Little Sahara 2018 // Utah Fashion Photographer

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Darby Hadley, model, photobombed by a 4-wheeler at Little Sahara Desert.
[2017 Eureka]
[2017 Little Sahara]
[2018 Eureka]

The wildfires burning here in the western United States throw smoke and ash into the air, creating a wicked haze in the sky for miles and miles. At the time of this shoot the only truly blue sky we could see were glimpses caught in the early morning or between gusts of wind passing through. Combined with an incoming lightning storm also meant that the sun "set" behind this haze a whole hour earlier than the actual horizon and we had to improvise.

Cue off-camera flash.

During the final and bluest images in this series (scroll to the end) the sun was almost completely set when the storm came close. To compensate I pulled out my off-camera speed light and set it in the sand at roughly the same angle as the setting sun. I set the power around 1/128 strength and 3-5 feet away from my subject (the sand kept shifting so the distance varied). We kept shooting until a windstorm kicked up and we ran like crazy people fighting giant raindrops over shifting sand hills to the car.

Scroll to the end to see the last photos before the rain.

Next time I'll take my keys out of my pocket before a mad dash in the desert. #openthedoor

P.S. We got photobombed by a 4-wheeler. It felt good knowing we weren't the only crazies on the Dunes at that time of day.






Marissa McEwan, model (makeup by @peacock.artistry) braves an incoming storm at Little Sahara Desert. Off-camera flash in the sand at camera right.






The last photo before the rain hit.

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