I was still a bit shaken from my encounter with the park ranger the day before when I arrived at Gaviota State Beach. With hands that could’ve used a good steadying, I fumbled to hand over the $10 at the gate, and after receiving my pass, I finally made it in. Then Indigo showed up, and suddenly everything felt right again. I hadn’t seen Indigo since she was in kindergarten with my daughter. When she stepped out of the car looking all beautiful and grown, I nearly fainted. Those familiar big blue eyes made it clear that little girl was still inside her, and I was honored to capture her senior portraits.
Gaviota was a new location for me, and true to form, there were signs everywhere warning about the wind. And predictably, there was wind. But Indigo handled it all with such grace, completely unbothered. When we spotted a park ranger truck, I shared my PTSD from the day before. She was incredibly sympathetic. And when I took a little tumble—because let’s face it, keeping up with teens is a challenge—she made sure I was okay. Yep, just my pride took a hit.
Thank you, Indigo, for trusting me to capture this special time.
