Tag: polaroids

Schooner

Schooner, hanging out in the cubby of our chested drawers. His way of coping with the trauma of being away for two weeks while we were in the Bahamas.

The Brush Stand


Schooner has become addicted to the brush and leaps up onto the coffee table every chance he gets for a quick brush down (which is every time he sees one of us up and about). He’ll go so far as to pick up the brush in his mouth in the morning and drop it on the metal table with a loud bang until it wakes one of us up to come brush him. If he’s feeling particularly playful he’ll hit the table on a dead run, land on the towel we’ve set up for him to stand on while we brush him, and slide off the other side. Not scared mind you but enjoying it immensely. If he weren’t so cute it would be annoying, but he loves it as do we so it works.

Bahamas – Day 3

Thursday
June 3, 2010

First day of shooting. We started early at the white beachhouse next door to Hibiscus Hill. Actually, we started on the beach since the morning light was so beautiful…pretty much a theme for the entire shoot (starting on the beach). Breakfast was at 5:30 a.m. with a call time of 6:00.

We had all 4 models today (Julie, Johannes, Danielle & Chad) and did a number of variations of one to all four. Of course a lot of my time was spent photographing product with Greg & environmentals when I had some down time. Since I didn’t get any of the product shots with my phone I’ll have to add them later, but I think we got some good shots in spite of fighting some rain showers towards the end of the morning. It gets pretty hot while shooting outside and with the rain it was very humid, so I was constantly sweating and looking for some AC time and cold Vitamin Water to quench an ever-present thirst. While taking a shoe shot in the seagrass near the beach (we try to shoot around where they photograph the models), I stepped barefoot into a fire ant hill and got a number of stings/bites on my left foot, which the next day and onward itched worse than anything I can ever remember.

The beachhouse is pretty nice, but not quite the style we’re looking for so none of the shots were done inside, just around the beach & outside decks and sun rooms. We shot until about 10:30 or 11:00 then took a break for lunch (12:30) and picking back up at 4:00 or so.

During the break Sara and I went for a swim on our beach back at Coral Sands. Once the sun gets above the cloud bank in the morning it gets pretty hot and humid (today felt really humid), but the ocean water is a perfect, cool temperature so it’s quite refreshing, especially after spending much of the morning outdoors. Add the incredibly blue water and easy waves and, well, it’s hard to imagine anything better frankly. I was too full after lunch to go back in so it was off for an air conditioned nap to try and recoup some still-lost sleep, which turned out to be a good call as a thunderstorm passed overhead while we were asleep waking us with loud thunder claps and heavy rain. By the time we woke up and headed out it was relatively clear and beautiful once more.

For the afternoon/evening part of the day we started at King’s Treat on King Street, another of India Hicks properties in town near the bay or waterfront (where 3 from the crew are staying). Like HH it’s beautifully decorated but the structure is quite old (the old, black shutters have countless layers of paint on them) and the yard is lovely. Her attention to detail is amazing, and her taste impeccable – there’s nothing but authentic about what she does, even the Pottery Barn towels & Restauration Hardware lamps and outdoor furniture feel natural and real. Now I know why Sara loves her style so much!

Again Greg and I, along with Sara, who joined us for the afternoon/evening, shot product and environmentals while everyone else was involved with the models. Speaking of which, I think we gave a great group of models this time (two are repeats, the other two new). The rest of the crew is top notch, and I think it was fun for Sara to see how it works and what’s involved in a big commercial shoot (altough afterwards she said once was enough and after the novelty wore off it was ‘just work’ so she’d rather do something else for the rest of the shoot…like take her own shots and check out the town).

