Apparently blogging makes me cry. Who knew. Maybe that’s why it’s taken me so long to get back into the swing of things, every time I sit down to put a post together I end up crying into my coffee. True story. This Piha Beach New Zealand engagement shoot is what inspired me to get back to blogging a year ago. A YEAR! This shoot has actually been sitting as a draft in my blog ready to be shared for a year. I just decided to completely redesign my blog and website before it could be shared. Yes, I’m rolling my eyes at myself.

This Piha Beach New Zealand engagement shoot is also one of the first full shoots I have done entirely on film. Which, I think, is what’s actually making me emotional. Film has been such a breath of fresh air when it comes to photography for me. In 2015 I was bored and burnt out and uninspired when it came to shooting. Rediscovering film has brought my love of photography back to life. So when I went to New Zealand with The Great Photo Escape in January 2016 my goal was to shoot more film. Considering yesterday’s North Island blog post full of film images, plus today’s post… and my coming South Island post. I think I succeeded in the shoot more film goal. 😉 I’m incredibly grateful for this trip because not only was traveling to another country with a group of creatives incredibly inspiring for the days we were traveling but the inspiration carried me through the year. Shooting film in New Zealand pushed me to shoot more film in my shoots at home. Which you’ll see more of in the coming weeks. But first, scroll down and fall in love with Billie, Sam and Piha Beach. I sure did.

This mini styled shoot of real-life-engaged-couple Billie & Sam was put together by Caitlin, our fearless leader, Kat of Dear Sweetheart Events created the beautiful bouquet with local flowers and The FIND Lab, as usual, exceeded my film scan expectations.