Fall Maternity Session at Wesselman Woods – Evansville, Indiana Photographer
Everyone’s favorite season for outdoor photos has gotta be Fall–the changing leaves, cooler temperatures (at least here in Southern Indiana), and the last long evenings before the time changes make for the perfect cocktail (or for sessions like this one, mocktail lol)
Natalie is one of my best friends (and was one of my bridesmaids–actually just a couple months before we took these photos!) so when she told me she wanted to document her first pregnancy, I was all in.
Natalie cares deeply about our planet; about being environmentally conscious, protecting natural landscapes and the wildlife that inhabits them, and mitigating damage done by humans. And as environmentalists, she wanted to capture this fleeting season in photos taken outdoors, in nature, and in a place that she and her husband Jeseph frequent.
In the heart of our city stands the “largest urban old-growth forest” in the US.
Wesselman Woods is a somewhat hidden gem in Evansville; a nature preserve that is surrounded by roadways and the city’s development, protected by people who care deeply about preserving this ecosystem. It’s the perfect place to go to connect with nature, and it never fails to amaze me that this perfect little native paradise is nestled in the middle of our town.
One of the coolest parts of the woods are the animal ambassadors here. Like Sybil, the bald eagle! According to Wesselman’s website, Sybil sustained a gunshot wound over ten years ago and her full range of motion never returned. So she lives at Wesselman Woods nearby some other friends, like a peregrine falcon, turkey vulture, and a few owls!
You can walk the easy, peaceful trails admiring the woodland wildflowers and the old oak trees while listening to the birdsong and the wind rustling the leaves.
So Natalie, Jeseph, and I took to the forest at golden hour to stroll through the crunchy leaves and document not just Natalie‘s growing baby bump, but some of the last photos of them before they become a family of three!
