As winter weather begins to sink in across much of the country, we’re happy to take a quick escape from the chilly air to visit the beaches down south with Jacksonville Beach, Florida-based photographer Ryan Ketterman. As a local to the city, Ryan had worked on Visit Jacksonville projects in previous years, yet this particular time presented a new set of challenges. With a project timeline of mid-to-late fall, Ryan and his team had to deal with below-freezing temperatures as well as post-hurricane debris riddled on Florida’s shores in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. But with a few creative angles and some golden hour magic, Ryan pulled off a simple and dazzling project that shows all the best aspects of Jacksonville Beach.
How was it coordinating stills, video and drone footage all at once?
Coordinating stills/video/drone all at once is chaos, but having a good crew to back me up is what makes it happen. My wife Monica was there to help coordinate talent and watch stylistic details that help me focus on getting the shot. Also, having good assistants is important. The guys that were helping me on this are top notch, always keeping the right gear in my hands and being ready for what I needed before I asked for it.
What were the shoots like?
The shoots were a lot of fun. A bit hectic at times because we were trying to do so much (video/stills) in such a short amount of time to get the best light. That golden hour goes fast… Because of the timing of the project (shooting mid to late fall) we had to pretend it was warm at times. Sunrise yoga on the beach was near freezing temperatures, which isn’t exactly average for October in Florida.
After Hurricane Irma destroyed much of the state last year, we had to get real creative on our beach shoots. There was so much debris washed up. Some sort of reeds from the ocean all over the beach for miles. We had to shoot the bike shot at super low tide so we didn’t see all of that. All in all, there was a lot of logistical planning that we did prior to each shoot… and there was a lot of flexibility on the part of crew and talent to jump through the hoops on the weather.
See more of Ryan Ketterman on his website as well as the Visit Jacksonville website.
Credits:
Agency: Dalton Agency