Colquitt Family | 30A Florida Family Photographer

It’s been over 2 years since I last blogged a session and it’s just time to remedy that. I love seeing a family session in it’s completion, telling a story, giving away little details . It makes me fall in love all over again with what we created seeing it here and I hope it allows future clients to get a strong sense of what our time together could be like. Today I wanted to share my time with this beautiful family in Florida last spring. I’ll be in 30a again this May so please reach out if you’re interested in a family session.

Wrinkle Family | Knoxville Family Photographer

“Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film. Your bright eyes, your easy smile is your museum.” -Ansel Adams

Bessom Extended Family | Knoxville TN

I’ll say this over and over again but extended family sessions are a treasure! Not just to my clients but to me as well. I cannot tell you how it fills me to photograph a big family that loves each other enough to all gather and have photos done together. If you are into family photos with grandparents and cousins that are less on the stuffy, perfectly posed, fake smile type and more of the honest, raw, family heirloom type, the kinds you want your children’s children to see and instantly know their legacy of love, shoot me a line. Let’s get it on the books for 2022, because I want more of this on my calendar as much as you do!

Marrotta Family | Knoxville Family Photographer

Oh the Marrotta Family. They traveled here from Chicago to play in my Smoky Mountains and I am SO grateful I got to meet them and document this sweet spot in the life of their family.

If you are a family photographer and are interested in the way I interact with and photograph clients, I am happy to announce offering my break out session for sale again. These materials are jam packed with information on light, client interaction, prompts, posing and so much more. There are 2 full behind the scenes family session videos where you can hear me interacting with clients in real time as well as additional voice over explaining things in more detail. These materials were produced when I was shooting digitally but my process for shooting families has remained the same. I hope these materials will help you to grow and find confidence as a family photographer and help you let go of perfection while helping you see the beauty that exists all around you. You can find more information on my breakout and what all is included below.

Blessings,

Bethany

Cardwell Family Newborn | Knoxville Newborn Photographer

There’s nothing I love more than walking away from a session feeling like I just took a peek at normal life for a family and getting to share that back with them, showing them all the beauty in that time. Please know that I am not saying perfection, because we all know that our days hold the whole gamut of emotions and feelings, messes, mundane chores and exhaustion. But seeing the beauty and especially the blessings even there, and reflecting it back through photographs to you, is what it’s all about for me. Sharing a beautiful morning with the Cardwell family and their newest baby girl today, where all those things I mentioned were happening at the same time. Here is the result.

If you are interested in sharing a morning or afternoon with me and creating together with your family, I would love to chat. Contact me here and let’s get your session scheduled.

Ryg Family | Knoxville Family Photographer

I’ve been photographing this family for several years and I can say fully that every time I’m with them is so incredible. Mostly because their mama, Sarah, always shows up with zero pretense and her children follow suit. It always feels so easy to get into a groove photographing them because they show me who they are from the minute I get out of my car. She is the kind of mother you would invite over for coffee and know that you didn’t have to pick up your house but that you could just clear a spot on your couch, relax instantly and feel seen. And when she left you would feel less alone in this motherhood gig. This is how I feel when I’m with her and her family and really, isn’t that just an incredible accomplishment? But this is just who she is and I’m so happy I get to photograph them. I got to spend a beautiful chilly late fall evening with them on their farm this year and I am so excited to share it with you all today. Enjoy!

Corpstein Family | Knoxville Family Photographer

If I had a great big mansion
I'd rather live in a shot gun shack with you

If I drove a red farari
I'd rather ride in an oldsmobile with you

If I won a million dollars
I'd give it away to spend more time with you

With you I can be myself
With you I don't have to be somebody else
It's like puttin on my favorite pair of shoes
I'd like to be with me, when I'm with you

-Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors

McCafferty Newborn | Knoxville TN Newborn Photographer

Come and be here in the present moment,

Come and be reminded of all that is beautiful and true.

All the things fear wants you to forget.

-Morgan Harper Nichols

A beautiful morning with this precious family seeing them live fully present in this season with their new baby girl. Blessings to you McCafferty family. <3

Our trip to the Pacific Northwest

It’s only taken me 4 months to finally sit down and put this post together. haha! But I’ve finally carved out some time to share our trip to the Pacific Northwest with you guys. This trip was a dream of mine for years and we finally decided last January that we were going to go for it and bought our plane tickets….then came March. For months we held this trip with an open hand not knowing if we would be able to go and didn’t really decide for sure until about a month before we left. So most of our planning was done in a pretty short timeframe. Traveling with 4 kids during this year definitely came with a few extra challenges but I would still do it again over and over. If this past year has taught me anything, it’s to seize opportunities to be with those we love and make all the memories(and to photograph them ;)) We did have a few obstacles. Because of the pandemic and all of the protesting in Seattle and Portland, we decided to skip those cities which was a bummer, but we’ll just have to do that next time. We also experienced unprecedented wildfires in both Washington and Oregon while we were there which did curtail some of our plans and gave us a few sleepless nights, but nothing too big in the grand scheme of things.

I’m going to share our trip in detail with photos below but here’s an overview of our trip:

Day 1: Knoxville to Seattle

Day 2: Drive to Olympic Peninsula, Hurricane Ridge

Day 3: Hoh Rain Forest, Rialto Beach

Day 4: Beach 4 at low tide, Kalaloch tree of life and bonfire on the beach, Ruby Beach, Big Cedar Tree

Day 5: Drive to Manzanita, OR

Day 6: Manzanita Beach, Short Sand Beach at Oswald State Park (Shorty Beach)

Day 7: Hug Point, Canon Beach

Day 8: Drive south to Yachats, OR

Day 9: Exploring Yachts, Sea Lion Caves(closed for us because the sea lions were out to sea til December but we heard it was a must see), Drive to Florence, OR, Haceita Head Lighthouse, Cooks Chasm Overlook

Day 10: Tidepooling at Yachats, Hike to Devil’s Churn, Cooks Chasm, Thor’s Well

Day 11: Drive to Newport, OR for breakfast, Devil’s Punchbowl, Played on the beach at Yachats.

