When this Costa Rica photoshoot was first mentioned to Natty on our last shoot, in the Pacific Northwest, I assumed that I wouldn’t be involved because of the cost to bring additional folks to an international location. I had been to Costa Rica a few times before and knew part of the country fairly well, so when I got the email asking if I had the time available, I jumped at the chance to help organize and produce another shoot for Merrell.
April marks the end of the dry season in Costa Rica, and it was the driest I’d ever seen. Among a few other spots to target on this shoot, Merrell had requested somewhere that was lush and green. I had done some research to find a ‘non-touristy’ waterfall with high forest walls and ever-lasting green foliage, yet as I flew over the brown landscape and walked off the plane into the dry heat, I wasn’t sure that we’d find much more than a trickle of a waterfall.
Natty met me at the airport and after walking around the town of Liberia with an urban shot-list in mind, we headed West in search of this waterfall. The entrance was down a dusty dirt road and the suggested donation went to a local elementary school, which we happily paid. Upon parking and navigating our way down the trail, we were stoked to hear the rushing of water and the laughter of people, cooling off after another hot day in the sun. Locals flanked the beach and perched themselves on big dry rocks to catch a bite to eat before jumping back in. The sun was brilliantly shining down through the forest canopy and the water was perfect. Due to the heat, I decided to get my hair wet, in order to keep cool. As I submerged my hair, Natty yelled for a Little Mermaid moment. The sunlight played along quite nicely, so after drenching myself with repeated hair flips, it became Natty’s turn to whip his hair back n’ forth.
Feeling refreshed, we jumped back into the rental car and made our way to Nosara, which was to be our home base for the photoshoot. After a day and a half of scouting and successfully finding some key locations for our 4 themes: marketplace, urban, beach, lush green – the two models (Nadira + Ben) and Sophie from Merrell joined us and the shoot began. The 3 days of the shoot yielded a bounty of incredible images that you all will be able to see, come Spring ’13, from Merrell. Never having met, Ben and Nadira fit together like a perfectly ripened mango and my mouth. Sophie was able to offer key advice throughout the days, which Natty and I greatly appreciated and the long and hot days felt more like a group of friends hanging out, than work.
Perhaps on our next shoot, we can finish writing the song “Me & Ballsy MaGee” in honor of the male howler monkeys – just a thought.
Thank you all!