The Hunt for The Location
One of the wonderful things about living here in the PNW as far as photography goes, is that there are so many sites to see and so many great locations to shoot in. I mean really and truly it's a veritable buffet of location delights and what really adds to it all is being able to see seasonal change. In the Bahamas, I could shoot in the fall but I could never really get that true look of Fall, I could never really get that true look of Winter and now having that, there are endless possibilities for shoot concepts.
So I recently met Rachel Hines from a networking group and she was looking to build her portfolio. We discussed some ideas and it was on to me to find a good location. The location I had in mind was one that I visited in Bothell a couple years ago. For the life of me though, I could not remember the name of it. A few search results and Facebook appeals pointed to Bothell Landing Park but from what I saw, it only bore a slight resemblance. The spot I scoped out was relatively smaller and had this bridge that I really liked.
This turned out to be one of those rare instance where I became grateful for technology. I recalled that I had taken a bunch of photos of the location and as luck would have it, my images were synced to my Google account. Google also had the GPS of the location, so just like that, the problem solved, Canyon Park, Bothel. Hooray Google ☺.
When I first trekked there it was around Spring so everything was lush and Green. I had some rather interesting encounters that day I must say, everything from a big black bush snake to some Gangster Geese that chased me for getting to close to their territory. Seriously geese can be freaking vicious, I guess I wasn't fly enough for then, hahaha get it? No....oh okay. Well there was also this giant Rodent called a Nutria which was taking a dip in the nearby pond. You will see it in the images below. It is basically a big Rat and considered an invasive species. Believe it or not though, Nutria are known for their delicious, low fat, high protein meat....yea that's right, some people eat them 😲. As a matter of fact ,In my research I have even seen them referedd to as the other white meat.
All that deliciousness aside, Rachel and I set up our shoot and set our date and time. We got to out spot and ventured to our location. One of my big issues these days when shooting on location, is my distance to my set. I don't have any assistants and carry my gear by myself and you know what? Avengers C-Stands are not light. I used to use Alien Bees heavy duty light stands they were not as weighty but the overall quality was something that was never impressive. Rachel was a real trooper and helped, she was more of a trooper when shooting because it was COLD ❄❄❄. I am not talking ⛄ weather but it was a good 32, so cold in fact that I could not even hold my C-Stand for too long. At one point as I was setting up, I turned around and Rachel was shivering with her teeth chattering. I felt terrible ☹ and took off my jacket for her to wear. Cold weather aside we got some great shots and she absolutely nailed it. I am definitely going to have to shoot at that location again. Check below to see a few behind the scenes snaps and below those are some of the finished images. Hope you enjoy them and stay tuned, more images will be coming soon and feel free to comment.
