Engagement Proposal Joshua Tree National Park | Astrophotography

This is an engagement proposal at Joshua Tree National Park, followed by some amazing astrophotography (photos with the stars at night). Our couple made a Joshua Tree trip and he had planned all of this in advance, including even asking her family for permission ahead of time.

The Proposal at a Fallen Joshua Tree

He led her to a spot that we chose, where it was easy to see from a distance and there wouldn’t be too many park goers wandering around.

He tricked her into looking out into the horizon at a rock formation, and that’s when he popped down onto one knee to propose.

I’m guessing you can tell that she said yes!!

Starting with Engagement Photography

After the rush of emotions from the proposal started to settle, we eased into an engagement photography portrait session starting at the proposal spot and going to nearby rock formations. Some of them can encompass our newly engaged couple like being in a cave.

I love taking advantage of the many diverse and beautiful rock formations that populate the landscape of Joshua Tree National Park. They contrast amazingly with the rich blue sky.

And as the desert sun started to set, we could get our couple enjoying the view.

And I LOVE the cute moments we see and capture, documenting the unique connection each couple has.

Astrophotography in a Dark Desert Sky

We then transitioned from engagement photography to astrophotography, which is capturing our couple with the stars. It’s a new moon, so there was minimal light pollution from the moon to mess with the stars. One thing that I will shout to the stars: there images are NOT photoshopped and definitely NOT AI generated (We don’t use AI in our post production).

Here’s where we played with different focal lengths to make the stars turn into little disks of light. Any photography pixel peeper can see that at f1.2 the lens is pushed to it’s limits and the defects in the lens show through, but I love the look at feel of the imperfections.

BTW the red light that is kissing the hills in the background are from red taillights on a car from over 500 feet away. That’s how much a small amount of light can pollute or contribute to a long exposure.

And this image is a good example of how light pollution can affect a wide-field astrophotography image. The white glow in the lower right of the sky is from Palm Springs and the desert cities that surround it. Even though Joshua Tree is a dark zone, it’s still a little close to city lights.

And out came the Milky Way

The Milky Way Core started coming out on the horizon right at the end of our shoot (we actually stayed an extra half hour just to get it).

Engagement Proposal in Joshua Tree National Park

This shows how we can capture a proposal, do an engagement photography session, and capture our couple under the stars with astrophotography in one awesome and unforgettable day. We’ve been to Joshua Tree National Park for astrophotography enough times to know how to traverse the rocks in the new moon darkness. So contact us if you are looking for an experienced photographer that really knows their way around Joshua Tree and around the starry sky.