Categories
adventure Engagement fuji x Shenandoah National Park

Rachel and Roger – A Dusk-time Big Meadows Engagement Session

engagement session couple walking in big meadows Virginia at sunset - natural edit film based fuji160C

Describe the perfect evening, I’ll go first: we book a session with Rachel and Roger at Shenandoah National Park. When it calls for crazy thunderstorms, we don’t call it off. Instead, Aneila and I ride there on our motorcycle and show up absolutely drenched. I mean, saturated. We meet in the parking lot of the Byrd Center, and just then, the sun emerges. We proceed to slosh around the meadow for two hours in wet shoes and make some of my favorite images of the summer. We stay until it’s too dark to see and get silhouette photos with a wild sky. On the dark walk back to the parking lot, we converse about interesting travel including the insane cost of a mixed drink at an airport in Iceland. 10/10 would recommend.

engagement session couple walking in big meadows Virginia at sunset - natural edit film based fuji160C
engagement session couple laughing blurry photo - big meadows Virginia at sunset - natural edit film based fuji160C
black and white lifestyle photo of couple in big meadows Virginia - Ilford hp5+
engagement session couple portrait in big meadows Virginia at sunset - natural edit film based fuji160C
engagement session couple portrait in big meadows Virginia at sunset - natural edit film based fuji160C
engagement session couple portrait in big meadows Virginia at sunset - natural edit film based fuji160C
engagement session couple portrait in big meadows Virginia at sunset - natural edit film based fuji160C
black and white lifestyle photo of couple in big meadows Virginia - film based edit Ilford hp5+
black and white lifestyle photo of couple in big meadows Virginia - film based edit Ilford hp5+
black and white lifestyle photo of couple in big meadows Virginia - film based edit Ilford hp5+
black and white lifestyle photo of couple in big meadows Virginia - film based edit Ilford hp5+
closeup of engagement ring - natural edit film based fuji160C
engagement session couple motion blur dancing in big meadows Virginia at sunset - natural edit film based fuji160C
black and white motion blur engagement session in big meadows Virginia - film based edit Ilford hp5+
black and white motion blur engagement session in big meadows Virginia - film based edit Ilford hp5+
black and white motion blur engagement session in big meadows Virginia - film based edit Ilford hp5+
couple silhouette with stormy skies in big meadows Shenandoah national park
black and white motion blur engagement session in big meadows Virginia - film based edit Ilford hp5+

Seriously though, the text in this post is intended to be a message about going with the flow when the situation seems iffy (at best). I can’t tell you how many times a shoot has been called off due to weather, and I think that’s just a shame. Sometimes, the day must be allowed to have a voice and we must be quiet and listen to it. The reward on this occasion: a low, soft magical glow of evening sun cutting through the end of a wild storm…

I’m working on a post that will be dedicated to this topic. It’ll be done when it’s done. Oh, and here’s our bike in the still-wet parking lot at the Byrd Center.

KLR650 parked in Byrd Center Parking lot, wet after a recent rain
Categories
Engagement fuji 400h fuji x nevada Red Rock Canyon

Stephen and Paige – Red Rock Canyon Engagement

Stephen is an old high school friend of mine. Back in the late 2000s we did a little mountain biking together and we also worked at the same resort for a few years. Schedules lined up nicely this past May during our road trip to a California wedding, and so Stephen and Paige took us out to Red Rock Canyon for their engagement session.

Stephen has a good RBF. I won’t say the same about Paige because I don’t know her as well and I’m just not sure if she’s into that description. Let’s just say Paige has a good serious RF.

All in all, this was a great session to help me to ease back into portrait photography after the great wedding drought of 2020. Stephen and Paige may not have detected it, but I was nervous as heck. It had been over a year since my last engagement session. It seems Red Rock Canyon and a familiar and photogenic couple was all I needed to get back into the groove of things.

