We met Erin and Steven for the first time during their engagement shoot in Old Town Alexandria. They flew in from California to see their family and finalize some wedding plans. After an hour and a half of shooting we parted ways and made plans to touch base again later to discuss their wedding timeline at a later date. But that’s not where the story ends…
Half a year later, as we were planning our WPPI adventure, we were itching to do a fun shoot on the West Coast. So we reached out to Erin & Steven to do a Death Valley engagement session – only a few hours drive from Las Vegas. To our surprise, they replied immediately with an enthusiastic “yes!”
Our plan was to drive up to the Badwater Basin (salt flats) in the harsh mid-day sun and head towards the sand dunes towards the sunset. One 6-hour flight later (where Alex cried his eyes out while watching “The Art of Racing in the Rain”), a mishap with the car rental agency and the best $6 gas station burrito ever, we were amid the incredible landscapes of Death Valley. Even if the we didn’t have a shoot scheduled, the drive alone would have been worth it.
When we got to our first location, there was a bit of a hike required to get from the parking lot to the actual salt flats. After about an hour and a half of Erin and Steven running across the barn landscapes, kicking saltwater into Anastasiia’s lens (almost gave me a heart attack), and giving each other piggyback rides, we started to worry about the imminent sunset so we rushed to our next location.
As soon as we got to the sand dunes, we ran towards the closes peak and played around in the sand. We asked Erin and Steven to run down the sand dunes for some action shots, walk on top of the dune for a dramatic landscape shot and as the sun set, we got a bit creative with the help of our flashes (MagMod to the rescue!). Before we knew it got completely dark, and after a few cans of Truly, we headed back towards the parking lot. As we were driving back, Erin and Steven peeled off to star gaze and we rushed towards Las Vegas for a meet up with the Fearless community of photographers.
***
We are Anastasiia & Alex, a couple that united over the love for photography, fun adventures and the appreciation for the range of human emotions. We are a wedding photography duo living in Washington, DC and we are partners in everything: life, love, crime/photography, and beer pong. If you like our style and would love to learn more about us and our services, shoot us a message.
Check out our blog for similar posts to this Death Valley engagement session.
Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields marked *