Right after Christmas I received an inquiry from a young gentleman that was planning a trip with his girl friend Emily to the gorgeous B Bar Ranch in Tom Miner Basin. The B Bar Ranch has been the favorite vacation place of Emily’s family for nearly 30 years. I spoke to Jose shortly after his first inquiry and we created a master plan for the surprise proposal on the cross country ski area at the ranch.
A few weeks ago I took a drive to the ranch to check out the lay of the land and find the most scenic place for the proposal. I found an overlook where skiers and hikers often stop to take in the magnificent view of the valley below and the peaks that rise upward to the sky. STUNNING! I sent images to Jose for approval and we had ourselves a plan!
I was to pretend to be a magazine photographer on the property making images for an upcoming piece. That’s the best excuse I could come up with! Working with Trina the resident manager, we crafted the ruse.
Yesterday was sunny and cold with just a slight breeze. I hiked in about a mile and set up in my position, shooting a bit and taking in the view while lying in wait of my subjects. Soon they came down the hill to the look out. As they skied by, I made friendly small talk about the moose that I had been watching below (which was true). I think she bought that for about the first 5 minutes and then Jose made his move. It was very, very sweet!
Afterwards, we ran around the ranch a bit making images in places meaningful to Emily. Then sunset found us in a field above Paradise Valley with their dog Myka… soon to be unexpectedly joined by the resident herd of horses for the grand finale images.
At that point the sub freezing temps took their toll… I could no longer feel my fingers and called it a day. A really good day!!!
God knows, I love this job! Enjoy the view.
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