Sam Sanchez

I had a weird dream last night. I was on a production crew with Gwen and Amanda. Gwen was directing and operating the main camera, Amanda was on second camera, and I was doing boom pole and recording audio. We were shooting interviews of men and women in various areas in San Francisco. I don’t remember the topics but it was a diverse group of people and they were all cool. We took an Uber (it was my first time in an Uber in a dream no less) to our different locations. We were in buildings and alleys. We had a lot of fun making jokes and collaborating on the shoot. I remember telling Gwen the we captured good audio which made her happy. We wrapped up around dinner time and went out for sushi where we had good food and saki, and talked about everything. I remember having a great time with both of them. The dream is weird because I hardly know either one. I’ve known Gwen a grand total of 3.5 hours which was the duration of our shoot. I guess you can add 15 minutes for the time we met at the Metreon before booking the shoot. I’ve known Amanda a total of 7 hours which was the total of our two shoots. I think my fantasies took over my dreams last night. Gwen was the first professional nude model I shot. Amanda (Apnea; Apneatic) was the first famous model I shot. The shoots with them went very well and we produced incredible work. I’m not in regular contact with either one of them. There are tiny exchanges with Amanda on IG but I have not spoken to Gwen since our shoot. My fantasies involving models usually don’t include being on a film crew with them but they do include going out for sushi and hanging out for a little while. That’s about it. Just a nice dinner and conversation. No styrofoam. No spaghetti wrestling. No penguins. (Wait… I think I just revealed something.)  @samsanchezphoto

This shot took meticulous planning and flawless execution. The positioning of the lights and the positioning of Mary was critical and had to be made within a tolerance of three degrees. Lighting ratios and color temperature were measured and tested. Lens selection was the last factor that could make or break the photo. We shot 90 images. 😀 Here’s what really happened. We had just finished shooting a mask and collar. Mary turned around and I saw her back. I’ve always liked back shots like that and now I had a model on set I could photograph. Mary commented, “yeah, I’m a fossil.” We made five photos. Lighting consisted of a large soft box and small backlight I forgot about. The back light outlined her face and left shoulder. When I looked at the LCD, I thought we had nothing. It was later on in post that I discovered I actually made my shot. Translation: I just went for it and hoped for the best. As longs as I had focus and exposure I would have something to work with. @samsanchezphoto

Jus’ Cuz It’s Apnea (today Amanda Pemberton). This is from our first shoot. She is such a great model and I would love to work with her again. @samsanchezphoto