Rocky Mountain Engagement | Denver, CO | Dustin and James

During one of their Zoom sessions Dustin and James said: “We could come out to Asheville and do our engagement photos there, or if you are up for it, we’d love to have you out here in Colorado.” To which I responded, “You had me at ‘if you are up for it.”

I am a believer in the concept of yes. Sometimes it is easier to stay in a safe place and do the things you know and other times it calls for adventure.

This is exactly what we got for Dustin and James’ session. I had never been to Colorado and would have next to no time to spot visit upon my arrival in Denver. This is not my usual. Typically, I will guide my couples through a shoot beforehand, talk about potential locations, times of day, weather to expect, etc., but Dustin and James mentioned some rad places they love to visit and we would just make a day of it. And when people say that they want to haul up into the Rocky Mountains, run by a distillery, and show me some of their favorite spots, I say yes.

Fall in the Rockies is on some stupid shit.

This is the sort of thing I see on Instagram and immediately say to myself that these photographers are cheating when they live in destinations like Colorado. Views for days, colors that would make Van Gogh blush, and the light is just silly. The other part you can’t control is the weather, and as we found out, there is a reason that the Rockies are a premier resort town, as we had flakes the size of brussel sprouts coming down by the end of our time.

In my family, I am the always driver. Not necessarily by choice, just the way it works out. So when I have the opportunity to just go for a ride and look out the window, I am all for it. I typically have to watch the road, but out here with James at the helm, I got to scope it all out, take it all in and at times yell out “ooooooh! You guys want to go see what that cemetery is all about?” While the cemetery was a little dead (dad jokes for days), we did find an old mill to make some killer images and maybe got a little hung up on a waist-height barbed wire fence. But as always I stuck to the motto that I will never ask a couple to do what I wouldn’t be willing to do myself.

James and Dustin then took me to their favorite distillery (which might be the only one) in Breckenridge, the aptly named Breckenridge Distillery before heading over to a spot where you can view all of Breckenridge and the Rockies unfold for miles and miles.

It’s hard to put this place into words, and I have now been back a few times since and still am not sure what words to use when describing this part of the country. But I am wildly grateful to Dustin and James for inviting me out for this shoot and for giving me the million-dollar tour.

Love the feel and look of Dustin and James’ engagement session? Thinking about getting some destination engagement photos? Reach out and we can talk more about what we can do!