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Bay Area Adventures Part 4: Coyote Hills with Jackie
When I first got here, I sent a blast to all my Bay Area friends. I have a lot of friends here, partly because I went to college here, partly because I used to have family here, and mostly because all the cool artsy people live here. It’s probably one of the most incredible places to live. I think if I had to choose, only Paris and the South of France might even come close. It is beautiful.
My blast turned into a bunch of meet-ups, and one of those meet-ups was with Jackie, a childhood friend. My grandma used to live in San Leandro, and I used to go to Sunday School with Jackie in Oakland. I went to Sunday School with a lot of people here. There’s a whole crew of kids who grew up together and I was lucky enough to join them once a year or so when my parents shipped me off to my grandma’s.
Jackie suggested we meet up in Coyote Hills for a walk-and-talk date. It was the perfect day. We both love photography, so we talked up a storm and went off to find all the pretty things to take pictures of.
Spring is beautiful here. The air is crisp and you can walk and walk without getting too hot. Wildflowers were popping up everywhere.
Jackie is a birder, and funny story: we came across a group of second or third-graders on the path guided by a local ranger. The ranger was teaching the group about leaves of three, let them be, and leaves of five, stay alive, etc., when we suddenly spotted an owl way up in an oak tree. Jackie then turned to the group of children and said, Look, there’s an owl! and the whole class turned in our direction, hijacking the rangers’ lesson. The ranger looked annoyed, but the kids were overjoyed. What can I say? Jackie is just that kind of disruptor, in the very best way!
I’m not a birder, but after seeing her photographs of that owl with her big, fancy camera, I can see the appeal!
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Age and Beauty
Sometimes, I am lucky enough to have friends who ask me to do an “artsy” photoshoot of them. This is my favorite kind of photography. I get to play with light and image, personality and whatever wildcard the setting provides. I love the joy of creating images. It gives me a high.
Bethany is an old friend from junior high who’s done modeling over the years. We are both seasoned at being behind and in front of the camera. We know how hard it is to pose and not feel like an idiot. We know how to mix things up to create a good image. We are also both incredibly vain.
Bethany visited me at my parents’ just this last month, so we took advantage of the funky tile in the clubhouse bathroom. I’ve always loved its retro charm. Then we walked out to the *famous* red barn, but funny enough, I don’t love the barn photos. I love the close-ups in the barn that created this stark contrast of darkness behind her and light on her face.
Bethany is a natural beauty, obviously. Her face structure and Grand Canyon-level cheek indents are otherworldly. We often joke that she is of alien origin with her Rh-negative blood type and crazy oversized eyes. I haven’t used Photoshop to create these images. Just a camera and selective lighting.
I love this one because it captures her charming side. Bethany can give resting-ice-queen-face but also has an adorable mischievous side that is probably why we are such good friends. Nothing is ever boring with Bethany. I have stories of her shenanigans to prove it.
Bethany trusts me and lets me create any image I want of her. I love that about her. She is confident in herself and me. It gives me a lot of freedom to capture and create. Photoshoots can be rigid and stressful. It can take a lot out of me to put the subject at ease with silly banter and jokes and remember to pay attention to the settings on my camera at the same time. One of my deep secrets is that I’m not a gadget geek; I never really mastered f-stops or film speeds. I hate using a flash… It’s too much math! I’m more about composition and form meet personality and chemistry between model and photographer. It’s a delicate dance.
This image is my favorite. I don’t care that there is a spit string. I think it makes it more real, in your face, and punk. We are Gen X and still hanging onto our it factor.
We’ve come a long way.
Love you, bestie!