Day 12: Back to Cook’s Chasm, Spouting Horn, Drive to Bend, OR

Day 13: Newberry Volcanic Monument, Obsidian Flow Trail, Paulina Falls Trail

Day 14: Drove the Cascades Scenic Byway, Devil’s Lake

Day 15: Drive to Mt Rainier, on the way we stopped by Smith Rock State Park, Horsetail falls and Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge. We would have definitely spent more time here but there was overwhelming smoke from wildfires that made it hazardous to even be outdoors. :(

Day 16: Mt. Rainier National Park, Grove of the Patriarchs, Drive to Paradise via Steven’s Canyon, Hike to Myrtle Falls via the Skyline trail, Nisqually Vista Loop.

Day 17: Rest, Played in the River by our Airbnb

Day 18: Tipsoo Lake, Hike Natchez Peak Loop/Pacific Crest Trail

Day 19: Drive to Sunrise, Hike to Frozen lake via Sourdough Ridge trail, Hike to Mt. Fremont Fire tower, Hike Sunrise trail back to visitor’s center,

Day 20: Seattle to Knoxville

Here’s a map of the route we took over 20 days.

A few things to note about how we planned our trip:

We primarily used 2 guidebooks to plan our trip. I know, I know. We’re old school. We used Fodor’s Pacific Northwest and Lonely Planet Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest guides. It was fun to have maps to look at as well as plan our route with these guides and share them along with pictures with the kids. We also used suggestions from a lot of travel blogs, which I found so helpful, and is really the reason I’m sharing our experience in this post. Just FYI, we did not even scratch the surface of all of the things you could do and see in this part of our country. The diversity of the landscape was just incredible and you could really do this trip a million different ways and still have a great time.

We also packed really light. We flew to Seattle from Knoxville in order to save several days of car travel and rented a minivan for our trip through Costco. (Did ya’ll know about this? It can save a lot if you have a Costco membership.) So we wanted to keep things really light+I didn’t want to have to keep up with a million things. I packed all 4 of my kids in 2 carry-on suitcases. Yes you read that right. I feel like a deserve a trophy for that so this is not a humble brag, but a regular brag. lol. I kid but for real! We stayed in airbnb’s the whole time so we just made sure to book one that had a washer/dryer in it. We stayed in 5 different airbnbs along our route and planned the locations so that we could make easy day trips from each location, rather than moving around every couple of days. For simplicity, I packed the same thing for each of my kids: 1 pair of pajamas, 1 swimsuit, 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 tees, one long sleeve shirt or sweat shirt, one pullover fleece, one raincoat, one hat, 4 pairs of undies and 2 pairs of shoes (a sandal and sneakers or hiking boots). My husband and I packed similarly for ourselves. For the plane and car rides we packed each child a backpack with a book, some markers and drawing paper as well as a couple of card games. We didn’t bring any electronics for our kids. I only mention that because I just want to note that it is possible. Although I will humbly admit we were freaking out when we got on our 6 hour plane ride to Seattle and realized there were no tv’s on the aircraft and we had half charged phones. That was an interesting ride. Let’s just say I have so much grace for parents of fussy little ones on planes after that. haha!

For the photographers: Almost all of these photos (with the exception of a few iPhone photos that are noted)were taken on film. The majority of these are taken with my rolleiflex 2.8e, all the square frames. I also took my Canon 1v and Pentax 645n. I shot all the film stocks as I like to have fun and experiment on vacation. Included are Portra 160 rated at 320 and pushed one stop, Ektar, Portra 400, Portra 800 rated at 400 and pushed a stop, Tri-X400 and Kodak Colorplus 200.

Alright! Let’s get to the good stuff!

Mt Rainier at sunset as we flew in to Seattle. Pretty amazing!

We got into Seattle really late the first night. This was poor planning on our parts fyi because it was after midnight eastern time when our plane touched down and we still had to drive to Tacoma and get settled into our hotel. None of our kids slept a wink during travel, so that was fun. Insert the crazy face emoji here. But it did make for an easier transition to the time change the next day when they slept in while I photographed a family in Tacoma. After that, we loaded up the minivan with groceries and headed to the Olympic Peninsula.

At the visitor’s center for Olympic National Park in Port Angeles, we gathered maps and tide charts and talked to the rangers about the best spots for tide pooling and signed the kids up for the Jr. Ranger program. Then we set off for Hurricane Ridge. We hiked the High Ridge trail to Sunrise point and then took the loop via the Cirque Rim trail back to the visitor’s center. It was a beautiful day when we were there and the skies were clear, so we were able to see expansive views of the Olympic mountains and across the water over to Canada.

By the end of our hike we were thoroughly exhausted from our travels the day before, so we left for Forks where we stayed for the next several days, and made day trips to explore the rest of Olympic National Park.

All of the airbnbs we stayed in were simple and affordable. This was a great fit for our family because we made most of our meals and packed lunches and snacks for the day each morning before we left. The Olympic Peninsula is pretty remote so you won’t find lots of places to eat out there, which was fine for us.

The next morning we drove to the Hoh Rainforest. Friends, this place is amazing! Giant moss covered trees, nurse logs and banana slugs, there is so much to see! Hoh rainforest is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the US and it truly felt like we spent the day in an enchanted forest. Even my kids kept saying they felt like we were in a fairytale. We hiked the popular Hall of Mosses trail (0.8m) and the Spruce Nature trail(1.2m) that follows the Hoh river. It was pretty hot when we were there and the kids dipped their toes in the river at the end of our hike.

