welcome to another yearly recap!
This blog is one of the things I look forward to most at the end of each year, where I share one photo from every shoot I did. This year was just as special as all the years prior, with most my work taking place in California, Utah, Colorado, and a handful of jobs in Arizona, Oregon, & even Texas!
One of the things I am most excited about this year was the opportunities I took to push myself in my creative work. I got to document the foundry in Arcosanti where my close friend Carson works, and I put together an incredible portrait shoot for the 2023 Women's Gathering in Moab.
Looking back on the year, Yosemite is a stand out. Yosemite has been one of my favorite places in the whole world since I left Ohio on a greyhound when I was 17, with the dream of seeing the valley, and advertising myself as a photographer in that area. I am now at the point where I travel to Yosemite 3-4 times for back to back elopements each year, shooting my dream jobs in my dream destination. This year, I finally branched into breaking my own barriers and did a bunch of rock climbing in Yosemite, including getting on El Capitan for the first time!
In the photo to your right, I am photographed with one of my sweet couples at their sunset ceremony. Emma does embroidery, and made me an adorable long sleeve top with my logo on it, one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received from a client!
IN 2024…
There are many exciting things on the horizon, with elopements / weddings I am looking forward to in Yosemite, Glacier National Park, Washington, and even returning to my old stomping grounds of Ohio where I will be available for shoots there for one day only. Click here to see my travel schedule.
I am also excited to share that I have an active inquiry in one of my TOP dream locations, somewhere in South America (not sharing officially until we confirm through booking!) The idea of traveling internationally again for the first time since Covid has me extremely invigorated and passionate about this business. I am ready for another beautiful year with beautiful clients, as I am taking huge steps in aligning towards future goals.
My goal for 2024 is to save enough money to move out of my van, and have a down payment on a house I want to purchase in Moab in 2025! I am thrilled to have one final year in my van, before I make the big girl steps of becoming a home owner and diving deeper into my community in Moab. I will always be a girl on the road, but pursuing my goals for my future has me thrilled right now.
I hope to work with you in the new year, but for now enjoy the recap!
1. Alex
Started off the year with professional headshots for my girl, Alex. After we got her headshots, she dressed down for some more fun portraits on the rocks in a location right by downtown Moab that always stuns me! This is a great location for a shoot in Moab close by town with great towering red rock behind you. You are such a beauty Alex and I'm glad I got to start the year off with you!
2. Ben & Emily
Ben had the idea of proposing to Emily in snowy Moab on their visit here last winter. The proposal went down so smoothly, and I adore this image at Dead Horse Point that truly shows off the beauty of snow in the desert canyons. Seeing this image is getting me excited for Snoab (my affectionate name for Snowy Moab) and the adventures that come with it once again!
3. Kirsten & Christian
Two homies came out from Moab to Joshua Tree for a birthday celebration / climbing trip! They modeled for a shoot in Joshua Tree for me on another friends property, I love any opportunity to shoot in this unique environment and I'm already eager to visit J Tree again.
4. Emily & Alan
I was so excited to hear my high school friend Emily and her husband Alan were visiting Saguaro National Park the same time I would be there! They quickly booked a couple shoot, and I found this trail to old house ruins that made for a unique place to play around amongst the giant cactus.
Fun fact: This shoot was the first time I ever stepped on a cactus. They had to witness my screams as I got the needles pulled out of my foot, and we all laughed about it over Mexican food later that night. Watch your step in the desert!
5. Arcosanti Foundry
One of my favorite experiences of the year! Arcosanti is described as The World's First Prototype Arcology, I highly recommend you visit. My close friend Carson works in the foundry, and I got to document how they make the famous Arcosanti Bells. Click this link to learn more about Arcosanti and potentially book your stay!
6. Alania & Bryan
Every year I make an investment into new equipment. This year I invested into a 16mm lens, the widest lens I have and a rare one for most photographers to carry! This shoot was the first time I got to use this lens, I am so impressed with it's ability to capture wide landscapes such as the arches we have in Moab.
Alania and Bryan own an eco friendly puzzle renting company! Clink this link to check them out.
7. Courtney & Cameron
One of my favorite proposals I have ever captured! Cameron chose this Arch as the location for him to propose to Courtney. When him and I went to hike the arch together prior to the proposal, he saw some people had set up a rope swing. I explained this is something my friends and I do often in Moab, and if they wanted I would rally up some friends to rig the rope swing for Courtney, Cameron, and their friends to participate in right after the proposal.
