The Long and Winding Road

It's been since May of 2011 that I had an opportunity to shoot with Sarah when she was back visiting family in Bakersfield.  Sarah moved back to Bakersfield in November and called me to say that she was itching to shoot.  We decided we would find some open space to shoot as part of her theme.  We headed towards Glennville in search of "the spot", after two hours of only finding fenced in pastures with No Trespassing signs and some intermittent rain, we decided to stop for lunch.  We ate at a Pizza joint in Glennville and had a chance to warm up and dry off.  As we ate, the rain continued and the skies grew dark and thoughts of canceling the shoot became inevitable.

As we headed back to Bakersfield, Sarah spotted a section of fencing that was open.  I pulled over, put a plastic bag over my SB-900 and realized I left my Apollo Orb at home.  I always bring my small suitcase filled with Nano Stands, Umbrella holders, a ton of HONL Modifiers, and a collapsible Westcott umbrella.  About half of the images were taken with the umbrella and the other with Natural Light.  I didn't bring a plastic bag for my D700, but knew that it was weather-sealed.  As an aside, I keep a bad of desiccant in my backpack.

We shot next to the fence line and then Sarah spotted an eroded tree across the field.  Now Sarah's wardrobe consisted of a black slip and a thin camouflage jacket.  No shoes, or cold weather clothing.  Sarah is very petite and weighs less than 100 lbs, even after eating Pizza.  I carried her across the field to the tree, where we shot for about 30 minutes.

I carried her back to my truck soaking wet, packed up and headed back to Bakersfield.  After a year and a half of occasionally chatting on Facebook, it was a wonderful time just driving and catching up with Sarah.

What Did I Learn?

• Just Do It - We probably could've have shot earlier, but I kept looking for "The Spot" and was also reluctant to shoot in areas marked with No Trespassing signs
• Triple-Check Gear -  I always put my gear on the garage floor before I pack and mentally walkthrough a shoot. When I returned home, the Apollo Orb was still laying on the Garage FLoor, so I'm not sure how I missed packing it