Oooh, am I ever stoked to share Maelyn’s University of Montana graduation images with you today! When Maelyn’s mom contacted me about making grad photos for her college graduation announcements, I was excited to get to work with her. Especially when she told me she wanted to go off campus to make her photos. (We opted to photograph towards the campus and have it just visible in the valley below.) Heck yes please!

Making these images to celebrate such a major accomplishment is always so special to me. I can’t help but remember that time in my own life, and how giddy, excited, nervous, and exhausted I was. I was beyond ready to graduate, while simultaneously terrified about what would come next.

Maelyn’s also “so ready to graduate,” and I don’t blame her. She’s been working hard in school these past several years, and will walk across that stage with not one, not two, but THREE degrees! She’s been studying Ecology, Organismal Biology, and Wildlife Biology — talk about wildly impressive!

As we meandered around the property close to where she lives, she told me that she made her own earrings (with feathers) and has been doing so for ages. She also ties flies and fly fishes. Upon heading into the trees, Maelyn’s experienced eye noticed some upturned rocks where a bear had been active. But thankfully the only critter we encountered during our session was her sweet cat, Tiger.

Maelyn and Tiger have been together since she was a kid. At age 19, Tiger is one of her best buds, and a really awesome adventure cat! Maelyn told me that Tiger is sort of a dog-cat — she likes to hike and ski with her! How cool is that?! These two clearly have such an incredible bond, and I was just so glad to capture it for them. (Big props to Tiger for being such a sweet participant, even though she really wanted to go on a hike and smell all the smells.)

Thank you again, Maelyn, for such a fun session, and for fitting it in amongst all the things I know you’re wrapping up with school! It was such a pleasure to meet you and Tiger. Happy graduation to you, too! 

I hope you all enjoy a little peek into Maelyn’s college grad session!

On the docket:

Portraits and weddings and more! Stay posted!

See another college grad session here!

Cheers,

-Kristine

It’s always so nice seeing Heather and Matt (whose gorgeous Glacier wedding I photographed last year!), and this time when I got together with them, I had the pleasure of meeting the four-legged members of their family too – Hailey and Abby the cats, and Dyson and Eureka the dogs.

Heather and Matt absolutely adore their furry family members, and as an animal-lover myself, it’s so sweet to see that same feeling in others as well. We had a great time soaking up the sun and the beautiful Missoula vista, racing hither and thither to photograph the cats (I may have been doing just as much rolling around in the grass as they were), and enjoying the best photo bombs by the dogs.

Hailey was the star of the show, though. She’s going through some medical issues at the moment (crossing my fingers there is good news ahead for her!), so we really wanted to document how sweet she is and the beautiful connection she and Heather have. (They’ve been together since Hailey was a kitten – that’s 17 years of kitty cat love!)

Thanks again for such a fun four-legged session! I loved meeting the gang and getting to see you both interact with them, and they with you, on such a sweet, loving level. Yay for awesome animals and their awesome humans! :)

On the docket: portraits and more weddings! Don’t miss out!

Cheers,

-Kristine