Welcome to California’s Central Coast! This series of photographs is about physical beauty; that kind of beauty you experience visually; and specifically about the beautiful scenery of California’s Central Coast and the beauty of the female figure. This book was inspired by the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit magazine, which is published by Sports Illustrated each year. For this magazine, beautiful female models are taken to many scenic locations and photographed in swimsuits, primarily bikinis. I loved the concept, but was always a bit disappointed by the magazine because the pictures focused primarily on the models, and often the scenic location was hardly recognizable – perhaps barely in the shot or blurred. The shots taken along the California coast in one of the issues was particularly disappointing.
This series shows my vision of this same concept. In my vision, the beautiful scenery is just as important, or even more prominent, than the model. I want the model to be an adornment, or perhaps your tour guide, to the scenic location, not necessarily the main focus of the picture. For each shot, though, I include a closer crop of the model so that she can also be the center of attention. :-)
These pictures were taken along California’s Central Coast, where I have lived most of my life. I started at Bean Hollow State Beach, which is just south of Half Moon Bay and San Francisco, and traveled down to McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, which is part of the Big Sur coastline. I took pictures of the scenic locations that are most memorable and special to me. These locations included:
Click here for a map that shows the locations.
Although this series does not have a variety of models to make it interesting, there is beautiful scenery, and I think Laila is the perfect choice for an adornment to the scenery.
So now, without further ado, welcome to Laila’s Central Coast Beauty…