Afterwards, Aneila and I had added some extra days (weeks) up in Central Nevada in order to do some more exploring…climbing mountains, chasing horses and riding dirt bikes in the desert. During the extended stay in Nevada, I snagged my favorite landscape photo of all time: Wild mustangs running along a panorama of snow covered mountains. You’ll notice this entire end-of-paragraph is underlined, which means it is a link. Click it and you’ll find the entire post about that photo, the story behind it, the printmaking, frame making, and Etsy store link where it can be purchased!

Categories
adventure elopement Engagement film

CJ and Kitty – Prenup Session at Buffalo Mountain, Virginia

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

-John Muir

This last frame is special. It was captured with the Mamiya 645 Pro on Ilford Delta 100 Professional. Self developed in our bathroom sink!

 

Virginia prenup portrait shoot bride and groom at Buffalo Mountain Virginia

Categories
adventure Engagement Weddings

Omar and Hannah – Sunset Engagement Session in Big Meadows

mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset

Welcome to one of my favorite portrait sessions so far this year, a sunset shoot in Big Meadows with two of our former coworkers (we also attended the same high school). The evening had two highlights for me: 1. Sharing iced espresso with Omar and Hannah atop a limestone boulder, waiting for the sun to get low in the sky. 2.The post-sunset moody lifestyle images we captured towards the end of the session…..all in all, a great evening spent exploring the meadow.

Omar and Hannah were so fun to photograph. Looking forward to their wedding in less than a month!

mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset
mountain engagement session in big meadows at sunset

Categories
Engagement travel wedding film wedding video

McAfee Knob, Virginia – Cinemagraph

Aneila and I finally made it to McAfee Knob. With some cool friends. An impromptu photoshoot ensued. I made a cinemagraph.

Categories
Engagement film kodak portra Weddings

Jason and Jordan – Switzer Lake Engagement – Virginia

adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400

Jason and Jordan are adventurers. They LIVE to explore cities, taste coffee and stargaze together at Switzer Lake. Naturally, the Lake was the best location for their engagement session. While we walked around the shore waiting for the sun to set, Jason told us about the time he and a friend drove a boat to the Bahamas. Drove a boat to the Bahamas. Drove a boat to the Bahamas. Maybe one day we’ll be that cool.

When Jordan first contacted us back in January, I could tell right away that we needed to meet these people. Besides loving to explore, they’re simply down to earth. Jordan, being a designer, noticed and embraced the anti-cookie-cutter in our approach to photography…and that, my friends is what I consider to be the ultimate compliment from a fellow artist.

I hope you enjoy this engagement session as much as I enjoyed creating it.

adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400
adventurous switzer lake engagement session in virginia - portra400

Categories
adventure destination wedding Engagement film kodak portra oregon

Paul and Lindsey – A Forest Park Engagement – Portland, Oregon

forest park engagement session in portland oregon

After photographing a wedding in Joshua Tree California (coming to the blog soon) we headed to the coast, visiting the San Bernardino National Forest, Los Angeles and the Sespe Wilderness on the way. Over the next week we slowly worked our way north to meet Paul and Lindsey in Portland, Oregon.

Categories
Engagement Weddings

josh and ellie – forest engagement

creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." – Anthony J. D’Angelo

creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x
creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x

creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x

creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x

creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x
creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x
creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x
creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x

creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x

creek walk engagement session on vsco film and kodak tri-x

Categories
adventure Engagement fuji 400h travel

adventure portraits

my wedding and engagement photos are drifting in this direction and I love it.

stars and shooting star engagement session

Categories
Engagement

kim and jess – washington d.c. cherry blossom engagement

couple kissing in the cherry blossoms in Washington DC on the Tidal Basin

For the past few years, I’ve really been meaning to make the trip up to D.C. to witness the amazing cherry blossoms during their peak. Kim and Jess gave me a solid reason when they contacted me about their October wedding. After discussing possible locations and themes for their e-session, I met up with them in Washington D.C. for a session surrounding the monuments and cherry blossoms, with a little