Our Decades of Open Marriage: Part 54

Hallloweeen at Timberline Lodge

In October of 2013, our social life was quite busy. We had photo-shoots booked at Timberline Lodge on two different weekends and Paula continued to date several times a week. She even had three overnight hotel dates in that one month.

On my first trip to Timberline Lodge in October, Paula wasn’t able to go with me because she and a woman she had been mentoring went to a Christian women's retreat. I was there to shoot a wedding, the second wedding I’d shot on the resort grounds even though I rarely agree to shoot any weddings at all. I simply don’t like the stress of shooting such a special event that can’t be “re-shot” if I do something wrong.

However, in this case, the bride and groom were some of the few close friends we had made at Timberline, so I could not turn them down.

The bride had chosen a steampunk theme and she made both the bride's side and groom's side outfits herself. However, the complicated clothing caused delays from the bridal party throughout the process. Thus, I was busy all day shooting before, during and after the wedding. They had wanted me to shoot some glamour nudes of the bride and erotica photos of the bride and groom consummating the marriage; but, in the end, there just wasn’t time to shoot all they wanted, so they rebooked me for the weekend of Halloween when I’d be back.

Knowing in advance of that trip, I was going to be alone I had asked a couple I know to come and be my photo assistants. We were all looking forward to two good nights of all three of us in the bed (the husband is bi), but in the end they were not able to come and I was rather lonesome.

The second trip to Timberline Lodge in October had no more sexual fireworks than the first. It was all about shooting and selling photos. We got to the lodge after dark on Friday night. After we arrived, I had a chance to speak with both my clients I had scheduled for the next day. Paula had an opportunity to dance at the “pre-Halloween Party” for a good while. She wore a great looking purple see-through shirt and under-bust corset. She looked amazing. I wore one of my steam-punk outfits. In addition to speaking to my Saturday morning clients, I was able to line up a tentative shoot for Sunday morning. Paula picked out a playmate for Saturday; but because we had to be up early she did not bed him that night.

We got up early the next day to set up the studio. The first couple I was shooting was the one I had shot their wedding. The plan was to follow up the wedding photos with nudes, lingerie and photos of them making love

We did some indoor then some outdoor photos in just an under-bust corset and her boots. The nice thing about shooting at Timberline Lodge was my ability to shoot nudes outdoors, or sex if I decide to. In this case I had the wife give the husband a blowjob right in the middle of the road. The photos of sex in the road came out nice. Inside we did some couple portraits (nude) and then a whole series of them making love. . The shoot went well, but it went longer than I’d planned. I had shot nudes of the wife a year or so before this and her comfort with the process was evident in the final product.

Because I took too long on my first appointment, our second shoot started late, so Paula and I had no time to rest between shoots.

My second appointment was for a couple in their late fifty's. They were very nice and the husband was quite gregarious the whole time. We did some fully-clothed couples’ portraits outside, before moving into the studio. They had been married for over thirty years and their comfort with one another was evident. Though neither had ever posed nude, they were both relaxed. As is often the case, most of the lingerie they brought was just too cheap to look good in photos. The wife did have one very nice corset and we mostly shot in that when she was not fully nude.

They were more interested in couple’s photos than individual ones; so we did a good many nude couples portraits before we moved to erotica. Like I nearly always find, the challenge was to capture the passion and intimacy of their love making, without looking sleazy. Once I'd started editing them the next week I decided that I'd done a particularly nice job with their photos.

We made it back to the room after 3:00 PM. At 4:00 we got a call from our son-in-law. Our daughter was having a reaction to a new medication. It was very tense. We made several calls including one to our family doctor. We decided to come home as soon as we could after we finished shooting for the Halloween party. Needless to say, Paula’s planned tryst for that afternoon did not happen.

The night was long given the fact we were only there because the owners were counting on us, but it was stressful. Paula had several requests by couples and singles to play in the afternoon after our second shoot. But given her concern for our daughter, she was in no mood for recreational sex, so she politely declined them all.

We only stayed after that second shoot because we were scheduled to do a photo booth at the Halloween Party for couples in their costumes. This was important to the party-goers since taking photos at the club (except by me) was forbidden. It was after 1:00 AM before we were packed and headed home.

So professionally it was a good trip but it was hardly more than a long stressful business trip. Both sets of clients loved their photos.

Unknown to us at the time, that was to be our last trip to Timberline. The owners decided to retire from actually running the resort and they hired a management team who brought in their own photographer. Sadly, the resort was one of the casualties of the Covid pandemic and is no longer in business.