Watch the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxaCpMenLGQ
Scroll down for the photo gallery
California Dreamin'
I made a trip out to California recently to visit friends
and opted to travel by train due to the low cost ($170 round trip from El
Paso). I would be out there for a full week but only had one social obligation,
which meant I would have plenty of free time to organize some photo shoots
while I was out there.
Traveling by train instead of by car, meant however, that I
was limited to how much photography equipment I could bring along. I had to
travel light, and that mean being extremely selective about the gear I would be
bringing and it all had to fit into my Sony camera bag.
Model: Sierra. Location: Salton Sea, California. Camera: Sony A7
My “go-to” camera for any important shoots is the Sony
A7RII, that, along with my A99 and A7II are always at the top of my list,
however, I could only bring one “full size” body on this trip, so the A7RII got
the nod. I won’t be getting into the specs but let’s just say it’s a world
class, professional mirrorless camera, on par with any other full-frame
available today and let’s leave it at that.
I would be shooting all my video on this trip in 4K so that
meant bringing my AX33 and RX100 IV. The AS100 Action Cam is also small and
compact, all three of these cameras fit easily into my camera bag and didn’t
take up much space, even collectively.
The four lenses I chose to bring I chose for their
versatility and quality. The Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 is probably my best
portrait lens, in fact, it can hold its own against any comparable portrait
lens on the market. The other three lenses are outstanding as well and I threw
them in my bag due to their versatility. Sony Zeiss 16-35mm f/4, Sony Zeiss
24-70mm f/4 and Sony G 70-200mm f/4. With these three lenses I can cover any
focal range I might need from 16mm all the way up to 200mm. Even at f/4 all
three lenses produce outstanding bokeh and subject separation.
I have been highly impressed with the Sony VCT-VPR1 tripod.
It includes a remote control that plugs into your Sony cameras via multi cable
and can control your shutter button and power zoom. It’s got a smooth head and
it’s been my “go-to” tripod ever since I purchased it a couple month ago. The
Manfrotto mini tripod is surprisingly sturdy for a small, compact, desktop-type
tripod. I use it mostly with my compact cameras.
The final items in my camera bag were my external flashes.
Normally, I prefer to use my Godox TT685’s with the Godox trigger but since I
could not bring soft boxes and extra light stands, I opted for my Sony HVL20
and HVL32. They work well together with the HVL20 on my camera and the HVL32
off camera as a slave. Granted, this is not the ideal flash lighting set-up but
my options were limited due to having to travel light.
I was fortunate enough to connect with two outstanding
models in Kaylan and Sierra. Kaylan was a total amateur, in fact, the shoot we
did together was her very first. She is gorgeous, tall, with a magnetic smile
and is a one in a million natural beauty with an amicable personality to match.
Sierra is a talented make-up artist and occasionally does some modeling. Both
were a real pleasure to work with.
Temperatures were in the low to mid 120’s in the Coachella
Valley that week. You read that right 120 degrees! So when I was discussing a
photo shoot with Kaylan, I thought it might be nice to head to the beach to get
away from the scorching temperatures and well, I was in California, why not
shoot at the beach? Always one to kill two birds with one stone, I arranged to
meet up with my lifelong friends, Reno and his wife Michelle. Reno and Michelle
live near Santa Monica and Malibu beaches, minutes from where Kaylan and I
would be shooting, the plan was to shoot near Santa Monica pier, take a short
break, meet up and say hello to Reno and Michelle, then shoot at sunset in
front of their condo at Malibu beach.
Fate intervened in our plans, but in a good way. Reno is the
proud owner of a black, convertible Audi R8 V10 sports car. Long story short,
the sky was overcast, so a sunset shoot was out of the question, however, Reno
let us shoot with, and drive his Audi R8! This car is a dream, Kaylan and I
really enjoyed getting to shoot with an amazing car like that, add the fact
that Kaylan is super hot, it was a winning combination.
It’s a long, two hour drive back to the Coachella Valley
from West Los Angeles, but Kaylan and I got to know each other well, we enjoyed
working together and although we did not get to shoot again that week that I
was out there, we do have tentative plans to shoot together again at some point
in the future. She is really beautiful and has the potential to become a
successful model should she ever choose to pursue it.
My second model, Sierra, and I would not have to option of
shooting outside of the Coachella Valley, so the only options would be to shoot
early in the morning and/or indoors. Much to her credit, Sierra was open to
doing a sunrise photo shoot out at the Salton Sea. This meant, of course,
waking up early enough so that she could do her hair and make-up and make the
45 minute drive to the location. I think she must have woken up around 3am to
meet me where I was staying at 4:30am. A big thanks to Sierra for her efforts
and I think the resulting images were well worth it.
We headed back to my friend Matt’s house for another hour or
two of indoor shoots and overall I would say we got some great images but most
importantly we had a fun time (whish is always my number one priority) and I
was happy to make a couple of fantastic (and beautiful) new friends.
Special thanks to Matt for letting me crash and shoot at his
house and to Reno again for letting us shoot and drive his Audi R8.
Enjoy the images everyone!
To see more of Sierra follow her on Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/muybueno14/
You can purchase any of the equipment mentioned in this post
at the following links:
Sony LCSBP3 DSLR System Backpack with Laptop Storage - http://amzn.to/2h8mJvI
Sony VCT-VPR1 Compact Remote Control Tripod - http://amzn.to/2uEpxpf
Sony HVLF20M Flash - http://amzn.to/2h8Hast
Sony HVLF32M Flash - http://amzn.to/2uEE0kG
Sony AX33 4K Video Camera - http://amzn.to/2h8ozgd
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 Lens - http://amzn.to/2vP9ByF
Sony FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS Lens - http://amzn.to/2u4o1c4
Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T FE OSS Lens - http://amzn.to/2h8zpCQ
Sony 16-35mm Vario-Tessar T FE F4 ZA OSS Lens - http://amzn.to/2vPV2Lq
Sony A7RII Full Frame Camera - http://amzn.to/2vdKOHB
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV - http://amzn.to/2v3DqOL
Sony AS100 Action Cam - http://amzn.to/2v3Dvlx
Sony RMLVR2 Live View Remote - http://amzn.to/2uEwQx5
Manfrotto MTPIXI-RD PIXI Mini Tripod - http://amzn.to/2h88KWI
