Najla & Jeremy
Joshua Tree, this happy place
California Dreamin’ & Joshua Tree photo session
When someone says “California”, what do you think of? Chances are (especially if you aren’t a Californian), you imagine sun, palm trees, beaches, beautiful people and bikinis. Or maybe desert highways and endless vistas across dry valleys. These cliches were definitely what I had in my French mindset before moving here.
Although I’m now based in NorCal (closer to wine country and alpine mountains than the beach) and have discovered an incredibly diverse adopted home state since moving here, there is still something beautifully satisfying about capturing these typically California scenes. That was definitely the case during my recent Joshua Tree couple shoot with Jeremy and Najla.
Najla is from Brazil. Jeremy is from California. They both live in LA and they have an insanely romantic story that makes their connection pretty special. First of all, they’re gorgeous. More important though, they are delightful, colorful and totally in love. They met when Najla was visiting from Brazil, fell in love and married just a few weeks later. They now run a successful bikini shop from a kick-ass Airstream trailer pop-up shop that can often be spotted near the popular beaches in LA and Orange Counties. Check out their Instagram for locations and some examples of their designs.
Love in the desert
For their desert session, we took off from LA towards Joshua Tree. We were supposed to arrive well before sunset to grab some of that golden light, but the infamous LA traffic made our timing a little tight and we only had about 30 minutes of twilight before the light completely disappeared.
It turned out to be pretty amazing though – with the soft lingering glow in the unique earthy desert colors playing perfectly off their intimate connection. Najla and Jeremy were great – and their natural connection and love translated perfectly in this gorgeous California scene. Just goes to show you that you can capture some pretty amazing images even in a short amount of time, if you have the right mindset and place!
To round out my SoCal trip, following our session I stayed in a gorgeous little boutique hotel in Palm Springs; one of my favorite spots in California. The mix of mid-century architecture, refreshing oasis flora and old-time hollywood playground vibe makes for a perfectly decadent weekend getaway – or break after a photo shoot. It’s totally Californian, and totally awesome.
Enjoy their intimate SoCal – So Californian – session. And don’t forget to hit me up the next time you’re headed out to the desert.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park
Photographer: Sebastien Bicard
Sebastien Bicard is a wedding and portrait photographer based in California. He specializes in international travel and intimate weddings worldwide.
