LOOK 0212: Point Dume
Words by: CL
This is the story of Thick Mint's very first photoshoot. It was just an adventure to the beach, really. Three friends, three shirts (our only shirts at the time) and one camera. Clare and I were coming from coaching soccer in Beverly Hills and we had dropped Ava off at a coffee shop. I was eager to see the water and I think they were too- to get away from the hot, desert-like air of Eagle Rock. We drove through the Malibu mountains playing pop hits from the 2010 era, singing along to each word. I cracked the window and we weaved through the winding roads. I was still new to the Los Angeles area and in all honesty, I had no idea where we really were. I had been to Zuma Beach just once before two years prior and remembered its beauty and serenity so I wanted to show Ava and Clare. Clare and I stunk of sweaty small children from our coaching sessions and Ava lived to tell the tales of her Beverly Hills coffee shop experience full of richness and probably someone famous.
We got to the beach when the sun was still bright and squeezed into the last spot along the road. I flew out of the car, camera in hand wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a swim suit underneath. Bare-footed and smiling, we walked towards the water and found a place in the sand to occupy for the evening. It was the first warm beach day I had in a long time given it was the middle of February. We walked along the water, taking a couple dives beneath the pounding Zuma waves before laying out to dry, sun beating against our backs. It's the best feeling ever- something you'd chase over and over again. As the sun began to drop and the light turned warm, we started down the beach towards the rocks. I handed them different shirts to put on and as we walked and talked, I found myself crawling around them finding angles where the sun hit just right. It's the challenge of photography that I love the most- chasing the light rather than making it yourself the way you would in a studio. The sun has no regard for you and will shine the way it wants, whenever it wants. It's unforgiving and knows it's worth; it knows its beauty and proceeds with purpose. So I tried to do the same. I mimicked the sun's movement shooting how I wanted, whenever I wanted with no plan in mind. It's the way most of my shoots have gone. All the way down to the day's end, working with my surroundings. We walked, we ran, we did hand stands, climbed on rocks and awaited the end of the day. It felt like a chase; like we were chasing the sun; we were chasing life and from this first photoshoot it's all I've ever wanted to do- to find myself with good people, no plans, a yellowing sun at our fingertips, lost until dark when nature's cue tells us to close our eyes, fall asleep and drift away only to do it all over again. |