Country Club in Modesto?

So here is how the story goes:

I received a call from a marketing firm about doing a lifestyle shoot at a country club golf course. A late afternoon shoot with the perfect light. AND, according to the phone conversation, it was going to be close, at a location right in the East Bay.

Well, I have live in the San Francisco bay area quite a long time. So when the words of a Country Club in the East Bay are spoken, my mind began to wander to several possibilities. Walnut Creek? Oakland Hills? Blackhawk? Heck, maybe even Pleasanton.  I was a little surprised to hear the location was in Modesto.

For those who don’t know the Bay Area super well, Modesto is about a two hour drive away in no traffic.  LOL, no traffic in the Bay Area, that’s a good one!  I wasn’t going to explain that Modesto is NOT the East Bay to a client calling from Florida. Nor did I plan to go into detail about Modesto’s reputation, which differd from a great location for a Country Club shoot.  Instead we just looked forward to putting together a small but great crew to complete this shoot.

After doing a location scout, I was pleasantly surprise at how beautiful the Del Rio Country Club is. The people who manage the golf course all ALL gracious, charming and very adept at their jobs. Working with them made the shoot go as smoothly as any shoot possibly could.

After the shoot we all gathered for a meal and the Elderberry Lounge, located inside the club. Very good quality food with a great group of people. This is a wonderful way to end a shoot.