Everyone in their group conquered their fear and did the rope swing, pushing the limits and turning a regular photoshoot into an unforgettable experience. Click here to see their full story.
8. Kori & Ethan
Kori and Ethan chose to have their engagement photos done here in Moab. We adventured around one of my favorite spots in Canyonlands National Park, and while they were guiding each other along the rocks I snapped one of my favorite landscape photos of the year. I cannot get over how incredible the lands surrounding Moab are.
9. Lauren & Isaac
It is a rare occasion that I visit cities anymore! I had a wedding booked in Dallas this last April, which worked perfectly to meet Lauren and Isaac for their engagement session before they get married in Moab this upcoming June. I snapped a creative double exposure to show off their love in the city landscape!
10. Ashley & Kyle
Ashley and Kyle had such a beautiful wedding in Dallas, Texas. I especially loved the architecture of the building they chose for their venue, and how it framed their ceremony. I chose this weepy eyed photo from their ceremony as my favorite from the day.
11. Akshaya & Varun
This multi day Indian wedding in the Bay was one of my favorite journalistic weddings of my career. I especially loved this celebration moment towards the beginning of their wedding day ceremonies, as they celebrated their marriage on top of their friends and families shoulders.
12. Kelsey & Tyler
These two had a beautiful anniversary session with me on their first visit in Yosemite. This spring in Yosemite was probably my favorite visit ever! The snowmelt caused waterfall to exist that I have never seen before, and this is when I got to get on El Capitan for the first time (the big beautiful rock on the leftside).
13. Kristy & Jason
These two had the most beautiful first look and portraits prior to their wedding in the Bay Area. There is lots of unexpected options for Redwoods photos around the Bay, and I am so happy they chose to do their couple portraits on this trail!
14. Chetana & Cory
Ahh my first time using my 16mm in Redwoods National Park! These two shared their favorite trail in the Redwoods with me where they got engaged, and took me to the exact spot it happened as part of their two hour engagement session.
15. 2023 Womens Gathering
Excited to share about this creative concept I got to put into action at the Moab Women's Gathering! This event is one of my favorites of the year, and I go all out for my girls. Friends helped me build the floral reflective arch you see pictured behind me, and we all worked together on these crowns we made out of zipties. I entitled this series “Goddess Portraits” to celebrate the women in my life, and I am so excited I got to participate in my own concept and feel extra beautiful.
16. Jess & April
These two beautiful ladies are from Ohio, and after a decade of dreaming finally made their dream trip to Utah to check out the national parks! Jess reached out to me to let me know she planned on proposing to April in Zion National Park, and wanted to do their engagement photos there to commemorate their trip. What a beautiful sunrise in Zion it was!
17. The Desert Moon
My friends Brigette and JR own an incredible B&B hostile in a desert small ghost town called Thompson Springs, less than an hour outside of Moab. Brigette and I did a trade where she wanted professional lifestyle photos of the desert moon, and in return I got a tattoo! This was an incredible weekend, thank you to my beautiful friends Devi and Dalton for modeling!
18. Emma & Tucker
THIS exact shot is the reason I chose this location at sunrise! Emma and Tucker wanted their engagement photos in Colorado National Monument, I researched trails and found this incredible rock structure that after studying light figured that during this timeframe in the morning would produce the epic golden image you see below.
19. Jenny & Riley
I had SO much fun with these two on their engagement session! Gallivanting around the Breckenridge mountains with this two during peak wildflower season was a dream. We connected over our love for tattoos, the grateful dead, and much more over vegan pizza. I can't wait for their elopement in Glacier National Park in 2024!
20. Chelsea & Mitchell
It was so hard to pick a favorite from this incredible off roading elopement in the San Juan Mountains. Kicking off a good portion of my summer in the San Juans with these twos elopement was a dream, and extremely inspiring to what future elopements not too far outside Moab could look like.
They had their first look at sunrise at 12,000 ft in elevation, and the sun popped out for a moment to give us the most incredible colors during their first look. Click here to see their full story.
