Cameron on one knee above the ocean at San Onofre
California · 28 August 2026

Everything planned,
so that nothing
looked planned

San Onofre State Beach · San Clemente

Cameron wanted to ask Sabrina on the bluff above the water at San Onofre, where he and Sabrina surf. What that took was weeks of planning, and then, on the evening itself, a photographer in green clothes lying in the brush on the hill above the path — so that when she got there, there was nothing to notice.

The hour beforeSan Onofre State Beach
The coast at San Onofre, the railway line and the beach below
Cameron walking the bike up the dirt track, alone, before she arrived
Surfers in the water at Trestles
The track, the railway and the surf, from the bluff
Pelicans over the water
Cameron waiting on the bluff with the bike

Green, because
the bushes
are green

I went up the hill above the track well before they got there and stayed put. Green shirt, green trousers — not a costume, just the least visible things I own. From up there I could see the whole bend of the path, and from the path nobody could see me at all.

The distance is the point. A proposal photographed from close enough to be heard is a proposal somebody notices; from far enough that nobody looks twice, the only two people in it are the two who are supposed to be there.

Behind itthe hill, and a green shirt
Stefano Casati in the brush above the path, green shirt and a cap
The view down from the hiding place: the path, the bluff and the ocean
The way up through the brush
The rock ridge on the climb to the position
The dirt track and the bushes, from the level of the path
She arrivesand he walks her out to the point
Cameron and Sabrina walking out to the point with the bike
The two of them on the path, the ocean behind
The proposalon the bluff, facing the water
The moment he knelt, the whole bluff and the ocean around them
Cameron reaching for the ring
Sabrina looking down at him
On one knee, from the hill
Sabrina's hands to her chest as he asks
Saying yes

Thirty seconds
that could not
be rehearsed

San Onofre · 28 August 2026

The ring, and her laughing
He takes her hand
Her hand on his shoulder, the ring on it
The two of them, first minutes
Their hands, and the ring between them
Telling everyonebefore the sun went
Calling home with the ring in the frame
The phone held up, the ring in front of the camera
Riding the bike together along the track
Sabrina laughing on the back of the bike

The photograph
is the last
part of it

Most of this happened before the day. Where she would come from and how. Which side of the slope he should stand on, so the light was on their faces and the ocean was behind them. How far away I could be and still hear nothing but the surf. What we would do if she arrived early, and what we would do if she arrived with company.

None of that is photography. All of it is the reason the photographs exist. What Cameron said afterwards was that I walked him through the whole process — which is the part a gallery cannot show you.

How I work
Stefano was fantastic. He walked us through the whole process and took amazing photos. Honestly too many good photos, we don’t know what to do with all of them.

Cameron · August 2026 · Flytographer

Then the light wentdown onto the sand
Carrying her down the track towards the beach
Sabrina showing the ring, running
Walking down onto the sand as the sun drops
Into the water at the edge of the surf
The two of them standing in the foam
Walking the tideline, the sun behind them
Her hand on his face, the ring against his cheek
Held, at the water's edge
Sitting on the rocks below the railway
The two of them against the last of the sun
The Surfliner going past behind them
Riding away at dusk
The eveningSan Clemente, California
Where
San Onofre State Beach, San Clemente
What
A surprise proposal, and the engagement session that followed it down onto the sand
Photography
Stefano Casati
Booked through
Flytographer

Published with Cameron and Sabrina’s permission. If you are planning one of these, the planning is the part to book early — the photographing is an hour.

Planning
something like this?

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