July 12, 2018

Leslie & Starlin | Mount Rainier, Washington Couples Session

While on vacation I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a beautiful session at one of our country’s magnificent Nation Parks!  I began coordinating with Leslie and we decided on Mount Rainier!  Friends, I was so excited; I often daydream of a romantic and exhilarating national park session!  For a girl that loves anything and everything adventure, the outdoors, hiking and breathtaking views, it was a real pleasure to put this together!

The weather on the day we met at Mount Rainer was crazy.  I kid you not- the weather called for a high of 75, with showers, thunderstorms, and snow possible.  So, we prepared as best we thought we could and headed up!  My husband Scott and I arrived about an hour and a half early. We wanted to get the ‘lay-of-the-land’ since neither of us had been there before.  We eagerly went into the visitor center to meet with the rangers, discovered some beautiful recommended spots, and grabed our maps.  After chatting with the rangers, I decided a quick moment at higher elevation (it’s where we were meeting Leslie and Starlin after all) with the top of the mountain in the backdrop, a waterfall location, and then a trail location.  I thought we could squeeze these in and have time to explore the park a bit more after; I was only slightly mistaken…

As soon as we went back out to our car to go do some scouting before Leslie, her boyfriend Starlin, and baby Jaylin arrived, an absolute downpour complete with rumbles of thunder and hail began.  Friends, it was literally raining on my parade!  So, we stayed in the car and waited out the weather, and thankfully it stopped just about 20 minutes before we had to go meet Leslie and her boys!  Scott and I were able to get in a short and sweet hike, but had to turn back quickly as we had no phone service so finding each other in the parking lot was a necessity.

To say the mountain that afternoon was moody is an understatement- but as always, I did my best and embraced it! Leslie and Starlin were such great participants- shooting in chilly, damp air with dark clouds swirling above us and looking great is no easy task- but they nailed it!  My husband Scott was a great help and doubled as my assistant and professional baby snuggler. <3

Mount Rainier definitely provided an impressive backdrop with ominous clouds that at times threatened to pour on us at any moment.  We stopped at roaring Narada Falls on our way down and took a few quick photos there before heading further down the mountain to a suspension bridge we heard was a must-see stop.  Thankfully the weather changed dramatically as we traveled down and warmed up to a comfortable 75 degrees!  I was able to capture some great moments between Leslie and Starlin before it was getting too late and we all decided it was time to head home- wherever that may be.  (Our home for the evening was a motel about 3.5 hours from the park through mountains and winding roads with tired eyes, so we had to get going although I could’ve photographed forever!)

Overall, despite the challenges we were faced with that day, I’m proud of the moments we were able to capture and that we went for it anyways!  We had some crazy weather, a moody mountain, a nursing baby, and a photographer and her lovely assistant that had just spent the previous 10 days hiking up and down mountains on average 8 miles a day!  To say we were exhausted is an understatement, but that’s just how we adventure!  A very special thank you to my amazing husband that gave up a day of heavy hiking so I could photograph in a dream location, and to Leslie, Starlin, and Jaylin for making the drive and working through the weather!  I’m so happy I got the opportunity to photo here and I hope more like it come my way! Here are just a few favorites from our brisk and ambitious session:

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