No crew, no lights – just one model, running at Sand Dunes National Park, some camera gear and myself. It was possibly the most fun I have had on a shoot in years.

We shot at the Great Sand Dunes National Park for no more than 24-hours. The model and I started the shoot at around 6:30am, with a break for lunch and a short nap, and finished at sundown. Shortly after we heading back to Denver. When I say this was a fast shoot I mean it – in and out. I was quick but efficiently captured thousands of running photos in the mean time.

The things I love best about these one-on-one shoots are you get a chance to know your talent. My model is such a dynamic athlete and it was a blast exchanging battle wound stories. And we each had each other’s undivided attention, which gave me time to focus on nailing the shot.

As I was sitting there with my model waiting for the light to be in the right spot, I could not help but to think, this is a wonderful day! Rather than dealing with getting a crew, chatting up a client, or directing a whole team, I was watching the sunrise over the Colorado Mountains creating splashes of light on the dunes. It’s moments like these that remind me of how I love photography.