Grayson Highlands and Dinosaurs

I was blessed to be able to capture William and Rebekah’s wedding 2 years ago. I have also had the extreme pleasure of working with them several times since that November day. Rebekah messaged me asking about doing something special to celebrate their upcoming anniversary, and I was excited to see what they had in mind. Little did I know at the time there would be a dinosaur on a mountain top but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t thrilled that it happened. Let me back up and catch you up. She and I were discussing locations, and she mentioned that they really wanted views and mountains, and knowing where they live, we quickly settled on the amazing Grayson Highlands State Park, in Virginia. She mentioned they wanted to wear their wedding attire to celebrate and to do something different. I asked how quickly we could make this happen! We found a date that worked for us both, and once we were close to the day, the weather was throwing us curve balls. We are booked almost every weekend for the rest of the year so finding another day seemed difficult if not impossible, but fortunately we aren’t afraid of the elements. Any of them! So we decided to go for it and believe me when I say, it was the best decision we could have made. They planned to hike up comfortable clothing and switch over once we made it to the summit. The week of the session, Rebekah messaged me to let me know she had a surprise for William and wanted to make sure we could make it work and we worked out the logistics quickly. We met up at the entrance to the park, hugs were exchanged because we are friends and friends hug it out. I knew where I wanted to take them and after checking our location via compass we chased sunset. This is where the pictures speak for themselves because this is how we communicate our vision best.

We had sunshine, fog, and a sky of fire for about 60 seconds. Being confident in your ability and with your equipment allows those moments to not pass in vain. What are you waiting for, contact us now to join the fam. Also the beast ( that still needs a name ) my Pentax 645n medium format film camera came out for a few frames and I am excited about those frames for a few reasons. The film was provided by a great friend of ours, the ever so talented Katy Sergent of Katy Sergent Photography and she also shares a passion for the outdoors and Grayson Highlands State Park. This creates a new value that cant be explained or duplicated in my opinion. Those will be coming soon so follow us on Instagram.

Foggy Mountain Love Story

We recently saw a post of someone looking for referrals to have some photos made while they were in town. This was a cool situation and one we were quick to respond to and step up for. Wes saw the post in a random Facebook group were he quickly replied throwing our name in the ring. The situation is unique in a few ways so it only seems fitting that they chose us because we are nothing in the market if not unique.

Travis and Melissa are traveling from Maryland and visiting family in Pigeon Forge, TN. Melissa messaged us promptly and after seeing Wes' comment and it was obvious that we would get along well. I should start by admitting that Wes and I both manage our Facebook page and its easy to get ahead of each other because we strive to be prompt to our clients and available. This means that sometimes, we are both messaging people at the same time and one another to clarify everything. What was interesting is not only are Melissa and Travis in East Tennessee which holds such a special place for me personally, but they are also Jeep people and enjoy getting outside. I don't think it could have worked out any better. We discussed their preferences and we quickly suggested the Beauty Spot in Erwin, TN. She mentioned they would love Mountain views, and fields if possible. Both of these are easily found at this amazing location. So we had a plan and we were ready to go last Monday. We agreed to meet in town so they could follow me up the mountain. This is another amazing detail of our story. They eagerly drove the 2 hours from where they are staying on vacation just to work with us. I checked the weather and Monday was the only day of the week with a low percentage of rain, but Melissa was happy to shoot in the rain if it came to that, and I am happy to make that happen anytime.

As I drove to meet them, I noticed how beautiful the fog was dancing across the tops of the trees. I was quick to realize that we may or may not have the views promised, and the doubt set it, but just for a minute. I remembered how much I love a challenge and I made a decision to tackle any obstacle thrown at us.

We met up, introductions were made and we were ready to head up. Unfortunately, at this time, they were about 30 mins late due to traffic and we started later in the day to catch sunset so time was against us. As we took the pull off into the gravel and climb the fog was heavier than I expected but no turning back now. Once we made it to the parking area, and we surveyed the area we were ready to go. I have to admit how easy they made this session. I was thrilled to work in fog so heavy you could barely see 20 feet in front of you. This created some issues I wasn't expecting, like did you know if you have someone roughly 15 feet away shooting thru the dense fog, the fog shows up as grain in the images. I love the character it provided. It gave depth but also something else, something almost magical. Ok, enough typing already, let's see some pictures.