mother nature

The wind blows the rain sideways against the windows. It sounds like the ocean outside, rain coming in waves. Everything becomes art through the blur of water. We focus on this instead of the fear. He asks a lot of questions about floods, he knows the story of his name: the river that flooded our house not once but twice during my pregnancy. He knows we are often at the mercy of mother nature.

We speak, instead, of the beauty around us. We share stories, we discuss the safety of our home. Instead of dismissing the worry, we speak directly and kindly about truths. During storms, we are humbled by nature. Her strength keeps us bundled up inside.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the outside world disappears. School is cancelled, electricity flickers. Things that truly matter come to the front of our minds. We have each other. We have a roof to keep us dry. We have popcorn by the woodstove. 

We on the East Coast are weathering this storm. We wish you well and carry you in our thoughts. Today, share with us your weather reports and let us know how you're doing out there!

Getting Creative

Fall seems to be turning to winter sooner than it usually does, from the early snow storms in the east to the earlier than normal rain here in Southern California. We had rain off and on Friday through Sunday and I really needed to get outside, even if just for a little bit.  There was a brief break in the clouds and I remembered my rubber duckies that I had been holding onto since last spring for days just like these.  I grabbed my 11 yr. old son, he grabbed the ducks and off we went to find the perfect puddle to set them free in.  Not only did I get some camera time in, my son and I had some good old fashioned outdoor fun, and for that I am grateful. 

How about you? What do you when the weather doesn't want to cooperate? Today, show us how you work with the weather in your neck of the woods. 

stormy weather

Just before a summer thunderstorm rolls in, I notice how the colors around me change into beautiful shades of slate gray and bright yellowish green. The combination of dark clouds in one direction and sunshine in the other creates eerie, but beautiful hues in the sky and fields. I can't help but let out an audible 'gasp' and run for my camera. Although I welcome these ominous scenes and get a thrill from the threat of severe weather, I also hope these storms will pass through without causing any damage to people or homes. There's a fine line between a fun summer storm and an emergency situation.

Keep your eyes peeled for the change in light and colors right before a big storm. But be careful! A picture is worth a thousand words but it isn't worth risking your life.

Wind, Hair and Weather Challenges

I must admit that one of the things that I've always wanted to experiment with in fashion photography was hair. Fans are fashion photographers best friend's when it comes to creating dynamic hair images. But what about wind? Oh! I'll tell you... That is very different! You really cannot control in which direction that wind blows, so capturing something other than a mess can be incredibly challenging. This past week I had a crash course on wind as our beach location welcomed us with 20mhp winds!  I had no idea how wind could really impact a photo shoot. Honestly, up to this date I'd worried about rain and harsh sun, but wind... Well. That just wasn't on my radar at all, and I got my butt seriously kicked. Thank goodness there was this old beat up piano abandoned on the beach, just so my team could hide behind it between shots (I hope assistant and friend Stefanie Renee has a behind the scenes shot of this :)). Everyone was wrapped around in blankets, towels, and whatever they could get their hands on, to keep the wind from freezing their brains off!

We braved it, though. And as you can see in my recent blog posts, we managed to turn things around, by trying to make the best of what we had to work it. Sometimes we were able to use the wind to our favor, sometimes we weren't. But every single time we tried regardless. There was no winning at all. Everyone was great! Personally, I had Tim Gunn's voice in my head the entire time: "Make it Work. Make it Work."

This shot here was taken near our home-base above the beach where the weather was mellower earlier in the day. It is a favorite of mine because it actually looks like we used a fan! Funny how that goes, right? Sometimes we need a fan to make it look like wind, and sometimes we need the wind to have more of a fan look (or a controlled look). For what it's worth, I'm counting this as my first "fashion hair" shot! What do you think? :)

Have you ever been faced with a difficult weather challenge on a shoot? What did you do to make it work? Please share your stories and images with us.