Clear Creeks With Reed (Patreon)

The blank text field of which I am writing this starts off with a little something from Patreon. It is always changing, one says 'Write anything.... they'll love it.' and this one currently says 'Tell a story,' so that I will.

Mid September in Arizona is a different kind of September than the rest of the United States. The heat still plagues the state deep into autumn and this day was no different. We were up early this day, before the sun made it's appearance and it was still uncomfortably hot outside. We were up early for a reason, an adventure to this beautiful location with our friends Shantia and her husband Evan. Shantia is a fellow photographer and model that we met year ago during a stint in Phoenix, but this was our first time doing a day trip with them. Reed and I arrived at their house just as the skies were turning all shades of pinks and purples from the rising sun. We loaded our things into their SUV and started our way to our destination for the day.

A two hour drive filled with singing, laughing and truly becoming friends all while Siri directed us. We made two stops this day, the first was a little watering hole they had found in their explorations prior. Shantia briefly shot Reed and then a switch of positions, Reed shot Shantia. I remember there was one point that short little Reed wanted to get a higher angle of Shantia laying in the waters so I picked her up mid thigh and held her well above my head. We all started laughing while I told them to stop because I was holding her so high in the air with an extremely expensive camera. Reed got the shot and that is all that matters.

A short while later we found ourselves driving down an endless primitive road. Well, it did come to an end, just nine miles later. An uncomfortable ride, but beautiful views. I sat in the back seat behind the passenger seat and simply peered out into the distance taking in all of the beauty and surroundings. The nine miles finally came to an end and at it's end there sat a tent with two government workers in charge of ensuring every person entering had a permit. These are protected lands that we were going to shoot in and during the summer and autumn months a permit is required to regulate the amount of people accessing the area. Thankfully, Shantia and Evan had booked a permit ahead of time.

We made out way down to the waters and followed the creek until we reached an area that was void of people. Thankfully throughout the entire day shooting in this beautiful and breathtaking scene, we did not have a single passer-by. Shantia and Reed spent the entire day nude in the waters as we all took our turns shooting.

Towards the end of the day we ended up in this vast open pool surrounded by tall grass and a cliff on the rear. Since Reed was already nude, there was no point in shooting anything else. I reached down to grab my camera and we made quick work of this spot. The way she held her hands softly above the waters with just her fingertips brushing along was amazing. I kept having to run back to shore to switch cameras. I needed this on every format. There was something truly amazing about this day and I think it was the combination of great company, flowing creativity and stunning green waters flowing the same. Enjoy.

- AW Media

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pmie8kwlu53c57l/AAAMQ6iY8SrllxWale58f6UXa?dl=0