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!

Barefoot Glamour

My beautiful wife has been my model and photographic inspiration since before we were married. I met and married her while she was still a young, barefoot Southern Belle, and I'm sure that's what got me started shooting what I like to call "Barefoot Glamour." I have some specific criteria for this style of photography. I define Barefoot Glamour as  photographic imagery containing several essential elements: a girl-next-door look, casual clothing, an outdoor setting, and, of course, bare feet - though, I do find sandals acceptable as well. For me, another distiquishing element of Barefoot Glamour is that it is a planned photo shoot and not just a casual snapshot or image from another event.

That last criteria has developed over the years and wasn't an essential element. We often had to do our photography as an adjunct to our other outings, but my wife always ensured that I was able to get my photography done as well, and posed for me in many different and sexy outfits purchased specifically for those infrequent, but very special, photo opportunities.

I've done these "Barefoot Glamour" shoots with her in many different locales, such as Connecticut, Upstate New York (see the photo above), South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Oregon, California and so many, many more places.  In fact, we've often planned road trips with a theme based at least partially on this concept, and we still do so.

The photo to the right was taken in Tioga Pass in the mountains of California. We stopped for landscape photography, but managed to get in a little glamour photography as well. There were other traveler's present at the stream, so we weren't able to shoot our normal style, but there were other streams and lakes along the way where we did do more glamour nude style shots.

Water goes very well with Barefoot Glamour, and I often use a stream or other body of water to complement the shoot. It provides a good reason for the skimpy attire and the bare feet, but also, I just like shooting beautiful women in water.

Many of our photography friends know of my penchant for beautiful women and bodies of water, and a few of them have shown me some great spots for shooting. The image to the left was taken in the Pinochet National Forest which is full of great streams and other bodies of water. We spent an entire afternoon shooting at this spot a few summers ago, and I'd certainly like to go back there for a future shoot - I just need to find the spot again.  We've also shot in several streams and waterfalls near Mount St. Helens, a gorgeous area in which to shoot, even in the desolate lahar area.  We're hoping to get back to the Mount St. Helens area this summer for more exploration and hiking, and maybe even a little camping.

I'll leave you with an image from a road trip we made in 1999. We made this trip simply to explore the wonderful Oregon coastal areas and we found this place by simply following the signs to Cape Mears. The beach area is beautiful and full of huge driftwood logs and stumps that are great props for glamour photography.

A Stream

About 11 summers ago, Wanda and I took an impromptu road trip down the Oregon coast. We were simply trying to get out of town for a break and to do some photography along the way. At that time, I had an Olympus DL620 digital camera, which I thought was a big deal at the time. I think it had a whopping 2 megapixels, but it did a decent job and I believe that this was our first real trip with it. In any case, we wound up driving down the coast from above Cannon Beach and we took our time and enjoyed the trip. We drove as far down as Newport, had some dinner, then found a motel for the night (that's a whole other story that we still laugh about sometimes - think 1960's motel kitsch).

The next day, after a leisurely breakfast, we headed back to Portland, but on a wild whim, I took a side road off Hwy 26 and just drove along hoping to find a nice place to shoot. I can't say that I wasn't influenced by the large creek I had seen off the highway (I enjoy shooting models in water), and after about 8-10 miles off the highway, we came to a nice little spot along the creek where the water was wide, fairly shallow, and actually quite warm for an Oregon stream. There were several rocks not far out in the water and a bit of white water as well as a calmer stretch of shallow water. Wanda being Wanda, it wasn't too hard to get her to get out an pose in the stream for a number of shots, and we had quite a bit of fun that day, shooting in the water and along the banks.  Although the road continued along the creek for a number of miles, the traffic was sparse and no one looked down to see us shooting

Since that summer, I've shot there a number of times. Wanda and I went back there for a shoot about 7 years later, and since then I've shot there at least two more times. In fact, my water fairy image was shot there, and most recently I did a glamour shoot for a young models portfolio in the same stream With any luck, I'll get to shoot there a few more times - and I'd especially like to take Wanda back there for a new shoot.

The water fairy:

Glamour in the water: