Joanne & Brent (Marin County)
Landscapes & Love.
We drove up Mt. Tam hoping for light. You know the kind. That long, low, honey-colored hour that turns the Marin hills and backcountry to gold and makes everything look like the last frame of a film. That was the plan, but the mountain had other ideas.
By the time we reached the top, the skies remained covered and the wind was doing its best to rearrange everyone's hair. No gold nor glow; just soft gray sky, deep green hills, and a marine layer creeping in off the Pacific.
Here's the thing about shooting the way I shoot: I don’t fight the day. Instead, I usually end up following it. And the day Joanne and Brent got wasn't the one anyone ordered, but it turned out to be the one that turned a orthodox, sunset session into a unique one with embedded character.
The wind kept catching Joanne's dress and her hair, and instead of fixing it we just laughed. Brent kept pulling her in close, partly for the photos and partly, to keep her warm. Somewhere in there he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders.
There's a quiet honesty to overcast light. It wraps a face evenly and gives you a person looking exactly like themselves, no squinting, or harsh shadows. The fog put a hush over the whole evening. The hills went rich and green, the Bay dissolved into white, and the two of them stood in the middle of all that weather looking completely at home in it.
Not the light we wanted, but they leaned into the light we got.
Planning something in the Bay Area, or anywhere the forecast refuses to behave? That's honestly one of my favorite scenarios. Let's talk.
