All in Adventure
Goodness gracious! It’s been a YEAR since we set out on the road full-time in our little 24ft Winnebago View. WHAT?! It’s been a wild ride and a big crash course on everything. I honestly don’t know how to sum up this past year or pick out what constitutes a “highlight,” but here’s my attempt.
Michigan’s UP is so pretty. I definitely recommend taking a trip there to explore. Its landscape seemed like a pretty rare one for the Midwest. That may just mean that if you live in the Midwest then it’s perfect for when you want to travel to see something like the PNW, but that’s not in the money and/or time budget. It’s still a bit of a hike up there, but definitely a beautiful must-see in my book.
“Hiking is one of my FAVORITE activities. Specifically day hikes with a bit of a scrambling climb in there somewhere. Oh, and waterfalls! I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’d like to share how I find which trails to take.”
Sedona is one of those places that I’m sure you’ve heard of before. If not, let me enlighten you—it’s beautiful. It’s probably one of the most beautiful places you’ll see. As you enter the area you see wonderful smelling mesquite trees along the beautiful red, dirt hills. The hills turn into cliffs with spires and arches all around you. If you aren’t able to hike, no worries, there are plenty of places to view these sights from the comfort of your own car (or a jeep tour). You could even just stroll through town and be greeted at every turn by the imposing, red wonders.
While camping on BLM land near Spokane, Washington recently I would take our dog on hikes around the area, one of which led me to the edge of a cliff overlooking a cute little lake. I had the itch that I really needed to photograph someone there as soon as possible, but I only knew one couple in the area, Rebecca and Curtis. I reached out to Rebecca in the afternoon with the slightest hope that she and her handsome man would be available that evening at the last minute to model for me in my newfound photography location. I loved her response; "SHUT UP! Heck yes!!!!!!" We had the last half hour of light and made it count!
“As we hike and explore, I keep doing more location scouting for future sessions in these amazing locations that we now get to call our backyard. We have a beautiful country full of so much variety, and I’ve been loving seeing it so far. I already have so many locations for epic engagement, elopement, and portrait sessions that I can’t wait to photograph people in.”
“Our visit to Joshua Tree was an exciting one for several reasons. It included a few firsts for us: it was the first National Park visit of our full-time traveling adventures, and for each of us it was our first time to this specific park. Our favorite hike we did there wound along washes, through cacti and joshua trees. The fog and mist from the rains made us completely soaked even while it brought beautiful fog down over the hills.”
I like how the wet and rain made the aesthetic of this session a bit different. At the end, we were not only experiencing the rain, but also the wind carrying the spray of the crashing waves below us up to completely soak us. (Thank goodness for weather sealed photography gear, right?!) It just shows, that the "perfect" photography conditions are a myth. What's perfect to me, is the real experience and the connection between hearts.
With the wind and Brooke's willing, adventurous spirit, we we able to capture the stunning views of the river and the hills, amazing backdrops of moss-covered boulders, and the strength of this beautiful woman.
I love when I have the opportunity to photograph a couple who loves to adventure and hike; Alex and Courtney enjoy doing just that. During their engagement session, we ventured out into a small, cute park near Dayton, Ohio just before I moved to Portland, Oregon. We ventured through the woods, around the mud, an even got into the water. :D It made my heart so happy to capture their love and nature alongside each other like that. The water may have been slightly cold, but it was so worth it because it turned out amazingly. Even the sun was in favor of us getting in the creek because the light was coming through the trees so nicely behind them. :)
Steven and Jessica are two of the most down-to-earth and caring people. They deeply love each other and their absolutely adorable little boy. Seriously, SO adorable! But this session focuses on just the two of them (the little one didn't join us on our camping trip). We had such a great time adventuring through the area, first to Muskallonge Lake and then took a short walk over to Lake Superior. You better believe we took a few breaks to dip our feet in the water, collect rocks in the hopes of finding some agates (This area is supposed to produce really good ones! We didn't really know what we were looking for, however. haha), and to sit on the beach and enjoy the sunset.
I've been dying to share Clint & Veronica's backyard wedding in California. I mean, we even made a trip to Yosemite two days after! How could I not be itching to share those images?! Well, now I can because they have been published by "It Started With Yes!"
I also got pretty excited when Peter and Rachel agreed to adventure with me to Oak Openings Preserve MetroPark in northern Ohio. I had fallen in love with random photos of it that I had seen on different social medias and hunted through Google Maps for it, looking from street view to satellite view to some geo-tagged photospheres. I mean business! haha We found and fell in love with it. :) (Apparently, we weren't the only ones to hunt for this amazing location; when location scouting, we ran into someone from Australia who was also specifically looking for this spot!)
These two lovely people, Clint and Veronica, just got engaged! I had the privilege of photographing their proposal as well as their engagement session, both at the beautiful Donner Lake in California. I honestly think I could wander off the path there forever since it's so beautiful! Wandering a bit off the path is exactly what we did together during our session, and we found some great sights: the lake off in the distance, a tree swing, amazing rocks, and a fallen tree in the lake.
Will and Olivia. :) They've been dating for several years and looking toward marriage for a little while now, too. It's been four years since Will started going to Olivia's annual family reunion at Donner Lake and last year he decided that this, 2015, was the year he wanted to ask her if they could officially join their families together.
