moab backyard wedding | utah adventure wedding photographer

May 29, 2017

Ros + Dan | backyard wedding in Moab, Utah | Adventure Wedding Photography

backyard wedding in Moab, Utah | Adventure Wedding Photography | www.thehearnes.com

From the first time I chatted on the phone with Dan and Ros I knew I should consider myself lucky to work with such awesome people. A few months later they had us over for dinner at their house in Moab to get to know each other and talk details for their wedding. We walked around the orchard in their backyard, scouted ceremony locations, and talked about everything from wedding plans to Moab adventures! Despite being Moab locals themselves, they put their trust in us with location scouting for their first look and choosing a spot to go take sunset portraits. Thankfully, Moab doesn't have any lack of gorgeous spots nearby. We were psyched to find a great first look spot 10 minutes from their house and we took them to one of our favorite places near town for sunset.

Dan and Ros created a beautifully authentic ceremony that will always be cherished, truly a display of the incredible family and community supporting their new life together. From Dan's hometown beer delivery, Ros' friend dominating the cake game, local farms providing incredible dishes, to Lucas masterfully debuting as the raddest officiant around, this backyard wedding was all one could ask for. Did I mention how excited and precious their son River was all day long?! We love documenting beautiful moments for incredible people in our favorite places and this is a day that will not be forgotten. Cheers to the happy couple, adorable River, and sweetest pupper Baila!

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The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife wedding photography team with an emphasis on adventure. They live on the road as full-time nomads in their big white van, allowing them to serve a large portion of the western US including California, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming. They believe love is the greatest adventure and strive to create photos that are epic, romantic, true, and timeless.

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moab, utah portrait session | national park wedding photographer

May 23, 2017

Courtney + Nathan | Moab Wedding Portrait Session in Canyonlands National Park | Desert Wedding Inspiration | Utah Adventure Wedding Photographer

We had a total "small world" moment with Courtney and Nathan, they found us because they were following our friend Brianna Madia (who isn't?) and fell in love with our work, but after we got to talking we realized we were both native texans with a deep love for the Moab desert and the American West! Later, we realized we even had a handful of mutual friends from high school and college, crazy! Anyway, Courtney reached out to me because she and Nathan were itching for a reason to come to Moab and she had been playing around with the idea of re-doing their wedding portraits and they loved our style of adventure photography! Considering we had just done a similar session for Gabi + Brandon and loved it, I was definitely on board for the idea!

Let me tell you the desert was MOODY the week of their session! I was really excited at the possibility of some wind and clouds to add a cool dynamic, but when it rained almost all day before we met up with them, I was starting to get a little worried. Despite it being late spring, it was realllllly cold rain in town and I was a little nervous knowing we'd be gaining significant elevation to get to our location in Canyonlands National Park. After some warm pizza in Moab, we all decided to rally and hope for the best, cold weather + possible rain and all! When we got to Mesa Arch, our first stop, it was 36 degrees outside and windy, but Courtney + Nathan were total troopers! Thankfully the weather scared away the crowds, so we didn't have to worry about people too much. We took in the striking views and watched the storm move across the desert. I love that they chose to do some photos in casual clothes to show a more typical side of them! After Mesa Arch, we headed out to my favorite overlook in Canyonlands National Park for the last bit of sunset. It was one of the coolest, most dynamic sunsets I've seen thanks to the snow in the distance and the storms all around us! We ran around the overlook taking in gorgeous views and sipping hot chocolate (Thanks Callen!) until the sun was completely gone. After wrapping up and heading back to town, we all piled in the hot tub where Courtney + Nathan were staying and it was pretty much the perfect way to end such an adventurous day! The session started with pizza, took us to a National Park, and then ended with a hot tub...please tell me something more perfect ;)

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lake powell engagement session | utah adventure wedding photographer

May 19, 2017

Michelle + Will | Glen Canyon National Recreation Area | Lake Powell Engagement Session | Utah Adventure Wedding Photographer

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area | Lake Powell Slot Canyon and Overlook Engagement Session | Utah Adventure Wedding Photographer | www.thehearnes.com

