Some places are beautiful, and some places become part of your story. White Sands National Park became part of our story during a week of moving across the country.
When Moving Turns Into an Adventure
I drove with my daughter and son-in-law as they were relocating out west. And instead of treating it like the long, exhausting haul across the country that it was, we decided to look at the map instead, and see how we could create memories along the way.
“Where can we turn this into a memory?” That’s something that our family loves to do.
If we’re going somewhere anyway… why not make it an adventure?
So once we arrived, unloaded and returned the Uhaul, we packed up our daytime bags, for the next day’s adventure… to White Sands National Park. We packed up the dog too and headed out early the next morning… not for a styled session, not for perfect light, not with a shot list. Just because we were there, close by… and mom was a photographer!
No Professional Photo Shoot Here… And That Was The Point
We arrived around noon. The sun was high, the light was harsh, and the wind was doing it’s own thing. It was hard to bring my camera up to my eye because I could already see all the “technical flaws.” It was the worst time of day to shoot, and I had to remind myself that.. we were there on an adventure!
When I looked through my viewfinder, they were laughing, running around with their pup, Franklin, and standing at the top of those endless white dunes, like the whole world was ahead of them.
This day wasn’t about perfect conditions, it was about making the most fun memories with my military kids who were moving across the country. We wanted to document this special moment for them, their family that they were creating… and we can’t forget Franklin!!
Even though these photos aren’t portfolio-perfect, they are perfect for them, and me too. (I can never have enough photos of my kids!). These photos are honest and they represent new beginnings in a new part of the country.
I love that our family tries to make the most of where we are at any time. We don’t wait for perfect conditions, and we try to choose adventure, when at all possible.
And years from now, I won’t care about the sun being overhead. I’ll care that we climbed those dunes together at the beginning of a brand-new chapter, and that was enough!!!
White Sands National Park will always be part of our story now. And being in White Sands reminded me how much I love photographing in new places.
So if your wedding, senior session, or vacation is taking you somewhere a little off the beaten path, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m always up for an adventure. I hope you enjoy these favorite photos of just one set of my married kiddos and, of course, Franklin!!
Riding Through The Park
Franklin
Fun Out On The Sand Dunes
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