Just another day at the office.
I have just arrived at work and I thought that it would be prudent to dig up the snapshots from our assignment on Monday. With a dark and ominous sky looming overhead Dave and I loaded up the car with a portable strobe, softbox and stand. We flew over highway 17 with our clients in tow, after a short drive through Santa Cruz on highway 1 we ended in the parking lot of Wilder Ranch State Park.
To set the scene; The sky was dark and gloomy, the wind whipped sand up is sheets of razor sharp particles and the landscape bent and shifted with every gust. We unloaded the 50 pounds of gear and trudged headfirst into the wind that was blowing in from the ocean. The first location was close to the parking lot but in no way sheltered from the wind. The softbox on the strobe was acting as a parachute and whipping around with every new gust. Suddenly I had a new purpose, human stand.
Location two was sheltered from the wind and adjacent to a chicken coop. It made for some unique background noise.
Location three was by far the most treacherous with the strongest winds and a looming cliff side. It is at location three that my purpose as a light stand was fully realized. I had to fight the wind to keep the light angled correctly, Dave was gracious enough to snap a photo of my struggle.
The best part of this shoot was the musician in the scene who was playing his cello. His lonely notes would whip around us with every blast of wind. It made for a haunting yet beautiful noise and a spectacular experience on the job.
