Pau + Matt: Georgetown Lake Montana Couples Session

Pau: "Want to come photograph us in a tiny cabin by the lake?"

Tori: "Yes, please!"

In the last few years, I've been fortunate enough to travel the state of Montana to document the lives of all kinds of people in all kinds of places. From sugar beet fields in Fairview to family homes in the Flathead to little corners in my own backyard I didn't even know were there. There's been beauty, a lot of nuance, bleakness, some questions of why do people really live here, but mostly a sense of wow, this is our state, this is our home. We have so many hidden gems.

Most recently, I discovered Georgetown Lake. We arrived to Matt chopping firewood and Pau ironing his khaki pants. She asked us where the pleat went. I iron about once every other year so I was of little help. We were greeted with drinks, the bourbon cream hailing from Matt's hometown of Butte.

With the dogs in tow we headed out to explore the lake. Poor Matt was so nervous about the cameras. And Pau his opposite. But once we delved into one of Matt's passions, genealogy (he's a member of Ancenstry.com, he's very serious about his lineage), his ease grew and it was more like friends hanging out on one of those spring days where you can feel summer lurking around the corner just waiting for her moment to step in.

After the sunset we grilled dinner in the rain. Pau and I have bonded over our shared love of good food. She's been telling me I really need to get a spiralizer and make parsnip chips. Their life-changing apparently. Pau, it's on my wishlist! We had to sneak out at dawn for shoots elsewhere but this little almost one room miner's cabin, with its mismatched plates and Christmas lights, is something special. Matt grew up bringing 20-30 friends there even though I have no idea where they all fit. Now, he and Pau will be coming there year after year making their own stories.

Thank you so much for sharing this place with us. I'm so glad these photos were taken here. See you very soon friends. I hear you're throwing a big party in August. ;)