I flew down to St Petersburg, Florida for a business trip to do a site visit of the restaurant I was designing (day job!) and my boss was gracious enough to give me Friday off to hit the beach and explore a bit.  My clients wife is a model, and drop dead gorgeous as you can see and I asked her if she’d be willing to model for me and drive to the Don Cesar Hotel, the infamous pink icon at the beginning of St Pete’s Beach. To my surprise she said yes! I asked if she had a really big hat, which she answered yes again and I told her that’s all I cared about. We drove with the top down in the convertible to this beautiful architectural icon and my dreams started to unfold in front of me.  This is one of the first sessions I ever did and to this day it’s still one of my favorites.  What do you think?

The backdrops surrounding this hotel are literally jaw droppingly beautiful. The beach, the ocean, the architecture, the landscaping, the colors, and then you put Alla into the mix and she just ROCKS it. I mean…… Why can’t we all look like this in pictures? I guess that’s why some of us are behind the camera instead.. This, on the left, is one of my favorite images I’ve ever taken. I couldn’t tell you exactly why but every time I come across it I have to stop and reflect on it for a bit. They say not to shoot midday but in this case the shadows give the most splendid dramatic effect.

Thank you Alla for putting up with all my ideas and bringing so much beauty, laughter and personality to this shoot!