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weddings and elopements
This is the story of an epic elopement in Yosemite National Park with The Hearnes Adventure Photography. The Hearnes specialize in adventure elopements all over the world, but Yosemite National Park is one of our all time favorite places to explore, and it’s a wonderful place to elope!
Josh and Emily, preparation, unsafe conditions, changed plans, and trust - it took all of this to capture one of the most surreal moments we've ever witnessed.
You wouldn’t think a few things "going wrong" would lead to Josh and Emily having one of the most epic sessions of our career. In fact, a photo from their day which had many unexpected changes ended up being picked for one of the biggest honors we've received - earning one of Junebug Weddings Best Photos of 2018.
Before we get to the story, let me tell you two things about being an adventure wedding photographer. First, one of the most important things about the job is the ability to plan - know the park rules, about permits, and about leave no trace principles. Know park rangers, visit a BLM office and talk to them, ask the questions you might have well in advance so you can put into place what it takes to keep your couples and yourself safe. To do your best work, you also need to be more than vaguely familiar with an area. You need to know the ins and outs. Know details about the light and not just what it's doing right now, but all of the things it might do, because shooting in Zion vs. Yosemite vs. Alaska is worlds different. You have to be ready if there are no clouds or some clouds or if you're completely socked in. You should plan around what peak the sun is going to set behind, know exactly when the sun will rise, and how all these factors change depending on the time of year you'll be shooting. Secondly, know when to adapt. There will be times when something comes up - a wildfire or a closed road, a hike that's way busier than usual (maybe you need to hit the trailhead at 4 am), but the most common is the weather. When situations come up, you have to be able to confidently trust your knowledge, experience, and skill set - all of which give you that gut feeling you have to go with.
Josh and Emily put so much trust in us to plan their wedding day. I can't overstate how much this means to us. It's especially true considering they wanted their adventure wedding in Moab, which is basically our backyard. We've spent as much time here as anywhere, and I know the weather can change pretty quickly in Moab. A week before Josh and Emily's shoot the forecast said there was a chance of rain. The prediction of a storm out here can switch to clear skies and vice versa overnight, so we waited. The crux was the original plan we made to run a slot canyon for their elopement. Any time there is rain, there is a chance of a flash flood in a canyon even if the storm isn't close or happened the day before.
Twenty-four hours before the shoot and the weather report still called for rain. We needed to change our plan. I know the pictures we take of our couples up on the edge of a cliff can sometimes cause people to gasp a little. The thing is, we almost never need to tell our couples no because we don't say yes to stuff while planning or shooting which could carry real danger. Our couples often want a shot on an edge, and we'll help them find a safe spot to do so and pursue on their own, at their individual level of comfort. However, when it comes to things like avalanche safety in the mountains of Alaska, the wind in Patagonia, or a flash flood in a slot canyon in Utah, it's our job to know and prepare for the risks which didn't exist when a plan was first made. The truth is (and consider that this comes from a couple who loves jumping out of perfectly good planes as a hobby) some things just aren't worth the risk. Flat out, we prioritize safety over any epic shot.
So we had the plan but now was the time to adapt. Again, Emily and Josh had so much trust in us which made the next part way easier to become so great. We didn't know it at the time but the rain and danger of a flash flood in the canyon and the last minute change of plans resulted in our most epic shot of 2018.
When we got in the car, it did end up looking pretty stormy, but there was a little break in the cloud cover near the horizon. I was hoping some golden light might sneak through. Let me also say this - I didn't use to shoot adventure elopements in Arches National Park too much because it can get pretty packed with crowds. I ended up learning our couples loved hiking in the park and people loved seeing them walk by in their wedding clothes. I thought the silver lining to all this was that Josh and Emily would have a lot fewer people at the park because of the weather. Little did I know, as Callen wound up the switchbacks of the entrance to Arches National Park, we were on our way to experience some desert magic.
I knew even if the sun didn't come out the photos would be pretty epic. Moab can be great in any condition. The 2,000+ arches in the park provides so much for a photographer to frame a shot with and the sandstone rising from the earth provide natural contrast, punchy shadows, and the endless skies stretching over the earth in every direction allow for so many beautiful options. We have a huge list of locations Callen and I have explored, and I picked one of my favorite spots knowing, if the sun did sneak out below the clouds, we could snag some cool light shining through the arch.