After shooting around King’s Treat house we walked and shot around the waterfront. We got a few gawks and inquiries into what we were doing but mostly from visitors. The locals see this so often I don’t think they give it much thought. There are some great homes around where we shot – one in particular was one of my favorites – and the waterfront, while pretty much what it’s looked like for 100 years or more is pretty simple but cool, and beautiful at sunset (it’s on the west side of the island). Lots of little shacks and shops, several docks and a lot of fishing activity – small time stuff, not commercial. Conch is a big deal here and apparently plentiful (for now), so there are a lot of discarded Conch shells around. Where they remove the Conchs from their shells there are huge piles of shells in the shallow water..kind of sad…then again, they’re kind of just big sea snails 🙂

We wrapped up around 7:30 or so then did a quick change and headed to dinner as a group at a great little Italian restaurant called Auquapaza (not sure of the spelling), near the fishing docks by Valentines. The food there is amazing – we ate there twice during our stay – and the atmosphere is charming. It was Lance’s birthday so there was a little celebration, then off for our respective dwellings for what remained of the night. I didn’t get to sleep for a while since again I ate so much, but it was a great day. I love this place!

-C


Pre-sunrise from Coral Sands at breakfast.


Sunrise.


The light changes quickly and in this case it gave us a cool, even morning light.


A view of the crew at work on the beach while I’m back up the house looking for something…a little perspective.


While Dewey Nicks, our photographer, shoots beautiful people Greg and I shoot cool shoes…hey, it’s something!


Looking out through the shutter doors to the ocean.


Dewey photographing one of our models (Danielle, from Argentina) up at the beachhouse.


Our other model Julie Henderson doing what she does best while waiting for her next shot, next to modeling that is – texting (or Tweeting). I suppose when you’re on the road as much as they are (she’s on a shoot almost every week), it’s one of the best ways to keep in touch with family and friends…


Looking up the stairwell at the beachhouse. Again, the hurricane lights make perfect sense when you live in a hurricane zone.


Art or decor? Whatever it is, I liked it.


Morning sun reflecting off the Atlantic…or is it the Caribbean? I can’t remember which side of the island is which…


Julie and Johannes, our ‘main’ models, working it TB style (which is to say fairly relaxed).


Another product/shoe shot…we shot a lot of shoes today.


Like some of the hardware from HH I don’t know if these are really old or just weathered, but they’re pretty cool either way.


Gotta hand it to Greg – nothing escapes possibilities for props.


Always searching for a great beach shot…


Beachhouse detail.


How many people does it take to photograph 1 model? More than you would think…


Back at Coral Sands for lunch and the afternoon break, looking out over the pool area. Notice how intense the color of the water is as it reflects the blue sky…


Some of the perfect palms looking back up towards the resort as I head down the path down to the beach.


The view over one of the palapas to the beach and the big, white puffy clouds that are always on the horizon.


King’s Treat for the afternoon session. This is one of the locations on the lower deck we shot shaded by shutters on both sides.


It’s second floor counterpart. The frame leaning against the wall was beautiful and seemed strangely out of place just sitting ‘outdoors’ as it were.


Can’t resist a good palm frond…we use these kinds of things in our designs back home all the time.


Sara talking to Chad (not pictured) about ranching and farming (Sara wants to have a farm with Gernsey Cows that we use for making cheese in either Hawaii or Filmore, Utah…touch choice between Hawaii and Filmore eh?!).


Inside the home was a really cool tray of old bottles that I couldn’t resist taking outside for some close up shots.


Actually, this is the close up…


L to R: Heather, the producer from the Bahamas and her California counterpart Susan.


The small guest cottage in the yard and the path leading up to it.


On the way out to shoot around town I grab a quick shot of the weathered latch and fence gate.


One of our product shots around town (when they shoot, we shoot). I’d like to take more credit for how good this bag looked in our shots, but between the natural light and the color & material of the bag it was hard to take a bad shot…


Sara in front of the ‘Loyalist Cottage’ built in 1797 (I’m sure it’s had a few updates since).


One of the waterfront shops. Most are colored pretty brightly.


Another crew shot…we shoot until there isn’t any more light.


Looking out towards one of the local fishing docks at low tide.


How ’bout these beauties?! ‘Creation clouds’ if there ever were any…


Lights running up the support column at the restaurant. I wish I would have gotten more shots at dinner, it was a fun little restaurant on the water’s edge…