Brian & Sam's Adventure Session in a Utah Slot Canyon
LGBTQ+ Portrait Session | Moab, Utah
the hearnes » adventure elopement photographers
You might recognize our friends Brian and Sam from this snowy desert adventure session we did with them in Moab last Thanksgiving! They came back to Moab this year and we decided to do a little local road trip on Thanksgiving day, and since we were visiting a canyon I’d always thought would be a rad place for a photography session, I asked if they’d be down to do a casual little shoot on our hike. These two are absolutely hilarious together, and I love how much their personalities shine when I get them in front of my camera. It’s always such a blast to capture close friends, and I love getting to challenge myself creatively when the pressure is this low :) We had such an incredible day hiking through multiple gorgeous slot canyons, scrambling around and finding little hueco “houses,” eating turkey jerky instead of a fancy feast, driving new roads, laying in the cold sand under the warm sun, rolling through sand dunes and trying dumb acro-yoga poses, and then watching the beautiful sunset on the horizon feeling like we were the only people in the world. This day was so special, and such a wonderful memory that I will cherish for a long time!
May 23, 2020 via @thehearnes on Instagram
The other day, I saw someone ask “why gay pride month exists”, and then declare “I want a straight pride month.” And it reminded me of when, as a little kid, I once asked why Mothers Day existed and “When is kids day?” My mom responded “every other day is kids day, that’s why we celebrate Mother’s Day.”
You see, there aren’t many cases of a straight couple being turned down for wedding services because of the service provider’s religious beliefs. There aren’t many cases of straight couples being afraid to hold hands as they walk down the street together. There aren’t many cases of straight couples being marginalized, bullied, or otherwise oppressed in our culture. Sadly, these things can be daily occurrences for our gay friends. That is why we celebrate pride month.
To my more conservative friends, I want to give you a chance to know the beauty that comes from loving people that you may disagree with. I grew up in Texas, and while I am so thankful to have been raised in a family that always taught love is love is love, I know I have a lot of peers who might be bristling from this post. I want to encourage you to believe that the world is always bigger than what you currently know. There is more to learn, more to see, and more people to meet that will change your life. And from my experience, the more you learn, the more you’ll regret the times you chose to hate someone based on your judgement of them, your current opinions, and yes, based on your religious beliefs. Hate and oppression are never the answer. Ever. If you claim to believe in Jesus, yet every person you surround yourself with is white, straight, and agreeing with you...check yourself.
So, in honor of pride month coming up, I want to say that we believe in love. I want to say that as a wedding photography business and as people, we are a safe place for you, no matter who you are, what you believe, or who you love 🏳️🌈❤️
December 23, 2020 via @thehearnes on Instagram
It’s been a long time since we’ve had a traditional Thanksgiving day. The past few years, my family came up to Moab and we spent most of the day hiking, climbing, and then baked pies with the leftover time after the adventures. Last year, my fam couldn’t make it up so we had a little feast with friends in our new house. This year we knew it’d be different, but as things came together it became one of my favorites yet.
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There was no feast, no pie, no fancy table, no big group of people gathered around, but we did eat Turkey sandwiches, explore a slot canyon, roll around in sand dunes (my socks from that day have been washed three times and STILL have sand in them), and watch the sun set over the distant mountains wrapped up in down puffies and good friends. And, as is now officially our annual tradition, I got to take some cute photos of @brianslepian & @samuelcrossley (anyone remember our snowy Moab photos with them last year?) ❤️ so thankful for friends that feel like family.
November 27, 2020 via @thehearnes on Instagram
The most glorious day spent running around in slot canyons and rolling around in sand dunes with some of our best best buddies. We clearly had no fun at all ❤️🏜 I love you two so much @samuelcrossley @brianslepian
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The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife elopement wedding photography (and planning!) team with a major emphasis on adventure. Unless stated otherwise, all blog and social media posts are written from the perspective of Abbi!
We’ve completely built our life around adventures in beautiful places, and one of our greatest joys is sharing the adventure with our couples. We lived on the road full time for a few years and then fell in love with a little house in the desert of Moab, Utah; our favorite place throughout all of our travels. We still spend about half of the year living on the road, traveling to more favorites like Alaska, Yosemite National Park, and beyond.
We use our extensive experience and expertise in the outdoors to plan unforgettable custom elopement days for every couple. We usually work with couples to plan everything from their elopement location down to the vendors they’ll work with and the timeline of the day(s) we’ll spend together. We always shoot together and we have kept things intentionally small, working with a limited amount of couples each year such that we can bring our full value to every single planning email, phone call, and of course, elopement day!
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