… can’t wait to share with you our New Year’s photo. When we actually take the photo of course ;p

To say that we enjoy outdoor natural light photography is an understatement. Not only do we get to leave the cumbersome lighting gear at home, there just isn’t a light more flattering for portraits than natural light. But when you can combine natural light with the soft texture of falling snow, your photos come alive; that’s if you can brave the cold!

Below: is it ok to eat snow? As long as it isn’t yellow snow right?

For some reason, this photo below makes me think of a baby portrait detail shot. ;p

Photography Tip:
Once in a while, put your lighting gear away and step outside for a natural light photoventure. You will free yourself from the restrictions that come with using lighting gear; you will also start to see creative frames that weren’t readily apparent before. The biggest obstacle is being able to see the direction of natural light so that you make it work for you instead of against you. Once you are able to “see” the light, everything else will fall into place.

Below: Here’s a step back shot of what was happening all around us. Crazy beautiful isn’t it?

There was also this stalker who kept following us. Scary lookin fella huh? O.o

… and he looked like a SWAT team sniper!

If you enjoyed the photos above… make sure you check out the video below. The photos don’t give it full justice. Watch the video to see how truly breathtaking it was. At one point, it seemed as though the snowflakes were falling in slow motion.

Here are snapshots from our snow-venture. They were all taken under natural light. Hope you enjoy them.

There’s nothing quite like soft powdery snow. Not only can you smash each other w/o harm… they break apart beautifully for photos. The photos below were at a small pull-out alongside the highway. Which is another resolution: Stop driving, get out and take photos.. instead of driving through only to say: “THAT spot back there would’ve been beautiful.”

Still unsatisfied with the locations we’d driven by, we kept driving and searching until… we had to pee… then we kept driving still. ;p And finally found a nice secluded pull-out with tall trees and fresh fallen snow.

With a little bit more walking we found a nice little pedestrian bridge! Another perfect spot to set up the tripod, yays!

Not sure what she was doing here, but here’s my take: She’s making like Wonder Woman… sitting on her invisible plane ready for take-off.

And with our toes freezing up.. it was a wrap. We packed lite… just a small bag of ornaments and our tripod.

You can see how soft the freshly fallen snow was in the photo below. Every little branch, large or small was blanketed with a soft layer of white. The details were amazing: how it clings onto the mossy trees and branches was just beautiful.

Oh yes… the main reason we even made the trek out to the cold. Here are the eventual photos we decided to use for our Christmas cards that were sent out to family, friends and clients. Thanks again for your love and support everyone.

Here’s hoping this holiday season brings lots of love, joy and happiness to you and yours.

Love,
Kay and Ty

P.S. Tripod self timer baby! *high five* Check back for more photos from this shoot.

Here’s a still frame of the famous footage below. But, I was able to snap a few of my own before I nearly got eaten alive!

Look at it below! Bigfoot hasn’t changed much in all these years. Same fuzzy coat of fur and same nasty scowl! Not wanting to become an early breakfast man-wich… I quietly snuck behind some cover and snapped a few pics of it foraging in the snow. I had to be careful though, much like grizzly bears, Bigfoot can cover 50 yards in two seconds!* (*reference needed)

I had a zoom lens which allowed me to grab a tighter crop of him too (good thinking huh?!). Look at his razor sharp flesh-tearing teeth! I was just as amazed at how white he keeps them, Bigfoot definitely flosses.

At one point, I thought he heard me rustling in the bushes. My heart nearly jumped out from under me, it was beating furiously fast and hard like war drums in a world of warcraft battle. “Be still, be silent,” whilst his menacing glare pierced my direction. O.o

In curious fashion, he climbed up on a snow covered boulder… as if to get a better view of my immediate vicinity. *gulp*

He started roaring and beating his chest like he was king of the world. I remember watching this bit on Discovery channel where silverback gorillas behaved in this same manner; a display of supremacy.

I thought I was safe, when he had calmly jumped down from his perch like Mufasa and proceeded to tread toward a giant evergreen…

… but he was just faking me out!! Oh snaps!

OMGWTF!… “whatever you do, DO NOT move!”

Slowly, I inched deeper under cover toward safety…. keeping one eye on him the whole time, the eye behind the viewfinder.

I made a run for it soon after that. To tell you the truth, I don’t know how I escaped with my life.. let alone with real honest to goodness pictures of Bigfoot. Somehow, he lost track or interest in me. Maybe it was the stench of the puddle from the fright induced piss soaked jogging pants that warded him away. O.o

File this one under “Another Close Call”… phew!

Note: No animals, mythical nor real were harmed during this shoot. If not obvious, this shoot was done under natural light and in deadly fear for my life.

On a serious note, don’t let a little snow keep you from shooting. It’s during these times that you will end up with the special shot that someone else will never get indoors.

Then came the winter rain storms of southern California. All the rain last week made me think of the possibilities at the ski resorts nearby. And that’s all it took… we were off to our very first snow shoot, what I later dubbed: Ice Queen and Snow Leopard! Ice Queen is the perfect representation of the kinds of looks I was getting for the hour and a half we were there. I guess freezing their butts off warranted the cold glares I was getting. ;p

It was certainly a challenge shooting in 32 degree temperature. The frigid wind chill, the falling snow… we had to brave the weather, all at the same time trying to protect the gear! But, you know what? Strangely enough.. we had fun up there. It was a learning experience, and as soon as we thawed out we were done, we already had ideas on how to improve the next time we shoot in extreme conditions.

Here are some of the photos. Let us know what you think below. Was it worth it? Would you sit in the windy, falling snow for an hour? If so, we’d love to schedule a shoot with you =)

Oh yeah… guess what we saw in the middle of… SQUIRREL!

Gear used in this portrait photoshoot:

• Nikon D700
• Nikon 85mm/f1.4 lens
• SB-600 speedlight
• Photoflex Lightdome Q39 medium softbox
• Radio Popper PX