The "Mountains" AND the Beach--An Anniversary Session in An Unlikely Location

This is a love story that involves hot summer traffic jams, the deep, dark woods, and a mysteriously empty beach.

Our tale begins several summers ago with a couple of acquaintances, Mel and Nicole,  carpooling to work through the infamous Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.  Locals associate the commute with a single word: traffic. We're talking what can sometimes be hours of sitting in a stopped car in sizzling heat. This particular summer the traffic was worse than either Mel or Nicole recalled before or since.

As fate would have, traffic patterns on the trip home always left them idling by a tiny wooded park--a park neither had ever actually been to, but a place that became an important part of their story nonetheless. As the summer wore on, the hours they spent sitting next to that park racked up as the level of their conversations went proportionally deeper.

The summer ended along with Nicole's internship, but their deep friendship and love for the park continued...even though neither one of them had yet to actually set foot in it.

Fast forward through several years, a romance, and a wedding to the couple's second anniversary shoot. That's when Nicole decided it was time to commemorate and celebrate the early days of their story by actually going to the park for pictures. "Oh and there's a beach right there, too," she said.

So I arrived at the park and saw what you see to the left. You may have noticed I put mountains in quotes. We're in Norfolk, VA at, well, sea level (see aforementioned beach reference)--LOOK AT THAT KNOLL! This, friends, is noteworthy elevation  in our neck of the, er, woods. It was gorgeous! But despite the beauty I will confess to being  a smidge   totally nervous: woods...they're dark. I'm not a light and airy photographer, but I'm DEFINITELY not dark and moody. I love a crisp, clean, and classic look with gorgeous natural colors...I wanted them to lave the feel of being deep in their special place...this fabled woods AND be bright.

 So I found the light.  And I made it work so they could OWN this park and finally make it theirs.

And about that beach? It was literally RIGHT THERE, a few hundred yards away from these deep woods "mountains." And...empty. Huh.

In short--this was basically a dream location--a hidden gem tucked away in Norfolk. Want to know more? Just let me know you want that beach and mountains special. I'll know just what you're talking about ;)