van life in yosemite national park | adventure portrait photographer

June 16, 2017

Yosemite National Park van life portrait session | california adventure photographer

This session was SO much fun! Tori and Drew stopped in Yosemite National Park on an epic month-long road trip around the western US and asked us to do an adventure session with them while they were there. Tori emphasized that they were in a classic van and they wanted some photos with the van as well, which we absolutely loved! As fellow van lifers, we love when couples want to shoot with the van (remember Bri + Keith's session?) and think it makes a great prop for a lifetstyle photo session. We ended up doing some photos with the van and their dog, Onix, then exploring around the valley to play in Yosemite Falls and watch the sunset on Half Dome.

Their van, named the "Good Times Machine" is definitely not short on character and in just the small time we spent with them, so many people stopped to comment on it. It still has the original interior and seriously looks straight out of That 70's Show (total millennial thing to say, I know). We loved taking some fun photos of them on in and around it before venturing into Yosemite to show them what all the hype is about. We walked through the forest to Yosemite Falls, which was completely raging from all the snow, and ran into the freezing mist for about 3 seconds before the cold was just too much! Then we explored back into Cook's Meadow for some classic Half Dome views before the sun completely set. It was so fun walking around with them and giving them a mini tour of Yosemite while talking about van life and what it's like to go full-time on the road.

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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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yosemite adventure engagement session | national park wedding photographer

June 13, 2017

Yosemite adventure engagement session | national park sunset photos | california intimate wedding photographer

When Danielle first reached out to me about doing her and Nick's engagement photos in Yosemite National Park, she mentioned that they were rock climbers and they frequently come to Yosemite. I was so excited because I knew that meant they would be down for some adventure, plus I love when we get to do photos for people in a place that is meaningful to them! Yosemite holds an extra special place in their hearts because it's also where they got engaged! We decided to do start their photo session in the meadow where Nick proposed and then make our way up to Glacier Point for sunset. I was a little nervous about the two locations because I didn't want to get caught in the infamous Yosemite traffic, but it worked out perfectly and we got a huge variety of photos!

The meadow where we started was actually totally flooded because of all the snowmelt coming through, so we improvised and walked around barefoot through the cold water feeling like little kids! It was so fun to run around and play in the water. By the time we got up to Glacier Point, the sun was casting some gorgeous golden light on Half Dome and despite the crowds, we managed to find some sweet, intimate spots including an epic diving board over the valley (some nearby tourists were not stoked on this, but I assured them it was well within these climbers' skillset and comfort level). By the time the sun was going down, we made our way to a point looking right at Half Dome for the last bit of light. I love how naturally Danielle and Nick went from dancing on the rock, to cuddling up in the cool breeze as the sky went from pink to dark blue. We sat on the ledge and chatted about everything from rock climbing to wedding planning until it was almost completely dark and Danielle commented on how she had been having so much fun just taking these photos that she forgot she has an end product to look forward to! Well Danielle, here is your end product, and I think they're absolutely beautiful. I hope you agree :) ALSO -- for those who have asked, Danielle's amazing dress is from The Odell's Shop.

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yosemite national park elopement | intimate wedding photographer

June 9, 2017

Kristin + Kevin's Yosemite National Park adventure wedding | sunrise elopement at taft point | california intimate wedding photographer

Kristin + Kevin's Yosemite National Park adventure wedding | sunrise first look at glacier point | elopement at taft point | california intimate wedding photographer

Some days I just sit back in complete awe that this is my job. Kristin and Kevin's intimate wedding day in Yosemite National Park was one of those days. From the first time we spoke on the phone, I knew Kristin and Kevin were the type of people we'd love working with. They had originally been planning a big wedding near home, but realized it was stressing them out more than necessary and it was difficult to feel like their wedding would represent them as a couple, so they scrapped the plans and decided to elope in Yosemite National Park - sight unseen! They sat down and talked about what was really important to them and decided they wanted to prioritize a meaningful ceremony and beautiful photos. Well, not to sound full of myself, but they definitely got both of those things!

Honestly, these two are a perfect example of how beneficial it can be to trust us as your photographers. They reached out to us after seeing our photos of Yosemite on instagram and basically said "we've never been here, but want to get married here. where should we get married?" which, let me tell you, is a DREAM client right there. Callen and I have spent a ton of time exploring this park and were happy to suggest a number of locations depending on what they wanted. After offering everything from water fall backdrops to tall trees to valley views, they decided they wanted epic overlooks (I don't blame them, Yosemite is kind of mecca for that sort of thing) so we decided to do their first look at Glacier Point and their ceremony at Taft Point. We knew these places can get crowded in the summertime, so we (with a bit of hesitation) suggested going for sunrise instead of sunset and were stoked when they said yes! It was incredible to have Glacier Point pretty much to ourselves for their first look and portraits (which made the 3am wake-up call SO worth it).

