Inessential Stuff

Click right this way for another gallery.  This is Taryn, and we did this shoot at the same time as I did the shoot with Valerie.  Thus, the same field, same lighting.  The difference is in their different personalities.  It was the first time I had worked with Taryn, and I thought she was great.  We are definitely going to shoot again.

(For those of you who might be offended, be aware that this gallery contains images that contain.)

I haven’t posted in a while because it’s the middle of wedding season, which has been keeping me busy.  Still, this last week, I managed to work in a shoot with Christalle.  We had shot before, in miserable, cold conditions, so it seemed proper and right that we should shoot on a glorious summer evening.  We shot in the evening, past sunset, and into dusk.

I’m a Walla Walla boy–grew up with wheat fields behind my house.  Maybe that’s why there is something about wheat fields that speak to me.  But put me in the middle of rolling wheat fields, under a massive sky, and I get a sense of the infinite.

So anyway.  I had been wanting to do a shoot in a wheat field.  Results here.

So after Kelsey and Doug’s wedding–after the ceremony had ended and the portraits were done–the newlyweds and their families stood around outside the church, talking, joking, celebrating. While I was taking pictures, I found myself smiling. I enjoyed watching Kelsey and Doug interact. They had an easy, playful manner along with a clear affection. It occurred to me that they would be perfect for an idea I had been thinking about for a while: a “trash the dress” shoot.

So on a whim, I asked Kelsey if she had any plans for the dress. She said she didn’t. They were about to run off to their reception, then honeymoon, but I said I’d email them a proposal.

When they arrived back from their Hawaiian honeymoon, jetlagged, she wrote back (at 1:40 AM!), eager to give it a try. They were as excited about the idea as I was and were game for whatever I suggested.

So a week later we headed out for Bear Lake, north of Spokane, at around 6:30 in the morning. We shared the lake with a fisherman or two and many singing red-winged blackbirds. Kelsy, Doug and I all went into the lake–not as cold as we feared–and we had a great time (photographic proof here). I know that sounds like a standard line, but it was an experience that I’ll carry with me for a long time, and every one of my memories will be happy ones.

The shoot started in an alley, but I thought there were some houses down near Sprague Avenue that might be good backdrops for Nicole.

We actually stopped at one house first, but it didn’t seem quite right.  The second house we found was this green one, a kind of perfect complement for Nicole’s yellow dress. Sometimes one just gets lucky.

So this is part two.

I did another fashion shoot with Ronnie from Glamarita. Our last shoot had been a bit chilly, so we scheduled this one for April 5. You know, Spring. For an outdoor shoot. Only it was snowing on April 5. Ronnie pulled some strings and arranged access to The Blvd, a BBQ house and music venue, so much thanks to them for helping out in a pinch.

So here are the results of the shoot. For those interested, it was done entirely with off-camera lighting, with a 580EX II flash through a transparent umbrella (plus a bit of natural light around the pool table). Take a peek at the pics, leave comments, and be sure to stop by the Glamarita store to buy some clothes.

Lindsi and Ronnie are clothes designers in the area. They wanted to do a fashion shoot to showcase some of their creations, and I was honored when they called upon me. We decided to shoot in an alley and on the beautiful old loading dock of the Barrister Winery, whose owners were so kind and interested in what we were doing, that they invited us to take some pictures down among the barrels in the wine cellar.

The results of the photoshoot are in this gallery. However, you should swing by Lindsi’s store, The KnottyMuse, and Ronnie’s Store, Glamarita, and check out their clothes there. And maybe buy and thing or two while you’re at it.