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Erica & Seth – Spring Engagement at Holden Arboretum

This is a story of flowering crab apples, the Kentucky Derby, honky-tonkin’, and a little bit of love. How’s that for a wild mix of subjects.

At the start of Erica and Seth’s engagement session at Holden Arboretum, it was clear that Seth was just back from somewhere. Erica and Seth were chatting about his trip and all the fun he had. I asked about the destination. Seth had returned once more to Kentucky for the Derby. The Derby is one of his favorites and he goes every year. Given the stories being told, I asked if it was for the bachelor party.

That brought up the second subject – honky-tonkin’ in Nashville. Apparently, Seth will head south again soon for his bachelor party in Nashville. As a big country music fan, he’s goin’ out honky-tonkin’ with friends and family. Now that the stories were sorted, we got started with the engagement session. We walked across the valley and into the crab apple meadow. I had scouted the location earlier in the week and knew it would be perfect. All of the crab apples at Holden were in bloom. The entire meadow was alight with pinks, whites, purples and magenta.

Not only was it the crab apple collection, but the rest of the flowering trees were in bloom as well. With the session right at sunset, the scenery could not have been better. Nor could Erica and Seth be any better together. Having not seen Seth in days, it was clear that Erica missed him well. We spent the rest of the evening walking around Holden and catching up. Below are some highlights from the all-film session. I certainly hope you enjoy. As for Erica and Seth, I simply can’t wait for the wedding. Something tells me it’s going to be a blast.

A sunset engagement session at Holden Arboretum with Erica and Seth

Michelle & Adam – Sunset Engagement in Kirtland

Timing is a fickle thing. One wrong step, and you miss the perfect window. Timing can be particularly important for sunset engagement sessions. Too early, and you miss the most amazing blue-gold-peach colored light. Too late and you run out of light before the session is over. For Michelle and Adam’s engagement session in Kirtland, the timing was perfect. You know – that rare kind of perfect.

We met rather late for the spring, and didn’t start shooting until after 6:00pm. As we strolled through Holden Arboretum, we chatted about their wedding and how they first met. Occasionally, we would stop for a few frames. We even climbed into a make-shift tree house, not pictured below. Then we would walk and chat some more. We visited my favorite willow, and a deep stand of spruce pine . All the while, the sun sank lower in the sky. The tones slowly went from raw daylight, through golden yellow, to orange crush.

By the end of the session, we had left Holden Arboretum and reached Patterson Fruit Farm. Just as the colors peaked in vibrancy, we walked down into the apple orchard. The sunset had finally reached my favorite, peachy colors. A this point, we had only 15 minutes to wrap up their all-film engagement session. Then before I knew it, the light was gone for the day. There was no need to go any further. Holding the film in my hand, I knew I had captured Michelle and Adam’s personality and love. I happily smiled to myself as I realized it was perfect.

And they deserve perfect. Michelle and Adam are great people and great together, which I think you will see below. So feel free to enjoy some rather special highlights –

A spring engagement session at Holden Arboretum with Michelle and Adam

Before I depart, some quick notes for the photographers among us. The above is all-film and 90% shot on a Contax 645. I was also lugging around a Nikon 35mm. The film is Fuji 400h in the Contax, and Portra 160 in 35mm. Most often, I shoot heavily back-lit. However, if you find yourself running out of light at sunset, turn around and bathe the subject in the sun. A sundown, the intensity of the light is low enough not to cause unwelcome squinting. See the last one as an example. Happy shooting!

Carolyn & Jason – A Snowy Winter Engagement Session at Holden Arboretum

It seemed like we’d been rescheduling this engagement session for weeks. The goal for Carolyn and Jason’s session was a nice wintery shoot with snow, but the weather wouldn’t cooperate. First it was bitterly cold, and I fell ill. Then it was too warm and there was no snow. Finally, we hit the jackpot. Not only was there snow, but the snow was actively falling during the entire session.

We met on a distant corner of the Holden Arboretum property. The Holden property is huge and I still haven’t seen it all. Carolyn and Jason introduced me to a new part – the horse stables. Carolyn keeps her lovely horse there and we wanted to include the entire family. The horse had been let out into the back fourty, so we had to fetch it from the field. Did you know that horses will come when called? Like the entire heard? I had no clue. With the horse rounded up, we started the session.

We spent time around the stables, capturing the animals as we chatted together. A snowball fight broke out more than once. We made sure to include their snowboarding gear, which is a favorite hobby for both Carolyn and Jason. Me? I’m just a knuckle-dragging two-planker, as Carolyn might say 😉 With the horse put to bed, we headed off to the core of the Holden property to make snow angels. All in all, it was a perfect winter engagement session.

Funny thing is, all the rescheduling echos their real engagement. Jason planned an elaborate scheme where he would surprise Carolyn with a ring while walking their dogs. For a few days, he kept inviting her on a dog walk, but she constantly declined. Finally, after a few attempts, they headed off to the park. While walking, Jason ran ahead to hide the ring under a special rock. He returned and slowly lead Carolyn to the ring. They were engaged in a quiet corner of North Chagrin Metroparks, with their dogs, their love, but no horse.

Below are a few favorites that I hope you enjoy –

A winter engagement session with Carolyn and Jason in Kirtland Hills A winter engagement session with Carolyn and Jason in Kirtland Hills

As you can see above, there was really no attempt to keep the snow off. All the snowball fights and angels made a beautiful mess. I’m really looking forward to Carolyn and Jason’s wedding later this year. Thankfully, there won’t be any snow, but there will be autumn leaves of gold, purple and ruby red.

Tagged: Holden Arboretum