When Michelle and Will first reached out to us to do their adventure engagement session, they suggested Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona because they wanted a stunning overlook, but they were a little worried about the crowds. We went back and forth on a few ideas and decided to do sunrise so we'd hopefully beat the rush of tourists (busses start arriving at 9am). Then, Callen and I were exploring a new section of Utah just on the other side of Canyonlands National Park from Moab and came across this amazing area with slot canyons, unique formations, towers, and an awesome overlook with views of the Colorado river as it starts to form Lake Powell. The best part? We saw a total of 3 other people the whole time. We snapped a few photos and sent them to Michelle to see what she thought! She and Will were on board and trusted our judgement, so we move the session to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

We were in Oregon two days before their session and it was honestly surreal to drive from Lindsay + Heath's snowy mountain engagement photo session to the warm Utah desert for Michelle and Will's session! Sometimes I'm still in awe at how awesome our job is :) We got to the Rec Area a little bit early with plans of scouting out a nearby slot canyon for the first half of their session but once we got there some storm clouds started forming and we made the decision to forgo a real slot canyon since they can get really dangerous when there is rain anywhere nearby. We found an awesome slabby sandstone area with interesting formations and great colors and I was so stoked when scouting to find a tiiiiny little slot that was about 10 feet deep and just two little chambers. It honestly looked a little pathetic in person, but I knew the photos would be amazing and I'm so glad Michelle and Will trusted my photographer vision yet again! Those "slot canyon" photos are some of my favorites from the day!

The session ended up being almost too perfect with moody storm clouds and warm summer wind. As a wedding photographer, I spend a lot of time reassuring people that blue bird skies aren't necessarily the best and that shooting in overcast light, occasional rain, and strong winds almost always adds an amazing dynamic to the photos. This was definitely true with Michelle and Will's session. I love how much variety and depth there is in these photos thanks to a combination of moody weather, amazing clients, and some creativity in my photography! We ended the day watching the last bit of light off another nearby overlook, sipping wine, snacking on chips + salsa, and talking about everything from rock climbing to wedding planning. Like I said, I'm not sure it could've been more perfect.

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mt. hood engagements | oregon adventure photographer

May 16, 2017

Lindsay + Heath | Mt. Hood National Forest Engagement Session | Portland, Oregon Adventure Wedding Photographer

Lindsay + Heath's session was a perfect example of how good things happen when you go with the flow :) They live in Portland, Oregon and wanted to do their engagement session near a lake with a great mountain view, and when she originally reached out to me I knew exactly where to go! I suggested Trillium Lake near Mt. Hood and she was on board. Well, the day of their session we ended up meeting at the turn out for Trillium Lake because the road down there was closed due to snow!! It was a 2+ mile walk through snow to the lake, so we called an audible, did a quick scan of google maps, and found Mirror Lake nearby.

Mirror Lake was a short .7 mile hike, so we opted for that and I'm SO glad we did! We hiked through snow and got there about an hour before sunset. We had the whole lake to ourselves! It was still a little bit frozen, but there were sections where the ice had melted and we got to see why it's called Mirror Lake...it was perfectly reflective. After spending a winter living in Walla Walla, Washington, Lindsay and Heath were unphased by the cold temps and even walked out on a log barefoot. They brought their sweet pup Manny along and he was a total ham. By the time we made it to the far side of the lake and caught a glimpse of Mt. Hood we were all in awe of how beautiful that area was. We ended up hiking back as the sun was setting and were lucky enough to catch a few glimpses of the sunset through the trees before getting back to the cars for a little bit of blue hour. We had so much fun with this session and are so stoked on how it turned out!

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forest + mountains engagement session | california adventure photographer

May 12, 2017

April + Aran | Angeles National Forest Engagement Session | California Adventure Wedding Photographer

California Mountains Engagement Photos | Angeles National Forest Engagement Session | California Adventure Wedding Photographer

We had so much fun shooting April + Aran's engagement photo session in the Angeles National Forest! Because of our mobile lifestyle, we tend to be all over the place when replying to inquiry emails and I'm pretty sure I was sitting in a coffee shop in Moab when I first started e-mailing with April about their Montana wedding this summer. While most wedding photographers can set up a local coffee date, meeting in person was out of the question for us, so we knew we wanted to spend some time with them before jumping right into their engagement session! We met for pizza in Los Angeles and got to know each other before driving into the mountains.

Aran was the perfect tour guide, showing us a few of their favorite spots up in the Angeles National Forest, including a gorgeous little canyon where they often watch the sunset together. It was so special to explore the forest with this sweet family! We are super excited for their wedding in Montana this summer!