salida colorado wedding photographer
For Cassidee & Zach’s engagement styled session, we headed for the mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park out of Estes Park Colorado. The weather forecast all week seemed promising & reasonably warm enough for April. Per it’s usual, the Colorado mountains made their own weather and had other plans.
With Horseshoe bend having a mass of clouds & rain coming down the mountain, we opted to drive further on to Bear Lake. My good friend Savannah of Savannah Chandler Photography and I figured the red of Cassidee’s dress and the navy of Zach’s dapper suit would contrast well against the snow & the green of the trees, we traipsed up from the trailhead on packed snow to the lake, realizing snow was about to dump on all of us. Normally, you can see Long’s Peak from this area, but not this time! The wind & snow picked up but these two were troopers.
We quickly realized we should get back on the road to try and outrun the storm. After seeking shelter amongst the trees to warm briefly from the crisp mountain wind, we drove like mad down the windy mountain roads, chasing the sun. As soon as I saw the warm light here, I knew we had to pull over! If you’ve ever had a photographer ride with you, you’ve probably experienced this.
I couldn’t point out this spot on a map, but the light coming through the trees is absolutely gorgeous and much to our delight, created dramatic shadows.
And finally, we ended at Moraine Park. We all gasped as soon as we saw the mountains & the red & orange glow of the surrounding willows. Beyond the gate, we saw a fisherman leaving this area so we seized the opportunity for this spot. I didn’t have waders with me since I had not planned on getting in the water, so I carefully climbed out onto the rocks and stayed (mostly) dry there while I photographed these two. They snuggled close to keep each other warm for these gorgeous engagement photos!
