When Alisa first got in touch, she said her family was coming out to Colorado while her son attended a hockey camp. Since they'd be out here anyway, she wanted to leave with something more than a few phone photos.

She also gave me a heads up.

"Our son never stops moving."

“I love it.” I responded

Those are usually my favorite sessions.

As we emailed back and forth, we realized her family lived less than 45 minutes from where I grew up in North Carolina. Small world. I grew up a Carolina Hurricanes fan and they had just won the Stanley Cup, so we had a bit of an instant connection through sports.

When she described what they were looking for, one place immediately came to mind: Lost Gulch Overlook above Boulder.

They wanted something adventurous. Something that actually looked and felt like Colorado. Granite boulders, pine trees, big mountain views and enough room for a kid to scramble over rocks instead of being asked to smile at a camera every thirty seconds.

Summer evenings at Lost Gulch are rarely quiet. Plenty of people come to watch the sunset, and this evening was no different. But the nice thing about the overlook is that if you're willing to wander just a little, there are all kinds of little corners where it suddenly feels like you have the place to yourself.

That's exactly what we did.

Most of the evening wasn't spent posing. It was climbing rocks, looking out across the mountains, chasing the last light, and letting their son lead the way. Some of my favorite frames came from moments that lasted only a second, like him reaching over to pester his mom or joking with while they watched the sun dip down over the distant mountains.

If you can see yourself in these photos and you have a kiddo who loves to scramble on rocks and don’t mind other folks being around, then Lost Gulch Overlook is perfect for you. Reach out today to book your family photo session with me. Enjoy a sampling of photos from our below!