Okay, enough about safety and photography concepts and everything going through my head that day. I just wanted to give you a true look into the preparation and decision making which can go into a single evening of shooting. It's important to remember that no matter what is happening, through trust, preparation, and knowledge, there is a way to put yourself into a position where you have an opportunity to use your skills as a photographer to capture something great.
As we piled out of our cars, Emily and Josh were so excited which put a lot of peace in my mind. They were so upbeat and happy even though we were in a completely different area than they expected a few days ago. It kind of hit me then- Josh and Emily met at the camp Josh ran, where Emily now works, where kids with serious illnesses go to just be kids. They're literally pros at taking a hard situation and making it into something beautiful. A new wave of appreciation for them hit me. I was witnessing a couple who can bring a calm presence in any storm, whose love for people and each other isn't dependent on circumstance, and I just had a good feeling about them, about the shoot, about the whole day and what I do for a living in general.
We walked the trail and the sun still wasn't coming out, but the layer of clouds still left us a good chance. Emily's dress and her beautiful veil were perfect for the hike, and Josh wore a light grey suit that contrasted the red rock beautifully. They climbed up the sandstone to the little perch under the arch I directed them to. Callen took off behind me to get some shots a little further out. Emily and Josh walked across the ridgeline below the arch. I felt a drop of rain or two, and then it really started coming down. Then, just as they reached the bottom trough of the arch, the sky began to light up. The sun was coming through the other side of the arch perfectly, backlighting Emily and Josh. I was already stoked on it all, but then the phenomenal happened. The rain got a little heavier, and the drops falling through the sky became drenched in the golden light that was peaking out under the clouds.
I knew Callen was behind me. I yelled back asking if he saw it too. He did! This type of thing is so unique. I'd never seen anything like it and wondered if it would register on camera. Josh and Emily were in complete awe. The scene was completely surreal. Eventually, the rain stopped, but the light kept shining through the arch. The sunset made Emily's dress glow, Josh gave her kisses and held her hand as we climbed down and explored a little more.
Later that night I got to take a look at Callen's photos and was blown away. You can tell when I'm stoked on something because I just blurt out words like "oh my gosh" and "no way" and "Callen!" when going through the photos. The rain had not only shown up but looked like glitter falling through the sky. The images perfectly captured what we had witnessed.
The next day Josh and Emily picked us up in a Jeep for a 4x4 excursion through a more remote corner of Moab. We picked out and made a mental note of a spot for their vows at sunset and kept exploring, stopping a few places to take pictures. Eventually, we found a perfect little place overlooking the Colorado River for some sunset shots. The light was perfectly Moab, shadows of monuments cast against western walls of the canyon, and Josh held his wife close. They looked beautiful; the couple that could find the beauty in any storm, the ones who put their trust in us, the ones who lit up under a natural phenomenon. We drove back to the spot they chose to give their vows and gave them some space to have time to themselves. I can't lie though; I would have loved to hear what this couple had to say to each other.
What I do know is the day was fitting for them, who they are, what they do, what they love, and experiencing the beauty we did was something special. I think, in all our professions, we work hard to do our best; we bring out the best in ourselves to bring in a bit of beauty in the life of another. Whether by a sick child being able to truly smile in the midst of a personal storm, a family being able to feel happiness or providing an experience to a couple in love to not just stay safe but witness a once in a lifetime moment with each other - all the soul we pour into what we do, every bit of effort - it is all so worth it.
Elopement Location: Arches National Park, Utah
Photographers: The Hearnes Adventure Photography
Bride’s Dress: BHLDN
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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, allowing them to serve a large portion of the western US. You can typically find them in Moab, Utah or Yosemite National Park, California, with side-quests to Patagonia and Alaska. They believe love is the greatest adventure and strive to create photos that are epic, romantic, true, and timeless.
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You know that episode of The Office (if you know us, you know The Office/Parks and Rec references happen pretty much daily) where Jim and Pam get married? We find out at the end of the episode - after their actual ceremony - they already got officially married at Niagra Falls. They did it because it's what made sense to them. So many of our couple have tweaks to their day to make it completely theirs. Helping them with their vision and making sure our couples get to explore the options which make the happiest is a passion of ours.
