I first met Emilie at a photoshoot out last year when she modeled for a winter downtown shoot in Visalia. We quickly became friends with her easy-going personality and down-to-earth spirit. She is an artist herself and loves to surround herself with creative spirits. When I mentioned that I was a lesbian and focused on LGBTQ+ couples she was elated and wanted to capture photos with her and her girlfriend.

We started off the morning at 5 am for the Clovis Balloon Fest! It was my first time ever attending. When I first moved to the Central Valley, I missed the festival by a week! Every year after that, something or another would come up and I would always miss it. Thankfully, it worked out this year and I was able to photograph Clarissa + Emilie.

During our session, emilie told me about her mom + Dad, who visited the clovis festival 25 years earlier. When they visited, they took a photo of the two of them in front of the hot air balloons and hung it up in their kitchen. Emilie told me how excited she was to have her own portrait of them in front of the balloons.