Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christie Abascal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Christie, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about one of the craziest things you’ve experienced in your journey so far.
In late 2021, I was prepping for an adventure elopement in Yosemite National Park with one of the coolest couples ever. We had met earlier in the year after I shot their engagement session in Utah and soon after began planning their intimate wedding at Glacier Point in Yosemite. We applied for the necessary permits, rented AirBnBs, booked vendors—everything was ready to go!
Just a few short weeks before their wedding, a wildfire broke out near Sequoia National Park, less than four hours south of Yosemite. It caused not only immense damage to areas within Sequoia National Park, but severe smoke and unhealthy air quality throughout the region as well. As the fire progressed and worsened, we monitored the spread and the direction it was headed, hoping that firefighters would be able to contain it and that it wouldn’t spread further north.
Meanwhile, there was another big issue that had caught my attention in the news: a potential government shutdown due to congress not being able to agree on balancing the budget. I had experienced this issue before and one of the results of a government shutdown (at least historically) has been that national parks are closed until the government reopens. Upon learning this new information, I reached out to other photographers in the area who work in national parks often and asked if they had any insight on what might happen if there was indeed a government shutdown. Many thought the park would stay open but others were on the fence and thought it was a toss up.
With all this information, I met with my couple over the phone in the days leading up to their elopement and filled them in on these potential roadblocks. I assured them that if the fire didn’t spread north and the government didn’t shut down, their wedding should still be able to happen as planned, minus any adjustments for air quality. We also went over back up plans and what we might do if the park was shut down for any of the above reasons. Thankfully, my couple took it all in stride and said that they were sure everything would work out and we would deal with issues as they arise.
A few days later, everyone was getting ready to make the drive up north and while the fire was still raging, we were all grateful to have seemingly avoided a government shutdown. As we were all starting to arrive in Yosemite for their big day, air quality was noticeably poor and smoke was thick in the valley. Sights that are normally so easy to see, like Half Dome or El Cap, were practically invisible due to the heavy smoke. Thankfully, since they were spending their whole elopement day above the valley at Glacier Point and Taft Point, I was hoping the smoke situation might be a little better where it wasn’t being trapped like it was below. By chance, we all ended up at Glacier Point the evening before their big day to scout the location and we discussed the current smoke situation. As I had hoped, the smoke was a little thinner at that elevation and we could actually see Half Dome, the backdrop for their ceremony the next day. We said our goodbyes and crossed our fingers that early the next morning we would arrive to clear skies.
At 5am the next day, I woke up and drove over to my couple’s AirBnB in the dark, hoping their day would turn out the way they had dreamed. After a few getting ready shots, we all left in separate cars to head up to Glacier Point for their first look. As we drove about 40 minutes up the road, the sun started to rise and while there was still some smoke, I was hopeful that we might get a good view after all. Once we arrived at the parking area, we were all thrilled to see Half Dome, albeit with a little bit of smoke. Nevertheless, we were all treated to a gorgeous sunrise for their first look and they had an amazing, intimate, ceremony at Glacier Point with their close family (and Half Dome) as witnesses.
After the ceremony, the air quality started to deteriorate, first slowly and then suddenly, we could no longer see Half Dome at all. It was a complete white out. As one vendor put it, it felt like we were all hanging out on a cloud. We did some family portraits and then walked over to their curated brunch, courtesy of Cakewalk Bakery and Catering. After everyone finished enjoying brunch, I agreed to meet my couple back at their AirBnB in a few hours before heading out for their sunset session at Taft Point.
By the time I met up with them in the afternoon, the smoke was thick and the air was yellow orange. I was a little concerned about us hiking in this air quality but reminded my couple that we would go at their pace and their comfort—if they wanted to turn around, we could. Once we arrived at the trailhead, we began the one-mile hike to Taft Point, taking in the scenery of the trees while stopping often for photos. Once the forest opened up, we got our first view of Taft Point and were shocked to see that the smoke had evolved into a bit of a mix of fog and smoke and completely concealed the valley floor below and around us. When I directed them to the iconic cliff ledge, it looked as if there was nothing else around them and I thought back to the vendor that morning who said it felt like being in a cloud. I watched and photographed as they danced on this cliff, surrounded by an ethereal cloud of fog and nothingness. I knew in that moment that while they didn’t get the average Taft Point experience, they got something even better—a unique, possibly once-in-a-lifetime experience on the biggest day of their lives as a couple.
