It’s not until I am up on a mountainside, taking in all the beauty and simplicity of the world, that I realize just how disconnected I have become. Unless you are intentional about going on adventures, they just don’t happen. You end up sitting around the house catching up on your Netflix queue. LAF. It wasn’t until this past Thursday when we headed up to Craggy Gardens to celebrate Father’s Day early with the girls that I realized, “Holy Shit, I love being outside, I love being in the mountains, and I miss this.” Just so there is no confusion, all of the photos in this post were taken up at MAX PATCH, but I will get to that in a second. I intentionally did not bring my DSLR (my big ass camera), because I wanted to enjoy my sweet girls. I regretted it initially because it was gorgeous up at Craggy, but what I ended up realizing is that it was the best thing for me to not bring it. I wasn’t focused on capturing the moment, but rather living in it. I was able to just share and enjoy an adventure with my family.
I love my job and I love getting to capture relationships between family members and loved ones, but I also need time to just turn everything off and focus on the important relationships in my life.
I don’t want to miss out on some of the best moments of life. After we had a picnic dinner at the summit of Craggy, I took Afton over to the rocky ledge for a better view. The wind was blowing in our faces and we were looking out at an ocean of mountains together. Afton, one by one began naming the mountains. “That’s Voldemort Mountain, and that’s Hagrid Mountain. That one is Harry Potter Mountain, and this one is Hermione Mountain.” Afton pointed her stick, I mean her wand at each mountain as she named them. It was such a beautiful and fun moment that I got to be a part of.
Photographing Julie and Adam’s wedding on top of Max Patch also reminded me to take the time to enjoy reconnecting with nature. There is no place close by that makes you feel more calm and content than Max Patch. It is a bumpy ass ride to get to the top, but once you are up there, it feels like nothing can touch you, like you’re invincible. Spend some time with the people you love doing something fun outdoors. It doesn’t have to be a special occasion, do it “just cause.” Live in the moment and make the moments count. There is so much noise in the world that we allow ourselves to be distracted by. Don’t fall prey to it. Go get your mother fuckin’ nature on.
Yep, that’s a butterfly that flew onto Julie’s bouquet. Pretty magical stuff.
Absolutely amazing. Beautiful job! Julie you looked stunning as always. Xoxox.