’re tricky, but so much fun, and you can actually swim in them… though the water here was way too shallow for that. Instead, we climbed carefully over the old boats, posing, laughing, and getting completely lost in the shoot.
We were having such a good time that we didn’t notice the tide slipping away. Suddenly the ground turned to thick mud, and Chantelle started sinking fast. I tried to get down to her, but I’d have been stuck too — and there wasn’t a soul around to help. She managed to get her feet out of the tail, but pulling herself up wasn’t happening. So I grabbed her phone and called her husband, who luckily was nearby walking the dogs.
He arrived absolutely howling with laughter, seeing his wife covered head‑to‑toe in swamp mud. He ended up using the dog lead to pull her out like some kind of mermaid rescue mission. Thank god — for a moment I genuinely thought she was stuck for good. And now we fully understand why this location isn’t exactly popular for photoshoots.
But honestly? We still had the best time. Chantelle looked like she’d escaped from a monster movie and smelled like a swamp creature, but she loved every second of it.
You can find her on Instagram at @inknspin.creative