This was exactly what happened with Cassie and Chris and how we came to shoot what we dubbed the "Jim and Pam" session. After meeting through a mutual friend, we knew pretty quickly we'd be great buds. We ended up shooting their engagement photos in Yosemite and from there, Cassie and I talked about the possibility of shooting in Moab. She loved the idea of desert photos, but they also wanted a bigger ceremony in Colorado for all the people who mean so much to them to come and celebrate. So, when I mentioned a first look session in Moab, she was totally in!
Honestly, it couldn't have been better. Cassie and Chris got to be where they loved, with the person they loved, and also celebrate with the people they loved. It was kind of like mashing up Ben Wyatt's proposal to Leslie Knope (what, you didn't think I was serious about the P&R references?) where she had him pause so she could remember every moment AND the Halpert's intimate moments in Niagra falls AND how unique to them April and Andy Dwyer's living room wedding was AND Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt's Town Hall wedding where you really make sure your best people are involved. Charlie even played the roll of Jeremy Jam, getting in the way of their photos in a plea for my attention 😑
When we met up in Moab, Cassie changed into her stunning Galia Lahav dress in the camper (which we laughed about as Callen was still vacuuming up the glitter a couple of days later). Then, because Cassie was an absolute trooper with her super heavy dress, we hiked up to a beautiful little spot overlooking my favorite valley for some photos. Chris was glowing at the site of his bride, and it was such a relaxed time. With no particular agenda, we wandered around the red rocks, took time to laugh, and did some fun shots with Cassie's AMAZING Galia Lahav veil. We need to stop and talk about this veil - a perfect mix of a fabric crafted by angels and worthy of a desert goddess, basically the Ann Perkins of veils. Seriously though, I love long veils in nature, and this was one of my favorites ever.
The best part of shooting their engagement and wedding photos in California, Utah, and Colorado was watching Cassie slow things down. Wedding days are amazing and for some, the movement and motion of the day is part of the fun, but that pace wasn't what Cassie and Chris wanted most. So these moments in Yosemite for engagement pics and Moab with Chirs in his suit and Cassie in her stunning Galia Lahav dress among the desert towers in Moab was perfect for them. On their wedding day in Colorado, Chris and Cassie got to focus on the day itself, the friends, and the little moments they could take their time with because they had most of their photos done days before.
Cassie talked about how doing things this way melted a lot of her wedding day stress. After getting most of her photos done, she just focused on the moments she really wanted to with her friends and family. Plus, we got to have them all to ourselves on this day in Moab ;) These two are now stuck with having us as friends for a lifetime, which made me all the more happy to do this for them.
At the end of the day in Moab, we went to some food trucks for pizza, Thai food, and donuts. We sat there eating all this crazy food (perks of being an adult) before heading out with friends to party. I couldn't help but think about how worth it all this is, how lucky I am to have people like this in my life - people who will travel a thousand miles to climb granite and deserts, who will get their dress dusty and want to hang late into the night, who will make sure to include everyone they love without giving up any wild dream they have. It's so worth it.
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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, allowing them to serve a large portion of the western US. You can typically find them in Moab, Utah or Yosemite National Park, California, with side-quests to Patagonia and Alaska. They believe love is the greatest adventure and strive to create photos that are epic, romantic, true, and timeless.
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As follows with most Moab adventure weddings Sam and Zac's wasn't your typical reception. Dust kicked up in the light coming from the headlamps of Sam and Zac's Subaru, illuminating the desert dance floor. Instead of a DJ's light set up, there was the hazy dusk light right before the stars come out. Instead of an extensive guest list and a huge cake, there was a couple in love eating red velvet cake in the middle of a red desert.
Sometimes, simplicity shows what a million plans and months of work is trying to say - this, is love. When Sam and Zac came to us, we understood their idea, the desire for a simple day, their personality speaking towards the serene calm and beauty the desert brings. They're rock climbers, and thus campers and hikers, so their adventures had taken them to Moab before, and ultimately drew them back for their wedding day!
