Saoly & Benjamin Descend a Technical Canyon for Epic Engagement Shots

SWELL & STONE / Adventure Wedding Photographer / Utah & Beyond

I met Saoly and Benjamin in an unassuming dirt pull off on the side of the road outside of Zion National Park. The spot didn’t look like much, and to the untrained eye it looks much more spectacular than the views you will find by just driving an additional 15 minutes into Zion. But a short hike reveals one of my favorite short canyons, and Saoly and Benjamin were up for a technical canyoneering adventure for their engagement photos.

Saoly is a canyoneer and climber, and Benjamin is a climber and mountaineer. They both have a ton of rope work experience, all the necessary gear and safety training. It should be noted that I also have a ton of rope work experience, and I’ve completed around 100 canyons. I don’t guide couples down canyons, but it they have the technical experience to do it on their own I will certainly photograph them doing it. For other couples interested in a similar experience, but have zero or only a few canyons or climbs under their belt I highly recommend they hire a guide and I would be happy to photograph and come along for the journey. It’s such a fun experience, but safety is definitely the number one priority when descending a technical canyon, so it’s great to have a guide to worry about all the safety, and then I am able to focus on the photos.

When I asked about how they met and started to date Saoly explained that they met at the climbing gym in Las Vegas, but were only acquaintances for a while. Benjamin eventually moved to Salt Lake City and after Saoly ended a relationship they both ended up on an online dating app. Saoly said she had extensive filters set so she needed to expand her range to include more cities outside of Las Vegas, so when she saw Benjamin pop up on her screen she remembered him from the climbing gym. The rest, as they say, is history. They began seeing one another on the weekends and they love doing the same things, mostly climbing and skiing.

I picked this spot for their engagement photos, and we didn’t see a single person the entire day even though it was a weekend day. We had the whole canyon to ourselves to enjoy, and both Saoly and I laughed at how Benjamin pointed out and climbed the bottom of every climbable crack along the way. If you’ve ever taken a climber through a canyon you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Saoly developed a system of tying her dress in a knot while down climbing (AKA GOWN CLIMBING, HAHAA!) and rappelling and then untied it for photos and just walking. She was really the MVP of the day, because as you can tell from the photos, there was still a little snow on the ground and it wasn’t exactly warm outside. And let’s face it, it’s never warm inside of a canyon. Luckily, we only had to avoid a few puddles, so no wading through potholes in a white dress. That would have been a first for my shoots.

It was such a fun day, and I’m so happy they were able to experience a canyon they had never done for their engagement photos. They plan to get married on a mountaintop and I can’t wait to capture that special day!