Pismo Dunes
I never thought I would write a blog, but weirder things have been happening since 2020. Anyway, instagram has alway been a mixture of my personal photos and the work I’ve been getting into as of lately, so I created this new website with the purpose of displaying my work in a more professional setting, and giving some insight in my thought process. I thought I’d kick this off with one of my favorite projects I was a part of some time last year.
I reached a point of stagnancy last year with the type of photos I was doing at the time. And I wanted to try something new, so I picked up a Pentax 67 and gave medium format a try. I specifically picked up that camera and a 90mm lens to shoot more portraits with models, streetwear/sneaker aficionados, and basically anybody that would let me photograph them. I joined a few facebooks photography groups and reached out to people for some impromptu shoots. An amazing make up artist sent me a message with some ideas she had in mind for a shoot. She wanted to showcase her work in a natural and minimal setting. I had been wanting to do some work in the Pismo Beach Dunes, so I pitched the location thinking it was a long shot given the distance we’d have to travel, but she was thrilled about it. She was also able to bring an awesome model and stylist on board.
We picked a perfect date since there were only sunny skies and no clouds. We waited to get started late in the day to take advantage of the angle of the sun at that specific time. We wanted to really emphasize the highlights but also get shadows involved to make the composition more dramatic. I also wanted to go for a soft and bright look so I opted to use Portra 400.
It was very refreshing to be able to work with people on such a spontaneous project. It truly was collaborative effort. It was a nice break from my usual process of making/taking photos, which tends to be very personal and even selfish at times.
As a final note, I’d like to give a huge shout out to the team that made this happen. Please peep their instagrams and give them a follow. Make sure to check out some BTS photos made with my Olympus XA and CineStill 50D at the end of the slide.
MUA: @hediehthefacemaster Model: @_larxene Styling: @kaij.fashion
