Hello everyone. Meet “The Girls”. This is Savanah, Shay, and their mom Laura. Laura is my friend Brian Bastinelli‘s cousin, which makes Savanah and Shay his nieces I suppose. I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing “the girls” last year during my first trip to Montana and that little session turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip for me. (Here are some shots from last year.)
Well, this year was no different. I was really looking forward to seeing the girls again. Last year I was a stranger to them and had to earn their trust along the way. This year, it was like visiting old friends and we immediately reconnected. I just love these two. They were a year older, more mature, and as fun as ever. They are each so unique, beautiful, and fun to photograph. Last year, Laura really didn’t want to be in the shots but this year she joined in the fun with her girls. She’s also a budding new photographer and took a few shots of her own too.
In terms of the actual shoot, we decided to drive out to a remote farm and of course underestimated the drive time. We ended up in a serious race with time and fleeting light. We really only had 45 minutes or so to shoot but we made the most of it. Brian and I worked together and took turns shooting and coming up with concepts. We ended up running, jumping, climbing, and generally playing all around this one hillside as the shadow line raced up the hill. Savanah, Shay, and Laura, I simply can’t thank you enough for playing with me again. I know we asked you to do some crazy things in the rush of it all. Thanks for your trust, willingness, and playfulness. I can’t wait to see you all again next year! Hopefully, I’ll get to bring along my little girl to meet you guys next year. Until then . . . Enjoy!
Oh, this post by Brian has a few behind the scenes shots from this shoot too.
In fact, I absolutely love flexing my creative muscles and doing a shoot like this. On our road trip this fine day, I had thrown out the idea of shooting a series on old rusted out trucks and cars . . . that seem to dot the landscape in those parts. Well the Universe answered in a big way when we happened upon this historic old town called Gilman and found a treasure trove of vintage vehicles in someones yard. We knocked on the door and asked permission and once granted spent several hours just shooting away. Here are some of the results. I mostly tried to play with color and line and a bit of abstraction here and there and focused on clean compositions in an otherwise chaotic environment. The last shot in the series is a documentary shot of the junkyard itself to give you a feel for the context.
by Bryan Allen
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