September 14, 2015 / Engagement
Spencer + Kayla | Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend | Arizona Engagement Photography
Here’s my guilty admission: I’m a sucker for gorgeous photos in unexpected locations. There are places in this world that defy expectations. That transcend beauty. That are so untouched by man, that when you experience them, you’re left breathless. Those places are generally harder to get to, and require a certain amount of dedication to the cause to experience. Because of this, many of what I affectionately call my “bucket list locations” are destinations that call on a special kind of couple. A couple that loves photography, but also, more importantly, loves the adventure of reaching a place that not many others will have experienced. Then, when the beauty of new love meets the beauty of somewhere so raw, so natural, and so untouched, you have something amazingly special. And that’s what happened with Spencer + Kayla’s adventure destination engagement session in Page, Arizona…and it’s an experience I’ll never forget.
Spencer + Kayla are such a blast, first and foremost. They love adventure, love the outdoors, and simply ooze excitement for life. When I met them and we chatted about their engagement session, I learned that they were living in Phoenix, Arizona, which is about four and a half hours south of Page, where Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Lake Powell reside. After learning that they were hugely into the outdoors and enjoyed hiking and camping, I tossed out the idea of Antelope Canyon to them…and they were immediately in love with the idea. So one Thursday evening, we drove up to Page, and Friday morning we began our adventure at 6:30 am with the sunrise.
Beginning with Lake Powell, we chased the light and shot the sunrise over the lake. It was a gorgeous day, and after scoring some amazing shots, we knew we were onto something special. Once that first portion of our engagement session was done, we grabbed some breakfast, and made our way to rent the kayaks that would take us into our next adventure: Antelope Canyon.
Kayaking into the Canyon, we followed Antelope Creek and were greeted with stunning surroundings. The white canyon walls slowly began to turn to the iconic red and orange that we’d seen in the images of Antelope Canyon, and the pristine water reflected the colors beautifully. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the entire adventure felt a bit surreal. Once we arrived in the canyon, we hiked a few miles and finally were greeted with the slot canyons. Words cannot describe how amazing these canyons are. We simply stood and admired them for a bit, taking in the gorgeous surroundings before starting our session in the tight slots that reflected the orange and red glow from the sun. The resulting images are breathtaking, and I hope Spencer + Kayla can look back on the adventure fondly!
Once we were finished there, we had an hour and a half of kayaking back out to do, and then we were off to Horseshoe Bend. This amazing, natural canyon is shaped like, yep, you guessed it, a horseshoe, as the Colorado river winds around the massive rock. The sight is simply breathtaking, and as we hiked around and waited for the sun to go down, we enjoyed the view and took in the beauty before us. There really is no way to describe the beauty of the sun setting behind the red rocks of the Arizona skyline, but I hope that these images do it somewhat justice. The entire experience, from start to finish, was surreal, and I am extremely honored that Spencer + Kayla allowed me me the opportunity to capture their engagement photos in such an adventurous way.
Congratulations, you two, and thank you again for allowing me to tag along and document your day. It was such a fantastic blast, and I hope you love your images. I wish you many, many years of happiness, and I know your wedding will be nothing short of amazing!