When we started talking about their elopement the thread of simplicity that brought their whole day together started when they thought that Callen and I should pick the location for their ceremony. You can argue there's not a bad place to get married in Moab, but it means a lot to us when couples trust us so much. Picking out a special place for a couple to say "I do" is something I look forward to doing every time. With the amount of land and roads leading to various textures of valleys, towers, and canyons, the challenge isn't to find a uniquely beautiful place, but rather to pick one.
The fun thing about our adventurous brides and grooms is how often we can feel their joy coming through in every situation. This joy isn't always there because they have every detail planned out, but because there is a freedom in knowing nothing other than it will be beautiful. This brings about the feeling of spontaneity and excitement which makes up a lot of what adventure is. So when we met Sam and Zac for their first look, we could tell they were excited that the exact location was still somewhat a mystery. I often not only think about where our couples would like to go, but where they would want to come back to for years to come. We knew the area we would go to, but there was still room to hike out and pick the specific ledge unique to them with the perfect backdrop for their wedding ceremony.
Today, Conner (brother/artist/Strickland) officiated their desert elopement, and Zac and Sam's parents served as witnesses. The ceremony was short and sweet, and right afterward we had a picnic reception. There were beers and the aforementioned red velvet cake. Their parents, the only witnesses to the wedding, gave the sweetest toasts to their newlywed children.
We used the last of the light to hike around and do sunset portraits. There was a purity in the day. The day felt like underlining your favorite sentence in a story and then writing a whole book using that sentence as the plot. That's kind of what we do, and today felt like the purest - simplest - form of what we do for our couples.
Their day showed how happiness comes from finding what you love - the people and the places, and underlining them like favorite sentences before writing it all into your story. The sun had set over the desert, mountain bikers rode by, and the day ended with a couple holding hands, moving their feet and kicking up dust, proving anywhere you dream up can make for the perfect dance floor.
Elopement Location: Moab, Utah
Photographers: The Hearnes Adventure Photography
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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, allowing them to serve a large portion of the western US. You can typically find them in Moab, Utah or Yosemite National Park, California, with side-quests to Patagonia and Alaska. They believe love is the greatest adventure and strive to create photos that are epic, romantic, true, and timeless.
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We absolutely love doing this annual round-up! It's so fun to go back through the year, pick out some of our best work, and put together all the random stats. This year, we will be doing three installments: Weddings + Elopements, Adventure Sessions, and Our Personal Adventures. This is the first one!
Our Previous Round Ups can be found here:
2016 Weddings, Sessions, Couples in Love || 2016 In Review (Personal Adventures)
2017 Weddings + Elopements || 2017 Adventure Sessions || 2017 In Review (Personal Adventures)
We photographed 40 Weddings + Elopements and 31 Adventure Sessions
We worked in 10 States + 15 National Parks
PEOPLE MAGAZINE // COSMOPOLITAN // GREEN WEDDING SHOES // MY MODERN MET // BUZZFEED // DESIGNBLOOM // APLUS // SIMPLEMOST // CALIFORNIA'S FOX KTVU // BORED PANDA // LOOKSLIKEFILM ARTIST OF THE YEAR // LOOKSLIKEFILM (X2)(X3) // SF GATE NEWS // SIXPENCE WEDDING // BUSINESS INSIDER // LITTLE THINGS // VIRTUTE // INTERVIEW ON JUNEBUG WEDDINGS // JUNEBUG TOP PICS // FEEDSPOT TOP 100 ELOPEMENT BLOGS // HUFFINGTON POST (X2) // THE VENUE REPORT // WYLDER GOODS // TINY HOUSE, TINY FOOTPRINT // WOMEN ON THE ROAD PODCAST // RAM PROMASTER COMMERCIAL // MARTHA STEWART // GREEN WEDDING SHOES // JUNEBUG BEST OF THE BEST WEDDINGS
I’ll be honest, as I sit down to write this post, I’m not sure how I feel about 2018. In some ways, it was the best year of our lives. We started the year with an incredible trip to Patagonia with some great friends. During the trip, Kim and Ryan’s Spacenet Wedding in Moab went mega-viral, ending up in publications like People Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and Buzzfeed, as well as the Today Show and local news stations around the country. Shortly after getting home, we hit the road and headed west for our first adventure elopement photography workshop with Maddie Mae in Yosemite National Park. Our route had a handful of detours, including an elopement in Sedona and a few days filming a RAM Commercial in our ProMaster Van! The workshop was incredibly fun, in fact we decided to do another one in Page Arizona in 2019 and it sold out in under 20 minutes!
