Catching Up

Belle in Chains

Shooting really picked up in August after all the home renovations were complete. As I mentioned in my last post, I managed to get away to shoot with Joey in the lovely little valley where she lived. But even before I went to visit Joey, I had a shoot with Belle. Devereaux on Sauvie Island. 

It had been three years since our last shoot, and her look had changed drastically in the interim. She went from having short, straight, dark hair to an entirely different look of curly, red hair. She still had those beautiful eyes and that big smile. The shoot was fun and very productive. 

We managed to shoot several different looks and moods as we moved around the beach and adjacent woodlands. As usual, we shot nudes, implied nudes, and non-nudes with various props such as a fishing net. I like to shoot in the mornings at Sauvie because the light is better, but also because fewer people are there.  

A week after I shot with Joey, I had a chance to shoot with a new model (to me). Thistle is a lovely person whose primary job is as an arborist. Due to her work, she's in excellent physical condition, Again, we shot on Sauvie Island and used a variety of outfits and poses. 

Thistle has a very natural look with long brown hair. She was perfect for the outdoor setting on the island and I really enjoyed shooting with her. Here's one of the best shots from that morning.

Thistle on Sauvie Island

I spent quite a bit of time on Sauvie in August, for I had three more shoots there before the month's end. On the 16th of the month, Floofie and I met there for our 37th shoot. I've been working with Floofie since March of 2010, so I knew we'd get some great shots. This wasn't our first shoot at Sauvie and I'm sure it won't be our last either. We had great fun that day playing with silks, chains,  hats, and other props. 

Diamond BikiniShot

The following week Keira Grant came to town and we managed to put a shoot together at Floofie's own studio. I hadn't shot with Keira since Studio Serano shut down back in 2016, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to shoot with her again.  Floofie has a wonderful little studio set up in her detached garage with natural light available through some double glass doors. I supplemented that with a daylight-balanced LED light for a soft, dreamy boudoir setting. 

We also did some outdoor shots in Floofie's backyard, so I managed to get a variety of images in different settings.  Keira is a natural beauty with a lean physique and gorgeous curly hair. It's always a pleasure to shoot with her and I hope I get the chance to do so if she returns to my area next year.

Soft Light with Keira

 

A week later it was back to Sauvie Island for a shoot with Vivian Cover, a model with whom I hadn't worked before. There was lots of curly hair in August because Vivian had a head of blonde curls and a dancer's long, lean body. She had poses galore and we used most of them during our time at the beach. My favorite images are shots of Vivian dancing against the morning sky, river in the background and silhouetted by the sun. 

Vivian Against the Sky

The. very next day, it was back to the island again, this time for a shoot with a new model in her very. first outdoor nude session. Gwen was just starting out with modeling and she was unsure of the process. She had done some figure modeling for art class so she was comfortable. with nudity, but glamour and nude photography is quite different from figure modeling where the models assume a pose and hold it for as long as it takes for the artists. to sketch them. For me, she was going to need to move around, change body positions and expressions as well as change poses with each click of the shutter. She actually did quite well for a neophyte model, though she did tell me she was more comfortable without clothes than when she was fully dressed.

Gwen in Sheer Brown

To end the month, by shooting three days in a row, I did a shoot at a new location with the lovely Bree. Bree often comes to the Pacific Northwest and I usually shoot with her during her visits. This time we shot along Johnson Creek on a forested bit of property belonging to another area photographer and his muse. It's difficult to find new locations for nude shoots anymore.  The population of the area has grown so much that what used to be relatively unpopulated and unfrequented areas are rare in the metro confines. Even the areas further out have become more visited. and. lots of "No Trespassing" signs have been erected due to disrespectful visitors. So, it was nice to shoot in a new location. 

Bree is hilarious and talkative.  She kept me chuckling during the entire shoot. We shot about a half-dozen different outfits plus some nudes in different spots in the forest. This included some shots in the creek itself. 

Bree in Red

That pretty much wrapped up the month of August. It was busy, but fun, and was the most shooting I had done in the past three years (thanks, Covid).  But I had one more shoot left before I would take a break. On the first day of September, I went right back to where Bree and I had done our shoot for a session with Floofie. Hey, when you find a good spot, you make the most of it. 

I had another reason for shooting with Floofie, though. I had just started working with a new camera and lens combination. In August, I updated my equipment bag with a Canon R5 mirrorless camera and a new RF 24-105 f/4 L IS lens. The R5 provided many new features, including in-camera image stability, as well as new focusing features that I thought would make shooting easier. One of the biggest draws for me, though, was the ability to continue to use my collection of expensive EF lenses using an adapter that kept all the features of the camera and lenses functional. 

The specific lens I wanted to try was my favorite outdoor portrait lens, the EF 135 f/2 L prime lens. Floofie was the model of choice for this test because we had worked together so many times it was certain I would get the poses and expressions I wanted for the test. As expected,  both the model and the lens worked perfectly.

That was the only shoot for September, so I had plenty of rest before my first scheduled shoot in October.

Floofie

In Johnson Creek

Home renovations took up most of my time for the remainder of June and all of July. My 2nd shoot of 2022 didn't happen until the early August when I managed to get away for a day long shoot with my friend and fellow artist, Joey. I traveled south to her lovely stomping grounds along the Siuslaw River and she proposed we shoot with her mermaid outfit. I agreed and we traveled to a lovely little spot where cascading water and deep, dark pools abounded. The trek from the small parking lot wasn't bad, but there was a steep set of steps that descended to the actual falls. Not good for my bad knee, but hey, you gotta go where you gotta go.

There was a small group of swimmers downstream, but they paid little attention to us as settled our bags on the rocks. I suggested we start with some bikini shots and as Joey changed I evaluated the location and the light. I determined the best place to start and very quickly we were shooting. Joey, as always, gave me some great poses and expressions and we even found an isolated area where she felt comfortable shooting some nudes. 

After about an hour of shooting bikinis and nudes, we walked back over to the base of the stairs and Joey donned the upper half of her outfit. The lower half was a realistic mermaid tail made of silicone and fabric. She took to the water with the tail, swam over to the opposite side of the pool, and donned her lower half. She moved carefully and her poses were lovely. She moved along the far side of the pool from log to rocky outcrop to mossy boulder with ease. After a while, she swam back to my side of the pool and took off her tail. 

We were, however, not completely done. I had noticed one of the young swimmers from downstream of us, move around the fish ladder and go over to the cascading falls and I thought Joey could do it as well. Knowing that it would make for some great shots, she agreed to give it a shot. You can see the results below.

Afterwards, we searched for a place to eat and eventually managed to find a small cafe where I grabbed a burger and some fries and Joey had a hot sandwich (a Philly cheesesteak if I recall correctly). With bellies full and our spirits fortified, we headed off for a few more hours of shooting. More wonderful poses at beautiful spots ensued and when the day was done we relaxed with a cold drink then said our goodbyes for the day. I can't think of a better way for a photographer to spend a day.  

A few more shots from the day: