A few years back a friend who I work (day job) with was fulfilling her bucket list dream by writing a book. The 1 book has now turned into almost 6 books and still growing! The books started out with a illustrated picture of the girl character and when Linda asked me if I would be interested in taking photos for her new book cover I jumped at the chance. I am a pretty visual person so when she told me when she was going to do, I didn’t quit get it until I saw what the illustrator did with my photo, imposed into a drawing of Linda’s book. This will be the 3rd set of photos I have taken photos for Linda’s book cover. (Charms and Chills, Red wine and Black Roses, and now Back Roads and Dangerous Curves). I have read (when I have time) a few of her books and I really liked them, they take place in Oregon and they are a lot like watching/reading a Hallmark movie.
I want to give you a little hint of who the author, Linda Richison is:
Hi, I’m Linda Richison and I reside in Salem, Oregon with my four living Pomeranian companions. Yes, I said four, Crazy? Maybe~ Long story. Salem is in the heart of the Willamette Valley (wine country). It is nestled between the coastal sandy beaches and the high mountain range. Fifty miles, on either side, offers an escape from the hectic city life. I have a full life and strive for a physical, emotional, and spiritual balance. Sometimes it’s a challenge juggling my daily schedule, added to what the universe decides to add to my daily routine while life is all about learning growing and stretching and I believe there’s always an opportunity in the horizon. Reading has always fascinated me. The thought of words painting images in your head, and the creation of another world, drew me into writing. I like to be able to design a scene and watch it blossom. Once I have a story line and I have the book plotted out, I create the characters and scenes, and watched the story come alive on paper. I wish I could give a definite answer on how I get my inspiration and where the ideas come from. I just have to say they appear in my thoughts. So, five books later, here I am working on my newest, Back roads and Dangerous Curves. It is a mixture of romance, mystery and fantasy with some history of Silver falls in Oregon, laced throughout the book. Hey, a baby blue fifty-five, T-Bird with a vengeance, and her adventurous sidekick Kaiylyn (protrayed by Pixie Adams), has got to have your curiosity racing and your engine smokin. Linda’s other books can be purchases from Amazon both paper back and kindle. Book one: Spirt of Love Heart and Soul , book two: Spirit of Love, Lost and Found, Book three: Spirit of Love Spice and Sassy (this is one of my favorites) Book Four: Histories and Mysteries Charm and Chills, Book Five: Histories and Mysteries Red Wine and Black Roses (this is tied for favorite too!) Book six: Histories and Mysteries Back Roads and Dangerous Curves will be released mid November 2020!
I have to say, I have read most of Linda’s books and I can’t wait to read this one!
A little about the model: Pixie Adams
Pixie Adams is the owner of Moonlight Coffee in Oak Grove Oregon. She was working a job in law enforcement and when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33 she decided it was time to do something different that help make a difference! The Moonlight Coffeehouse was created to support local artists, local farmers, local businesses and local community and has a couple of charities they help support every month through different Go-Fund me accounts. Pixie also is known for helping out her fellow coffee competitor down the road that was going through his own battle with cancer. Pixie is an amazing lady and I hope you will take a moment and read this article about her.
When we were planning this shoot, I had done a little scouting but couldn’t find an area that meet the needs/requests of Linda’s vision. Finally we decided on a location near Silvercreek Falls. The three of us had a zoom meeting, talked about what Pixie would wear, where we were going to meet, and a little bit about each of us. Linda had only been texting with Pixie and I hadn’t ever met her. Linda and I had worked together so it was a nice little chat getting to know each other, hearing about what amazing things Pixie has done in her life! I think we had a little fun with our Zoom meeting lol!!
The day is finally here, Thursday and we finally all get to meet! We drove up the curvy roads of Silverton Oregon, on the way to Silver Creek Falls. Heres a fun fact for you; Did you know that Silver Creek Falls has 10 waterfalls! They call it the “Trails of Ten Falls” and it’s a 7.2 mile loop, this is such a beautiful area to hike and take photographs I would highly recommend it, but bring your boots and Linda found out wearing high heels wasn’t such a good idea.
The Cover of the book for “Back Roads and Dangerous Curves” Linda has a look that she wanted for the cover and I think we found a perfect location! There was a gravel road, and lots of older mature trees some even were moss covered, lots of green ferns and of course mosquitos! I think we hit the nail on the head with this cover, I am really excited to see this book come to print! These are just a few of the 400+ photos we took that evening.
Once we felt we had the photos for the cover, I wanted to take Pixie and Linda to one of my favorite spots to shot gorgeous, stunning photos. I took them to North Falls and we walked in to take the photos. We were getting close to 8:00pm and sunset was 8:35 so we had to hustle. I think both ladies thought I was nuts, until they saw the amazing location that I “forced them” to walk to ha-ha.
Once you see the falls, you see how beautiful this location is! It is not too long of a walk, it is pretty flat and well cared for. The small pools are great for little people and there are flat rocks to stand on out near and in the water. As Pixie said it is really breath taking and her happy place! If you are looking for a quick hike to get away from the heat, this is a nice little get-a-way. As we were leaving there were two young ladies that brought a pizza and hung out in the beautiful bank and (in my opinion) that looked pretty perfect to me!!!!
Below are a few of the gorgeous models ~ I love what they both chose to wear, Dresses on any body style look so pretty and feminine and such perfect choices with the colors in the background.
Did I hear you ask, I wonder what time of day she took these? You might get tired of hearing me talk about it, but these pictures were at “Golden hour” and it gives the skin tone a soft, but warm look with making the back ground creamy, dreamy. Golden hour never disappoints!
Here is a little “geek talk” for you, I was shooting with a Nikon 750 Lens: Nikkor 50mm 1.4, I also used an expo disc for setting a custom white balance. I always shoot in RAW and my settings were: ISO 500, f/2 S 1/160. If you ever wanted to have a one-on-one with a photographer, I do have a private class I offer! If you have enjoyed this or any other of my blog posts, please make sure to sign up for notification, I would love to keep this up if there is enough interest. Also as always, if you are lookin for a photographer please let me know, I would love to have you in front of my camera!
