Susan & Jeff: Top of Sugarloaf snowy e-session

"So you finally found a way to write off a day on the slopes. Nice!"

That's how my friend Amy so perfectly put it when I posted on my Facebook page that my weekend of skiing in the sun at Sugarloaf had included an engagement session at the top of the mountain with Susan and Jeff, whose winter wedding I'll be photographing next December in Kennebunkport.

While Amy might be onto something, my picking that place for their Maine engagement photo shoot was actually a result of great timing and the fact that I pretty much get to work with the coolest couples. We'd been hoping to do a snowy shoot in southern Maine for months, but with our intense ski tour taking up our winter weekends and Susan and Jeff's own hectic hockey and ski sports schedule, we've been Volvo's with Thule racks in the night. Finally, last week, we learned we'd likely both be at Sugarloaf for Reggae Weekend. Yeah mon! (Tip: Reggae Weekend is among the best to ski at Sugarloaf- while the base area is packed, the slopes are albeit abandoned.)

We'd intended to meet for a Sunday afternoon shoot, but while taking a quick break at Bullwinkles on Saturday, we literally parked our skis right next to Susan and Jeff's. It was meant to be! We spent the rest of the day schussing through the Snowfields and busting through the bumps. Sunday found Kyle and me along with Greg (a 2007 groom turned great ski buddy) back at Bullwinkles to meet Susan and Jeff. A quick bite turned into an extended cocktail hour and goggle tanning session, and we barely made it back to the lift to get the day's final chair. As a result, we had a mere minutes at the summit before patrol began their sweep for the night. Luckily, the light was most luscious and we worked that 20 minutes for all it was worth before retiring to the Bag for some celebratory burgers.

How cool is that to be skiing with clients from the past and from the future? How stunning are Susan and Jeff? And how excited do you think I am for this wedding? Eight months to go!

Blue sky and sunshine are something we haven't seen enough of lately and something that we won't see much next December when Susan and Jeff get married after dark, so I wanted to play it up in the shots.




Of course, a black and white treatment helps to create a sense of intimacy in a wide open space high atop a mountain.




This one I love! Much of the shoot was spent laughing (which I also love), but capturing these quiet moments of connection between a couple is what I am most proud of.


I know these next four will be among Susan's favorites. They are mine as well! After she first saw the images, her Facebook status was "Susan...thinks my engagement photos are symbolic of feeling on top of the world." That made my heart go pitter-patter.








On the way down Gauge, I made us all stop so I could grab a few more from the trail with the mountain in the background. These were taken with me wearing boots and as Susan reminded me, my skis! Impressive!






Congratulations Susan and Jeff, and thanks for a fun ski weekend. Just think, the next time you ski, you'll be married!