Photo Credit: Tom
A little fun behind the scenes of Marisa's beautiful concept.
(Click to see the final image).
You Haven't Lived Until You're Squishing Your Toes Between the Moss
We were having the trip of a lifetime. Our Icelandic adventure brought us to the south for a few days and took our breath away around every corner. This for sure was a long day, but it was worth every second.
We woke up this morning surrounded by the sounds of icebergs breaking and falling into the water at the glacial lagoon. We made our way to the Svartifoss waterfall for another shooting location, in Skaftafell. We hiked and explored the campgrounds, and replenished our mobile homes with any necessities needed. As a small rain storm passed and we grouped back together, and we were back on the road.
At this point in the trip, we were traveling back towards the RV site, so we weren't really on a tight time constraint. Driving through the country we were constantly having fun talking to one another on our walkie-talkies, playing music, making meals, having laughs, and sharing stories. I took a nap on the road and woke up to us parked in the middle of nowhere, but it was a beautiful nowhere.
My friend Tom woke me up and told me the group wanted to stop on the side of the road for a quick shoot. I looked out the window and jumped to my feet. I gathered my equipment and set out with intentions to create some concepts I was working on earlier. As soon as it was raining again and I jumped back into the RV, I had shot two brand new images in record time for me, which brought my concept count to 3 for the day. That doesn't happen every day!
We were back on the road and we finally were passing through a landscape I was overjoyed to see, the Eldhraun lava field. I've heard stories of this magical place and it was one of the locations I was extremely excited to see on this trip. It's hard to put into perspective how large this lava field is, but we drove miles through it until we all found a spot that had amazing potential for everyone in the group.
Instantly, as soon as our RV's parked, we ran out onto the field. Some of us, including me, threw off our shoes and ran over the mossy landscape. Try to imagine stepping on a floor of a 4-inch thick pound cake, that's really the best description of this place I could give.
The clouds overhead were overcast and the lighting outside was defused and absolutely perfect. As soon as we knew it, camera equipment, dresses, and props were making their way out of the RV's. We scattered the fields, scouting the perfect spots and helping each other bring our concepts to reality.
A few weeks before the trip, I was prop hunting home in Philadelphia. In an antique shop, I found this oversized syringe, and immediately knew it was something I needed to bring with me. It begged me to use it in a surreal and unique location and inspiration struck.
It was so fun to run in the field, it was almost like bouncing around. Marisa, Emmanuel, and I circled around this very interesting rock formation. It jutted out from the ground and had cracked in two before hardening. It felt so powerful and really spoke to me. All this force and then over time to be overgrown in an emerald blue moss. It was amazing.
Marisa was my human remote for this self portrait, while our friend Kelly hid behind me to set off the smoke bombs at the right time for the shot. Even the subtlest wind would've called for a do-over. We soon gave in the last call for shooting, before coming together for a group shot together in the thick mossy landscape. One of my favorite group shots ever with my Fromagi's. I love these people so much!
