On Location Ad Meeting

Talbot Wilson, our marketing guru, out by the Casa Ceibo pool holding a one-on-one meeting for our new advertising campain.

Part of our South American crew

These two shots are the core of our photo crew. Gabriella (far left) is makeup. Lali and Isabella are models, then myself and Maria Susana the designer & model. Melissa, my assistant and Charlie the owner of Casa Ceibo (far right).

Daniel, owner of Casa Ceibo (far left), Talbot, advertising (next) and Katie, travel writer (center left) got there early and had to leave before the shoot was over. Myself, Melissa and Charlie (far right) stayed on with the models and makeup. Daniel was off the the Galapagos Islands. Talbot left for an assignment in Bermuda to cover sailboat races and Katie was on her way back to Colorado to write travel articles and have her new baby.

More of Ecuador's Beautiful People

I don't know when I have felt so much genuine innocent love from so many at once. These kids took my heart away. My few hours with them was more than money could buy.

Melissa & Maria Susana

photo by: Isabella Gonzenbach

My assistant Melissa with clothing designer and model Maria Susana Rivadeneira. (click Susana link to see video)

Viewing Images

Showing Isabella images after shooting.

A Quick look at Ecuador

photo by: Melissa Salter

A quick lesson on Ecuador in case you’re not familiar. It’s located on the West Coast of South America south of Columbia and north of Peru. It basically has four regions. Running north and south down the middle of the country is the Andes Mountain Range with many volcanoes some active. This range is higher than the Rocky Mountains in the US. To the east is the Amazon Jungle, to the west the Pacific Coastal region. Six hundred miles out into the Pacific are the Galapagos Islands, a separate state like the Hawaiian Islands are to the US. As you know this is where Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was birthed. The people are beautiful in every way, physically and of heart.

An interesting tidbit, here because we are on the equator the sun sets every day, 365 days a years at 6:20 give or take 5 minutes. The temperature is a constant mid 80's every day of the year.

I have at least one more shoot scheduled for Ecuador. There I'm to shoot in the Andes, the jungle and the islands.

Shooting with Susana

photo by Isabella Gonzenbach

A bit unlikely but after landing in Ecuador, I spent the first night in a Japanese hotel and had sushi with my client Charlie Van Diver and singer Felipe Jacome. Felipe is the lead singer for Ecuador's number one rock band, Tercermundo.

After dinner we went to a local club in Quito where some fans spotted Felipe. A band was playing in the club and when they took a break the crowd persuaded Felipe to get on stage for a song or two. Everyone in the club came to the stage waving hands, taking photos with cell phones and singing along with him. A great start to the trip.

The next day we flew to the coast. An old vintage jungle style Land Rover picked us up and drove us the hour drive to the resort. The ride was straight out of a James Bond movie. Taking whatever lane they wanted to at 60 MPH or as fast as the potholes would allow, cars and trucks going both directions were weaving like wild men from one lane to the other dodging potholes and oncoming traffic. Headed straight at you, at the last second before we hit head on, they or we would swerve back into the correct lane to avoid collision. This roller coaster ride lasted the entire hour. It was great a classic for U tube but I needed my video camera.

The next day Susana and the other models showed up. I can’t tell you how professional this group was. After a five hour trip to the location they jumped right into makeup and we squeezed out the last bit of daylight. I was impressed with them right off the bat.

Here are a few shots. More to come….