Last weekend I had an awesome opportunity to photograph some friends in the city! I’ve lived within a 10 mile radius of Portland, ME for all of my life and even lived in the city for a summer a few years back. I’ve driven through Portland so many times I couldn’t count but I’d never really taken the time to explore the city itself, even during my short time living there. The day before shooting I got in my car and just drove. I pretty much drove through every street downtown and the full length of the shipyard. Portland has its “tourist-y” parts but, as its residents will tell you, there is beauty in every single nook and cranny of that city! I went home inspired and woke up the following day ready to shoot!
Meet Ashley and Josh!
Happy 5 year anniversary to these two lovebirds!
I met Ashley when I worked for dressbarn. She was my store manager and boy did we have some good times! She knows I’m not a morning person and we had many “moments of silence” on the mornings we worked together so I could wake up. What a good boss 🙂 Ashley figured out that I’m a zombie in the morning pretty quick and I figured out how much this girl lovesss fashion and also loves to cook and be super inventive with food! (P.S. she has an amazing instagram page for her edible creations! @nibblenoshnourish)
Well, Josh must be the perfect man for Ashley because he’s a chef!! He’s also a local artist and has showed his work in Portland’s famous First Friday Artwalk. These two told me their anniversary is technically on Valentine’s Day but since they’re not into an explosion of pink and eating enough candy for the next year, they pre-celebrated how? With a home-cooked six course meal! YUM! I’m sure these two have lots of memories together in the kitchen but we wanted to capture some memories in the city they love as well!
We started our shoot in this random off-the-beaten-path area I discovered during my adventure the previous day. This place was great! We were right by the water with an industrial bridge, beach rocks, old broken bricks, and the Casco Bay Bridge gracing the skyline. The bridge even lifted for us while we were snapping pictures!
I loved the way this well-dressed couple contrasted with the harsh landscape. Plus, Ashley’s red hair look is on fire! (pun intended)
Love the way she looks at him…
…and the way he looks at her! Can’t you just feel the connection between these two?
Strolling the streets of Portland
Now, Ash and Josh are true Portlanders and know all the cool spots in town. We visited the “free wall” which is a place for local graffiti artists to display their work. Artists play off of each other’s pieces and the whole wall just works! I was in love with the flow and obviously the color palette. Josh even had his signature Bard coffee in hand.
We ended our shoot by visiting a local used book store which is one of these two’s favorite places to go. Both Ashley and Josh are bookworms – Josh was too funny getting distracted by books so we perused the shelves and got some cool indoor shots with a different vibe.
These two are just perfect together and I had the best time visiting with them and getting to capture a few moments in their life together. Ashley and Josh, thank you for sharing this experience with me and letting me capture your love! Here’s to many more years together! And hey, maybe next time we’ll bring the cats 😉
