Sun, Sand and Water

I joke often that my wife is solar powered. Actually, it's more truth than humor. When there is lots of sunshine she is energized, full of life, and apt to get nude. When it's wet and cold she tends to be sleepy, grumpy and dressed in layers of clothing. I therefore look forward to summers and to road trips. The summers bring the warmth and sunshine and the road trips bring new scenery in which to shoot. We have a couple of trips planned this summer and I certainly hope we'll get some photography done while we're traveling.  The places to where we'll be traveling will include lots of sun, sand and water.

A few years ago we did a great road trip around the western states that included many national parks and forests, and well as a number of state parks and attractions. We shot lots images during the trip but my favorites are those that include the three elements from the title of this post.

Of course, bright sun can make photography quite tricky. The harsh light and shadows are not conducive to the glamour look, but it can be worked around with the right tools. Fill flash can help soften the shadows, as can a reflector (if you have an assistant to help hold it). On our road trip I had to rely primarily on fill flash and positioning the model so the shadows complemented the image rather than distracting from the overall composition. In the image to above, we were in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation area and we were walking back to the car when she surprised me with this photographic opportunity.

A portion of our trip included a stay in Death Valley. We got this shot at the entrance to the park. This was in August, so it was quite warm:

During our 1st full day in the park, we also traveled to Badwater and took a hike into Golden Valley. We tackled Golden Valley in the latter part of the day and we were almost the only hikers in the valley, so we had lots of opportunities to shoot with the harsh terrain and the golden rocks in the background. We were never interrupted during any of our photographic interludes and only met a couple of folks on our way into the canyon and another couple as we exited.

The terrain was quite harsh, but it's a fairly easy hike. The real danger here is the heat, and water is a must when hiking anywhere in Death Valley. We carried several bottles of water and drank them all during our hike, and we didn't go but a few miles up the trail and turned around so that we would get back to the car before sunset.

Fill flash was quite necessary during most of the hike, but I had to dial in back a stop or two to keep shadows off the canyon walls. As the sun dropped there was more open shadow in which to shoot and that helped immensely.

We'd both love to go back to Death Valley for a longer visit, but it's not likely to happen this year. Instead we'll be visiting other parts of the Southwest as well as Central America.

So, as you can see, sand and sunshine make a great mix for glamour photography, but sun and water also create excellent opportunities and, of coure, are my favorite elements in a glamour shoot and I'll definitely go out of my way to get a beautiful woman to pose with water and sun.

The image to the left if from a trip to South Florida some years ago.  We were out on a snorkeling trip with some friends off Key Largo and on the return ride we took a little side trip for some sight-seeing through the many waterways and canals in the keys. The sun is perhaps a bit too harsh in this shot, but I really like the effect of the sun and shadows on the body with the deep blue water in the background.  The slick, wet look also enhances the image, though I think it would have been better with more water beaded on her body.

The trip to Southern Florida was a great photographic experience. We were able to shoot in Orlando for a couple of days, then in Miami for several days, then head down to Key West for even more time in the sun and water. It was especially nice that we were able to stay in a clothing optional resort and the owners were more than willing to allow us to shoot in the lovely courtyard of the resort multiple times. The visit to Key Largo was a stop on our way back to Miami and our flight home.

Water is an essential element in many of my photographs and running water is the best. If I can find a photogenic stream to add to the shot of a lovely model, I know I'm going to have some winning images. I often look for these types of cascades, and sometimes I have friends that show me great places to shoot.

Washington's Pinochet Forest contains many great streams which make great places to shoot. My friend, Jim, a damn fine photographer who specializes in band photography took us to the stream you see in the image to the right. We shot there for several hours and got some great images.

Once again, fill flash was used to soften some of the harst shadows, though the dynamic range still resulted in some blown out areas of the shot (the left foot in this case). With some judicial cropping that element could be removed from the final image, but I like the image as it is and I don't find that area of the image distracting.

So, summer is coming, and with any luck I'll get my beautiful wife to join me on some additional jaunts for some photography. Wish us luck!