As stressful as everything was leading up to that day, my couple was right—everything did turn out just right. I had back up plans in place and was ready with alternatives if we needed to pivot but thanks to a little luck, they got to experience a wedding day that was not only unique but filled with love.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
My name is Christie and I am the owner of Summit and Sur Photography, based in Southern California. I specialize in elopements and intimate weddings for couples who are ready to buck tradition and have an adventure on their wedding day. I also work with families and couples for lifestyle sessions to create photos that evoke emotion, create memories, and become something they will treasure forever. My style of photography is warm and romantic with a touch of retro film. I love spending time with my clients on grand adventures in the outdoors just as much as a cozy session in the comfort of their own home. My passion is telling stories and I am so grateful for this medium as a way to do so.
I began this business in 2020 after learning that I was potentially set to be let go from my teaching job for the second time in three years due to budget cuts. Tired of the stress of not having a back up, I decided to finally start “a little side business”, as I liked to describe it to friends and family at the beginning. The plan was to have this as a backup in case I was let go and also as a creative outlet that I desperately craved. I had been playing around with my starter DSLR for some time and felt pretty confident once I was able to upgrade my gear in being able to provide a great client experience. While I was able to keep my job, I decided to give my little business as much energy and time as I could while still balancing my full time job and family. Many nights were spent editing while everyone in my house was fast asleep, weekends away working on sessions and model calls to build my portfolio. Finally, after two years, I decided to leave my teaching job on my own free will to give this passion of mine the best shot.
One thing I am proud of is being able to provide a tangible way of preserving memories for clients. As a married person and a parent, I know how fast all of these big and small moments pass us and being able to help other people document these things is something I will never take for granted. Because while I love a grand landscape or epic location, this business is not about me—it is about my clients and telling their story.
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
When I was first getting started with elopements, I didn’t have a huge nor diverse portfolio. One place I was really wanting to shoot was in Redwoods National Park, a place I have now grown to just call “my church”. It is a place of peace, of tranquility, and of beauty; it was very high up on my list of places to take a couple so I could share my love of this magical place. In the elopement and intimate wedding world, there are a handful of Facebook groups dedicated to helping couples find inspiration for their big day, vendors, and any other help they may need to crowdsource advice on from the public. It was in one of the groups that someone was looking for an elopement photographer but was a little on the fence on where they actually wanted to get married. They were huge national park fans and loved the idea of Yosemite but were open to other options. I commented on her post suggesting Redwoods and we ended up chatting via Messenger for a while. We stayed in touch for a few months and would chat about where they were in their plans; I was hopeful that if we stayed in touch they might want to ultimately book me for their elopement. As we chatted, I realized how awesome her and her fiancé were and how much we had in common. Soon, I was so excited at the prospect of working with this awesome couple, no matter where they decided to tie the knot. When they finally decided on Redwoods, they reached out to set up a call to chat about my packages and options for their elopement up in the Redwoods. After a couple days, they gave me the exciting news that they wanted me to document their elopement—I was thrilled!
Even better, they had an incredible intimate wedding up in the Redwoods in the fall and soon after contacted me to set up a pregnancy announcement session, a maternity session, and even their newborn session. They have become clients that are truly friends and it makes me so happy that I found them the way I did.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
As silly as it sounds, I love keeping touch with my clients via social media! As creatives, we often spend a lot of time on Instagram posting content for our followers and potential clients to see so it just makes sense that we would get the most information from that same avenue about our clients. I enjoy commenting on their posts, their stories, and getting into little side conversations about whatever is going on in their lives or in the world. Many of my clients and I have a lot in common so there always seems to be a lot to chat about whether that is parenthood, adventuring, politics, travel, or even photography!
Brand loyalty can be tricky, especially in the economy that we currently have. That said, I like to think that by not only providing incredible photos but a great client experience, my clients will continue to want to work with me, even when prices must go up because of inflation, business expenses, etc. I have some incredibly loyal clients that I love getting to work with; on the other hand, I don’t fault anyone who goes in another direction due to financial reasons or maybe we ultimately just weren’t that great of a fit. In the end, I am very proud of the clients I get to spend time working with and creating memories for.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.summitandsur.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/summitandsur
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/summitandsur