New Locations

Sivonna at Sauvie

I'm seeking new locations in which to shoot and to shoot for their own beauty. The former for my model photography and the latter for more landscape and nature photography. I've asked some of my fellow photographers and my models for suggestions, but thus far I've only received a few that I'll be able to use this year.

One location that I definitely want to visit is Opal Creek and Jawbone Flats. It's located east of Detroit Lake and is about a 3.5 mile hike in from the trailhead. I'm hoping Wanda and I will be able to check it out next Sunday and then perhaps I'll be able to revisit it later in the summer either alone or with a model. I'd love to do some HDR images of some of the old mining equipment and abandoned vehicles at Jawbone Flats.

Another location I'd like to try to visit is the semi-ghost town of Shaniko, Oregon. I've visited one ghost town before (Bodie, CA) and I think it would be interesting to shoot another. Fossil, Oregon is also on my list, but it's more of a very small town rather than a ghost town.  I'm seriously considering a trip by motorcycle through Eastern Oregon to Lake Tahoe in the late summer. That would be a fun and exciting adventure for me.

Given opportunity and willing models, I'd like to explore art and figure nudes on location at Sauvie Island. I've shot there a number of times, but I've only visited a very few locations.  The nude area at Collins Beach is quite large and I think it would be interesting to explore more of the area and photograph the weathered logs, root bundles, and the river traffic. It can get crowded int the summer with all the sunbathers, but it's usually easy to work around the people.

Finally, I'd like to take a trip up to Windy Ridge in the Mount St. Helens area. On the way, I'd revisit Ape Canyon and the lahar area south of the mountain. There are a couple of waterfall that would be wonderful to shoot, especially the one in Lava Canyon and another on the east side of the mountain. The name of the falls eludes me at the moment, but I've visited it before and would love to shoot it in better light.

With any luck, I'll have some great new images this summer in some new locations. I'll wrap up my model shoots early in the summer and then move into landscape and nature photography as the season progresses.

Sivonna - Chains at Sauvie

Summer Shooting

Jenn from Summer 2011

I love late spring, summer and early-to-mid fall for shooting glamour in the Pacific Northwest. While I also enjoy shooting in the studio and in environmental settings, just being able to enjoy a warm day shooting with a lovely model is a real delight for me. The light is more challenging and often the rewards are greater because when you nail the shot you can truly capture the essence of the natural world.

I'm fortunate to live is such a beautiful area of the country, and even more fortunate to have a wonderfully supportive wife who modeled for me for many years, and who still supports my passion for photography with few complaints and much encouragement. I'm also luck to have a good friend who lets me use his property for shoots almost anytime I ask. He often helps me with reflectors, props and by shooting the behind-the-scenes images.

Let's not forget the models. These ladies gallantly hazard stinging nettles, mosquitoes, bees, poison ivy or oak, sand, dirt, gravel, freezing water, and sunburn to help me get great images. Some I've shot with only once, while many of them have become my friends through multiple shoots.

Lindsay at Sauvie Island

I'm winding down my model shooting this year and focusing more and more on different genres. I have a few shoots to complete during the summer shooting season so that I can wrap up several projects. Other shoots are at the request of models that really want to be part of one project or another that they particularly like (yes, Floofie, you will get to be a fairy).  Finally, there will be the shoots that support a model or two in their commercial endeavors.

It appears that this summer will be warmer and drier than last year's so my shooting opportunities will be expanded even if I'll be shooting fewer models overall.  With any luck, I'll get my lovely wife to do a few shoots with me as well.  I've also promised to shoot with a couple of friends this summer and I hope to be able to fulfill those obligations as well.  As the summer progresses, you can watch this blog to see what the lovely ladies and I are able to accomplish.

I'm So Ready for Spring and Summer

Krisa as the Combat Fairy

This is the 5th wettest March on record for Oregon. The ground is so soggy that I can't mow my lawn for fear of sinking to my ankles in the soil. I'm so ready for warm and dry weather - I need to be able to shoot outside again. I hope to be shooting more landscapes and nature this year, but I'm also working on helping a couple of models get started on Zivity, so I do have a few glamour shoots planned for the warm weather.

One shoot I've got planned is a variation of the military glamour shoot with Krisa. We had a great time shooting the Combat Fairy, but I haven't shot her strictly for military glamour and I think that will be a great shoot. Although I've shot at least twice in the studio this winter, I really haven't been doing much photography at all. It's definitely time to get creative again. With any luck I'll get my wife in front of the camera for a couple of shoots as well.

I have a couple of other ideas planned as well, but I think I'll primarily be shooting landscapes this year. I haven't given up glamour and nudes totally, but I do need to stretch my horizons and this seems like a good way to do so.