Episode Details

Show Notes — Episode 57: Long Exposure

Episode summary

Mark takes the host chair for a heartfelt conversation with his wife, Rachel, tracing her path from Pennsylvania whitetails and waterfowl blinds to a thriving wedding & elopement photography career. They revisit her famed Illinois buck, the Potter County cabin coincidence, blue-hour imagery, documenting real moments (not just grip-and-grins), and a Cold-War love story that started on a German train and shaped a creative life.

Chapters

00:00 Cold open & intro — Mark’s couch-in-Montana story that led to “You should marry her.”

05:30 The Illinois buck — inline muzzleloader, broadside at first light, tracking and the “ground grows” effect.

14:00 Getting into hunting — following brother Dan, bringing Dad along, from deer to waterfowl and pro-staff trips.

20:30 Guiding camp life — helping Cody & Kalis Carr in Montana; cameras, kitchens, and community.

26:00 First buck in Potter County & the cabin connection — childhood roads that overlapped before they met.

31:00 From PR to photos — learning manual, first weddings, scaling the business, Lancaster top-10 nod.

39:00 Style & ethos — documentary approach, why blue hour > golden hour (sometimes), candid over staged.

45:00 The “content creator” era — TikTok/IG trends vs. authentic wedding-day time.

50:00 The power of photos — last dances, VA-hospital wedding, why memory > backdrop.

56:00 Germany summers, solo road trips, Yellowstone elopements, and loving Wyoming’s rhythm.

1:04:00 What’s next — video, reels, small-biz digital media, and staying creatively inspired.

1:10:00 Family & Outdoor Ruhls — gratitude for the behind-the-scenes help, raising the next photographer.

1:14:00 Wrap — links, thanks, and where to find more.

Highlights & quotes

“My bucks don’t shrink on the ground—they grow.”

“It’s not the posed photo; it’s the in-between moments that become heirlooms.”

“Blue hour is my playground.”

About Rachel

Whitetail hunter & former waterfowl pro-staffer who’s field-dressed more than a few deer for the Ruhls.

Documentary wedding & elopement photographer (PA & Wyoming/