Maui Adventure Engagement Session
MAUI ADVENTURE ENGAGEMENT SESSION
This year – just in the first few months of 2018 – has become the year of bucket list locations. It’s also the year of people saying to me “take me somewhere epic; somewhere that you’ve always wanted to shoot.” (like my buddies Katie and Jasen). This place has been on my list for years. But boy is it tough to get to. This Maui adventure Engagement Session was something outside of the norm but I loved every creepy, voggy second of it.
I met Joe back when I was teaching at H.P. Baldwin High School in Wailuku in 2010. He had just transferred from New York and the principal introduced us in the office saying “Angie is from Michigan too! I bet you guys have a lot in common.” From there sparked a friendship that has spanned nearly a decade. Together with my husband, Joe and I have have explored much of this island together. We share all the inside jokes, know all of our weird quirks, and have celebrated life’s milestones together. We thought we lost him back in 2015 when he made the move to California, but just over a year later, he was back with his girlfriend Nancy in tow!
That’s the thing about Maui; once you’ve lived here, you always want to come back. And we are SO happy Joe has made his big return with Nancy by his side!
Joe and Nancy are the adventurous types. They love stand-up paddle boarding, diving, hiking, and even hunting together! So I knew that when I proposed that we hike the Waihe’e Ridge Trail that if anyone was going to say yes, it would be them!
See, this trail is INTENSE. It’s straight uphill for nearly a mile. The first 15 minutes of this hike tests your endurance as the trail is at a 45 degree angle. But I threw my camera in my bag with two lenses (I typically bring 3 to my photo sessions with couples) and my tripod as a walking stick, and we made the arduous journey to the spot.
The light was really, really strange that evening. I had anticipated cloud cover as the afternoon typically brings cloudier skies and more strong winds. But there was this odd vog that rolled in through the valley and it just gave this session a surreal and creepy feeling. My style is contrasty and vibrant, so without the sun it made it tough – but we embraced it and we got some truly unique shots up in the mountain.
How wide is too wide? For me – nothing!! Little people, big landscapes for the win!
(make sure to read our “after the shoot” at the bottom of this page!
We stayed up on the ridge probably about 10 minutes too long. Once the sun set, it got dark REALLY fast. Between the vog, the darkness (which was SUPER dark), and the sound of the night animals coming out of their daytime hiding spots, we were nearly running down this damn mountain. We could hear pigs rooting around on either side of us on the trail but we couldn’t see them. It was pretty scary but I tried really hard not to think about it as we stomped down the trail in the dark.
Oh – and did I mention they lock the gate at 7 PM sharp?? Guess what time we got to the gate. 7:01 PM. But don’t worry – the good news is that the gate opens from the inside past 7 PM. Thank goodness.
Needless to say, this Maui adventure engagement session will just be another drop in the bucket in the long list of “hey – remember that time we…” kind of story that we tell in the evening over cards and dinner.
Joe and Nancy – thanks for being my adventure buddies and braving this terrain and cuddling together in the clouds! And Joe – can you believe we live here?!
