When the EV photography director called to ask me to shoot a beach for the cover of the November/December issue, I was enjoying a rare moment of repose, drinking a cool beer on a cloudy day in Hoxton Square, London. I immediately agreed to the assignment. After living in Florida for 10 years, I had only just moved back home to Britain. And as it happened, I’d recently shot the “Visit Florida” advertising campaign, and I knew exactly where to find two of the best beaches in the Florida Keys: One is on a small island off Key West and the other is on Islamorada at The Moorings resort. While my freelance team in Florida kicked into action, I started some remote pre-production from that pub table in Hoxton Square. A week later I was in Florida with my crew, heading down the turnpike from Miami toward the famous U.S. 1.

Bogie Was Here
For the first leg of our journey, we passed miles of epic ocean vistas interspersed with a few too many Taco Bells and McDonald’s. About halfway down the archipelago we arrived on Islamorada just as the fresh fish hit the restaurant grill at The Moorings, a former coconut plantation turned resort. After dinner we checked into two painted clapboard houses at the resort for a refreshing night.

For the soft, subtle light I wanted, we had to be on the beach before the sun rose at 6:45 a.m. Light wasn’t the only reason for an early start: Even at that hour the temperature was already 80 degrees. As we set up among the palm trees, the film noir classic Key Largo came to mind. (Directed by John Huston, the 1948 movie starred Bogart, Bacall and Edward G. Robinson.) But the idyllic scene before me couldn’t have been further from the tempestuous, murderous images of the Keys in that film.

Are We In the Way?
When dealing with Mother Nature, I’ve learned that flexibility and efficiency are paramount—you can’t fight the elements. As soon as the sun appeared we sped through five variations of a cover shot, changing locations and wardrobe for each. Fortunately, my crew is experienced and hardworking, because we all had to move fast. Often, in the time it takes to set up a tripod, a stray cloud will have covered the sun and the shot is lost. It seemed like no time before tourists appeared on the beach, adjusting their snorkels and setting up lounge chairs for a hard day’s relaxation. Luckily, we had just wrapped up the shoot. By the end of the day I was back on a plane heading toward London, peering down through those familiar British clouds.