That afternoon we hit up a Mexican restaurant in Forks and after a little bit of begging, we talked Aaron into driving us to the coast to see the ocean before sunset(even though we were spending the next few days there.) We just had to see the Pacific! So we grabbed our coats and drove to Rialto beach. This was such a different experience for my kids. They’d never seen so many surfers and such rough and rocky waters. It’s just a totally different kind of beauty than what we have in the ocean on the east coast and the gulf. The best part was the driftwood. There was TONS of it and there were lots of make-shift forts and beach bonfires. The most perfect natural playground. This seriously excited my kids for the days we had ahead of us.

The next day was probably the most memorable day of our trip and is still the day all of our kids say was their favorite. We got up early and headed to Beach 4 for low tide, thanks to the recommendation of the ranger and our tide charts. Our kids had been anticipating seeing a tidepool since we started planning our trip so this was a big day for us. When we first arrived, we walked on the beach and didn’t see much, a few dried up anemones and some mussels was all. I could see the disappointment creeping onto my kids’ faces when we decided to keep walking north on the beach towards some big rocks when we finally hit the tide pool jackpot. It was incredible. Tons of brightly colored sea stars and anemones clung to the rocks as we spent the next several hours exploring until our fingers had turned to prunes.

After we’d had our fill at Beach 4, we drove south to Kalaloch. As amazing as the tide pools were that morning, it was our day spent at Kalaloch that has had my family talking for months about their favorite day on our trip. From the time you get out of your car, this area is breathtaking. The campground that sits near the parking lot is what camping dreams are made of. We weren’t camping but those ocean side sites among the twisted ancient forest made me wish we were. A short walk down the beach, we could see the Tree of Life. This tree sits between the rocks with all of it’s roots exposed, yet somehow remains very healthy and alive. I assumed we’d leave after seeing the tree, but we stumbled upon a driftwood fort with some warm coals from a dying beach fire. Aaron stoked up the fire while I went to get the cooler for lunch. For most of the rest of the day we just played on the beach. The kids played in the sand and the water until they couldn’t stand the cold any longer, then they came to the fort to warm themselves. Reid and Corinne collected crab parts that were all over the beach while Beck made a new fort nearby and Ellie drew huge pictures in the wet sand. It was simple but sweet.

After a good long while, we left and headed to Ruby beach. This beach was PACKED. Because of that, we didn’t spend a ton of time here. It was really beautiful, but we definitely prefer having places a bit more to ourselves, so we only spent a little time walking around and seeing all the different rock formations. Something to note though was that this was a rock beach. No sand but instead smooth rocks and it made a really pretty almost singing sound as the waves crashed ashore then crept back into the sea. It was actually my kids that brought that to my attention.

I’m sure by now you would think we were dead on the floor from exhaustion but wait, there’s more! lol. On our drive home, we saw a sign for The Big Cedar Tree and I mean, come on, who can pass that up. Not us. So we made one more stop and it didn’t disappoint.

The next morning we packed our bags and headed south down highway 101 to the Oregon Coast. We took our time, stopping back by Kalaloch beach one more time and honestly any place that caught our eye on the drive.

That afternoon we arrived in Manzanita, OR. Our airbnb was perfectly situated 1 block from the beach so of course we had to hit up the beach at sunset. It was incredibly windy and a little foggy and basically the perfect place for the 3 big kids to burn off a little energy before bed. Oregon felt like it was giving us an epic welcome.

One last stop at Kalaloch Beach

The wind was so strong on the beach the first night we arrived in Manzanita.

Manzanita was one of our favorite spots on our trip. It was the perfect quaint little beach town and a great launching point to explore several spots along the Oregon coast, not to mention it was just gorgeous. There were plenty of restaurants and a great local grocery store. Because we came in the off season+the pandemic however, most restaurants had amended hours of operation so we ate most of our meals at home, which worked great for us, mostly because that meant charcuterie on the beach and that’s basically heaven to me. Everything in town is pretty much walkable and there are several great coffee houses.

Our first morning there, we walked to a local store for some beach toys and foraged blackberries on our way home for some berry pancakes. yum! We spent the rest of the morning just playing on the beach and purposely stayed close to home so that our youngest could get in a nap. It was important for us to schedule rest into our trip every few days for our kids sanity and our own. haha!

After some much needed rest, we drove about 20 minutes north to Short Sand beach(Shorty Beach) in Oswald State Park. Park in the parking lot on the side of the road on highway 101 and it’s a short and beautiful walk to the beach. This is a popular spot for surfers and we loved watching them as the sun dipped towards the Pacific. This was also a great spot to see more tide pools. The kids enjoyed climbing all over the rocks and catching crabs. One thing that surprised me was how much diversity the landscapes held here. Every beach we went to was different and held it’s own special kind of beauty.

The hike to Shorty Beach

The next morning we packed a picnic and drove a little further north than the day before to Hug Point. A short hike takes you to a large sandy cove beach surrounded by sandstone cliffs, caves and waterfalls. Yes, I’m serious. On the north end of the beach, there is an old stagecoach road that you can walk at low tide. There are still wagon wheel ruts carved into the rock from pioneers hugging the coast at low tide, hence the name. I can’t imagine how hard and terrifying that must have been!

Again, my kids had a heyday climbing rocks, digging in the sand and exploring this incredible landscape.

The previous night there had been an intense windstorm in the middle of the night and we had no power for most of the day. The worst of that storm was that it stoked up all the wildfires burning in the Cascades, which ended up being one of Oregon’s most devastating wildfire seasons on record. That evening, we went to Canon Beach to check out Haystack Rock and have dinner at the Ecola Seafood Restaurant and Market. On the drive in, we were surprised at the change in fog but we quickly realized it was smoke! We had never experienced anything like this. It was difficult to be outside at all but we ate and went down to the beach for a few minutes before heading back to Manzanita.

