I met Ethan a few years back when I volunteered at an event for his non-profit organization. Ethan is the founder of the Tsuga Community Commission. He puts on a summer camp for children of military families every year. Such an amazing person. if you want to find out more, you can head over to his website here.
Fast forward to a few years later and I get a message inquiring about wedding packages from Melissa. After some messaging back and forth, I find out that shes engaged to Ethan. I got super excited to work with them again!
We met for some drinks off Alberta and discussed all of their details. Their wedding? One of my dream locations, Silver Falls Park (also happens to be the location for their summer camp). So where else would we head for their engagement session other than another waterfall.
We met at the Wahclella trail head near Cascade Locks, OR and headed to the falls. It is about a mile hike in, so we stopped plenty and enjoyed the scenery. Fall colors were just starting to hit, so we got some faint hints of color here and there.
This trail never fails to put on a show in any weather. With the multiple waterfalls, gorgeous bridges, and amazing greenery, I can shoot on this trail multiple times and never duplicate an image.
We had some fun climbing around the rocks at the main falls and headed back. Near the end of the trail we spotted a decent sized puddle. I was initially thinking of a reflection image, but Melissa was wearing some amazing rain boots and had a better idea. Ethan, being the good sport that he is, got to stand just to the side of the puddle, Melissa got to jump with both feet and spray him with a decent amount of water. There was just a little problem though, I think more water got into her boots then actually sprayed Ethan. I got the first attempt, but they wanted to try one more. So, with plenty of water already in her boots, she did it again and nailed it! We got the featured image that time and they loved it. I was glad to hear that she had extra shoes and clothes in the car waiting, and that we weren’t too far at all from her getting dry.
I am super stoked to see these guys again in July, and can’t wait to shoot their wedding!
