Couples session at Flat Lick Falls in McKee, Kentucky—where fashion-forward storytelling meets rawAppalachian wilderness | Voodoo Imagery

It was July in McKee, Kentucky—a crisp 8:00 a.m. meeting time, the kind that feels sacred before the world fully wakes up. The air was cool and still, broken only by birdsong beginning to rise, the crunch of frost-bitten grass underfoot, and the distant roar of water hidden somewhere beyond the trees.

After weeks of brainstorming and planning, a vision that had lived only in my imagination was finally about to be brought into the real world. Think Tuck Everlasting—frolicking through the woods, cinematic love, the kind of emotion that tugs quietly at your chest when you witness something honest and true.

I guided Leslie and Thomas along the trail leading toward what would

become the centerpiece of the session. But even before we reached the falls, this location offered itself generously.

Shallow creek beds stretched across the top of the trail, where the morning sun dripped through the trees, creating a soft, dreamlike glow. Towering rock walls hugged the path, and massive trees stood watch as we moved through them. The walk itself became a moment—space to settle in, warm up, and let any nerves melt away before arriving at the main event.

As we crested the bend, she revealed herself—Flat Lick Falls. Cascading into a serene pool surrounded by stone on three sides, the falls carried an ancient, grounding energy. Standing there, you feel both transported and humbled—reminded how small you are in the grand rhythm of things.

Placing Leslie and Thomas in and around the falls, leaning into negative space and unconventional composition, felt instinctual and electric. For over an hour, we moved with the landscape—water rushing, light shifting, bodies responding naturally to the environment around them.

To close the session, Leslie and Thomas slipped into the water and swam toward the falls, disappearing briefly into the mist before re-emerging together. What unfolded was one of the most cinematic moments I’ve captured to date—a collision of fashion-forward edge and raw Kentucky wilderness. Vogue and GQ energy, grounded firmly in the natural world.

Leslie and Thomas trusted my vision completely, diving headfirst—literally—into the experience and allowing something real to take shape. That trust is where the magic

lives. Not in perfection, but in presence. Not in spectacle, but in surrender.

This is why I do this.

Because the ordinary deserves to be remembered.