The next morning we were traveling farther south to our next destination, Yachats. But because of the smoke the night before, we decided to give Canon beach one more shot to see if some of the smoke had cleared.

The rest of our day was spent in the car traveling south. And honestly, it was terrifying. This was when the fires had really ramped up and we drove through some pretty intense smoke. We had to detour our trip by several hours due to road closures from fires and you better believe we were so thankful when we got to our place in Yachats.

Yachats was really different from Manzanita. For one it was chilly and foggy the whole time we were there but honestly that was what I had expected from our trip so it felt just as I had anticipated the Pacific Northwest to feel. Again, we chose Yachats as it was a perfect launching spot for our day trips as well as it’s rugged beauty. The town itself was pretty small but had everything we needed. A grocery store, several great coffee shops, and even some really great restaurants. On our first full day there, we had lunch at Luna Sea Fish House which we highly recommend! After that, we drove south to Florence, stopping on the way at the Sea Lion Caves. Although a bit touristy, we had heard from several that this was a must see. A huge cave that harbors several hundred sea lions. However, when we were there, the sea lions were out in the sea feeding until December. boo. Between that and the smoke that still lingered and the uncertainty of some of the rest of our destinations for our trip, moral was low among the Sams crew for the first time on our trip. So, we consoled ourselves with coffee and pastries with a gorgeous view at River Roasters in Florence, followed by a trip to a local book store across the street. On the drive back we stopped by Heceta Head Lighthouse for a hike to the lighthouse with some blackberry picking along the way.

Docks in downtown Florence, OR

Beautiful rugged Oregon coastline just south of Yachats

The next morning we stayed close to home for a bit and explored the tide pools just a short walk from our place. We stayed near where the Yachats River meets the Pacific and there were plenty of sandy beaches as well as rocky tide pools teeming with life. Honest to goodness, this place was heaven to my kids and they could easily have spent the entire day here just having the time of their lives getting as dirty as possible.

After a morning exploring, we packed a lunch and drove south to Cook’s Chasm and hiked to Devil’s Churn. Devil’s Churn is a narrow inlet where the rough sea has churned against the rocky shoreline, carving out the rock. It started as a deep sea cave that eventually caved revealing the inlet. While this was really a spectacle to see, we were clinging to our little ones hands very tightly, as the drop offs are steep into very cold and tumultuous waters. Aaron is not a fan of heights so he was a nervous wreck the whole time we were there. After this, we walked south on the coast to explore Cook’s Chasm more and spent the rest of the day here. I would definitely plan a full day here because there is so much to see. In fact, we came back again on our way out of town and spent a couple more hours here because it had so much to see!

At the trailhead for the Devil’s Churn trail

A view of Devil’s churn

Everyone is smiling but slightly terrified at the waves that are crashing just below us. lol.

Again, tide pools are everywhere as well as deep fissures in the rocks causing ocean geysers to shoot water high into the air like a whale’s blowhole. Really amazing! One of our favorite things to see here was Thor’s Well. Thor’s Well is a collapsed sea cave that has formed a hole in the rocks. At high tide, waves rise and fall creating a circular waterfall and sometimes shooting water up violently from the well.

Just to note, we had also wanted to go up to Cape Perpetua which is in this same area just on the other side of highway 101 to a scenic viewpoint but it was closed due to forestry staff putting all their resources towards fighting the fires in Oregon during that time while we were there. There was also pretty intense fog making visibility pretty much none but if it was a clear day and had been open, we wouldn’t have missed it.

Thor’s well

The next morning we drove north to Newport to check out the Devil’s Punchbowl(I know, lot’s of Devil themes, haha!) and have some breakfast out. While we were traveling, a lot of restaurants that we had read about were closed or had very limited hours so when we found a few gems open, we were thrilled. We had driven to Newport to check out a bakery that ended up being closed but found another little gem with some pretty incredible marion berry pancakes with LOTS of whipped cream which definitely boosted moral as we were beginning to scramble a bit during this portion of our trip on what to do next. The fires all over the state had only gotten bigger and although the coast was clear of smoke for now, our next destination, Bend had hazardous air quality from smoke. Not to mention, when we got to Newport that morning, the fog was so thick that we couldn’t really see the Devil’s Punchbowl. But we all learned a few good lessons about being flexible and having good attitudes even when things don’t go exactly as we had planned. We kept telling our kids(and ourselves) that that’s all part of having an adventure! You never know exactly how things are going to turn out.

On our drive back home we did stop in Waldport at Pacific Sourdough, which was amazing! We had to order ahead for a Saturday pickup but holy moly was it worth it! We loaded up with their sourdough and Boursin cheese as well as several pastries and scones. Really, you can’t go wrong here.

The only view of the Devil’s Punchbowl we saw due to the fog.

We spent the rest of the afternoon between the beach near our house and the hot tub, which felt like a great way to spend our last evening in Yachats.

The next morning we packed up and headed to Bend, stopping by Cook’s Chasm one last time to savor the coast before we headed inland. I’m so glad we did because we were able to see a harbor seal which was a huge highlight for my kids!

The drive over the Cascades was definitely a little scary due to heavy smoke. The fires in Oregon had gotten even worse and we had to go another route to avoid road closures. We had planned to stop at Cougar Hot Springs and the Blue Pool at Tamolitch Falls, both located in the Willamette National Forest on our way but that area was actually on fire. :( So heartbreaking. Our hearts were truly broken for Oregonians who were losing their homes and businesses in these devastating fires.

