Vacation Shoot - Jamie

In the weeks leading up to my vacation, I had nothing planned at all. Other plans had fallen through and then Jamie mentioned going to the beach. I'm not the biggest fan of the beach as I'm more of the tourist type, liking to see things, but I said, "Why not?" 

We planned a trip to Virginia Beach. I had never been there, but saw that it looked to be very scenic. We planned on doing about 10 photo sets during our visit, which didn't quite happen, but we still managed to shoot seven. 


Thursday, 7 p.m.


We left to go down to the beach. Knowing Hurricane Arthur was approaching, we figured we would have to change our original plans during the long drive. The forecast called for high percentages of storms/rain from 6-11 a.m. on Friday. Instead of going on to Virginia Beach early on Friday and doing some locations in Norfolk on Saturday before leaving, we swapped the day around.


Thursday, 11:30 p.m.


We arrived at the hotel and this is where things started getting even worse than having a hurricane headed our way. The hotel couldn't find my reservation. The lady behind the counter looked and looked. Somehow when I listed Jamie as a guest, they placed it under her name instead. Whatever. At least we had a room.

Once we made our way up to our room we had another surprise. When I made the reservation I had a check box for either two queen beds or one king bed. I clicked for the two queens. Well, we had one double bed! With it being the holiday weekend, there were no rooms available to swap. Of course on the booking receipt, in small print it read, "bed choices cannot be guaranteed." 


Friday, 12 a.m.


Since Jamie had worked all day she was in the mood to relax. She laid back in the bed and tended to some social media. I turned on the TV and gave her a foot rub until she was ready to fall asleep. I took to the recliner and watched some things on the WWE Network. I slept like crap, tossing and turning, but I'm just a nice guy and let Jamie take the bed.


Friday, 10:30 a.m.


We slept in a little later since we waiting out the rain from the passing hurricane. With some time to kill, we organized our plans - figuring out which outfit Jamie would need for each of the day's possible location.


Friday, 12:30 p.m.


After we got cleaned up and dressed, we stopped for lunch and made our way to Norfolk. We parked and made our way to the first location I wanted to use - the battleship USS Wisconsin.


Friday, 1 p.m.


Now, Bobbie was already shot and published with a Fourth of July set for Soles of Silk (Sample 01 / Sample 02), but I couldn't help but feel like this location just screamed "America." Add that to the USA flag shirt and flip flops adorned Jamie was wearing and that we were shooting this on the Fourth of July itself... Kinda cool!

Friday, 1:30 p.m.


As excited as I was for this set, there was a major hurdle - the wind. Hurricane Arthur was headed north, but the forecast said to expect heavy winds until 4 p.m. I didn't want to wait that long as we had several other sets to shoot. Jamie didn't want to tie her hair back this early into shooting either, so we stopped after only 17 photos. We decided to go check out two other near by locations to see if the wind was less of a bother. I knew being right on the water was only making things worse.




Friday, 2 p.m.


After a quick outfit change Jamie and I walked over to a park that featured a Japanese pagoda. All around the pagoda were scenic walkways, benches, ponds, and decor. The trees and some buildings blocked a lot of the wind, so we began our shoot. The little black flats were a cute touch. I'm sure many of you will agree as flats have been a popular request as of late.




Friday, 2:45 p.m.


Jamie changed her clothes once again and we made our way to the third location - a mermaid themed water fountain. Now, this spot was literally a few hundred feet away from the USS Wisconsin, but the buildings and ship cut out a lot of the wind. Sure, some of it came through here and there, but the only real issue was the water jets shooting high up into the air. When those went off, half the water was blown out of the fountain and all over the walkway. We stayed clear of that side.




Friday, 3:30 p.m.


Jamie changed back into her outfit for the USS Wisconsin set. The wind had indeed lessened, but it wasn't perfect. We were going to try to shoot without her hair being tied back, but by this time, if it wasn't working, the hair was getting tied. I wanted this location more than most of the others. I wasn't giving in.

We lucked out as the wind didn't ruin any photos. You can see some strands of hair blowing in the set, but they weren't all over the place like they were only two hours prior.


Friday, 4:15 p.m.


With the set in front of the USS Wisconsin finished it was time to head to some of the beaches along the Chesapeake Bay. The area between Norfolk and Virginia Beach is practically surrounded by the bay, ocean, lakes, and rivers. If you love the water, I fully recommend checking this area out. 




Friday, 5 p.m.


After driving around and checking out a few spots, we found an area isolated enough to shoot a kite themed set. I hooked up the kite back at the car before going out on the beach. As we were getting ready to shoot, the wind was so forceful, it broke the kite in my hands. Now, this was a cheap kite, so I wasn't expecting much. It was a photo shoot prop. But still, we hadn't even taken a photo yet. It was just one of those many things that kept getting thrown at us during this trip.

I ended up shoving the kite down into the sand and having Jamie pose in front of it on her beach towel. The wind was fierce out on the bay, but we made due.


Friday, 6 p.m.


We left the beach and made our way to the next location - the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. If you've never heard of it, check out the Wikipedia link here. It's an engineering marvel!




Friday, 6:45 p.m.


It took us a while to find a parking space and walk to the bridges, but we made it. There was quite a few people in the area, but not directly under the bridges. By this time the sun was going down and was a little harsh. I really wanted this spot though, especially with Jamie wearing the Jaws shirt we found doing some shopping before our trip.


Friday, 7:30 p.m.


