Under the Bridge

Audi in the Park

Contrary to popular belief, I do sometimes shoot women with their clothes on, and in fact, I'm hoping to do more of that in the coming year. It's not that I've given up on shooting nudes, but rather I want to explore more along the lines of matching clothing and other props to the outdoor settings or using them to contrast with the scenery.

In the images seen here. Audi and I spent about a half day shooting in Cathedral Park under the St. Johns Bridge in North Portland. We were exploring the park and using the various areas there as settings for different outfits that both Audi and I provided for the shoot.

The park is great for glamour and fashion shoots, and it's one of my favorite places for photography from late spring to mid-fall, or anytime it's reasonably warm and dry. The park has many features to recommend it. The bridge, of course, is the most distinguishing and prominent feature, but there are fields, trees, shrub lined paths, a dock, a sandy beach, the river, benches, lamp posts, stairs, railway tracks, and a lot more.

Under the Willow

One of my favorite elements is a large willow tree near the base of one of the bridge supports. It's large enough to provide a canopy of leaves and branches under which I can shoot a model and provide a somewhat tropical feel to the image, despite actually shooting in the Pacific Northwest. The tree's canopy drapes over an embankment under the bridge and that provides lots of room for shooting. Add a bikini top and a sarong and you get a delightful setting.

The bridge supports also provide interesting structures that add visual interest to shoots. Models can climb on the large concrete platforms to pose--sometimes two levels high if they are courageous and you have good insurance. Walking around the platform can provide varying lighting and different structural elements for backdrops.  The structures are so large that they can be made to become ambiguous in terms of location which allows it scene to appear to be an industrial setting rather than a park.

Now, while I don't want all you photographers flocking to the park to take up my best shooting, if you ever want an interesting place to shoot, you might check it out.

On the Bridge Support