Danielle & Daniel | Flagstaff Engagement
I crossed paths with this beautiful couple at a local wedding that I was photographing last spring, where Danielle happened to be a bridesmaid. She reached out to me after seeing the results of the photos that were taken at the wedding, and let me know that she was looking for an engagement photographer. Her wedding photographer was already taken care of, as the wedding venue that she and Daniel had chosen was all-inclusive, but the couple needed engagement photos for save-the-dates and invitations and I was more than happy to help!
Daniel and Danielle are Flagstaff locals who graduated high school together here and their lives are really entangled in the city. I wanted to find a location for them that had quintessential Flagstaff “vibes” so I decided on Snowbowl. Snowbowl is a local snow sport resort here in Flagstaff, but as I took the couple up there in the summer it didn’t have the ski slopes and snow showers that you might expect from such a location. Instead, during the spring and summer season, Snowbowl boasts gorgeous, rolling green hills and plenty of wildflowers. This is a great example of the versatility and natural beauty of Flagstaff’s geography, and why it makes such a beautiful place to be based as a wedding, elopement, and engagement photographer!! Though the weather on the day of our shoot together was looking a little spotty and we weren't sure whether we’d be caught in rain showers, Danielle and I both agreed that we’d just go with the flow, see where the day takes us, and do our best to persist through any bad weather we may have.
On the day I was set up to meet with Danielle and Daniel, I drove up to the mountain and arrived a bit early, as I usually do when I’m a bit anxious about the weather conditions. I had partially expected the rain because as Flagstaff is a mountain city and at a higher elevation we tend to experience a monsoon season. This means that during the warmer months of summer, we’ll typically get some rainfall as the early afternoon rolls around that clears up by the evening. While it might make the weather a bit tricky to predict, this type of weather makes for absolutely stunning sunsets and a lovely cool-down from the warm weather we experience during the rest of the day. As a Flagstaff photographer and local myself, I was prepared for the chance of some rainfall and am always ready to work through any inclement weather as long as the clients are also comfortable doing so! As I stood outside my car that day waiting for Daniel and Danielle to arrive, it was windy and cloudy with a light sprinkle of rain and all I could really do was hold my breath, cross my fingers, and hope that everything would work out and that the weather would clear up in time to take photos! Sure enough, the universe provided as she usually does and by the time the couple arrived the rain had stopped completely, the cloud cover broke, and the sun was able to shine right down onto us!
We walked to the trailhead and got some shots using the gorgeous wildflowers that lingered from our bountiful rainy season. Towards the end of the summer here in Flagstaff we tend to get big, lovely yellow wildflowers blooming that are reminiscent of sunflowers, but on this early summer day we were greeted instead by plenty of the vibrant purple flowers and lots of mulleins (the tall, green plant you can spot in the photos) that typically tend to pop up at this particular location.
We popped champagne as the sun really began to shine down on the couple, and the break in the monsoon weather coupled with it being evening time really provided these photos with a beautiful bright, fresh quality. A complimentary bottle of champagne is included with every Odd Fox engagement session - I find this the perfect way to spontaneously celebrate whether you take a sip or not.
We then traveled a bit deeper into the aspen groves that surrounded us in order to really take advantage of these Flagstaff-famous trees and foliage as a backdrop. I took photos as the couple danced in the still-dewy grass and explored under the tree coverage. Danielle was very bubbly and outgoing while Daniel was on the quiet side and a bit more laid back, so I encouraged the couple to spend this time just enjoying being together and to treat this like a date where I was simply just the fly on the wall capturing their sweet moments together. This really helped them become more comfortable being photographed and towards the end, Daniel had totally opened up and was down for any photo ideas I threw their way! Overall, the day was so fun and I was able to get some amazing shots of this sweet couple as Flagstaff’s natural beauty really showed out for us.