We spent a few more weeks in Yosemite photographing a couple of snowy elopements and enjoying the winter (lack of) crowds and braving a few fresh snow storms, then trailed the coast for a few elopements, stopping in Eugene, Oregon to hang out with my brother Ben. We spent my birthday in Big Sur with my other brother Conner, who flew in to officiate his first of many adventure elopements with us. From there, we made our way to Joshua Tree National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Monument Valley Navajo Park, and finally Moab, Utah (our beloved home base) in the span of a couple of days. We settled ourselves in Moab for a few weeks, established a little neighborhood of new and old van life friends, photographed a few desert elopements in Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park, and the surrounding areas near Moab. We even found time for a few days off, doing nothing at all but sipping wine and exploring new dirt roads.
By May, Moab started to get a little too hot for us just in time as we headed Northwest for Mount Rainier National Park. Our road trips are never without side quests, and this time we got to stop and do a little photo session in some hot springs with our bud India Earl. It was such a treat to be in front of her camera - she is absolutely magic! It was a little wild to go from 90 degree desert temps to needing snowshoes in the span of a couple of days, but sometimes that is the beauty of road life! In Washington, we photographed 5 couples in 5 days, including my brother’s proposal to his now-fiancé! After Mount Rainier, we left the van and the dog with my brother in Oregon and flew down to texas for a week with our families. It was a rare week off and we were so thankful to have the time at home with them! When we got back, we made our way down to Yosemite for our busiest few weeks of the year shooting elopements and adventure sessions almost every day of the week. Our time in Yosemite was good, despite working almost every day, we got to dive deeper into some friendships and spend quality time with our people that live in the valley.
Once we wrapped up our summer season in Yosemite, we started heading north to cooler temps. We found ourselves back in Jackson, Wyoming, one of our favorite places (and where I happen to be writing this blog post from!) for a few sessions and an elopement in Grand Teton National Park. After soaking in the Tetons (and promising ourselves we’d return this winter to see it covered in snow, hence why we’re back here right now…it was worth it!!!), we hightailed it to the border, making a quick stop in Glacier National Park and then finding ourselves celebrating Canada Day surrounded by Canadians and the most beautiful stretch of the rocky mountains! We were finally headed to Alaska - possibly the highlight of our year (I can’t decided between AK and Patagonia and honestly, November in Moab).
Alaska was amazing, we had so much time off to explore and play and truly have a “summer break.” After two whole weeks of playing all over northern Canada and Alaska, we met up with some incredible couples for an engagement session, an anniversary session, a honeymoon session, and a beautiful intimate wedding! We even got to ride in a helicopter out to a glacier for Morgan + Evan’s epic first look before their wedding! It was mega.
Unfortunately, our Alaska trip wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I never want to give the impression our life is perfect, and if you follow me on my personal instagram account (@abbihearne), you’ve seen my posts about my Dad. This one explains it well, and the hashtag #DadStrickland has all of my posts together, but when we were in Alaska we got a call from my brother to tell me my dad has a terminal brain tumor. It was the kind of news that turns the whole world upside down, and like any horrible news, there wasn’t a “good” time for it to happen. We were all the way in Alaska, my family back in Texas, and had a week left in our trip, which included two sessions and a wedding. After talking with my dad and brothers, we decided it was best to stay throughout commitments, and then I’d fly home to be with them.
After we wrapped up our last wedding, we drove four hours straight to Anchorage and I flew out at sunrise. I arrived in Austin that evening, and despite my absolute exhaustion and lack of sleep, I was able to spend some great time with my dad before his surgery the following morning. I spent the week in Austin, caring for Dad and spending quality time with my family. It was sweet, and only possible because Callen willingly drove the van back to the lower 48 without me. His friend Patrick flew to Anchorage to ride back with him, which was such a gift to me and my family to know Cal wasn’t alone. I eventually flew back to Colorado and met Callen there. August was one of the most stressful and emotionally taxing months of our lives, figuring out how to move forward and continue with what we’re doing knowing my dad is sick and our time with him is limited.