When we got into Bend, the smoke was really bad and the air quality was hazardous so we stayed in for the night. The next morning we decided to venture south and hopefully escape some smoke by heading up in elevation to see the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. We were relieved to see much more clear skies and got to hike the coolest trail at the Big Obsidian Flow. At 1300 years old, this is the youngest lava flow in Oregon. It looked other worldly there and the kids kept saying they felt like were were in a movie set in outer space. Make sure to wear closed toe shoes because the obsidian is basically black glass and is very sharp. There’s also tons of pumice here which is lava that dried with lots of air bubbles in it. So they thought it was so cool how they could easily pick up huge boulders that were much lighter than they looked.

After we finished at the Obsidian Flow trail, we did the nearby Paulina Falls trail and I highly recommend it. The trail ends at the base of the falls where my kids played in the water. These two falls cascade down the cliff surrounded by huge boulders that have fallen over time.

Paulina Lake

Bend is probably the part of our trip we would definitely want to do over. Although it was still great, the air quality was hazardous while we were there, think, so smokey that you had to drive with headlights on during the day. yikes! So we for sure didn’t feel like we got to experience this funky little city. For starters we’ve heard it’s gorgeous with amazing views of mountains all around but we couldn’t see any of that. It’s also a great town for food and while we did get to experience a little of that, we would have loved to do more so we will for sure be back! We met a Bend family on the beach while we were in Yachats and they shared a few favorite restaurants with us which we tried and LOVED. El Sancho for incredible Mexican street food, Wild Rose Thai and HOLY MOLY do not miss an ocean roll and or an almond croissant at Sparrow Bakery

Breakfast at the Sparrow Bakery

Unfortunately, the next day was still very smokey in Bend. We had planned on a day trip to Crater Lake National Park but fires had closed the north entrance to the park which would have added over 2 hrs to our trip there and thanks to the webcams at the national park, we were able to see how smokey it was there(it was bad) so unfortunately we decided to strike Crater from our list. This was a hard decision but thankfully, the same family that we ran into in Yachats told us not to miss driving the Cascades Scenic Byway and spending some time at some of the mountain lakes. We were a little discouraged at this point in our trip and thought about staying in and watching movies but instead we decided to jump in the car and head for the Byway. I am so glad we did. Like the day before, as we ascended to the higher elevations, the air quality got much better. We couldn’t see the expansive views you normally would on this drive but it was still amazing for our crew. We started out driving past Mt. Bachelor, which is pretty amazing! And made our way to Devil’s lake(I told you there were lots of Devil themes here. haha) We’ve heard this area is normally packed but I think with the pandemic and the wildfires, we had the place to ourselves. Devils Lake is a 23 acre shallow lake, the deepest it is is 10 feet but most of the lake is around 3 feet deep, so perfect for littles. It was formed by a lava flow and has a pumice bottom so it has a vibrant blue color. And let me tell you, it is COLD. My kids peer pressured me into jumping in after they did. It was freezing but I earned some cool mom points. score! We had packed a lunch and ended up spending the entire day here. The kids splashed in the water, dug in the dirt and played on fallen trees in the lake. It was one of those perfectly simple days that felt drained of all the hurry and rush of normal life, so basically perfection and just what we needed after a few stressful days trying to decide how to adapt the rest of our trip with the wildfires.

The view of Devil’s Lake just a short walk from the parking lot.

These Yahoos talked me into diving in after they did!

Our kids loved hopping from log to log on these fallen trees. Beck found some rope and tried making a raft.

The next morning, we decided to pack up and leave Bend a day early and make our way back north to Mt. Rainier for the last leg of our trip. The smoke wasn’t forecasted to clear out of Bend for a couple of more days and things looked much better in Rainier. The drive was long and even smokier than we had seen. We were honestly questioning our sanity! What were we about to drive to? We had planned to spend a day at Smith Rock State park but again, air quality conditions were hazardous but since it was on our way we did stop for a bit. I am so sad we didn’t get to explore here but it’ll just have to go on the list for our next trip. :)

Hide and seek. haha!

As we drove north, we drove through the Columbia River Gorge to see Multnomah Falls. We had planned on seeing lots of things here but again…smoke.

I joke that we breathed in the equivalent of 2 packs of cigarettes to see this and definitely wasn’t sure it was worth it at the time. But now, I’m glad we did. I will say when we were there, the parking lot was closed and you had to park at another lot that was literally in between the interstate and go through a walkway under the interstate. This made absolutely no sense to me but a lot of things this year have felt that way am I right?

The rest of the evening was spent driving to Packwood, WA where we spent the rest of our trip. You cannot know the relief we felt when we got there that night and got out of our car to look up at a clear sky, seeing stars for the first time in a week and breathing in fresh clean air.

Packwood was such a great launching place for our days spent in Mt. Rainier National Park. Ashford is the other popular town to stay in but we chose Packwood because we felt it would be easier to get to things on the East and Northeast sides of the park. There’s not a lot in this little mountain town but we loved it’s rustic beauty and charm. There’s a grocery store, a handful of diners and an excellent coffee house Mountain Goat Coffee Company.

Our airbnb was a perfectly situated cabin near the Cowlitz River. The river was just a short walk through the woods and my kids would have been perfectly happy to spend all our days there playing in the river. But alas, we were about to blow their minds in Mt Rainier National Park. haha!

Mt. Rainier is an active volcano and is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous USA. It’s stunning up close, massive and this park is just unreal and full of beauty. But our whole family agreed that seeing this giant peak from a far distance is what really takes your breath away. On the first day of our trip in Tacoma, which is two hours drive away from Mt. Rainier, our mouths were gaping open when we first saw the mountain dominating the landscape from that distance. When you’re close to it, it’s surrounded by other mountains, making it seem a bit smaller but at 14,411 ft. elevation, it’s definitely not small.

