This is a story of an afternoon well-spent with Amanda & Michael under the trees and on the shores of Gambier Island, where her family has had a cottage for ages.

It’s no secret that we love adventures. And, the ocean. Luckily for us, Julia & Amiel love those things too and when they first wrote to us and shared about themselves, their wedding and some of their favourite things, I knew we were going to totally hit if off.

“We love driving on to boat ramps at low-tide, deep conversation, staring at the stars, quiet moments, having beach fires, spending time with our family and friends that are basically family, being in each others company, watching Downton Abby, eating delicious food at our favourite local restaurants, making beautiful music, appreciating beautiful music that others have made, and expression. Yes. Expression. Oh, and laughing. Yes. Laughing. #lol”

Haha! Don’t you just love that?

Julia & Amiel wanted to tell a little more of a story about themselves with their engagement portraits and had us photograph a Choose Your Own Adventure session for them. They were so laid back and up for anything, so we planned an afternoon of wandering through trees and along the ocean’s shores. We ended the day with an unbelievable cotton-candy sunset and then a beach fire and star-gazing. It was just so them. So full of joy and laughter. The kind of day when you can’t believe this is your job and how you get to meet such awesome people. A lovin’ life kind of day. I can only imagine all the great adventures that are in store for these two.

This story starts with an e-mail. Sydney & Taylan were drawn to our work and e-mailed hoping that we were available for their day. They shared some of their favourite things and one of those was riding ATVs during the summer in the mountains. Well, let’s just say I’d already decided what we were doing for their engagement session before we even met!

Fast forward to a few weeks later, they sat in our home as we chatted about their story and their wedding plans. I brought up the engagement session-Taylan was looking a bit unexcited about the prospect, to say the least. The idea of an engagement session often conjures up cheesy images in folks minds, which is understandable. But, we like doing things differently. When I proposed an ATVing adventure for their portraits, they were both super into it!

Fast forward again, to a weekend in May. We drove way, way out, past Mission to the foot of the mountains where Sydney & Taylan pulled up in a truck loaded with two ATVs.

And, the Choose Your Own Adventure session was born, quite by accident, really. But, as some accidents are, it was a very happy one.

Sydney & Taylan took off on their ATV and Graeme and I followed. They took us to a ton of amazing spots and while the afternoon wore on, it hardly felt like any time had passed at all. We ended at this unbelievable lake filled with hollowed out trees-a perfect spot for the sun to set as it dipped behind the mountains. A spot only accessible by a crazy long back country hike, or in our case, ATV’s.

Since then, we’ve added Choose Your Own Adventure sessions to our offerings. It was just that good. They’re perfect for the couple who want their portrait/engagement session to tell more of a story about who they are and what they love, and they include more candid and photojournalistic imagery than a usual portrait session will. I remember reading those Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid (fingers spread throughout the book in case on of my choices ended in death) and just loving them. Why can’t your turn engagement portraits into an adventure? Or any portraits for that matter?

Enjoy the photographs we created for Sydney & Taylan. Let yourself get lost for an afternoon in the mountains.

One incredibly awesome mustache. Two ridiculously awesome people. And, a road trip to the mountains.

Tasshia & Garrett are big into mountains, road trips, bucket lists & adventures (& cheese platters). So, we turned their engagement shoot into a mini road trip complete with a picnic nestled at the foot of the mountains. And, we broke out the ol’ Polaroid for a few shots as well. Perfection.

Adventure is out there!