On top of all of that, we had bought our new truck before the Alaska trip and had a couple of weeks in Colorado to “move in” and sell our van before we had to be back in Yosemite. I am so thankful for our best bud, Maddie, who lent us her driveway for our rigs, her home for us and Charlie, multiple meals when we couldn’t begin to think about feeding ourselves, hugs when I needed them, deep talks, and so much more. I honestly don’t know how we would’ve survived August without her. Thank you, Maddie ❤️
Once August was over and we were moved into the truck, we headed out with a “home-stretch” mentality, knowing we could make it to the end of the year and knowing we’d have good times on the horizon despite the horrible month behind us. We went through Moab, which was a treat despite the 100+ degree temps. We made our way to Yosemite for the wild month of September in which we photographed 5 elopements in 6 days after a busy multi-day wedding week. As if that wasn’t crazy enough, it was followed by a drive straight to Page, Arizona for an elopement and then to Telluride for another wedding before the week was over! After Telluride, we found ourselves back in Moab for three wonderful weeks of adventurous elopements and fun adventure days as the temps started dropping and looking more like fall.
After a quick dash to Colorado, we found ourselves in Zion for a way-before-sunrise hiking elopement that ended up in the latest issue of Rocky Mountain Bride Magazine! From there, we made our way back to California one last time for a couple of weeks in Yosemite shooting elopements and; super casual, Callen climbed El Cap for the third time with our buddy Jordan! Our time in Yosemite was brief, but fall is my favorite season in the valley and I (mostly) enjoyed soaking in the time alone while Callen was on the wall. From Yosemite, we went through Sequoia National Park for a couple of elopements and then pointed ourselves for Utah.
November in Moab is one of my favorite things on earth and this year did not disappoint. In addition to some wonderful elopements and adventure sessions, we got to really get amongst it with the adventures. I climbed a desert tower that’s been on my list for a long time, my family came up for Thanksgiving, our best friends all made their way into town for more block parties and van neighborhoods, and we finally got to ski Moab!
December began as November ended, with more Moab adventures and our last couple of days in the desert paradise we call home. After a delightful blanket of snow in the desert and our last Moab adventure session of the year, we made our way to Salt Lake City for a couple of weeks with great friends and a visit from Callen’s family. At the time of writing this, we are in Jackson, Wyoming for our last adventure session of the year. We’ll fly back to Salt Lake City tomorrow and then drive our camper truck back to Texas for Christmas. We plan to spend the holidays and most of the month of January relaxing at home with our families.
I realized as I went to type these out that my goals for 2018 were really good. The pursuit of those goals gave us more control in our business and personal lives, made our life better, and grew us in ways we are so thankful for. I am choosing to stick with the same blanket goals in 2019, and will hold myself to even higher expectations of how I reach those goals.
Book Less » By booking less, we will be opening ourselves to an even better client experience. We are so passionate about our relationship with each and every client, we want every single person we work with to know we love them and we want to really get to know them. I'm convinced the amazing relationships we form with our couples are a huge reason we take such amazing photos, so I want to hone in on that even more in 2019.
Play More » Here's the thing. Do you want to know why we're so psyched all the time? Why we love Moab so much? How we find all these amazing locations? It's because we love to play. We spend our free time exploring, hiking, biking, rafting, skydiving, skiing and climbing all over these places! We didn't get to know Yosemite by shooting weddings there, we got to know it by PLAYING there. We also know we perform way better and deliver a much better experience if we've taken the time to enjoy ourselves instead of work all the time.