We headed back to the car and set the GPS to go back to the hotel. We were both hungry and wanted to take a break. We still had plans to shoot two sets in the hotel room that night as well - one of which saw us make a stop at the grocery store on the way. We were also hungry and trying to figure out where to eat and if placed would be open late since it was the Fourth of July.


Friday, 8:30 p.m.


Jamie called a steakhouse not too far from our hotel. They were open until 10 p.m., so we cleaned up and made our way over. It was a nice break from shooting, but I was honestly very tired. After being out in the sun all day and not getting any sleep the night before, it took its toll.


Friday, 9:45 p.m.


We went back to the hotel and I set up my photo lights. Part of me didn't want to bring these and just shoot everything outdoors. There are so many great locations in the region, but I needed back up with the hurricane. I also had two ideas for indoor shoots to break up the beach and waterfront themes that were prevalent in most of the sets.




Friday, 10:15 p.m.


The first indoor set saw Jamie in a dress wearing a pair of black Cuban heel thigh high stockings. They had a brown seem, footing, and top and are the same exact style as the ones Olivia wore in her set the week prior - the one set to be a Wu's Feetlinks feature set this very month. Stay tuned for more on that. (see blog: "Sunday's Shoot: Olivia")

Although Jamie didn't know what to think of these stockings, I thought they looked amazing. I've had numerous requests over the years for Cuban heel stockings and/or reinforced heel and toe stockings. I had bought both pairs that Jamie and Olivia used from the same online store earlier in the year. I have been looking forward to using them ever since.

For the video Jamie pulled the stockings back on to take them off. Before she got the chance to do that, however, we took a small break so I could give her a stocking clad foot massage.




Friday, 11 p.m.


With the stocking set concluded we got messy! The stop at the grocery store was for a strawberry pie. The pie didn't last long either as Jamie had the idea, instead of squishing it, to throw it onto her feet. I haven't done that in a set before and the video clip we shot during this set captured it happening in motion.

Talk about a mess! It took a while to clean this one up. I tended to the kitchen while Jamie cleaned off her feet in the tub. I think I got the crap end of that deal! I would have much rather cleaned off her feet.


Saturday, 12:15 a.m.


After the shoot and clean up it was time for bed. Jamie wanted to get up around 5-5:30 a.m. to head down to Virginia Beach. We were going to try and shoot at two locations right on the boardwalk before the crowds came out. I was worried about one thing, however, the spot I wanted the most might not work out if it turned out to be a bright, sunny day. I guess we'd have to wait a few hours to see.


Saturday, 6 a.m. 


Yeah, we overslept. Well, I over-tossed and turned again. I got practically no sleep yet again and it was really taking its toll. We got ready, packed up our stuff and checked out.


Saturday, 6:30 a.m.


We found a place to park and proceeded to head up to the King Neptune Statue. Sadly, my fears of not being able to shoot this at this time a day were dead on. With the sun so low behind the statue and no clouds in the sky to diffuse it, it just wouldn't have worked. We jumped back into the car and headed down to our second location and to find some breakfast.


Sunday, 7:00 a.m.


Breakfast came first. We went into an overly crowded McDonald's, found the only two seats open in the dining room and ate. We were quick as possible and then got back into the car to go to he other boardwalk location I had wanted to use.

Once again, the spot just wouldn't work. By this time there was too many people already out and about. Since this spot was a really cool nautical themed playground on the beach, I couldn't really shoot surrounded by kids. It was then that Jamie suggested that we not shoot anymore sets and just enjoy ourselves on the last day of vacation.

I was totally fine with this idea. With that, we headed out onto the beach to lay out for a while. Jamie wanted to tan and I wanted to fall asleep.


Saturday, 8:30 a.m.


Jamie and I went out onto the beach. We laid out for some time and I even gave her somewhat of a sandy covered feet foot massage at one point.


Saturday, 12:30 p.m.


We collected our stuff and walked the boardwalk and streets of Virginia Beach. I really wanted to stop at a Candy Kitchen Shoppe to get Kaycee some sour poppers. She had mentioned how much she loves them earlier in the week during her first sets. (see blog: "Tuesday's Shoot - Kaycee")


Saturday, 2:15 p.m.


Jamie and I got in the car to head back home. With a drive just over four hours ahead of us, Jamie wanted to be back to meet up with some friends. I, on the other hand, wanted to meet up with my bed and relax.

My original plan was for us to go home using the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. I have never been over it and really wanted to. Since it would have added an hour to our drive, however, we just headed back toward I-95.

Also part of the original plan was to see if we could take some pictures out on one of the small islands on the Bay Bridge Tunnel. One of the islands has a fishing pier and restaurant. I wasn't sure if there would be a place for Jamie to pose, but I wanted to see for myself. Had that not worked out, I also had a plan to use a park on the other side of the bay. Oh well, they are spots I can save for a return trip should I find myself venturing that way again.


Saturday, 7 p.m.


Jamie was home and I was relaxing at my house. I wanted to write this blog, but I knew I was too tired to stay focused. I did want to share the photos, however, and gave the first sneak peek on the Wu's Feetlinks Forum in a thread titled, "Soles of Silk - Vacation Shoot Samples." The samples are the same ones posted here, but without the back story. I just felt the need to show off the great photos Jamie posed for, yet again.


Some day, some time in the future


Since Jamie and I didn't get in all the sets we had planned, we said we'll find another day before the end of the summer/fall to do them. Obviously they won't be in Virginia Beach, but we'll find something cute for sure. Jamie sure did bump up her photo count this week. I already had five unpublished sets of her before our trip too. I'm sure you guys won't be complaining getting to see Jamie updates a little more regularly in the months to come. Until then, enjoy these previews!

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