The newly constructed, mostly finished trails of Tonquin beach park are all starting to look the same in the rapidly fading light. Even though there should still be an hour of twilight left on this clear Pacific North West evening, the thick mossy canopy of Sitka Spruce and ancient Cedar trees mask all but a trickle of light - even on a sunny day. Nicole is leading us on a gravel trail that traverses steep black volcanic headlands to a pocket beach which should have enough sand exposed at low tide for our little project.
This is the second shooting session of my Painting With Prana Project where the goal is to get visually stunning images that capture the movement of yoga in unique locations. We emerge out of the forest onto a stage bright enough to set up our studio which consists of small speakers, a yoga mat, and a camera set for long exposures. Nicole warms up, Caroline picks the music, and I frame my shot with Echachis and Vargas Islands soaking up the afterglow of the summer sun.
Surprisingly, there is still a fair bit of light around so dialing in an exposure suitable to capture enough of the low powered lights attached to Nicole’s hands. We start off with some ground sequences, then to standing vinyasas which take on a more geometric look. This is another one of the goals - to see the difference in patterns and light trails left by the yogis and their chosen sequences. This is a totally new sensation for Nicole as she has never practiced yoga in almost complete darkness. Especially on a remote beach with no one around.
I climb up a cliff on the far side of the little beach for a different vantage and decide on taking a 25 minute exposure to create trails left by the stars. Unknowingly everything we brought has slowly been colonized by an army of sand fleas, so we have to eat snacks standing up.
When we start up again, the theme changes a bit as one of Nicole’s new favorite songs “Hideaway” come on and it turns into more of a dance session as opposed to pure yoga. On camera this looks like a giant glowing chandelier! After two hours we decide to call it a night and leave our beach to navigate the web of trails back to my truck and onto The Wolf in the Fog for boozy coffees and celebratory cake for dessert.
- August 2014