This is where my creativity thrives.
I visualize a lot of photographs in my head. Sometimes it’s poses, a location, or simply an idea that I want to try but not sure how to make it happen. When planning for our friends Denham + Kate’s engagement session, I knew that they would be down to try just about anything to get some amazing photographs.
Denham and Kate are lake dwellers. That’s basically how our friendship evolved… love of the outdoors. They’re also our hiking partners (we will get to that shortly). We knew we wanted to take some photographs at the lake and that we wanted to find a vintage boat to do so. The search began. If you know Denham at all, you know when you put him on the search for something, he’s going to find it and probably the find the best of whatever it is he’s looking for. Hence, the boat pictured below. It was dreamy, magical, and every photographer’s dream.
As we were starting to lose daylight, we were standing on the boat ramp and I realized that then would be the perfect time to create one of those photographs I was talking about earlier, one I had dreamed of taking. With almost no hesitation, we were all three in the water and we created one of my very favorite photographs.
Adventure/hiking engagement shoots and elopements are so popular out west and I’ve never understood why they aren’t more common in the gorgeous places we have around us. It would be a dream for me to shoot adventure shoots full time, because the experience is amazing!
We frequent the Smoky Mountains a lot and are pretty familiar with many of the trails there. One of our favorite spots is Myrtle Point on Mount LeConte. Using Kate and Denham as my excuse, we planned an early morning (or should I say late night) hike to catch the sunrise at Myrtle Point. I’m not saying this is for everyone… but hiking in the dark was one of the most amazing experiences. It’s a different type of calm. A little eerie at first, but we had done our research and were fully prepared.
We each had a pack stuffed with necessities and things they would need to get ready for the shoot (my husband was a trooper by helping carry my camera gear and doing all the black bear research). I think sunrise was right around 6 AM, so when we arrived at the top we took a few moments to relax before Kate started doing her make-up by candlelight and her iPhone flashlight.
Just the experience was worth it, but it’s an added bonus that the photographs turned out even better than I had dreamed.
If you want to set up an adventure session (big or small), I’m your girl.
Denham + Kate
“Our Gatlinburg session was nothing short of a once in a lifetime experience. From starting a hike at midnight, to playing guitar in the LeConte lodge next to an oil lamp, one moment would be incomplete without the other. If we had to choose the most memorable moment, it would be the sunrise at Myrtle Point. It was the absolute best view of the Smokies. We’re fortunate not only to experience it with great friends, but to have Lindsey capture the magical moment for us to cherish forever.”
