529 - Calla Lily Valley
Across the world, lilies traditionally symbolize purity and rebirth. This is important knowledge for this shoot. REMEMBER IT.
Our adventure today takes place at a little place called Canna Lily Valley. A small canyon near Monterey that’s famous for a once-a-year lily bloom. And since California has been getting absolutely decimated by rain this year, I figured this was the perfect opportunity.
The funny thing is that, back when I was a wee padawan, I used to think flower shoots were lame. I was often quoted saying “they require no skill…” or “they’re every photographer’s first shot.” I even trademarked the phrase “flowers are for flakes,” just in case I ever needed it.
But today marked the first day I decided to take a step back and really contemplate how flowers could challenge me. After all, I started photography five years ago. It was time to step up my game. If I could find a way to make one look truly mythical, I might be able to break my self-imposed curse…
So let’s cut to the present, where I was driving an hour out of the way to determine my flowery future. The catch was that these lilies were only in bloom for a month or two, and it was the tail end of that period. This whole drive was a total roll of the dice.
As I pulled up to the dirt trailhead, I held my breath. I was shooting something on that beach. Be it dead or alive.
I was already way more south than I’d originally intended. Since San Francisco was my “homebase” for the next couple months, I'd already pushed that limit with Panther Beach down in Santa Cruz. Now I’m in freaking Monterey.
Fortunately, some lady was walking off the trailhead right when I arrived, so I asked her if there was anything alive down there.
She said “▇▇▇▇▇▇.”
I censored that on purpose to build the suspense. You’re not going to find out if there’s actually lilies down there until I get to the bottom. Sorry, bucko. Someone’s gotta make things interesting around here.
I slammed my Prius door shut and began my hike down the trailhead. After hearing what that lady said, I was in a wack mood. It was also surprisingly cold, so my Chacos were neatly paired with french fry socks. As I got closer to the bottom, I realized that might have been a mistake.
This was going to be a Tough Mudder™. And by that I mean the whole “trail” was basically a river covered in mud. The lilies were growing in-between all of that.
Wait. Fuck. I just spoiled the story. I had this whole epic reveal sequence thing planned. Goddamn it.
Alright, well, I guess I should tell you what the lady said. She said, and I quote, “▇▇▇▇▇▇”.
Haha, just kidding. She said “Oh there’s lilies down there… but they’re mostly washed away.”
Which was sort-of true. There were hundreds of lilies, and despite the fact that some were, in fact, “washed away,” it was still one of the most beautiful flower patches I’d ever seen in my life. Which isn’t saying much based on my rocky history with flowers. But still. These things were absolutely massive, and as wild as it gets.
My heart started to play a harp. That’s how happy I felt.
I hopped across the river from semi-dry spot to completely-not-dry spot, half expecting to be on my ass by the end of this shoot. But I didn’t care. The hardest part of this shoot was going to be finding a lily that was pure.
Remember that first line? Lilies symbolize PURITY and rebirth. Which meant I couldn’t have a whore lily as my centerpiece. I needed three innocent, untouched petals.
Luckily I’d arrived fairly early to this shoot, so I spent my time wandering through the mud in peace. I felt like some kind of blissful pig. And after a variety of test-shots, I found a winner. Three of a kind, in the perfect pair:
“The Sun Mantle”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 800 ~ 17mm ~ f/10 ~ 1/1000s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
WHOO. That’s a beaut.
Shot up-close at 17mm, that final result was actually fairly difficult to get. 100% impossible for a photography noob. Notice how almost all of the image is in focus…
That’s because I focus-stacked about 5 shots together, all manually. The wind was blowing like crazy, so auto-focus stacking wasn’t a thing. Let me repeat that. THIS IMAGE WAS 5 SHOTS MANUALLY BLENDED TOGETHER IN BLOWING WIND. If you get what that means, cool. If you don’t, just know it’s ridiculously time-consuming and difficult.
And just like that, I broke my flower curse. REBIRTH.
See? I told you I’d pull those themes into this somehow.
Alright. Let’s wrap this turkey up. One last joke:
What did Lily Potter ask James when he handed her divorce papers? Are you fucking Sirius?
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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