AN OREGON COAST ENGAGEMENT SESSION | MEGAN & ZACH
IT TAKES A SPECIAL SOUL TO LOVE THE COAST.
Not the beach.
The coast.
The kind where the forecast changes every fifteen minutes, the wind has a personality of its own, and "partly sunny" somehow still means packing a rain jacket. It's wild. Untamed. Moody.
And if you're from Oregon, you love it for exactly those reasons. When Megan and Zach first mentioned wanting their engagement session on the Oregon Coast, there wasn't a second thought. We all knew the gamble we were taking.
May can bring sideways rain just as easily as sunshine. Instead, Oregon handed us one of those rare days that feels almost mythical.
Seventy-five degrees. Hardly a cloud in the sky. Water so impossibly blue I kept catching myself staring at it instead of through my viewfinder. It had been a long time since I'd seen the Pacific look like that.
THE DRIVE IS PART OF THE STORY.
One of my favorite parts of photographing around Oregon has nothing to do with my camera.
It's getting there.
I left early that morning, letting the drive become part of the day instead of something to rush through.
Wildflowers stretched across the Willamette Valley. Stevie Nicks was loud enough that nobody else existed. The sunroof stayed open. My messy bun collected half of Oregon’s dust. A latte (or two) barely survived the trip.
Before meeting Megan and Zach, I wandered Pacific City Beach with the kind of contentment only the Oregon Coast can give you. Saltwater soaked the bottoms of my jeans while I jumped over baby waves that I definitely underestimated.
A basket of beer-battered fish and chips from a tiny hole-in-the-wall in Neskowin.
One vintage turquoise ring I absolutely didn't need, but I bought (support local, obviously). A few quiet hours by myself before spending the evening documenting someone else's story. These little glimmers (gifts) mid-“work”, make me pause in gratitude on the reg. Grateful.
WHERE THE STORY REALLY BEGAN.
When Megan and Zach pulled into the parking lot, we started walking toward the beach. Neskowin.
"This is where he proposed."
Suddenly the session wasn't just happening at the coast. It was happening where this chapter had begun.
The place already knew them.
We climbed onto Proposal Rock as the afternoon light softened around us, and I quickly realized I wasn't photographing two people who needed much direction. I'd give them movement instead of poses.
The rest belonged to them.
The moment their eyes met, everything else disappeared.
AS THE SUN PEEKED ITS EYEBROWS OVER PROPOSAL ROCK.
We unfolded a Pendleton blanket while the sun peeked its eyebrows over Proposal Rock.
(Yes, that's exactly what it looked like.)
The beach quieted. The light turned soft. For a few minutes it felt like the entire Oregon Coast had decided to pause with us. Then we packed everything up and headed north.
Because the day wasn't over yet.
CAPE KIWANDA WAS WAITING.
An outfit change. A short hike. Locals cheering them on as we climbed.
Cape Kiwanda has a way of making people feel wonderfully small.
Golden cliffs.
Blue water.
The Pacific stretching forever.
Megan's baroque-inspired dress catching every breeze that rolled off the ocean. At one point Zach quietly picked a tiny wildflower and handed it to her while they sat together on the cliff.
Nobody planned it. Nobody asked him to.
Those are the moments I remember.
WHERE THE WAVES MEET THE SAND.
As evening settled in, we wandered toward the tide pools.
The crowds slowly disappeared. The cliffs emptied.
The light shifted from gold to lavender.
We ended the session barefoot beside the waves, laughing every time the Pacific decided we weren't standing quite far enough back. Some of my favorite photographs from the entire year happened right there. Maybe because they feel a little like something out of an old storybook.Or maybe because Megan and Zach trusted me enough to chase the moments instead of the poses.
Either way, the coast gave us more than I could have planned.
SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER.
In just a few months, these two will trade crashing waves for mountain peaks.
I'll meet them again beneath Central Oregon skies at Aspen Lakes, where they'll promise forever surrounded by family and friends. Getting to document both chapters of their story feels like an incredible privilege.
The Oregon Coast gave us the beginning.
Come September, the Cascades will witness the next page.