Have A Positive Impact » This is the first goal I am changing from last year. Last year, I explained how we wanted to “get off the beaten path more” and be creative by “avoiding popular destinations” but I’m here to eat my words. Taking things literally, Leave No Trace requires that we STAY on the beaten path. All the artists reading this just cringed, but hear me out. I’m not saying to do what everyone else is doing photographically, but I have learned a lot about sustainability this year, and have begun working closely with National Park and BLM officials to figure out how to lessen the impact of adventure weddings in the wilderness. We have learned there are ways to have weddings in unique and new places while still staying within LNT standards and having a low impact. We have learned about how the National Parks are prepared to handle more people and, to put it simply, more foot prints. Imagine a field of flowers, if you have 100 people walk across it with arms linked, they’ll trample much more of the field than if they walk single file, each following the footsteps of the person in front of them. Now scale that to the entire Moab desert. It will be much less trampled if people walk the same paths, following already laid footprints, vs trying to spread out and having every visitor make their own path. Preserving wild places comes first on our priority list, and we want to structure our approach around that in every way possible.
Automate More » Okay, this one might get boring to non-entrepreneurs, but the truth is I hate when I'm spending time doing something when I know a computer or assistant could do it for me. In 2019, I want to hone in on my tasks and figure out which ones I can outsource. Obviously a lot of things will still be done by me, but there are a few random tasks that can definitely be taken off my plate! The less time I spend behind the computer, the more I get to play (see above!)
Be a Better Wife, Daughter, Friend, Human » This one should be obvious, but honestly in 2017 I was a really good photographer, businesswoman + entrepreneur, but the other things mostly took second-priority. I realize that's how it goes when you start a business (or in our case, drastically change it and grow it), so I'm glad my people stuck with me while we skyrocketed to success, but now that we're where we are, I want to focus more on the other aspects of my life. I want to spend more time with Callen (QUALITY time), more time calling friends and family, and more time enjoying myself and others without thinking about or talking about business. Any tips for overcoming workaholism are greatly appreciated!
Woah, humble pie. I wrote the above paragraph for 2018, and while I do believe I’ve made steps in the right direction, I want to see a drastic change in 2019. This year my Dad was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. I learned, in one phone call, how quickly life can be turned upside down. I am so thankful for the time I had to spend with him in 2018, and I want even more of that in 2019. I don’t want work to ever stand in the way of time with my people.
Keep Growing, Learning, and Improving » Scaling back booking numbers doesn't mean we're going to stop pouring into this business, it simply means we'll do a better job of pouring ourselves into what matters! We absolutely love this job and are so thankful (and amazed) by this past year. Next year we will aim to work smarter and make our clients even happier than ever. I never want to think I know it all and I'll never stop growing and improving. One of my favorite pieces of advice I've received as a skydiver is to learn something new with every single jump. I believe in applying that to all that I do, so in 2019 I hope to learn something new with every adventure session and wedding we shoot.
Lead Our Industry In A Positive Direction » I’ve realized this year how big of an impact we have on the photography industry. A lot of photographers look up to us, follow our lead, and strive to do things like what we’re doing. Whether I like it or not, we have a lot of power over the direction this industry goes. In 2019, I want to do what I can to lead in a positive direction. I want to encourage photographers to care for the environments they’re shooting in, to put sustainability at the forefront of their minds, and to prioritize the longevity of these beautiful wild places. I am excited to be working directly with Moab BLM as well as consulting Park Rangers and staff members in multiple National Parks to learn how to make Adventure Wedding Photography a positive force in the outdoor world.
Maintain The Right Priorities » This one sums up most of what I’ve said above. This year, I want to keep my priorities straight. I don’t want to care about popularity or how cool people think we are or how successful we look. I want to prioritize my personal relationships, my beloved wild spaces, and my incredible clients.
Lastly, in 2019 we need to remember to take more photos with our couples. It’s shameful that of all the incredible couples we worked with this year, we only have photos with 6 of them 🤦🏼♀️😝
If you made it to the bottom of this, you're an angel. Please comment on this post so I can thank you!! There is no way we could do what we're doing without the support of our online community. Every follow, comment, like, share, and late night spent browsing the website means the world to us - it literally gets us to where we are now (what a time to be alive!). We are so appreciative of you. I know it sounds silly, but I honestly feel like we have a little family of online buddies that love us and when I'm sitting in the rig in the middle of nowhere feeling a little lonely, it's awesome to feel connected to all of you. 2018 was a wild year and I know 2019 will still blow me away. I can't wait to see where it takes us!
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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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