Not all those who wander are lost.: Bagby

So one of my more favorite shoots was done 3 days before my wedding day. I know, crazy right? I met with Valorie from Unruh Photography and her, my sister in law and I drove 3 hours to Bagby Hotsprings. LONG drive, with my boa....

That's right, Leeloo, my 5 foot boa was also a model for this shoot. :) We were going for a "Eve" in nature look but to get to the hot springs required about a 2-3 mile hike in. So after spending 3 hours in a hot car, I had to carry my kinda bitchy snake in a carrier 2-3 miles into the woods. Between Jenn and I we were carrying various bags for wardrobe, makeup, shoes, etc. It was exhausting. The photographer had her equipment in a backpack that must have weighed 50 lbs as well. Talk about dedication.

Truth be told, It was exactally what I needed to de-stress before my wedding. Nature, exercise, adventure without my son, and most importantly, something that had NOTHING to do with a white dress and table settings.

I might also add, this was only my second shoot ever so I was quite nervous. We get to the hot springs and start shooting, come to find out the photographer is actually scared of snakes and low and behold, Leeloo spots a squirrel in the forest and decides shes hungry. After trying to get her under control she bites me pretty bad on the wrist. I swear the photographer turned green. Here she is, in the middle of the woods, afraid of snakes, working with a model and a big snake, and the model gets bit. She was ready to pack up and leave right then. Funny thing though about snake bites, they bleed a lot, but they really don't do much more than small needle like punctures and bruises that don't appear till later. I toughed it out, we put Leeloo away and continued to shoot. Its not like its the first time Ive been bitten by a snake, and surprisingly the bleeding seemed to stop much faster than normal with the hot spring water.

I'm quite sure no one noticed the snake bites on my wrist at my wedding....tee hee....small secrets.

My posture is off, but the detail on Leeloo is outstanding. I strongly encourage you to view in full size

This photo (above), has by far gotten the most response from photographers/models I have worked with. It has to be truly one of my most artistic and favorite photos.