The storm was unanticipated.
Days prior to Sarah's photoshoot I checked the weather for Seaside Heights, New Jersey, and noted the stormy forecast.
"It's likely to change," I thought. That very thing has happened to me on numerous occasions. This is Athens Pennsylvania after all, a place you should never bet on the weather.
Days leading up to photographing Sarah the weather forecast did not change. My gut sank as I imagined photographing my beautiful friend in the rain. My friend who, on a whim, booked this experience as a way to celebrate her birthday.
This was not the experience I had planned for Sarah.
I had imagined romantic sunsets, flirtatious waves, and golden light gently kissing the skin of Sarah as I photographed her to the sounds of soft waves applauding her in the background.
I woke up the morning of Sarah's photoshoot to grey.
Grey clouds, grey light, grey, grey, grey.
And to add to the less than ideal weather there was a constant thick mist accompanied by a rough cool wind.
"I could cancel," I thought.
That would be logical. I couldn't have my camera getting wet and Sarah wouldn't like getting cold and wet.
Canceling seemed like the right thing to do. But for the life of me, I just couldn't do it!
So I wrapped my camera and plastic wrap and tape, packed my dresses in a waterproof pack, threw on a long sleeve shirt, and met Sarah and Bri at the beach.
Sarah looked beautiful. My first thought was that she was too good for this grey, misty day. "She deserves better," I thought as I looked out at the deserted beach with its angry waves crashing then foaming on the sand.
But Sarah was undeterred by the weather and the cold. Her smile was bright and her laughter was free.
Within seconds of getting Sarah into her first dress it was clear that this photoshoot was not going to be anything like I had imagined . . . it was gonna be a heck of a lot better.
The fierce weather seemed to pull an equally strong determination from Sarah, as if her very presence of standing on that beach was in defiance of nature itself. The wind could blow, the rain could come, and the waves could loudly abuse the sand but Sarah was not going anywhere. Sarah stood and moved like a woman who had seen storms worse than this and she knew how to weather them- shoulders back, neck strong, and a smile that reminded you of all the best secrets she would never share.
Because of this, we all get to see a side of Sarah that is not often shown. We get to see her grit, her edge, and a hint of sensuality.
No, Sarah's beach photoshoot was not what I had planned for my friend. Nothing was by the books. And nothing was what I expected.
And I couldn't be happier.
Enjoy these bts shots from Bri. You can see us clearly trying to manage the wind and waves as well as the ear-to-ear smiles and laughs between shots.
Love,
Melinda
Private Photography Studio in Athens PA.
Serving Athens, Sayre Pennsylvania, Towanda Pennsylvania, Elmira New York, Corning New
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