Running barefoot at the Salt Flats
Nature has this way of reminding us how much the human spirit can become refreshed, and Utah did just that for me.
I’ve always wanted to get out to the Salt Flats. Even agnostic of photography & pageants, I had been so interested in this place I’d seen beautiful Pinterest photos of and had heard others describe as “like you’re on another planet.” In building my 2021 travel calendar, I thought it just might be the right time to make the trip happen. I found an incredible gown rental company, lined up Emerie Jones for hair and makeup, and hoped that others could see my vision and want to join me in this one-in-a-lifetime photoshoot.
We stayed in Salt Lake City which was a whole vibe in & of itself—shoutout to White Horse restaurant for being the only food open past 10pm when we got back from shooting both nights. I found the best Indian food/ speakeasy bar, toured the city on those awesome Lime scooters, and made a friend in the Starbucks line who was there for a rap festival. Travel really does open you up to the most interesting experiences!
The trip from Salt Lake to the Salt Flats is about an hour and a half, but the time was quickly passed with Emerie and I chatting in the giant rented van. I hadn’t meant to rent & be responsible for driving such a big van, but after a few slow practices I figured it out. I can now add “can drive giant van around small city streets and hard salt flats without tipping it over” to my resume.
One thing that took me by surprise is that the Salt Flats are 100% dried salt that you just drive right onto. There’s a little ledge that you take from the rest stop area down a small incline and then you’re on top of this strange bumpy salt surface. It was wild!
I like to think I get smarter each time I shoot in a new location so after it was super sunny day 1 which started shooting off slow, I pushed our time back 45 minutes on day 2 so we didn’t have to wait around for better lighting to hit. Jokes on me, our second day was so smoggy it was diffused, low light almost the second we got there. Nature is so funny that way—it shows different sides of itself any time you go out in it. You can only plan so much, and then just enjoy what the moment brings you.
We shot in lavender, pink, black, and gold gowns. Each were so interesting in their own way, and I was thankful I had so much experience with gowns to know how to best work with them. Those trains are heavy!
The models did a fantastic job running, laughing, posing, and twirling to get all sorts of fun movement to the gowns. Salt got everywhere (which I was finding in my gear for weeks after), but it was messy in the best kind of way. Like the way you just sit back and relax into the moment.
Enjoy the behind the scenes & some final images from our travels. I hope to be back one day!
H&MU: Emerie Jones
Gown rental; Utah Gowns
Photography: Brittany Link
Thanks for reading!
XOXO
Brittany
