E P I C. That is the only way to describe my session with Nina and Derek! I had never been to Blackwater Falls State Park. Nina told me that was her location of choice and I jotted it down and made note that Nina really wanted to be photographed in front of the falls. It wasn’t until Craig (my hubby if you didn’t know his name) and I got there that I realized how hugely epic this state park was.

Craig and I arrived about an hour early to scout out some extra spots other than Nina’s requested pics in front of the falls. Heavy rain was threatening, I slipped and went down while walking down to see the main falls, and the wind was beginning to whip. In true Murphy’s Law fashion. . . it down poured when Craig and I met up with this adventurous couple. Looking at the radar we all agreed to wait it out, and I am SO happy we did.

Turns out, the falls that Nina had showed me, I misunderstood for the main falls. . .no, no. . .we hiked to the gorgeous falls pictured below. We laughed, joked, chatted and of course I slipped some more on our journey. Nina and Derek, played waterfall frogger to get to the main stone that we were hoping for them to stand on. It was loud and wet. We started gaining a crowd of spectators from the bridge above and what we captured together was nothing short of GOLD.

I then told Nina and Derek about the other spot I fell in love with while scouting earlier and found out. . .SURPRISE. . .that it was actually the cliffs that they are getting married at next year. With the recently departed rain and the heat of summer, mother nature gifted us some picturesque fog that swept throughout the canyon below. The trees were a rich green and we even got some sunlight!

To say that these two are boldly adventurous is a slight understatement. Their love for nature, thrills, life and each other is contagious. They had me stepping closer to cliffs than I would normally do, hiking barefoot, and loving every second of it. Nina and Derek absolutely inspire me to take more risks. The marvelous relationship that they share can best be described the same way West Virginia is known, wild and wonderful.