An Iceland Anniversary Session: Carrie + Dustin

Carrie and Dustin started it all.

I’ve photographed these two for several years in a row now, beginning when their youngest son was just a newborn. I’ve fallen for their family and their friendship and now they are stuck with me forever. So when Carrie messaged me to hint at the possibility of having me take their anniversary photos…. IN ICELAND….I began to to daydream, just a little.

At first, I thought maybe I would just fly out for a day or two, photograph them romping around the wild and rugged lands of Iceland, and return home. But then I thought, Well if I’m going to be over there….I might as well stay just a bit longer. And if I’m going to stay just a bit longer, I’m going to wish I had more people to photograph, just like I did last time. So slowly, the pieces began to become clearer and clearer in my mind and eventually I wound up with this crazy idea to host a workshop in Iceland where not only would I photograph Carrie and Dustin and Karen and Michael (though I didn’t know them at the time, of course), I would also be able to bring MORE photographers along with me to add to the crazy creative juices just flowing rampant all around us.

So that’s how it all began. With Carrie. And the beautiful thing is, she believed in me as soon as I brought it up to her. She showed so much enthusiasm for my idea, and encouraged me when the planning got overwhelming and scary. She lifted me up when I needed a boost – in short, she was a true friend to me, just as she always has been.

So away we all went. Me with my photographers, Carrie + Dustin on an epic 10-year anniversary trip that started in Paris and ended in Iceland. We met up with them on our last day in Iceland. Seeing Carrie and Dustin, after all the planning, driving, and craziness had happened and we were on our last mission to accomplish – our last hill to climb – before getting on that airplane…. well, it was like a big sigh of relief. Seeing their familiar faces and friendly smiles was all I needed to know I had done alright. I had chased after a really big dream and while it was terrifying at times, it all turned out in the end.

Of course my photographer friends fell in love with these two just as quickly as I had. They ROCKED this Iceland anniversary session just like I knew they would. We were dying over every angle, every loving glance. Again, I was so worried about the weather and even the location but it was insanely epic in every way. As I pulled away from the parking lot, the other ladies in the car with me gushed over how perfect they were for this shoot, from their clothes to the way they interacted with each other. “He just loves her so much! They are so sweet together! We got so lucky!”

I love Iceland. I love these two. Put them together and I am obsessed.