mountain top engagement session in yosemite national park | adventurous destination wedding photographer
chris + cassie's adventurous engagement photos in yosemite | national park wedding photographer
You know when you hang out with someone and just immediately click? That's how we felt with Cassie and Chris! It could be because they found us through our good friends Michelle and Sylvan so we already knew we shared a lot of interests and friend groups, but we just had a great time getting to know them and adventuring around Yosemite Valley for their engagement session a few weeks ago! They are having a bigger wedding in Boulder, Colorado later this year, so when it came to engagement photos they wanted to meet up with us somewhere adventurous and different and considering they're both pretty hard-core rock climbers, Yosemite National Park felt like an obvious choice!
Yosemite Valley in the winter is one of my favorite things on earth. I love the colors, I love the lack of tourists, and the special quiet that comes with off season in a park known for being super crowded. One downside though is Glacier Point road is closed November-May, so those big views aren't as accessible. That being said, I love the challenge of finding secret spots that are off the beaten path for rad views and intimate moments. It's amazing to me that even on a holiday weekend, when the park was so crowded they had a line at both gates, we were able to just wander into the woods and find some sweet places with nobody else around!
One crux of Yosemite in February is the extremely dynamic weather. Some days are clear blue skies and some days it'll snow 5 inches. That being said, we absolutely love what "bad" weather does for photos and this session was no exception! The forecast all week called for snowstorms starting around lunch time, so I texted Cassie to be prepared and that we'd be willing to shoot in any weather as long as they were comfortable with it. We ended up sticking to our plan but keeping a close eye on the clouds coming in over the valley. After an epic sunset that included the most bizarre streak of orange/red light on the mountains around us (keep an eye out for it near the end of this post!), it got really cold really fast, and pretty windy at the end, but we managed to wrap up right as the sun disappeared and but the time we were back in our cars it was snowing! We drove back to the valley and warmed up over delicious burgers and drinks at the Mountain Restuaunt - a perfect way to end such an epic day!
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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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