South Carolina GAVE US EVERYTHING -
In May, I traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, and all we did was laugh and photograph! (We also snuck in some delicious meals). It was our second annual “creativity retreat,” and I left feeling creatively refreshed and excited about making beautiful art (as well as my new camera!).
The first day of my visit, we took a road trip to Savannah, GA, which is about a two-hour drive from where my friend lives. There, we got to walk around a historic district filled with incredible old houses (and weird art), all framed by the city’s Spanish moss. We visited Forsyth Park and saw the famous fountain, grabbed lunch (and later, fancy dessert), and then took a detour out to Bonaventure Cemetery and Tybee Island beach, where I found an unoccupied horseshoe crab shell!
The morning of the second day, we put on red dresses and went to a nearby walking trail, where I played with my new camera; it's safe to say I'm in love with my new mirrorless "baby". (Check it out here.) We laughed when both of Alyssa’s heels decided to officially submit their resignation letters and break – she says it was 100% worth it! And besides, you simply cannot wear a prom dress without being barefoot at some point, right?
That evening, we drove to downtown Charleston, where the group Alyssa swing dances with meets on Friday nights. I enjoyed a couple of dances, but mostly I enjoyed the creative challenges of photographing people in motion in a room with a less than ideal illumination and definitive lighting challenges. The trip was one of creation, but it was also one of learning on the go!
Saturday, I was so excited for us to wear matching – glittery! – turquoise dresses we rented from Rent the Runway (a company that was really easy to work with!). We got dressed that afternoon and drove out to Sullivan’s Island beach, which gave us the ocean, sand dunes, grass, and a lighthouse to play with. The ocean has my heart and it was so inspiring to be near it again. A man in attendance also decided to DJ for us, so we felt like real supermodels. This was my favorite shoot of the week!
For the final shoot we did, we drove out to Botany Bay State Park, where Boneyard Beach is known for its dead trees, shells, and forest. The drive out was jaw-droppingly beautiful – seriously, I can’t get enough of the flora and fauna of South Carolina – but the beach was somehow even more stunning. It’s a bit of a hidden secret, so we really got to explore and creatively play. I was inspired by Renaissance nudes for this shoot, and I wanted to depict us as an extension of the natural beauty there. I think I succeeded!
This trip was a blast, and I’m so pleased with the results. I love the entire creative process, from brainstorming to prepping to photographing to culling to editing, and I love it even more when I get to do it with a friend!
