Into The Wild
November 5th, 2009Being constantly surrounded by valet parking, perfectly landscaped gardens, trees that never lose their leaves, and freeways with their uncanny resemblance to parking lots, it’s easy to forget that nature (and seasons) still exists. A photographer friend and I recently made a day trip up to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernadino Forest to location scout for a test shoot we were planning. Once you drive into SB National Forest, it’s like being in another state (or in my case, it’s like being back in Ontario). We were surrounded by actual trees (instead of the palms I see every day) whose leaves accurately reflected the fact that the season was indeed autumn. But the best part was the air…it was clean, and you could smell the trees.
Sometimes I think the best thing about Los Angeles is seeing it get smaller in the rear view mirror as you drive away…
Three days after the initial location scout we came back with some models and had a very chill day photographing. Since I spend the majority of my time in the studio with strobes or set up on location with strobes, it’s nice to strip it all down and just utilize natural light. We shot all afternoon using nothing but sunlight and reflectors…
To see more from this shoot, visit my Behance portfolio. I’d also like to give a shout out to everyone who made this day possible…Patrick, Victoria, Amanda, Rana, Nicole, Kurtis, and Joshua (who makes the best sandwiches ever!)
As the day came to close, and the sun was setting, clouds started rolling in (which rarely happens in the city) and we were left with one of the most beautiful skies I’ve seen since I’ve been here. I couldn’t think of a better visual with which to end the day.
