Gettin’ Outdoorsy With the Johnstons

Gettin’ Outdoorsy With the Johnstons

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Boy, do I have a cute family to share on the blog here today. Meet Chuck and Katie Johnston. Oh, and show-stealer, Gus. Spending the day out in the beautiful Penrose Park area, little Gus here gave us some photographs that can only be described as well-timed hilarity. We’ll, you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Chuck and Katie thoroughly enjoy spending a good portion of free time hiking and camping. This naturally led to a personalize concept shoot of this young and growing family out and about in what makes the PNW so loved by its residents. I’d been wanting to do a hiking/camping shoot for a while now, sketches all ready to go, I just needed the right family to come along to pull the trigger. The Johnstons were a perfect fit for it. Of course, there are a ton of props/gear involved with this concept – hiking apparel, backpacks, tents, etc. Luckily, this family had all the requirements and then some, including a pack designed for Gus to ride in with views over dad’s head.

Off we went, a hike on some beautiful trails.

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We’d stop occasionally when a visual opportunity presented itself. See, this is what I’m talking about. That Gus… a romantic moment between Chuck and Katie, and there is Gus, looking at the camera like, “oh come on, nobody, especially me, wants to see this. Gross mom and dad, get me outta here!”

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All I can say is thanks, Gus. You made this picture so much better with your performance. I smell a Christmas card in this photos future.

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This family is just too cute, right?! A lot of love going on here, and some great moments of a family in their element and outdoors where they enjoy spending time.

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The sun kept moving across the sky and so did we. Penrose has it all, and we made sure to also take advantage of the beautiful outlet of water and beach areas.matty_20140618_70419

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Gus was fascinated with the photo equipment. He really wanted to know what these foreign objects were and what exactly we were doing with them.

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Warning: max cuteness ahead!

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We made sure to snag a couple of the couple. Such a beautiful, peaceful setting!

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Although we already had so many great photos, we had one more stop on the agenda. Penrose also has an established campground area, yep, it’s an awesome place. We setup the camp area, complete with tent, roaring fire and smores. Gus even had a little baby stick with marshmallow (at least for a little while).

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A super fun day, fun family, fresh air… it was awesome. Capturing memories is good, but capturing people doing what they love with the people the love is next level precious. Thanks, Johnston family, for allowing me to spend the day with you and make these images. The first of many, I’m sure, camping adventures!