Isa on the Shore

Today's shoot took place on Sauvie Island. It seems Sauvie has become my go-to location for outdoor nude photography. Years ago, I had a friend who owned property in the Chehalem area of Yamhill County, and he let me use the area for my nude photography work. All good things must end, though, and he eventually sold the property. 

Since then, I have used remote locations for outdoor shoots when possible, but the nude beach area of Sauvie is the most convenient place, so I find myself shooting there more often than not.

Isabel actually suggested shooting at Sauvie during our last shoot back in April. I readily agreed. We met there this morning for our sixth shoot. As usual, I had the concept and outfits planned far in advance, and I planned to use an animal print theme for the majority of the shoot. Isabel was right on time and ready to shoot.

The morning started out cool and dry, but during our two-hour shoot, the temperature rose quickly. Interestingly, that led to the latest technical glitch of this photography season.

In June, I began shooting with a new camera and flash combination: the Canon R5 Mark II and the Canon EL-5 Speedlight. I've found the combination to work well so far. The new camera has an indicator in the viewfinder to let me monitor the camera's internal temperature, while the flash has a new battery system for quick recycling. 

The technical glitch came not from the camera, though it did get quite warm during the shoot, but rather from the flash. With the sun hitting the black flash enclosure, it quickly got hot and began to misfire. By that, I mean, it would fire for several shutter releases in a row, then it would start to recycle much more slowly. Notably, when we took a short break in the shade, the flash would work fine, but then exhibit the same issue once it heated up.

Despite the annoying glitch, the shoot went well and we finished shooting early enough that Isabel wanted to jump in the river for some shots. She encouraged me to wade into the cool waters as well, but I decided to keep my hiking boots on and my feet dry.

I need to do some research on the EL-5 issue, but I doubt there is a fix or a workaround. I have a shoot tomorrow in an air-conditioned studio, and I'll be using the same flash, so I'll be able to compare the performance then.