Yup, somebody's gotta do it. Might as well be me! Last weekend was just amazing. My nephew asked me to photograph some models out in the desert. Shooting models was a first for me (other than supermodel #1, my wife!), and I think I'm spoiled for life. How can I go back to shooting desert homestead cabins after this??
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| Our project director took this shoot of me photographing our female model at Indian Cove, Joshua Tree National Park, CA. |
This was like a total immersion photography class. We did shoots Friday PM at three locations (railroad tracks, wind generators off Highway 62, and water tank rocks), Saturday AM (Indian Cove), Saturday PM (Sandy dune), and Sunday AM (Coyote Dry Lake). Alarms went off at 4 AM Sat. and Sun. so we could eat, models could have their wardrobe changes organized, camera gear ready, and at location before sunrise. How many photos did I take? I don't know, but I filled up 5 (FIVE) 32-GB memory cards. That's 160 gigabits of photos!!
Shooting in our back yard: Project director Brian taking the photo, our male model posing, female model's boyfriend helping out holding a light reflector to fill in the shadows, and our female model. This was Saturday afternoon, and I had to take a break. I had been shooting for hours on Friday PM and Sat. AM using my 5D Mark II with the 70-200mm lens. The lens alone is about 4.5 lbs., and with the camera body it probably weighs in at over 6 lbs. In the desert heat, I finally had to call time out to rest my hands, wrist, arms and shoulders!!
Above is our project director taking a pic of our female model using his iPhone. The location is Coyote Dry Lake Bed. His legs are spread apart so he won't get his feet in the photos. I just happened to have my wide angle lens on and I love the way it exaggerates things out on the dry lake. So cool!! The shadows are great, too.
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| 30 second exposure, F3.2, ISO 1000, 24-70 lens @25mm |
The weather last weekend was very unusual... it rained on Friday, and we had great clouds and amazing skies all weekend. Temps were about 10 degrees below average (mid-90's), but very humid. I went outside at about 10 PM on Saturday night, and lightning bursts were going off continuously. As I was grabbing camera and tripod, my wife said "Are you serious? More photos???". Yup. And if somebody asks "can you come out and do it all over again next weekend?", I'll be the first to pack my gear!!
the link to check out other great skies
from around the world. Have a great weekend!!
What an amazing experience! The locations sound perfect. Hope you'll show more. Love the shots of the desert. Really wonderful series.
ReplyDeletebeautiful photos...I'm sure there'll be more model photography in your future..
ReplyDeleteWOW, these photos you are showing us are really great!! To me this looks like a real professional photo shoot. The photo are going to be great. Love that shot you made of the project director lying on the ground: great colors, love the composition and the shadows are cool. Hope that you can show us more photos from this shoot :-)
ReplyDeleteFantastic shots. The scenery is great and makes a good backdrop for the models.
ReplyDeleteThese are amazing and as I was looking at them, I wondered about the heat and the weight of the camera equipment...Michelle
ReplyDeleteOh man, that's more pressure than I could handle. You did good.
ReplyDeletesuch clear, sharp shots! I'll be back
ReplyDeleteWarm Aloha to you from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
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It is all beautiful!! I love your desert shots.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! So THAT's how you take a lightning photo! Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteAwesome Uncle Pete...so anxious to see all of them!! SO so grateful for all of your hard work :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like fun...
ReplyDeleteAmazing shots!! I could certainly learn a thing or two from you about photography!! Wonderful time you had!
ReplyDeleteHave a Nice day:)
How wonderful! Just say yes to life, eh, and see where it takes you! Can't wait to see what you did with the windmills. I'm sure it will be interesting.
ReplyDeleteso cool!!! no doubt it was a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too. laughed at the 'more photos' comment. you're addicted. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat sequence!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun time, the photos are wonderful. And I love the last sky shot, great capture.
ReplyDeletebeautiful skies and i love the deserts.
ReplyDeleteGreat serious of photos! What a wonderful experience!
ReplyDeleteI had the opportunity to photograph models a few weeks ago and I passed. It seemed like it would be too intense for me as I had never done anything like that before. I would like to be around a few shoots to see how one would interact with the models. Reading about your experience I doubt that I would have had the endurance.
ReplyDeleteThat said, your pics are great.
Those are some amazing shots.
ReplyDeleteHi there - that must have been a blast! But I still like the last shot the most!
ReplyDeleteCheers - Stewart M
Nice photos, that looks like a fun time and I like the lightning shot. I don't have 160GB of photos total from my entire life!
ReplyDeleteWow! Now that is definitely a different view of Joshua Tree area! I wonder where the ads using the pix will be shown. A nice opportunity and def. one you deserved!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun way to learn more about photography. Love the lightning picture of course. - Margy
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful set of photos. The color, texture, mood of each is extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun thing to get to do,and I'm sure you got some great shots and poses. What a nice thing to say about your wife (supermodel #1). Mickie :)
ReplyDeleteIf all your photos turned out this well, you must be super delighted with the results!
ReplyDeleteThat's some serious photo taking. May have been a first but I doubt it will be a last.
ReplyDeleteGreta opportunity for some professional looking shots. Well done!
ReplyDelete