Foggy Adirondack Engagement Session / Y & A

There is an unparalleled beauty to driving up to the mountains before sunrise and slowly seeing the peaks come alive in the light. I met Yeon and Aaron in the woods outside of Lake Placid on an early October morning for their engagement session. Medical residents in different cities, this season of their relationship is mostly long distance with weekends spent enjoying each other’s presence as much as they can. With a shared love for hiking and nature they spent a weekend in the Adirondack mountains, using their session as an opportunity to take a slow foggy walk through the woods together! The Adirondacks in the fall are so romantic.

Their session was a sweet example of what it means to just slow down and be present together. There was laughter, closeness, walking, hugging. Moments I can’t do justice to by trying to create with posing. I find myself so inspired by the time I spend with couples who just so effortlessly enjoy the time with each other. Taking direction from me as needed, but mostly just acting so genuinely happy to be in love with the person in front of them. I can pose a couple, but I can’t pose presence. Presence isn’t something that can be recreated. It has to come from with in you. It asks of you to not think about what you have to do in the future, but to just exist in the moment as it is. A hug is a hug, but the meaning comes from the two people choosing to hug. It’s the emotions that charge the hug. It’s noticing how the closeness to your partner makes you feel. It’s the safety and connection you feel in the embrace.

Life is full of hurry and obligations. Things that are tougher to navigate, that challenge us. Being a medical resident means a lot of challenges and that so much of your time is spoken for already. But it’s those moments in between the obligations, the distance and the harder things, that make us feel truly alive. It’s going for walks with your best friend. It’s being outside where you can feel the fog on your skin and hear the birds. It’s the moments where you can just be.