After running around Glacier Point for bride and groom photos, we met up with their incredible officiant, Lauren of Rhythm & Light Ceremonies, to begin hiking to the ceremony location. Despite the trail being a little difficult to follow because of the unmelted snow, a full on creek crossing (which Kristin ROCKED in her wedding dress), and a bit of route-finding through the forest, we made it to Taft Point and picked a gorgeous spot overlooking El Cap to the west and Yosemite Falls to the east, far enough away from the edge that Kristin didn't have a heart-attack during her wedding :) Lauren did an amazing job with their ceremony and there wasn't a dry eye around as they read their vows and committed their lives to each other with the valley as their witness. By the time we hiked back everyone was exhausted and filled with joy over what we had just been a part of. Sometimes I'm just in awe at what a gift it is to witness these amazing, meaningful weddings!

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yosemite adventure session | national park wedding photographer

June 6, 2017

yosemite adventure session | national park wedding photographer | california elopement inspiration

It's always a huge honor when people I knew before I became a photographer want to come out and do a photo session with us. I have known Hayden since high school and when Becca reached out to me to see if we'd be in Yosemite National Park the weekend they were visiting I couldn't have been more stoked! These two are such an awesome couple and I love that we got to spend some time with them out here. This was their first visit to Yosemite and since they came at sunrise, we literally got to capture their first glimpses of the park. One of my favorite things in the world is showing people something I love and this was no exception!

Becca was a total trooper hiking up and down the slabby granite in her gorgeous dress as we ran around catching glimpses of the stunning hazy sunrise light coming over the top of El Cap. We showed them around to a rad (and a little scary) view of Cascade Falls, which fun little fact, I happen to be writing this blog post with the sound of Cascade Falls behind me :) We made our way back up through the trees and right before getting to the car found a perfect little patch of tiny flowers! We loved our sunrise adventure with these two and were honestly sad when it came to an end! As we said our goodbyes we gave them tips on navigating the valley and getting the most out of their short trip to Yosemite. We always love taking photos of married couples and I think it's so special when people choose to keep documenting their love after their wedding day.

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desert adventure engagement session | utah elopement photographer

June 3, 2017

Utah desert engagement session | utah adventure wedding photographer | desert elopement inspiration

st.geoge desert engagement session | utah adventure wedding photographer | dixie national forest | www.thehearnes.com

We had so much fun with this session and even though we changed plans quite a few times, I honestly don't think it could have been better! Despite the fact that this was the first time we officially met Tom and Ash, it wasn't the first time we took photos of them! These two are fellow skydivers and also BASE jumpers, and it almost feels like fate that we ended up spending this windy evening in the Utah desert taking their engagement photos. Last fall when we were living in Moab for a stint, we stuck around through the end of November so we could experience the legendary Turkey Boogie and GGBY festival where BASE jumpers, highliners, paragliders, and all around desert lovers connect near Moab for a week of high-stakes adventure and creativity. On Thanksgiving day after enjoying a delicious meal at the Moab community center (nothing has ever made us feel more "local"), Callen and I set up our hammock near the landing zone for a popular BASE jump near town to watch jumpers and nap off the turkey. I ended up taking a few photos of people jumping and while I always try to get contact info after taking photos of athletes, a few of them left before we could grab them. So I posted the final gallery on a Facebook page for the event hoping the jumpers in my photos would be able to find themselves and sure enough, Ash and Tom were those jumpers! They found their photos and have been following us ever since, so when it came time to do engagement photos they were thrilled to know some photographers that not only love adventure but also take great couples photos (their words, not mine ;))

SO. That was a long intro to how they found us, but I think it's a pretty special story! Anyway, they were coming to Utah for a short BASE jumping trip and wanted to get photos done at a location special to them. We originally planned on their session ending in some BASE jumps, but as you'll see from the photos, we ended up braving 50+ mph winds all evening so that wasn't much of an option! After a last minute location change (they literally found this spot the morning of the session!) we ended up in one of the most beautiful little sandstone mesa/valley (what is this place?) areas I've ever been - and we had it all to ourselves! They played in the wind and took in a gorgeous sunset together. It was magic. After the sun went down, we hiked back in a dim mix of last sunlight and a bit of moon light talking about everything from extreme sports to their plans for an intimate wedding in Australia, where Ash is from. It was such a wonderful evening and we had a hard time saying goodbye to these new friends at the end of it!