Tag: leanne leanne

Light Painting with Leanne in Phoenix

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Earlier I posted a few photos done in the fading light near Phoenix. After the sun set and the darkness came in, we switched to something more along the lines of light painting. Here instead of using a traditional flashlight, I used a headlamp that I’d brought for the hike out in the dark. It worked great as a bright small light source to light up Leanne and the area around her and leaving the desert around her in darkness for contrast. These are close to the same area as the last photos.

Leanne Leanne LeanneAfter we finished the photos, she and I donned headlamps and prepared to head back to my car. This meant a short hike back through the area we knew might have those annoying little cacti in there. So we carefully made our way to the nearest trail with neither us of being stuck. Once there we checked each other’s feet. Leanne had avoided further cactus, she’d gotten one on her flip flop earlier. I on the other hand had four of the tiny little balls of potential pain stick to the sole of my shoe. I’d chosen not to wear hiking boots and instead had on only my trail running shoes which the spines would have gone through with no problem. Thankfully all had stuck in the thick soles and were easy to remove before heading back to the car. In short, those little cacti are evil.

Leanne was my last shoot in Phoenix. I left the city the next morning and in doing so went from a temperatures near eighty when I arrived at the Phoenix airport to barely above forty degree when I landed in Nashville. A nice trip and enjoyable one. I’m hoping that my schedule will take me out west again next year and we’ll see if I can make my way back into the desert again.

If you’d like to see more from this shoot, please visit the members area.

Leanne and Cactus near Phoenix

bill 2 Comments

Happy Christmas everyone.

I’m not superstitious. Generally I tend to take a pragmatic approach to shoot as with everything else in my life. If things go wrong, my response is generally how to react and adapt to the problem and not wondering what I did to cause it. Still, I think next time I work with Leanne, we’ll probably plan to shoot inside. Outside just doesn’t seem to work out that well for us.

After my backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon and some time in slot canyons in northern Arizona I headed down to Phoenix. First, my flight home left from there. Second, I had set up several shoots with some wonderful models before I left the state. While my shoots while here in June were often frustrating, working with Leanne was a highlight in spite of our unwanted reptilian interloper.

On this trip we’d planned a shoot that I’ve had in mind for a number of months, but never quite had everything line up right. In fact I’d first planned to attempt it while in Phoenix back in June, but the model I meant to work on it with didn’t work out and the other shoot I then planned to try to make it work ended up canceling due to a family emergency. Here Leanne and I planned, but the weather again didn’t cooperate as clouds moved into Phoenix late in the evening. While not overcast, the location I’d planned and concept now wouldn’t work.

So we went to a plan B, which was a location another model had suggested I try. Now the location seemed much better for the weather we had and the two of us headed that way. We got there and things looked good. It was isolated and no foot traffic. Then we found that one little problem as Leanne and I prepared to work – the Jumping Cholla cactus.

If you’re familiar with a cactus then you’re aware they have sharp little spines that can hurt when touched. Those are a nuisance, but the Cholla Cactus ups the ante as those spines have barbs on the end like a fishhook or arrow. Once they go in they don’t easily come out. To see how bad these things can be watch this clip from an outdoors show that also takes place in Southern Arizona. We discovered these on the ground as we got to area I planned to shoot.

Leanne

Not really time to try another spot, so we shifted to an area that seemed cactus free. I found a nice rock formation to work around which also had a nice rock for Leanne to pose on to keep her away from any cactus in her vulnerable state. Again Leanne was a joy to work with and never complained about the conditions. For these photos we worked in the fading light getting some nice images that I was looking for. You can see the clouds that had moved into the sky in these photos. While the clouds did not work for my initial concept, I worked them into a setting where they added to the image. Again, when working outside you have to work with nature, and not fight it. You’ll always lose if you try fighting.

Leanne

Leanne

We also did something more along light painting during the shot that I’ll post soon along with the final story of those little annoying cacti. If you can’t wait, see those and more photos from this shoot on Uncovered Visions at http://www.uncoveredvisions.com/2013/12/16/gallery-leanne-leanne-winter-2013/

Leanne Without Snake

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Adapting to change is always a useful ability for any photographer. I’ve rarely had a shoot where everything went according to original plan and often some of the best work comes from the unexpected. The unexpected can be good or it can be bad and the difference often comes from how well you adapt to the changes and work them into the shoot. Finding the water over a falls too hard to get a model into might lead you to posing a different way. An example of needing to adjust came after the snake encounter I mentioned a few postings ago.

I’d come to Arizona without planning to do many indoor shots, but I had planned for the possibility of a few and had brought some lighting for those with me. This meant Leanne and I were able to finish that shoot back at my hotel in Phoenix. I’d not planned anything beforehand so I largely had to make this up on the fly, but I think it worked out in the end. While I’d hoped to get in much more outdoor time with her, the results of the indoor work I think came in quite nice.

LeanneLeanne

 Leanne

Snakes … Why Did There Have to Be…

bill 5 Comments

Okay so the title gives away the ending, but there are photos so indulge me. My plan for June included a trip to Arizona. Let’s just say almost nothing went according to plan. In fact I’d go as far as to say it would be hard to describe the trip without using the word “cluster.”

In spite of the problems I did have the chance to work in a few nice shoots. Near the end of my time in Phoenix I had the chance to work with Leanne, a wonderful model suggested by a friend. We’d planned a shoot in the desert outside the city. Everything went perfectly at first. It was hot, about 110 that day as I recall, but we’d scheduled the late afternoon past the worst of the day’s heat. We headed to the location and started to work right before the good golden light of sunset moved in.

The first shooting location went well. We found a nice rock formation near the top edge of a small canyon. The timing worked perfectly since we arrived as the sun started to set providing that wonderful golden light. This image comes from that first area and is probably my favorite of the outdoor images of the day.

Leanne

We next moved to a new spot and worked for a few minutes. The sun really started getting a nice glow at this point leading to these two images.

 Leanne

 Leanne

Perhaps a minute after the second of those two images, I looked down before moving to my left to reposition. It’s a habit I’ve developed in years of outdoor shooting on occasionally iffy terrain. It also is something I’d drilled in while planning for some backpacking in the desert that had been planned to be careful where you put your foot or hand for any of the less desirable desert residents that might be around.

As you probably guessed from the title, in this case it was a very good thing. When I looked in the direction I’d planned to move I saw a rattlesnake coiled up about three feet away (a speckled rattlesnake to be exact). No rattle or threatening stance, but just the reptile trying to blend in and not be seen. I froze, told Leanne not to move either, and then very slowly move to a safer distance before more quickly moving much further away. Once out of danger we gathered our things and left the area to our new little friend.

I’m not overly fond of snakes, in fact I’d go as far as to say I have a phobia of them. Leanne also didn’t seem eager to continue working in the area after the encounter so that ended the outdoor shooting for the day. We did some more work indoors later, but those will come another time. The lesson here is to be aware of your surroundings when shooting outdoors. The snake was camouflaged very well against the rock and had I not taken the time to distinctly look around I would have moved directly toward him in my next step. Instead all escaped unharmed.

I have to say though, worst shoot crasher ever.