Portraits at Pitt

I kept hearing about Pitt Lake (The largest tidal lake in North America, y'all) from a variety of people on Instagram, and decided it was finally time to check it out. I was wanting to shoot with Jennine for a while now, and this provided the perfect opportunity.

Jonathan was squatting my sofa at the time. My car seats more than 2, so off we went.

Making sure we didn't get lost and weren't about to drive off a dam or something (Photo by @owlfaceblog)

I rocked the 55 for most of the shoot. It has silky smooth bokeh, is sharp as hell and is surprisingly resistant to fogging. I carried around reflectors and a second light source, but it turned out to be overkill. The light was fine, and I quite like the overcast, grey feel of the shoot.

That 55 is so sharp you could design electronic products with it.

We met up with Jennine (and her gorgeous eyes. For real, have a look at the shots below. May or may not have a project lined up for that.) in Maple Ridge, and headed up the road to the lake. Conditions were ideal; low ceiling gave the mountains this typical PNW mystique, and the ground was just dry enough to offer good footing. It was also warm enough to shoot without having to worry about layers.

Minimal shooting conditions, when the light is just right and you don't have a flash anyways. (Photo by @owlfaceblog)

The whole shoot was actually a pretext to advertise this shirt. I shill.

Looking to shoot at Pitt Lake? Here are three things to remember:

1. Bring a change of socks. Those flat grassy areas? Soaking wet. The water table is flush with the ground, so unless you're wearing full fishing regalia, be ready for a wet drive home.
2. The end of the road is not the end of the road. You can hike past the gate for a kilometer or so, and reach a picturesque industrial boat yard (!).
3. Make sure your gear is in bags, and make sure you can carry them over. It would be a shame to make it this far without seeing the whole thing.
4. Traffic is weird. Cars will often drive past you, apparently to the end of the road, then turn around 5 minutes later and drive back (for no reason other than the nice drive, I guess?). When shooting on the road, be ready for erratic patterns and slow, old drivers.
5. The road is rough. We tried shooting some longboarding photos there, and it did not go well.
6. I don't care about numbers and neither should you.
7. The weather changes. FAST. Bring extra layers and rain-proof your gear before heading out, especially if you're coming all the way from Vancouver; having to stop a shoot because of a few drops is always frustrating.

Testing the surface and realizing a few shots might be possible (Photo by @owlfaceblog)

Realizing I was very wrong.(Photo by @owlfaceblog)