Mermaids and Bikinis

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: