On a warm summer day in the mountains of Flagstaff Arizona, Andy, Ellie & I wandered around the grand landscape of Sunset Crater about 10 miles outside of Flagstaff. I’d been dreaming of photographing a couple here for months. I had always thought that the rolling hills of black sand seemed so different from the typical landscape of Northern Arizona, and that it needed to be shared! When Andy & Ellie said they were down to do their engagement anywhere, this was the spot.
We headed down the winding loop road that connects Sunset Crater to the Wupaki Ruins, passing Sunset Crater and coming to a view that overlooks the crater with the San Francisco peaks hidden in a smokey haze behind it. What stood out the most to me was the volcanic sand that changes the typical forest into one with a violent geologic history. A history that set Northern Arizona apart from the rest of the state’s landscape. I wanted to show that a landscape that is so dark & different can be captured beautifully as a backdrop for two people in love.
Andy & Ellie are two people who just.. fit together. They hung onto each other throughout, and it truly felt like we were all just exploring this vast landscape together & I just so happened to have my camera with me. Knowing Andy since college made this even more special because he too, is a photographer, so being the one to photograph another photographer’s wedding is just such a honor! They plan on having their wedding at the Nordic Center among the aspens in the fall, and I’m so excited to be a part of it!
