Lisa Loftus

Knowing it was my day to post and also the first shoot day of an intense seven day shoot, I made good use of my location scout yesterday. I took pictures everywhere we went here in Vail, Colorado hoping I would find my follow without knowing what I was going to follow. I did take images for my client but I was always thinking about the DPG. As we were wrapping up at our last location, my assistants packing the cameras, I walked out on the dock and quietly looked around. Thank god for the iPhone.

I met my husband and the crew he sails with in Puerto Vallarta earlier this year. After their long distance races it is a tradition for all of us to stay a few extra days at a big house or villa where they all decompress and relive the race over many margaritas or, the drink of the sailor, rum and coke. I just show up for the vacation. Each night, no matter what conversations were happening, we would all stop and watch the sunset. On this particular evening I looked around and realized there was a far more interesting image right in front of me. I love reflections and shadows, sometimes more than the sunset.

I have had a camera in my hand since I was fourteen years old. My favorite subjects have always been people. I wanted to capture images of people that I loved, to hold onto them because nothing and no one lasts forever. Over time it has become a personal project I call “Faces.” I never tire of photographing a persons face.

Today I was perplexed with my post. Not knowing where to go and having nothing in the archive, I walked over to my local nursery with an idea. Bugs!! That was the only thing I could think of. Just so happens they had one container left of 750 ladybugs. Hot tip from the local kid…put them in the fridge for a couple of hours so they are less likely to fly away. The reality, the little buggers still move quickly!

I will admit it…this was a happy accident. After working all day on location my assistant and I stood on the beach to watch the sunset. Just the two of us quietly taking in the beauty. Of course, as photographers, we both had to take some pictures to record the moment. The cameras were all packed up so I reached for my trusty iPhone and decided to try a panoramic. I have no idea what happened, maybe I moved too fast, but this was the result and I loved it. A different view of the world…maybe “The Upside Down.”

When we recently spent a week down in Baja I noticed two groups of pelicans that would fly over the same area every, single day. Not necessarily at the exact same time, but close. I became obsessed with the patterns they created in the sky. Over the course of a few days I photographed them from different angles. This was my last capture on our last day and was my favorite. I played with the curve in Capture One and decided this was it!

Kicking off summer by spending the long, holiday, weekend in Mexico. The local fish monger was set up by the pool, servicing the community with tacos, margaritas and of course fresh fish. I am always impressed with their daily catch but am obsessed with the whole fish. A dead animal staring up at me with those colorful eyes…I see beauty in the skin and scales. It was a fantastic dinner as the sun set over the sea.

I just returned from a week in Palm Springs where the temperatures dictated what time of day all activities were done. We found getting up early and getting outside was necessary and also beautiful. On one of our early morning hikes these Cairns caught my attention. I am not sure if it was because there were so many or if it was the tiny American flag delicately placed in the center of them all. Whatever the reason, I had to stop and capture the scene.

At times I have been known to get distracted on my photo shoots. Looking at the beautiful locations, gorgeous homes, all the pretty things around me…. I can’t help myself. The art director will be working with the stylist or my assistants on the next shot and suddenly I am not to be found. Which is exactly what happened on this day when I became mesmerized by this plant in the nursery we were shooting. The light was perfect, the plant, perfect, the location, perfect. I had to stop and take it in. I really can’t help myself!

I went out today with the intention of creating new images on my day to post. I had a number of good follows but my mind kept going back to Vegas. What an incredible and interesting experience. To sit and talk with five photographers over morning coffee. To share stories and feel that kind of camaraderie. An afternoon photo walk before a home cooked dinner was, as they say, the icing on the cake. Viva Las Vegas!