Our first morning in Mt. Rainier, we hit the ground running. After a full day in the car, everyone had lots of energy to burn and we were ready to do some hiking.

Since we were staying in Packwood, we entered the park through the Stevens Canyon entrance and made our way to the Grove of the Patriarchs trailhead. This is an in and out easy trail that’s about 2.2 miles round trip. Near the end of the hike, you cross a swinging bridge over a river to a little island filled with thousand year old Douglas fir and Western Cedar trees.

While the smoke was much clearer than where we’d come from in Bend, our first day in Mt Rainier was still a little bit hazy. After we finished up the Grove of the Patriarchs hike, we got into our car and drove through Steven’s Canyon to the south west corner of the park to the Paradise area. The drive through the canyon was pretty stunning, even though visibility was lower due to some lingering smoke. But honestly, after the smoke we had seen for the past few days, it didn’t take much to wow us. But man oh man were we wowed! The Paradise area of the park was honestly one of the most beautiful days of my life. I kept telling the kids that I think God knew I had to see that day through a thin veil of smoke because my heart couldn't take all the beauty if I had seen it in it’s full splendor! Truly it was stunning. This is one of the most popular areas in Mt. Rainer National Park but we had the place to ourselves for most of the time we were there. I guess there were some advantages to the obstacles we had during our trip. We ate lunch at the picnic area right before you get to the Henry M. Jackson Visitor’s Center with an incredible view. After that, we headed over to the visitor’s center and got the kids signed up for the Jr. Ranger program and talked to the ranger about what hikes they suggested. Thankfully we were able to catch the Paradise area at the tail end of it’s wildflower season and goodness was it stunning to see the vibrant colors with the icy mountain close behind it.

A smoky view of Mt Rainier from the Skyline Trail in Paradise.

We decided to hike the Skyline trail from the recommendation of the ranger. This is a 5.5 mile loop trail that climbs through the subalpine wildflower meadows of Paradise. What’s great about this trail is that you can do it all or part of it. It’s a heavily trafficked trail and the first half mile or so of it to Myrtle falls is paved. We didn’t hike the whole trail but pressed on as far as our 4 year old could handle. lol. Although I would have LOVED to do the whole thing. Honestly, all my kids really wanted to do was find a stream to play in. So after hiking for a bit, we did just that.

After hiking part of the Skyline Trail we hiked the Nisqually Vista Loop (1.2m). This trail is easy and offers a lot of bang for your buck. It originates near the parking lot of the Visitor’s Center and offers incredible views of the Nisqually Glacier as well as more beautiful wildflower meadows.

The next day the weather was calling for rain, so we took advantage of that and had some much needed rest. Our air bnb was a short walk to the Cowlitz River so we did head there for the morning to do some exploring and playing. Heaven to my kids. The rest of the day was spent watching movies, taking naps and drinking hot chocolate.

The rain continued the next day but we decided to put on our rain coats and head into the park. We made our way through the mountains to Tipsoo lake, hoping the weather would clear. When we got there, it was still raining but we decided to go for a hike anyway. We did the easy Tipsoo Lake trail (0.8 miles) which normally offers beautiful views of Mt Rainier with reflections of the mountain on the lake but I think you’re getting the theme here. lol. We had no views due to the rain and heavy fog BUT we did have a different kind of beauty. We decided to keep going and do the Naches Peak Loop(3.2miles roundtrip) which follows the Pacific Crest Trail(which goes from Mexico to Canada!). We’ve read that it’s best to hike the trail clockwise for outstanding views of Mt. Rainier. We didn’t have expansive mountain views but we were still ooooing and ahhhhing the whole hike at the beauty around us. I would highly recommend this hike if you have some clear weather and even if you don’t like us!

One of our favorite stops on this trail was this beautiful mountain lake. The kids loved running around it yelling like maniacs since no one was anywhere near. lol. The water was crystal clear and just gorgeous.

The last day of our trip was gorgeous and beautiful and clear and we planned to squeeze out every drop of it. We even prepped the kids that morning that we planned to go hard all day so prepare your hearts. haha! We set out that morning for the north eastern corner of the park to the popular Sunrise area. The drive through the thickly forested mountains was incredible as the lingering fog from the rains the day before began to lift. That morning as we drove, the song “Surrounded(fight my battles)” by Kari Jobe came on in our car and my kids were silent. I think it was the song+the beauty we were seeing out our windows that had us all in AWE. Every time my kids hear that song they all still say, “Mom! It’s the Mt. Rainier song!”

Even before we left for this trip, I had my sights set on hiking to the Mt. Fremont Fire tower(5.7 miles roundtrip). Every picture I had seen was just incredible and I wanted to experience that with my family. So we set out for this trail via the Sourdough Ridge trail. This was our first clear day in Mt. Rainier so it didn’t take much to wow us! This was really the first time we got to see the mountain fully up close.

The base of Mt. Rainier with the summit in the clouds.

Views from the Sourdough Ridge Trail.

The hike to the fire lookout has a 1,151 ft elevation gain and unfortunately as we climbed, we started getting up into the clouds. I was really hopeful that it would clear as we reached the summit but alas it did not. It was still super cool to see the fire tower but I would be lying if I said it didn’t take some wind from our sails. But that’s part of it all I guess. The hike back down was pretty incredible though as we came down out of the clouds. Well, except for the part where the baby of our family(age 4) had completely refused to walk. But BESIDES all that, it was a great hike! lol.

Making our way back down the mountain towards Frozen Lake.

When we were back at Frozen Lake, I begged my fam to hike about 5 more miles to the Burroughs Mountain Trail because a volunteer ranger had highly recommended it for great views of Mt. Rainier but it was a no go for my crew. They were pretty tired and cold and felt a bit burned by the cloud cover at the fire lookout. lol. Plus there was the matter of the 4 year old who I think had just hit her road trip limit by this point. So we opted to eat lots of snacks and head back to the visitors center via the Sunrise Trail which was still 2-3 more miles. but did offer some beautiful views and we saw a fox. Pretty cool!

