How to capture that summer feeling

All, Destinations

You’ve just parked up, the sun sparkling through the gently waving palm leaves above. You’re so excited of what lies ahead that you nearly forget your towel. Swing it over your shoulder as you manoeuvre around the pandanus trees, over a small dune and into the flat, bright space ahead. The sand beneath your feet is warm, and you have a little competition with your mates to see who can make it squeak louder as you walk down the beach to set up your spot for the day.

It’s finally here, the start of the glorious Australian summer. Sunnies, check. Hat & sunscreen, check. Some good mates, tunes, sandy toes, mangoes, cherries, a sweet wave down at the point, and there’s even a dude playing beach cricket with his three overenthusiastic kids. Think this couldn’t get more stereotypical? Well, do you know what? This is actually happening.

There’s something about a road trip that brings you so close to the essence of summer, and on out latest project for THL, we set out to capture exactly that. We packed all your favourite looking props, summery lighting kit, stocked our fridge with colourful, camera friendly treats and even dusted off our dragon’s old red & yellow ding-magnet of a surfboard. We drove from Brisbane to Byron and everywhere in between, in search of that perfect spot for our summer mood. We found our party squad on the Gold Coast and the next day shot on one of the Tweed Coast’s many untouched beaches, giving the viewer the feeling of being the only person on the planet. Apart from a couple of curlews, some whales, a water dragon, our camper Sunny and our newest team member Ben the helicopter engineer and drone pilot supreme, we had the whole beach to ourselves.

To add something totally unexpected, we checked out the huge shield volcano and its cliffs, waterfalls and ancient rainforest in the Hinterland. Who would have thought all these things are just a short drive from each other? The beauty of a summer road trip is to have it all at your fingertips. In the middle of Springbrook national park, we folded down the double bed and got the best view of the stars we’ve ever seen. So good in fact that hardly had we set up our time-lapse in an empty field, that a car rocked up beside us, and two locals started unpacking a huge telescope to check out distant galaxies.

If that doesn’t sound like nostalgia, then remember the simple days when you were a kid & little rocks were just as beautiful as that expensive toy someone got you for Christmas. Lensflare galore met the little things that make summer summer. Like forgetting how hot the asphalt gets in the sun and burning your bare feet when you first get out of the car.

There’s something about the golden sunshine that makes the colours around you pop. A warm breeze tickles your toes and you relax reading a good book with the back of your van open, feel the rush of cool air as you get drinks out of the fridge, see the tiny salt crystals shine on your skin and cool down in the blue ocean. Roam around or stay in one spot forever, for this is your summer, and it is glorious.