Have you ever been to the Paint Mines? It’s about an hour drive from Colorado Springs and when you’re getting close you don’t feel close at all. You see farmland, open fields, wind mills, and sky stretching on for miles. But then you look down and see the trail that drops you below the horizon. If you follow that trail, you wind up in a bizarre and completely beautiful and colorful world. This world full of brightly colored, clayish rocks in various shades of yellow, red, white, and grey were once mined by Native Americans for pigments and pottery. The contrast is amazing, and obviously a perfect place to get some dramatic photos.

It’s a treat to be able to shoot out east from time to time. Although my heart will always be in the mountains, I am a native Hoosier. I left the Midwest shortly after college to pursue a life out west and I couldn’t be happier. But I can’t say that I don’t miss certain things about growing up in the Midwest. I miss the summer evenings with millions of lightning bugs, big thunderstorms that go on for hours, the way the sky seems to run for miles… It brings me back, and I swear, if I squint jut right I think I can see the house I grew up in.

Christine, Austin, and their sweet little guy, Theo and I met in Calhan and made the short hike into the Paint Mines. It was a beautiful and perfect evening for a photoshoot there – the wind was light, the sky was clear, and they all looked stunning. I absolutely couldn’t believe just how chill Theo was! He was so content just to look around at everything and be completely loved on by his parents. I adored my time with their little family of three. There was so much love, so much excitement for having their little baby that it was hard not to melt. Thank you, Christine, Austin, and Theo for giving me your time and trusting my recommendation for a very special location for our shoot. It was perfect.

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