View of Mt. Rainier from the Sunrise Point Lookout.

The next morning we woke up early to drive back to Seattle and make our way home.

If you’ve made it this far, you get a gold star! haha! But honestly, I wanted to share our trip like this because I gained so much from reading blogs from other families and hope that our experience will be helpful for some one like so many were for me. Not to mention, my family and I loved reliving this trip again by putting this post together. They’ve helped me remember details as well as spent several nights piled on the couch reminiscing with Aaron and I over the HUGE bank of memories we collected. We still talk about this trip on a regular basis and dream about trips we can do in the future together as a family. I know that trips like these are not necessary to bring your family closer together but that was one of our catalysts and truly I believe we did grow closer. There is just something about traveling together, learning to be more flexible together and having these collective experiences of nature and seeing God’s incredible creation that change you. I am so so grateful that we got to have these experiences together this year and I hope they encourage you to take a trip yourself. Blessings!

Morning views of Mt. Rainier as we traveled away from the park on our last morning.

Johnson Family Maternity | Knoxville, TN Family Photographer

I got to spend the morning with this family on the brink of a big change for them, the arrival of their 4th baby. Those days feel so filled with anticipation and energy, or lack thereof. ha! As mama of 4 myself, I felt the rush of preparation but also the strong and steady tug to sit and savor things just as they are before the page is turned towards the new chapter of our family. And THAT was where this family was on this cool late summer morning. Slow and simple, taking in the time together as a family of 5. Ready to receive the next new blessing. <3 Congrats sweet Johnson Family, it’s been a blessing to witness your family grow. <3

Bailes Family Extended | Knoxville Family Photographer

Nicole has been a client of mine for the past several years and I felt so honored this year when she reached out for me to photograph their extended family after her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer this year. I may or may not have asked them to adopt me by the end of our session. I have always enjoyed spending time with Nicole and her family but seeing her with her siblings and mama just kicked it up a notch and definitely allowed me to see the source of her deep rooted love for her family. It was a gift to spend a beautiful fall afternoon with them in the Smokies and I hope these images serve them as a testament to their strong bond for years to come. Blessings to you guys!

If you are interested in a family session with me this year whether that be your immediate family at home or in a favorite spot of yours or with your extended loved ones like this family, drop me a line and we’ll get it scheduled. 2021 sessions are open for booking and some of my more popular months in spring and fall are almost booked already. I would love to create some keepsakes with you this year.

Blessings

Bethany

6 Months with Micah | Knoxville, TN Family Photographer

“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” -William Morris

A beautiful morning with the sweetest family celebrating 6 months with their newest babe. <3

Baird Motherhood | Knoxville Family Photographer

Perhaps the reason you are drawn to flowers is not only for their outer beauty, but because they remind you beautiful things will bloom after the longest seasons of waiting. -Morgan Harper Nichols

I met Kelcy almost 2 years ago when I photographed her family at home and I got to catch up with her and her boys this Spring for a motherhood session. We had the most relaxed time together and I loved getting to see her in her element loving her sweet children. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. <3

Reveiz Family | Knoxville Family Photographer

I was the lucky one to spend a morning in the mountains with the Reveiz family early last month. Brittany and Nick are some of the most loving and intentional people I’ve ever met and it was evident and reflected so beautifully in their family. Brittany is an incredibly talented artist herself and she and I have talked about working together for years. And let me tell you, I loved every minute of my time with them. I wanted to share some sweet words she sent me along with a scripture. Enjoy!

“Nick & I will treasure these photographs forever because of the way they ooze the love, joy, and gratitude we feel as “Team Reveiz”. In this life chapter, we cherish the Z’s constant snuggles, silly giggles, tiny toes, creative minds, tender hearts, and their deep love for one another. These precious moments you captured on film will encourage us as a family for years & years to come and will remind us of God’s faithfulness to lovingly guide us and care for us (Psalm 23).”

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

He refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

July 10 on 10 | Camping at Indian Boundary

Hi friends! I wanted to share a little this month in our 10 on 10 about our recent family camping trip to Indian Boundary. First of all, I have no idea how in the world I have never been to this beautiful place before. A sweet friend told me about it a year ago and I tucked it in my memory for the future. Thankfully, we made it happen a few weeks ago on a whim right after campgrounds in Tennessee opened back up. We stayed in the A-loop on the water which I highly recommend because our site was right on the water and our kids basically spent most of the time there running back and forth from the lake to the campsite to warm up by the fire. There’s a little beach area that’s a short hike away but we only went there the last day because the kids wanted to play in the sand. Otherwise we were happy as clams to have our own little private inlet to the lake right by our site. The water was clear and shallow for a long way out making it perfect for littles and bigs.

On our second day there, we drove the Cherohala Skyway to Huckleberry Knob just a few miles past the North Carolina border. The skyway itself is beautiful with scenic pull offs around every bend. We were ooooohing and aaahhhhhing the whole drive. We listened to worship music as we drove through the mountains. It only felt appropriate to worship our Creator as we got to see so much beauty in His creation. The hike to Huckleberry Knob was pretty short, about 2.5 miles roundtrip, and SO beautiful. There were lots of wildflowers in bloom and if you go later in the summer there are tons of wild blueberry plants along the trail. The knob gives you 360 degree mountain views and is a great place for a picnic. We watched a rainstorm in the distance and eventually got caught up in it on the last bit of our hike back to the car. Thankfully everyone thought it was a blast and sweet memories were made. :)

When we got back to our campsite, we went to the camp store and rented a paddle board for the day. We had so much fun exploring the lake, checking out the carp and jumping off the board together. Every evening we topped off the day by walking a bit of the 3 mile trail that goes around the entire lake.

