EMMA+PAT | giving the sizzling hot Utah red rock a chance

I'm that person that LOVES when it rains on camping trips and plans visits to National Parks in the off season (like February - April) when they aren't as pretty but also aren't nearly as crowded. To be honest, I'm just not one to love sizzling hot summer weather. The first things that come to mind are sunburns, thigh chafe, being super thirsty, overcrowded destinations, long bathroom lines and sweaty strangers. But after living in Utah for five years, I figured I HAD to make a red rock shoot happen before we moved away! On par with my summer qualms, I made sure this shoot could happen in the morning hours before it got too hot and before many other visitors arrived. And it was SO GOOD. Sorry for not giving you a chance earlier, red rock!

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MARY JANE+MICHAEL | 41 years and a floral wedding dress
JORDYNN+SCOTT | actually letting the train touch the ground

PEYTON+JEFF | that empty misty Yellowstone morning that fed my soul

"There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Three Tetons; and our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children's children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred." - Theodore Roosevelt

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We only crossed paths with one man while we shot on the boardwalk by Yellowstone's majestic Grand Prismatic Spring. That's exactly the way I wanted it - specifically planning our shoot for sunrise, on a weekday, to avoid as few tourists on the boardwalks as possible. BLESS THEIR HEARTS because Peyton and Jeff woke up at nearly 3 AM(!!) to come in from their home in Idaho to make it in time (and like, all that gorgeous auburn hair?! Peyton is literally a saint for prepping those locks so early in the morning). 

"My wife and I spend every anniversary here in Yellowstone" said the boardwalk man. He explained that they were married 30+ years... inside Yellowstone National Park! Don't you love that?! At that point, I was just about ready to DITCH Peyton and Jeff and take pictures for this guy instead!! 

KIDDING. Obviously. Shooting with Peyton and Jeff was an absolute dream - it was like their smiles got bigger each time the rain started coming down harder. And if you know anything about me, you know THAT is a quality I really love. I've always known that one day I would photograph in Yellowstone National Park. These two, on this rainy morning, filled my soul to the brim. SIGH.

SEE ALSO
JORDYNN+SCOTT | actually letting the train touch the ground
MYUNGHEE+BRIAN | for realsies a red hanbok in a golden dream forest my eyes are exploding it is so beautiful