Owyhee Adventure Session outside Boise, Idaho
One of my favorite parts about working with past clients who are also friends is they really trust me to find locations, which is one of my favorite aspects of this job. When I knew I would be down in Boise during the fall visiting one of my best friends I asked if I could take some adventure style anniversary photos for them since their anniversary was coming up in December.
This was from when I got my first big kid camera, I grabbed Kayla and we ran to go take some portraits. Still love this shot of her ❤️
Kayla is an OG model in front of my camera (scope the pic to the right for a throwback 👀). When my husband and I lived in Boise for a few years her and I became fast friends and I asked her to model for me a million times while I was learning more about taking portraits and figuring out my style. She was such a trooper through crappy weather and equipment fails but she stuck it out with me. I had the honor of taking her and her husbands engagement and wedding photos as well. Kayla and Anthony agreed to go out and do some photos with me so I began the hunt to find a new spot to go. I love the area surrounding Boise and truly miss living there a lot.
Both sides of Boise are lined with foothills that offer beautiful views and so much opportunity for adventure. On the northeast side of Boise you have what they call just “The Foothills”. It’s a network of roads and trails that are super easy to access from downtown Boise. Covered in tall grass and sagebrush they encompass about 80,000 acres so you can hike for miles and miles or ride your mountain bike from town into the hills. It has a great view of downtown and when we lived there it was the perfect place to snag a pizza and get out of town for a little sunset date spot.
View of downtown Boise from the foothills
On the southwest side of Boise a little further out of town you can access the Owyhee Mountains. Gradual foothills that lead into mountains that are an astounding mix of deep cut canyons and enough elevation gain that getting access in the winter snow is usuallly impossible. It’s a mecca for outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking, ATVs, and dirtbikes. It’s BLM land (Bureau of Land Management) so you can access a lot of area to recreate in and enjoy the views. Deep in the mountains in Silver City which can only be accessed during summer because it gets snowed in in the winter time. It’s a cool old mining town, like stepping back 100 years into the past and walking around. It makes for a fun drive in the summer if you’re looking to kill an afternoon.
View of the Owyhees from a sunrise drive to Silver City
While researching locations for Kayla and Anthony’s shoot I decided to look out into the Owyhee range to see what I could find. We had spent a considerable amount of time out that way when we lived there but of course with 1.2 million acres there was no way we had seen it all. I took to my old trusty friend Google Earth. You can access this through your web browser but I suggest downloading the free app if you can. It’s a much better user experience and you can save spots to visit later. I spent hours searching the Owyhees for a new spot to take photos and found myself following every little dirt and gravel road I could find. It takes a little bit to get used to the interface but once you’ve got it down it can be a great tool in your arsenal for finding new photoshoot locations. Another bonus of Google Earth is it has little blue dots everywhere of photos that people have taken in that spot so it gives you a good idea of what the view is even if it’s not a well known viewpoint. I ended up finding a small grove of what seemed to be Aspen trees with a photo from another person that confirmed my suspicions. If you know much about Aspen trees, they really pop off in the fall and make the most amazing backdrop for photos or a nice Sunday drive. I was determined to find this little grove and when I brought it to Kayla she said “you know I trust you, let’s go!”.
The day of we loaded up into Anthonys truck and started the hour drive into the mountains following my random Google Earth route. We made it through a small rain storm, some cattle gates, and enjoyed the ever changing scenery around us as we went. We almost made it all the way to the pin I had laid for the Aspen trees when we ran into a locked gate with some impassable mud. We thought for a minute but didn’t have the time or ability to hike the last bit to the spot. I had my daughter Sawyer with us and no way to carry her in, Kayla and Anthony also didn’t bring any sort of shoes for hiking so we had to call it unfortunately. I was pretty bummed since we had driven all that way but then I reminded myself we were still in a beautiful area with amazing views all around us so we slowly made our way back to town stopping at random spots I had loved on our way in and still made some magic happen in the last of the fall light.
Moral of the story is don’t be afraid to follow a dirt road to a pin on your phone but make sure you take precautions and be prepared for the spot to possibly be a flop! Also, always have a backup plan or two if your location doesn’t initially work out, you don’t want to be left without a spot for photos on the day of your shoot. I should also point out we made sure we had plenty of gas and some snacks/water when we left their house. We also took Anthony’s truck for that reason, knowing it could get through tricky road situations better than mine and Anthony felt comfortable driving in the area as they had spent lots of time with their UTV out there. So please make sure you are prepared before you go out into a situation and check the weather so you don’t get yourself caught in a storm or something worse. Lastly please make sure you’re leaving as low of an impact as possible on the environment. We followed already made roads and stayed off most vegetation when we stepped off the dirt road. Also, this was all BLM land so we did not need a permit to take photos, they ask for a permit if you’re going to have props or anything that might disturb the environment. On their website you can read about what they require a permit for and if all else fails and you’re not sure it’s best to call your local BLM office and they can answer all your questions and help with any forms you might need.
I’m still so happy with how these photos came out and any quality time I get to spend with my friends is an ultimate bonus. I love the southern Idaho area and usually take any opportunity I can to make a trip down there with my camera! If you’re thinking about eloping in Southern Idaho or want to book an adventure session with me you can click the button below and fill out an inquiry form and I’ll get back to you soon! Cheers!
❤️ Abby