On our way home, we stopped at Tellico Grains Bakery which was DELISH! I had one of the best reuben’s I’ve ever eaten and we also helped the kids polish off their wood fired oven pizzas. Tellico Plains is the cutest little town and we left talking about how much we’d love to rent a cabin on the river some time soon. We will definitely be back to Indian Boundary! My kids all said it was one of their favorite trips we’ve ever taken together!

Be sure to follow around the circle by heading over to Fort McMurray Lifestyle Photographer Melissa Richard is up to this month!

For my photographer friends these were mostly taken on my Rollieflex 2.8e with Portra 160 rated at 320 and pushed a stop as well as Ektar 100 and a couple of Portra 400. The black and white is taken with my Canon 1v with Kodak Tri-x400.

Montgomery Family at Home | Knoxville Family Photographer

“The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance than their simplicity might suggest.” Thomas Moore

I got to photograph this beautiful family at home for the second time several weeks ago. I shot them last spring in the same place but this session felt totally different. They’ve changed, grown closer, been pulled together and are spending their last days in their family home that’s raised them. What a privilege to share the morning with them. Blessings to you Montgomery family.

Life at home during Quarantine | Knoxville Family Photographer

It has been a long time since I did a personal blog post and what better time than now. Like many of you, this time has held so many mixed emotions for our family. So much has changed, yet so much has remained the same. We’ve always been homeschooling but we lost the ability to gather with our friends and family, which bring lots of life to us. That has felt sad but we’ve also gained so much more meaningful time together with fewer distractions and less busyness. We’ve enjoyed the sweetness of having my husband Aaron at home with us. Spending time in the mornings with him reading the Bible and discussing the application with him has been really sweet and comforting. Not to mention how I’ve loved to escape to his office when I felt overwhelmed during the day. lol. It’s been nice to have him here. Although it hasn’t exactly been easy, it’s been nice to enjoy a simpler life these past few weeks. I have thought so much about how it’s felt like a nod to my own childhood. I’ve missed photographing clients but I’ve spent a lot of time documenting the life of my own family during this time. As I put this post together, these photographs were precious reminders of the beauty of this time, my life at home with the children, the simplicity of it all and for that I am so so grateful. I hope you enjoy these little reminders as much as I did. Blessings friends.

I’ve been part of a beautiful group of women over the past few years that came together each month to share some of our favorite lifestyle of our families from the month. We haven’t participated for several months but felt the desire to come together again to share during this historical time. Please make your way around the circle by starting with Kalamazoo Michigan Photographer Sara Rypma and make your way around the circle.

Fay Family | Knoxville Family Photographer

This session made me fall in love with extended family sessions. There is no need for them to be stiff or stuffy. Just come as you are. Since the start of this year, I’ve lost 2 of my grandparents so sessions like these seem to hit me right in the feels as the images I have of them has increased in value to me by infinity. It’s really the most important thing I have left from them. I hope these are as treasured as my images with my family are to me. An evening with this family is time well spent. I’m so glad I’ve seen Matt and Danielle’s journey since the start of their family and I loved that he surprised her with this session for Christmas when they were at home in Tennessee visiting family for the holidays. If you want treasured memories like these of you and your loved ones, send me an email, there’s nothing more I’d love than document this time for you.

Baby Micah | Knoxville Newborn Photographer

I’ve been photographing this family since the beginning and that always feels like a gift to me. To get to see them blossom into parenthood. To see how the battles and trials and joy filled moments all mesh and melt down together, how it begins to shape them, softening them in the best ways possible. What a privilege to bear witness of a small bit of time with these photographs. Congratulations guys. It’s a blessing to see the parents God is shaping you into.

Cleveland Newborn | Knoxville Newborn Photographer

It’s a wild world out there right now and so much has changed since the last time I blogged. I’ve thought about how to share my work during this time. I’ve wanted to share how I’m struggling because I feel that there is so much power in not feeling alone in the ways that we struggle, but I haven’t wanted to be a discouragement. I’ve wanted to encourage all you mamas that now find yourselves homeschooling your children so suddenly, wanted to tell you that it will all be fine and to extend yourself SO much grace during these days and everyday, as I have to remind myself often, but I didn’t want to be just another voice offering advice in a time when everyone seems to be giving their advice. I do want to share all of these things with you, in time but right now, I just want to remind you of the beauties of home. When we are in the absolute thick of it, which we all are right now, I'll be the first to admit, our lenses get fogged up quickly. It’s a hard job what we’re all doing, some days it feels impossible so we need some reminders for ourselves. I am at home with our children every day and we homeschooled even before this happened, but I still need a reminder (often) about these beautiful and precious days. I need to be reminded to forgive one another(including myself), to have patience with my little ones, to let things be messy, to put on a show when I need a break, to step away from a lesson that is bringing frustration and read a book, to make a meal together and do my besssssst not to get frustrated(lol), to sit down and build a hot wheels track with my 5 year old rather than scroll social media, to choose joy even when I don’t feel like it and to call a friend and cry if I need to. After a week that held so many emotions, last night I lay in bed and scrolled through my camera roll while looking at old photos of my kids and felt the need to remind myself of all these things. God’s grace is new for us every single day mamas and now more than ever, I am clinging to that and I hope you are too.

Grace to you.

xo Bethany

And speaking of reminders of the beauty of home, I’m sharing the Cleveland family with you today that I photographed last month. My time with them was precious and even then, a breath of fresh air for me. I arrived and daddy was wearing their newborn as he sipped his coffee and cuddled their toddler on the couch. It felt like a beautifully simple but sacred time in the life of a family and I was so glad I got to be there for a small piece of it.