Carlsbad, California // Anniversary Session // Hollis & Bobby
Anytime I travel, I try to book a shoot wherever I am. Obviously this Arizona girl was stoked to do a beach session... finally!
Months before Hollis and I tried to plan a shoot together. Unfortunately, the timing just didn’t work. So this time, when I returned to the Carlsbad area, I was SO excited that Hollis and Bobby were available to finally shoot together!
When Hollis told me her kids were going to come and hang out with their puppy while we shot the couple, I of course told her I was going to include them in some of the photos! And I am so glad I did. Her adorable twins are very sweet. Plus, I love working with kids that are excited to have their photos taken. At the end Hollis told me that Emma is actually interested in photography herself. I always hope that kiddos like that grow up to be photographers too.
Pulling up to the shoot left me a little anxious, because it was raining, and I knew Hollis was wearing a skirt. The amazing couple didn’t care at all; they were completely fine with playing in the rain for me. It worked out perfectly in the end, as the dreariness cleared just enough to give us some gorgeous clouds, with blue skies peaking through, for a backdrop.
And of course I can’t write a post about this shoot without mentioning Griz…. the real star. Griz is a Saint Bernard pup who completely stole my heart. I will continue to say this… dogs are always welcome!
The session was wonderful, one that I was so excited to get back to edit… but here is why I will always remember this one. After Hollis and Bobby left, Wilson and I decided to walk down the beach. I put my SD card in my velcro pocket. We watched the sunset and played in the sand... you know, the cliche stuff. Then we walked back to the car, ready to go find food. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, I felt for the card, and my heart stopped--I didn’t feel it in my pocket!
I instantly started panicking. This is a photographer’s worst nightmare, losing all of the photos from a shoot. We drove back to the spot we parked in, but it wasn’t on the ground anywhere around. So, Wilson told me to look all over the car while he went down to look along the beach.
I looked everywhere in my car; backpack, camera bag, under seats, in between seats, even under the car. The whole time, I was just thinking that the card was in the ocean or that someone picked it up on the beach. I eventually finished looking through the car and went to find Wilson. I knew as soon as I saw him that he didn’t have it.
I started crying and didn’t stop. I was so MAD at myself. We got back to the car and I just sat there, still crying. Finally, I made one last attempt to look around inside. Looking between the console and my seat, I at last saw it. It was sticking out on the track that allows the seat to move forward and back.
At first, we weren’t positive that it was the right SD card. We spent half an hour just trying to wedge our fingers into the small space enough to grab it. FINALLY, Wilson got a grip on it. I quickly put it in my camera and was elated when the gorgeous beach photos showed up on my screen.
Wilson took the SD cards, checked his pockets for holes, and ended up putting them in a very secure zipper pocket. Every once in a while on the drive back, he would pat his chest and say “The goods are safe.” The instant we made it to the AirBNB I uploaded the photos. We cheered when they were backed up.
Very long story short… be very careful with tiny things that are super important! I sure will be more careful about putting my SD cards anywhere in the future.
