I’ve never shot an engagement session with so many hairy naked men involved. Have I hooked ya?! Who could resist reading on after a first line like that? Yes, that’s right, we shot at Black’s beach for the second half of their engagement session. A notoriously nude beach in San Diego, which only seems to attract older men with a fondness for showing off what the good Lord gave them. Okay, I’ll come back to that later. For now, meet Chris and Smita!
These two are so much fun to be around! As soon as we began emailing back and forth, I knew I liked them. They’re both avid rock climbers and they knew they wanted their engagement session somewhere outdoorsy! They met interning for the same biotech company here in San Diego and began dating after hanging out “as friends” a few times. Pretty sure they both had a similar idea in mind though and things moved past friendship and turned into a really fun and loving relationship. I think one of the coolest things about these two is that you can tell they’re best friends. You don’t find that too often in a couple, but when you do, be assured that there’s something incredibly special there. Whether rock climbing Joshua Tree or one of our local spots, these two are always hanging around together. Wow, couldn’t help, but go for that one! Deepest apologies for terrible humor… Their wedding will be a Western style (not cowboys, but Western culture) wedding with bits of Indian tradition sprinkled in. Another really fun thing I get to do with these two before their wedding is to try out Indian food! Okay, let’s get to some pictures!
We started off along the cliffs of the Glider Port in La Jolla. The weather was cooperating perfectly and the sky was lit up blue for some incredible images of these two!
This blog has a co-star by the name of Lulu! That’s the pink bike against the fence. Nope, not ours, but we sure do appreciate someone leaving it there for us to shoot with ;)
I love the natural look of the cliffs above Black’s beach!
After a bunch along the tops of the cliffs, we got them changed and began the long hike down to the water. Shooting all along the way, of course! If this next one makes you wish they were mid-climb up that face, then know this: At some point these two are taking me with them climbing and I will FOR SURE be bringing my camera for some dangling images!
Like I said, these two are best friends and it’s clear. They can barely be around each other without grinning ear to ear and I have a ton of pictures to prove it!
Ah, Black’s beach… While I said that Black’s is notorious for being a nude beach, rarely do you find these old men down there. On this day? …there were three. Don’t shield your eyes just yet though, all naked awkwardness has been Photoshopped out of the background to keep your eyes from burning.
This is why Black’s, while sometimes awkward, is so gorgeous. Surrounded by a horseshoe shaped cliff line, the super flat beach stretches for miles giving that incredible reflection in the wet sand. Love it!
I would claim that “I had no idea that having you walk in the shallow water would result in a rogue wave soaking the bottoms of your pants”, but by now that would just be a lie. Maybe the first few times it happened were a surprise, but now I just love watching a really gorgeous picture turn into a running and laughing fit! How great is a picture of them getting hit by a wave?! Sorry guys, couldn’t help it…
Okay, so like I said, there were naked men walking up and down the beach. I’m also pretty sure they were purposely trying to walk in the background because in the unedited versions the guy is back there looking straight into the lens! The photo on the right is a little representation of our extreme laughter at these men. Call us immature, but it was hilariously awkward! One gentlemen (I guess I’ll call him that) was walking down the beach with nothing, but a backpack on. Also the same guy that was staring into my lens! Creeper… I have to say though, we had a lot of really good laughs because of it!
Finally, I was able to capture a really cool moment that Chris and Smita were having right as the sun set down on the horizon. It was an incredibly fun shoot and I can’t wait for their wedding!
by David Manning
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