Shoots

 That was the case for Kacia, a senior at a local Tacoma high school. She had her prom dance the night before, and was out until 4 am, then had to wake up and be ready for our shoot downtown at 8 am! Though her gas tank was on empty, she did a great job convincing the camera otherwise. I can’t promise you that I wouldn’t be looking like a drunk Steve Buscemi after only 3 or so hours of sleep and got in front of a camera.

The little 3 year old cutie you see sitting on the rock above is Joanna. She arrived to the shoot shy, holding a stuffed animal, sporting both leopard print shoes and a tiara, and topping off the ensemble with a Dora the Explorer temporary tattoo on her forearm. We spent a few minutes walking around and watching the ducks so that she could get comfortable and warm up to a strange tall man holding a gigantic camera.

I had an itch that needed to be scratched for a couple months now, and that itch was shooting a group models in elegant dresses in a classy environment. After weighing the options, we concluded that the Lairmont in Bellingham would be our best bet for making that happen, granted we were in the area already from the morning shoot. Armed with a car full of equipment, the same four models from the dafodill shoot, five makeup/hair artists, one film director shooting behind-the-scenes material, and the Lairmont, I was ready to scratch that itch.

All 9 of the girls (model and makeup) headed to the basement of the Lairmont to do there thing. Dana Miller, my makeup/hair supervisor for the shoot, is quite the character. Blunt, in-your-face, sarcastic, and great at what she does… just the way I like ‘em. I quickly give Dana the rundown on what kind of look I’m wanting for the models and she’s off. I don’t have to think about it again, Dana’s got it covered.

 Disorientated and groggy-eyed, I woke up to my cell phone beeping at me at 4:30am on Saturday morning. A VERY early morning… the price you pay if you want to get in a sunrise shoot. Considering I got less than 5 hours of sleep, I could have felt much worse. I was just hoping that my blurry vision would clear before we started to shoot and the models were fairing better than I.

I drove down early to the fields to scout out a location. For those PNW’ers who don’t know, the month of April is the tulip festival in the Skagit Valley and it is crazy with people all over the place, so my choice of location would unfortunately have to be last minute. The sunrise shoot would be our only short window of time to find a field of flowers that wouldn’t have the horizon littered with people. Rolling by the fields, there were already armies of photogs getting ready for the sun to crest. One thing separated me from the rest, 4 models in prom dresses and a car FULL of gear. Where their focus were the flowers, I simply needed mother nature to accent my models. Thousands of flowers and photographers shoulder to shoulder all getting the same picture, my 4 flowers were a one-of-a-kind bouquet wrapped in beautiful fabric – Kim, Lisa, Anna, and Myrriah.

I finally found a lonesome daffodil field with not one other person roaming it. I quickly parked and threw up my lights to mark my territory, and I gave any newcomers who could mess up my clean background the stink-eye. The models and hair/makeup crew all found the location fine and prepared for the shoot. Thanks to all of the crew for the great job, it’s hard to make models look good that early in the morning (credits below). My good friend and director, Andrew Lahmann, was also in attendance, video documenting the shoot. We will have a video out shortly of the weekend’s events.

I first shot the models individually, then as a group. They all did a great job, each bringing their own style. This was my first time shooting Kim and Anna, and they instantly performed for the camera. It was a fairly brisk morning, especially if you happened to be covered just with a dress. All the girls were freezing but masked it very well when it was time for the flash to fire.

This was one of two shoots I had planned for the models that day, so we ran through this shoot fairly quickly so the girls didn’t get too tortured by the cold. We wrapped the shoot and called a couple hour break before we would head back up to Bellingham to shoot at the Lairmont Manor. I’m hoping to have those photos processed and up on the site tomorrow, along with another post, so keep checking back!

SHOOT CREDITS:

Production Assist/Video work: Andrew Lahmann
Models: Kimberly Couture, Anna White, Myrriah Train, Lisa
Hair/Makeup Supervisor: Dana Miller
Hair/Makeup Artists: Eva Furler, Katie Inman, Sharon Guzman

I took a trip up to Bellingham this last weekend to prep for a larger shoot I’ll be doing up there during the last weekend of April. I had gotten a new lens and was itching to try it out, so I asked Myrriah to do a little quickie shoot while I was in town. It was a relaxed and easy shoot, we shot down at Boulevarde Park. Saw a good spot, threw up a light, and shot her in front of the sunset.

Lisa and I braved the cold and wind this last Saturday in Tacoma. We shot in two locations, downtown and out by a park near the Narrows. We were forced to limit each location to about 30 minutes as feet and hands were numb, and all we could think about was the warm car. We had great (lucky) timing with the tide and sunset, allowing for us to walk out to the piers, making a great setting. Where Lisa is standing, she would be completely under water at high tide.

 This is the third and last set of photos taken the weekend of Jan. 2nd and 3rd. Mandy and I decided on a very cool spot for our shoot, an underground location in Bellingham, WA. It was not a heated space, so it was as cold as it was outside. And yes, if you recall, it was snowing everyday that week, so it was in the 30′s where we were shooting. Mandy did a great job posing even though she was most likely going into shock from hypothermia.

We shot a few photos at this location for Jolaina’s shoot for her senior pics. I thought it would be great for a themed shoot and to get a lot more creative with the space. Given the old, dusty, brick setting, Mandy had a great idea to do a vampire theme. Since it was going to be a very dark and fitting setting for such a theme, we went for it. And by viewing the gallery, you will most likely agree it fit right in.

 I shot Myrriah directly after wrapping Jolaina’s shoot, and I loved the backdrops from Jolaina’s set so much I decided to use most them for Myrriah. Once again, I had the great hair and makeup artist, Dana Miller, doing a fabulous job on the models.

Jolaina was a great subject to photograph! She was up in Bellingham to finish off her senior photo shoot, and with the weather being so cold and nasty, we shot at a few really excellent indoor locations. Along with a couple casual outfits, we shot her in a beautiful dress she will be wearing to prom, as well as her jersey. You’ll notice in Jolaina’s gallery a few silly photos of her with some other girls who accompanied her to the shoot. I couldn’t resist and threw them into a few shots for a break and a good laugh. Thanks to all who participated and assisted on this very fun shoot!

A special thanks to Dana Miller, for doing a fantastic job on Jolaina’s hair and makeup, and Andy for access to the shooting locations.

 Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to shoot Heather. Now… as warm and fuzzy and comfortable as this girl may look, I assure you, it was pretty darn cold, high 40′s at best. This was shot in an open ended parking garage, so it was outdoor temps. You won’t find many bike riders out in the middle of December, let alone a girl posing for a couple hours in minimal clothing! Heather was quite the trooper and very enthusiastic throughout the shoot, despite the goosebumps that neglected to leave her body for the duration of the shoot.

The parking garage we shot in has a ton of character. At one point, graffiti covered every inch of the old building, that is, until the city found it an eye sore and covered it all up with a light gray paint. Random drops and splashes of paint scattered along the wood floor was the only thing left of the art that has been erased. I really wish it was still around for the shoot. Still, this old garage is a great place to shoot!