A couple holds hands on the coast together at sunset.

Where are you based? Where do you photograph the most?

            Hi, my name is a Samantha! My homebase is Colorado, and I spend most of my time here or in Utah (where I previously lived)! I photograph mostly on National Forest Lands and in National Parks like Rocky Mountain, Arches, Canyonlands, or Grand Teton. Most of my couples choose to adventure into the mountains, or explore the desert!

While these are my main spots, I help all of my couples with planning and that often means we are figuring out their ideal location together. My goal is to always help my couples find the location that fits them the best, and that can mean we are headed outside of Colorado. I do adore Colorado, though, it is still my favorite place in the whole world. I’m spoiled with the insane mountain views we have, and that I get to explore here year round.

Why did join Public Lands? Why do you feel like Public Land Creatives is important? Why do you love working on Public Lands?

            I joined Public Lands because I saw the work they were doing and wanted to support and be involved. I’ve struggled first hand with navigating permits for different kinds of public lands, and see how frustrating it is for not just photographers but also couples just wanting to have an epic wedding day. The work Public Land Creatives is doing to clarify permitting and make sure creatives are able to fairly work on public lands, while also making sure the public lands are protected, is incredible and very important to me.

            I love working on public lands because they’re incredibly stunning! I literally cannot imagine more beautiful landscapes to explore on wedding days. Public lands are my favorite places to recreate personally and it fills my heart like no other to take couples to these gorgeous places and watch how much joy it brings them too.

What has been one of your favorite experiences with a client while working on Public Lands?

            I captured a hiking elopement last Fall on public lands. The couple was from Wisconsin and flew out to Colorado to meet me in the mountains. We spent a lot of time dissecting different possible locations, specifically what trails we could do. In the end they took my advice and chose their trail basically just off of my word that it would be epic.

            We met up at 4am in the pitch dark and started hiking together. We literally couldn’t even see what each other looked like, yet alone what the mountains around us looked like. We hiked for probably an hour before we paused to get them ready and watch the sunrise. When the first bits of light came over the mountains and they saw the alpine glow on the mountain range for the first time, their faces lit up. There was SO much joy and awe. 

            They got to experience that joy and awe over and over again, during sunrise when they saw alpine glow, when the sun actually peeked over the ridge and gave us incredible beams of light, when they finally reached the lake and they saw the incredibly blue water of their ceremony location. Each time they just held so much joy and awe.

            They had an absolutely incredible time, and so did I. It was a beautiful day for an adventure. We barely saw any other people, and they were able to share vows in the privacy of nature. We spent the whole day just hiking, talking about life, and taking in the beauty of our surroundings. That hike changed their lives in more ways than one, and honestly changed mine as well.

Why do you think it is important to protect our rights to using public land?

            I think it is important not just for photographers, but also for the couples that want an incredible wedding day out on Public Land. As I mentioned above, being able to go out and recreate (or get married) on public land is truly life changing. And I think that everyone should be able to have that experience. Public Land is supposed be exactly that- public. People should be able to go out into nature and say I do as long as they are being responsible and following LNT. And I think they should be able to have their day documented thoroughly. With extreme and often expensive permits, that limits couples unfairly.

            I truly think there is a way to have public lands protected from overuse and misuse, while still providing access to couples, photographers, and the general public.

See more of Maye.Be Take a Photo

Website: mayebetakeaphoto.com

IG Handle: @maye.be.take.a.photo

A couple rafts down a river in the desert.

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