A stunning, private camp in the high Sierras and an amazingly warm and welcoming family – what a dream session!
The Veerkamp family and I have been colliding since 2009, when I photographed Gretchen and Matt’s wedding. Since then, the happy couple have been in the wedding party for a few of the weddings I have photographed, and then I ran into Lori and Doug (Matt’s parents) at another wedding last year. Finally, when I saw Lori and her mom at the movies recently, she decided it was fated and scheduled an extended family session at their property up-country. This was where we had shot Gretchen and Matt’s engagement session, so I knew what beauty awaited me!
Lori and Doug are wonderful hosts and invited my family up to join them for a pre-session BBQ, which was delicious. Gretchen and Matt brought along their son Axel, dog Bee and brand new puppy Moose. Loni, Matt’s sister, and her family also joined us, as did Grandma, who made the journey up after not having visited the camp for some time. I love how extended family sessions give everyone an excuse to take a break from their everyday lives to spend some much-needed time together.
My girls, Ember and Jaz, who, along with my husband, Jeff, were my assistants for the day, spent a little time paddling and fishing on the lake until we looked up to see that the weather was changing very quickly. Watching the radar, we shot a few groupings prior to the hail storm that then descended upon us – and it came down hard! After a break between downpours, we jumped back out and enjoyed some beautiful light.
Thank you to Lori, Doug, and the entire Veerkamp family for making my family feel so welcome. It’s fantastic to have great memories behind the gorgeous photographs.
1 comment
Beautiful pictures!