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Pennsylvania Hiking Engagement

  • December 8, 2020

Backpacks, rattlesnakes, and bears, oh my…  you won’t want to miss Carissa & Malachi’s autumn Pennsylvania hiking engagement session!

couple hiking in pennsylvania for their engagement photography session near a designated sign for hikers

Why Rhinehart Photography?

Carissa shared,  “We first met Lisa at my sister’s wedding. Malachi and I weren’t even dating yet, and Lisa photographed us on the dance floor!  It’s our first official photo together, so it only seems fitting that Lisa should be the one to capture our engagement and wedding photography!”  (more on that story here)

She continued, “I noticed how sweet and down-to-earth Lisa is while I was in the bridal party with her.  She makes everything so easy, enjoyable, and fun.  Who doesn’t want that vibe with someone by their side on their wedding day?”

cute couple backpacking through pennsylvania with hiking sticks for their engagement photos

Authentic Rugged Look for Part 2

Part 1 of Carissa & Malachi’s engagement session at Hershey Gardens is featured here on my blog.  They like to dress up and wore typical date night attire for that session.

For Part 2, we met at Memorial Lake State Park between Lebanon and Hanover.  In terms of our hiking clothing, we wanted to wear what we actually would wear on a hike.” Carissa laughed. “While flannels and Uggs may be cute, it isn’t what I wear when hiking 12 plus miles a day.”

pennsylvania engaged couple holding hands while hiking in the autumn forest wearing back packs

Their Pennsylvania Hiking Engagement

Carissa shared, “While Malachi and I have enjoyed many hikes together, the hike he proposed on will always be the most special to me.”

I love to capture everything, even the smallest details:

an engagement ring surrounded by leaves as a creative outdoorsy rugged engagement photo

She continued, “Malachi asked me to set up our camera tripod and said he wanted to take a picture with me. When he got down on one knee, I was crying before he even started speaking!”

a engaged couple hugging in an open field with pennsylvania mountains in the distance

She laughed. “It took me a while to say yes because I was crying so hard! I felt so lucky that day. I knew I would have forever with the love of my life, and what more can one ask for?”

engaged lvc couple at Memorial Lake State Park

Personalized, Creative Engagement Photography

Malachi added, “One of the things we really appreciate about Lisa is how she uses light in artistic, abstract ways. We knew she could capture our story perfectly.”

Here I used a radio signal to fire a flash hidden behind the couple in the tent.  I pointed it so that it would also illuminate the gorgeous fall foliage.

An illuminated tent in Memorial Lake State Park near lvc in autumn with an engaged couple inside

An Eclectic Mix of Engagement Photos

I always make sure to give all of my couples many types of photos.  It is usually most important to me to capture candid moments and authentic emotion and try to fit in their interests and story.  I really care about capturing the beauty and aesthetic of a setting, too.

I’ll also make sure to give each couple a good variety of photos, including a few more traditional portraits, too.  I’ll try to bring in other elements if possible, here the hiking sticks, path, and autumn mountains in the distance.

hikers backpackers in creative outdoor engagement photography

What Carissa Loves Most

Carissa shared, “I love Malachi because he is so calm and patient, he makes me laugh and loves me fully.”

bride kissing groom on cheek during their engagement photography session

She laughed, “He loves me for me, even when I’m weird.  We have more quiet and reflective sides for sure, but we can also be really affectionate and even enthusiastic, haha!  I especially love it when he picks me up!  It makes me feel like a kid!”

enthusiatic bride is swung by fiancé in vibrant fall wedding engagement photography session in pennsylvania near LVC

Same Autumn Scene, Two Totally Different Looks

The orange was so intense in this scene, both with the leaves and the sky reflecting on the water.  While our eyes may detect both elements at the same time, focusing on one element to another, this is not true with a standard photograph.

For this scene, I manually set my camera’s exposure for the couple and the fallen leaves.  Wow, the color!

orange autumn folliage near a lake in memorial state park you can see hanover and lebanon in the distance and falling leaves in the foregound

If that seemed intense, check out the sky!  This is what it looks like if have all my setting expose for the sky instead, the couple is silhouetted and so are the leaves, the water on the lake is  still illuminated:

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Bears & Rattlesnakes– Pennsylvania Hiking Adventures

We’ve seen all kinds of things on our hiking adventures and keep Vlogs to record them.  We’ve seen all kinds of wildlife from bears to rattlesnakes!”

Pennsylvania hiking engagement session with a couple wearing backpacks and carrying walking sticks on a trail smiling at each other

She elaborated, “We were hiking in this beautiful rocky area and suddenly both heard a rattle.  We both froze and Malachi asked me where they were.  He was a little panicky haha, but I was able to locate two of them near a tree!”

fiancé sweeps his bride to be off her feet with fall leaves and mountains in the background

As we slowly backed away, we heard more rattles.  This time three more in two different locations!  We left the area fully unharmed, it was amazing and terrifying all at once!”

affectionate hikers kiss on a Pennsylvania hiking trail that passes through east Hanover and Lebanon Pennsylvania

What Malachi Loves Most

Malachi shared, “I started falling in love with Carissa when I realized I could just be me.  I especially love being able to talk in the woods all day and then set up camp together.”

engaged couple in fall toned attire stands in a field with a pennsylvania mountain in the distance

Setting Up Camp

I told Carissa and Malachi I was impressed at how quickly they were able to set up camp!

Malachi laughed, “There was a time that we weren’t quick enough!  On one of our first hikes together we got stuck in a rainstorm!  We were just passing a camping spot and Carissa thought we could make it to the next one before it would rain.  Halfway between the two camping spots, the wind started picking up and the sky went pitch black and it started to pour!”

He continued, “We sprinted full speed into the forest and found a flat spot to put up the tent.  Even though we were soaking wet, now it is a fond memory of how we made it through, together.”

backpackers sit back to back as they laugh about getting stuck in the rain hiking

I thought it would be cool to end the engagement session by illuminating their tent among the fall foliage.

They asked me where would be best and I found the perfect little spot with the sun setting over the water in the background, too.  The color really pops!

An illuminated tent beneath vibrant autumn branches against the sunset reflected on memorial lake in pennsylvania

Carissa and Malachi, thank you for enabling me to capture the two of you being your authentic selves.  As a fellow nature lover, this shoot really hit the spot for me in every way!

I’m so excited that we met when you were a bridesmaid and that I’ll get to see you as a bride, too!  It’s less than a year away now, so here’s to your upcoming Harrisburg and Hershey Pennsylvania wedding!

PrevPreviousHershey Gardens Engagement: Carissa & Malachi Part 1
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