We accidentally planned this engagement session on what turned out to be the coldest day of the year. We froze, but it was great.
Scott & Elisa came to my neck of the woods in the Hudson Valley to explore and have their engagement photos done. They really wanted it to be a snow covered engagement session so we snuck it in right after a giant snowfall and before it could all melt away. Except, on the day we were planning to shoot, the forecast was saying temperatures were going to hit -12 degrees.
If there’s anything you should know about me it’s that I hate the cold. And cold wind. But the other thing you should know about me is that I’ll do anything for a shoot.
Luckily, S&E are both winter dwellers (I don’t understand it but I’m glad someone likes being an icicle) and were game despite the freezing temperatures.
We started off exploring some caves which caught Scott’s eye on their drive up. At first glance the caves looked small and unexciting, but once we got up close we saw that it reached back an impressive amount and opened up into a giant cavern. We hung out there for a bit exploring, shooting & using the cave as an excuse to hide from the winds.
We stopped back at my house to have soup and grilled cheese (freezing winter day staple) and warm our appendages before heading to our sunset spot.
The Ashokan Reservoir is stunning anytime of the year, but during the winter it ices over and gives you a clean view all the way to the Catskill Mountains. We pepped ourselves up to leave our car (and it’s blasting heat) and ran out onto the reservoir to get the last shots of the day.
Because the water was iced over, it created a perfect plane for the wind to whip with a painful speed and chill. It was by far the coldest I have ever been. We ran around trying to keep warm and I clicked my shutter-release as much as I could until my fingers gave in and wouldn’t move anymore.
We raced back to the car and spent a good while warming our digits on the car heater. Another fun thing you’re going to learn about me is that when I’m in pain I pass out. So, as my fingers were regaining heat & the blood began to rush back, they began to throb. And my vision started to get fuzzy. It took all of my mental concentration and the distraction tactics from S&E to keep me from passing out.
Thankfully, it worked. And thankfully I didn’t end our shoot as a passed out heap in the backseat of the car. Our fingers unfroze, along with the rest of our bodies, and we closed out the night cold, but happy.
Thanks for hanging (and freezing with me), S&E.
em