21. Christian & Coyote
I am very grateful to these two incredible people for sharing so much of their summer with me in the San Juans. They both agreed to model for me and this was my first male same sex shoot! The images created from this shoot are honestly some of my favorites I have ever done, I was screaming with joy and excitement the whole time and they made the whole process so easy! They were also featured on a LGBTQ+ platform called Dancing with Them, thank you to DWT for the feature!
22. Eli
Another beautiful friend from Moab who came to visit me in the San Juans this summer! Eli is a pole dancing instructor, and we set up her pole in the woods for professional headshots. I got creative with my new fractal filters that I've been wanting for years, and I love how the artistry of this shoot turned out!
23. Kunal & Pranita
Kunal had quite the epic proposal planned for Pranita in Crater Lake National Park. They had a friends weekend already planned, and he surprised her with friends from all over the country who flew out to witness this moment! Crater Lake is such an incredible place to propose, and we all had so much fun. Congratulations to these two!
24. Zada & Hana
Ahh I love these two so much! We had such a fun engagement shoot outside of The Bay, and I cannot believe they were so nervous about “being awkward in the photos”. Their love shined so brightly, and the whole process was seamless and joyful (even when we ended up getting kicked out of this spot haha!)
25. Emma & Tucker
The first Yosemite elopement in my busy fall season! Emma and Tucker chose to do their ceremony at Glacier Point at sunset to accommodate for their guests, and the alpenglow on half dome and light purple hue mixed with their newly married glow was the perfect way to end their day.
26. Kendra & Seth
These two got the celebration of their dreams surrounded by friends and family in the woods outside Sacramento. They had such a beautiful warmth and childlike freedom to their love, frolicking in the woods with them during golden hour was my favorite part of this beautiful day.
27. Noah & Emilie
I am obsessed with how this elopement turned out! Noah and Emilie chose to elope in Yosemite National Park with less than two months to plan. Since we didn't have time to pull a permit, they got married outside the park, and then we went into the park for sunset photos + my first time doing star photos at Glacier Point! No photoshopping was done to this image, the night sky is just that damn good!
28. Bella & Shaggy
I met them two in LA a couple years ago, and Bella has followed my photography journey ever since. They finally got engaged last year, and they hired me for their engagement and wedding photos. We did their engagement photos in one of the most incredible places in the world, Sequoia National Park.
29. Luke & Lindsey
This shoot was a gift to my precious friends to celebrate all the incredible things happening in their lives. On top of getting married this year, they are now expecting their first little one, and just bought a home in Moab! We went hiking in Castle Valley at sunset for their celebration shoot, I miss them already and am excited for them to return to their desert home after having their baby in the spring!
30. Vanessa & Isaiah
MAYBE my favorite image of 2023?! The Great Sand Dunes are an epically unique location to choose to elope. They texted me last minute to ask if they should snag any things at Walmart, and I double checked with them that they got headlamps. Even though we didn't stay for star + full moon photos (which the clouds would not have allowed us to see anyway), this blue hour photo with the rolling dunes and epic storm clouds mixed with their dark wedding attire made for a truly epic moment captured.
31. Zada & Hana
Ended the elopement season back in Yosemite with Zada and Hana. Their ceremony stands out to me as a favorite moment of the day, as it was filled with laughter, tears, and all the emotions. This moment where Zada and Hana's laughter brought them forehead to forehead during their ceremony stood out to me as a favorite from the moment I saw it and included it in their sneak peek.
32. Birthday Fire Spinning Concept
My birthday is in December, and this year my friend David and I did a joint birthday party focused on creativity and relaxation. My creative photoshoot concept was to have my fire spinning friends get very steamy in the sauna, and then immediately leave the sauna and go into fire spinning photos to hopefully capture the steam going off their bodies illuminated by the fire and backlight.
This image of my dear friend Kendra is my favorite from the evening, as this encapsulates the concept I was going for. The steam in this image casts an illusion surrounding her presenting a human like figure dancing through the night. Thank you to my friends for participating in this concept! Fire spinning portraits are a niche I do offer and LOVE to do!
33. Christmas Eve
Went out on Christmas Eve with my tripod for my yearly self portraits, and wanted to end this blog with a giant THANK YOU to all my 2023 clients! All the people photographed in this blog are the reason I am able to sustain myself, the reason I am able to thrive as both a business and creative. Thank you for trusting me with capturing the most important moments of your lives, it is an honor that is not lost on me.
Cheers to ending my 5th year in business, and I hope to see you in 2024!
