Shakti
When we discussed her vision for the shoot, Juli said she wanted to express vulnerability and strength. We photographed on a day that was stormy. The morning had heavy rains. We almost had to cancel the shoot entirely! Luckily the storms eased up enough to continue as scheduled. This shoot was part of a retreat I attended with Ana where she mentored me on the “Art of Seeing and Feeling.” On this day, before I began shooting, I actually watched Ana shoot for the first twenty minutes or so. This took so much restraint on my part as I could see so many beautiful moments happening. However— that’s part of the art of seeing and feeling, and part of what Ana wanted and really needed to teach me during our week together, how to slow down while photographing people. I come from the world of wildlife photography, specifically birds, where you never know when your subject is going to fly away from you, and so there’s a sense of urgency. In this case, with people, I had to get accustomed to the fact that my subject wasn’t going to fly away. I had to recognize that I could take my time. And not only could I take my time, but that it is beneficial to take time, to ease into the environment, to ease into the moment, to ease into embodiment. The more frantic and chaotic I’m trying to capture beauty as I see it through the lens, the more my muse would feel those sensations as well. So a major takeaway for me throughout the mentorship experience was to really slow down, because there truly is no hurry— something that is still a continual practice and evolution for me as I continue to shoot, both wildlife and people.
In the beginning we actually had sun and dramatic skies.
Then I noticed some calm water and wanted to work with some reflections. The reflection wasn’t perfect— but Juli is a dancer and created some beautiful shapes within the landscape.
I noticed further down the beach the reflection was more clear and I was able to capture this shot after a few attempts of Juli doing this dance move (sorry I don’t know the term)
And then it started to rain. But it was just a drizzle! So it was no problem to keep shooting. At this point we shifted the mood a bit, and I think here is where Juli started getting in to some different emotions. The vulnerability that she wanted to express. I think it shows through her body language, through her expressions. Through her poses.
Before finishing up, Juli wanted to work with a fabric, so we moved to a different section of the beach to change up the feeling and capture a different look.
To me this shoot reminds me of the vast forms of Shakti or divine feminine energy that we all possess. The strength, the power, the vulnerability, the shy, the sensual, the beautiful, the sacred. I am so grateful to Juli for the opportunity and to Ana for the mentorship. I love to learn, grow and evolve every day— learn new perspectives, meet new people, expand my horizons, share stories, connect and create art.