Silver Falls engagement //
Kelly + James

It took me a while to come up with exactly where our paths first crossed, but I think it might have been middle school theater, when Kelly played Annie in Annie while I was in the chorus of what was our yearly middle school musical, and she became my idol and role model and the person I most wanted to be like in the world.

And then I got to know her, sitting beside her in chorus in high school and our paths keep crossing all these years later, and for that I am grateful beyond words, because she has been a part of some of my most favorite and life changing adventures and memories – and I know there are at least several other people who can say exactly the same thing and more about her.

There are people who are like suns and just shine the most wonderful light onto anyone in their orbit and I can’t think of a better way to describe what it’s like to be around Kelly. 

This girl is made of at least a little bit of magic.

I think one of the best parts of photographing people who’ve shared huge parts of their lives with you is you know where they’ve been and the importance of finding just the right person…and just how right and lovely that person is. And by that I mean James, who I haven’t known quite long enough to write three paragraphs about just yet, but I know that he perfectly matches Kelly’s sense of adventure and fun and love of plants and green things (golf courses and University of Oregon for him, plants and ferns and flowers for her) and traveling, and I really love that they are both just themselves and still completely support each other’s individuality.

And I want to go back to Oregon right now and just spend every waking moment with Kelly and James and their darling pups because spending a week with them to do their Silver Falls engagement session was one of my favorite photography adventures so far.

It’s really their dogs who brought them all together, with the help of some mutual human friends, while Kelly and James were both living in Philly, so of course they (the dogs, I mean, the friends still live in Philly) came along to play in the woods too. And the waterfall was where Kelly + James got engaged a few months ago, so not only is it a very pretty spot, but it is so incredibly special to them.

So all of that is to say that this session is everything I love and want to have in every session forever and ever: a beautiful and meaningful natural place with dogs and people in love who are just really fabulous, wonderful, life-long friend kind of people. And that is all.