It was Saturday at 6 o’clock in the morning when we made our way through the lobby of the Mondrian South Beach, up the elevator to the tenth floor, and into the room designated for the Miami City Ballet dancers, who would be taking part in the Florida Travel + Life photo shoot. Eight dancers had been scheduled to participate in a pool-side photo shoot once the sun came up. After a few cups of coffee the pace started to pick up as everyone put on costumes and retouched makeup. In the midst of all this preparation we began to hear a familiar sound coming from outside–rain! That put a damper on things for a minute. But we were quick on our feet! We decided to take some photos inside the hotel while we waited for the rain to stop. Of course, this being September, the rain continued all morning long.

Although we weren’t able to go outside as originally planned, the shoot was a huge success. The bar in the lobby, where chandeliers hang in over-sized gold bells, became the backdrop for the first set of photos. Creativity flowed as all the cool elements in the hotel were soon captured: the black staircase that jumps out at you in the all-white lobby, the vending machine that contains everything you can think of besides junk food and sodas, the columns, the bubble trees, the curtains….everything was used to our advantage. The contrast between classical costumes with the modern décor of the hotel was dazzling. In the end, the weather did not rain on our parade!

The photo essay will be featured in the January/February issue of Florida Travel + Life. Here’s a sneak peek of that rainy, yet wildly successful Saturday morning.