Kimberly and Adrian are horse people. Right now, they’re in the throws of a busy sales season. A few weeks ago, though, we were able to catch a break in the action to get together for their engagement session.

The day after, I received this message from Kimberly:

Thanks for making yesterday so much fun! Adrian & I had both had a stressful, flustery day. He didn’t know what to expect of the photo session, and ended up loving it. For the rest of the night, he kept saying, “That was nice. Good idea.”

And that’s what I love about engagement sessions. I like for my sessions to feel like a date—without food and activities. Just time to spend with each other. Everyone is so busy nowadays. To just hold hands, to hug, to just look at each other for a bit longer. That’s a nice change of pace, I’d say.

They’re also dog people. I’m really glad Marty and Waffles made the trip. They provided much comedic relief.

One of my favorites…

Waffles is generally hesitant to jump in water, but today the urge got the better of him. He and Marty had a blast.

So sweet. Love this.

To Kimberly and Adrian—I’m glad you enjoyed the session. You two are super-cool. Looking forward to seeing you again soon!

I used to worry that my style didn’t really fit cleanly into one certain category. I’m not a super-fashion-ee guy. Not really convincingly hipster. Quirky? Not so much. Definitely not traditional. Not so raw as to be a photojournalist in the purest sense. Artsy? Nah.

I’ve tried to be all those things. None seemed authentic. More exhausting than anything, really.

So what’s my style? It’s something no one ever again will be able to replicate exactly…It’s how I see the world. Without filter or enhancement. I’m a happy guy. I’m best when I’m with people. What is recorded by my camera is the optimism I feel toward the human spirit.

If there’s any advice I could offer up to other photographers (there are a few of you that frequent this blog), it would be this—-Don’t find your style. Just be it. Go with your gut. Maybe spend a little less time on other photographers’ blogs and spend a bit more time getting in-tune with your own creative instincts. Instead of researching the newest trends, try learning a bit more about how your camera works so that it can be an effortless extension of your vision. Maybe it means getting inspired in other ways—music, films, literature, dance, art, daydreaming even.

To Mia and Chris—Thank you for choosing me. For recognizing that we fit perfectly together. You and Chris are beautiful individuals, and I just love how perfectly imperfect you allow yourselves to be around me. That’s good stuff.  I can’t wait to shoot your wedding. It’s going to be a trip, y’all!

Here are some shots I’m particularly fond of:

It would be an understatement to say these two like baseball.

The dynamic between Chris and Mia is incredible. If they were competing in a couple’s World Series, they’d be unstoppable. They’re a team. Even Ted Williams wouldn’t be able to stop them.

Just happy.

This is the spot where Chris asked Mia to marry him last year.

Mia and Chris have this inside joke where they feign the beginnings of a scuffle. You can almost hear them saying, “What. WHAT. WWWHAAAT?!”

The tried to mean-mug it a bit on this one…

But they’re happy people. Smiles work best.

Mia likes throw deuces occasionally.

Chris thinks she’s totally normal.

Did I mention they have a new puppy?

Vicious, I tell you.

That’d be me. Awesome.

Thanks, everyone, for stopping by! Stay in touch!

Warning: Awesome, albeit lengthy story below…

Josh has stayed in touch with me since 2008 when I photographed him at UK. It’s been fun hearing about all the cool things he’s been doing since graduating (like living in NYC, Chicago and working for MTV…haaaaaay). Josh has always popped in from time to time to comment on my blog posts, but since meeting Ashley, I’ve noticed more and more interest in the wedding photography.

A couple months ago, Josh contacted me to see if I’d be available to meet him at Natural Bridge. He said that Ashley might be the only person more obsessed with my work than he was, so he’d like to have me there as a surprise to Ashley to capture the moment that he proposed. Sweet guy, eh?

Plans changed, though, and Josh realized that their trip to Kentucky would be shorter than expected and that proposing at Natural Bridge wouldn’t be logistically possible. He assured me, though, that he would be in touch in the future to talk about the photography for their Chicago wedding.

He came up with an even cooler way to propose–at a concert hall in Chicago where they had first met. He arranged with the owner to have exclusive access to the venue. He printed up fake tickets to an event, took Ashley there, and much to her surprise,  they were there all alone. It was then that he proposed. Well played, sir.

But another surprise was brewing. You see, Josh’s best friend Ashlee (who I’ve know as long as Josh) arranged for me to come to Kentucky’s Rough River Lake  the day after the proposal. It’s there where Josh and Ashley would be coming to celebrate with friends and Josh’s parents at their lake house. They were told to bring something cute to wear that night, because they would be going out to a nice restaurant near the lake to celebrate. I arrived after they were all inside the house, got my camera ready, and then cued Ashlee to bring them outside. They came walking out, and I was there with my gear, ready for an engagement session. Josh, who prides himself on being unsurprisable, was speechless. Ashley was surprised, too, but came up to me immediately to chat. She’s such a sweet (and beautiful) person.

And Ashlee is an amazing friend to them both for putting this all together. I was happy to be a part of something so fun.

Josh’s parents have the yard of their lake house decorated with so much interesting, colorful and eclectic decor. The colors you see in the foreground of this next shot are from a Mississippi Bottle Tree. They keep bad spirits away.

The best way to know that Josh was surprised? Had he known he’d be photographed, he might have brought different socks. Ashley swears that he was wearing hers…lol

From left to right, Giancarlo (another good friend), Josh, Ashley, and Ashlee.

The rest of the fam—Brittany, Priscilla and Coconut.

Love this shot of Josh and Ashlee.

Told you it was eclectic!

Next, we went to the marina. Ashlee stayed behind with Josh’s parents to help them prepare dinner. Giancarlo came along to help out with the reflector.

Ashley and Josh “borrowed” a couple items from a nearby boat.

Being there to surprise them the day after their engagement was a treat for me, too. They were still glowing from the proposal.

This was not staged. Bwahaha.

The sun had already set while we were driving back to the lake house, but there was still just a bit of that sweet dusk sky left to rock out some off camera lighting.

Giancarlo was a champ.

My favorite from the day.

Back at the house, we enjoyed a tasty vegetarian dinner and sat around swapping stories. I got to know Ashley better, and she’s just as amazing as Josh has been telling us she is. I’m so happy for them, and that they have a good friend like Ashlee that helped put all this together. Great weekend.

And no post would be complete without one more shot of Coconut.

Thank for stopping by, everyone! Please leave a comment below and hit me up on Facebook if you feel so inclined. Here’s the page for the studio, and here’s my personal page. Bye!