The First Sunset of Spring: Michelle and Justin's Proposal
Justin reached out to me about arranging to photograph his proposal to Michelle. Hailing from Illinois, he was ready for some warmer - well, relatively warmer - weather down in Tennessee.
He had some ideas about where he wanted to propose, and first on his list was no waterfalls - coming from the flatlands, he wanted mountains for Michelle and liked the idea of Newfound Gap. I always try to offer several suggestions and showed him a picture of Max Patch at sunset. That did it - Justin LOVED Max Patch and the setting was chosen.
Fortunately, the first day of Spring here in East Tennessee was beautiful - sunshine and warmer temperatures. But you always have to consider elevation and even before sunset, there were folks leaving the Patch because, well, as sunset drew near they realized that their choice of clothing that was fine an hour ago was no longer keeping them warm.
But not Michelle and Justin - they were ready for the mountains. Justin was nervous but I told him, just find me and we can get into the sort of casual conversation you have with strangers when everyone is waiting for something, in this case the sun to dip below the horizon. I would offer to take their picture at just the right moment - no need for Justin to get the timing right. They found me on the Patch and while waiting for the sunset, Michelle showed me her camera and asked me - because, you know, I was just another landscape photographer - about good settings for a sunset.
And then the sun hit the horizon. And I gave the signal to Justin.
And then this happened:
Something to note - when you are off in the mountains and the sun sets, it can get dark . . . fast. And very dark - this is a wilderness area. As it is, there were a number of campers up there for the night. I saw one young couple and asked them, “May I borrow your cozy little campfire for these two who just got engaged?” Everyone loves lovers and the couple agreed, giving Michelle and Justin for some romantic campfire shots.
Roll the video!
A lovely and romantic moment in the mountains - I hope these memories stay with Michelle and Justin and I hope their years together are filled with the joy I witnessed at their proposal!
