The Happy Campers | High Falls State Park Session | Atlanta, Ga Photographers

That’s it.

We’re done adulting.

We’re going camping.

It was the middle of fall wedding season (read: drowning in a deep sea of fall wedding and portrait session edits) when a few of us local photographers decided we needed to plan a trip at the end of the season that included simplicity and some much needed downtime. We booked a weekend camping trip in Febraury at High Falls State Park in Jackson, Georgia and stayed in a Yurt. It still amazes us that we are able to have such an authentic friendship and invaluable bond with our colleagues. This is community over competition at it’s finest, ya’ll. We believe in working together to support and encourage each other and to lift each other up in our businesses, characters and friendships. We are so thankful to have shared this trip with Molly and Cristina from Red Fly Studio, Ashah with Ashah Photography, Meredith with Hillary Photography, Donna & Amy with We Do Weddings and Candice with C. Hope Photography.

This camping trip did so much more for us than a little R&R and strengthening friendships among us. More importantly, we were able to get back to a primal sense of ourselves. The very thing I’m speaking of is the part of us that remains behind our computer screens, our cameras, social media, Netflix and our phones. The only things we were consumed with were the crisp, cool air, a warm fire, dark nights, bright stars, cooking glorious meals over our campfire and hearing nothing but the sounds of a fire crackling and friends’ laughter. Camping can awaken that primal element we all possess and reconnect us to a simpler way of life that includes slowing down and enjoying the details around you. When I was little, I camped all the time as a child. I loved it so much! It’s amazing what one sniff of a burning campfire can do in terms of nostalgia and awaken such happy memories from my childhood within me. When I felt my lungs inflate with fresh air and campfire smoke, the onrush of scenery, waterfalls, tall trees and campers made me think: this is what it’s like to be in a happy place.

Jessica had never been camping before. She was very anxious about the trip and she wasn’t sure what to expect. After this trip, let me tell ya, she’s a changed woman. She loved it! This camping experience helped us to both to realize we need to slow down. We need to take more time for us and our families and have that connection within ourselves and our surroundings. Too much fresh air is not a thing. I can’t even begin to describe the feelings that a quiet hike in the woods or the laughter and connections that are shared over a campfire can bring. If I had a dollar for every time Jessica and I have said “I just want to go camping!” or “I want another relaxing trip with our girlfriends!” since we have returned, we would have a pretty good stack of bills going. It was so bad, I literally went camping with my family the next weekend after we returned and Jessica spent a day hiking and lounging in her ENO hammock next to the waterfalls with her hubby. I am so proud to say that we have both put a few camping trips on our calendars in the next few months and are in the process of planning another girls-only-photographer-trip for this summer! I’m so excited for this rediscovery of ourselves and love for the great outdoors and adventures that lie ahead! We wouldn’t change one thing about that weekend except we wish it had lasted a little longer and that more photographers had joined us!

We encourage you. We encourage you to work together. To lift each other up. And be supportive. Be with people who bring out the best in you, not the stress in you.
We encourage you to get out and to be challenged. Leave technology behind. Like, waaaaay behind. We hope you can discover a new or existing love for the great outdoors. Breathe fresh air, go on a hike or camping trip with your family or friends and make the best memories.
We must take adventures to truly know where we belong.

We had the most amazing meals! I would be lying if I didn’t say our meals were one of our favorite memories from our trip! We couldn’t stop talking about how good food tastes over a campfire!

Like campfires and marshmallows, we’re better together.

Collaborate with people you can learn from.

We spent a portion of our day learning some new photography techniques, including how to shoot double exposures, helping and encouraging each other! We were so grateful that the sweetest couple drove over from Athens, Ga to model for us and love on each other while we had some fun and tried out our new techniques!
Heather and Mark, we are so thankful for your love and comfort with each other!
Heather is a fine-art portrait photographer out of Athens! Check out her gorgeous work here: Heather Wall Photography