I'm not the only one behind the camera. Ryan was with me when I first picked up a DSLR, and he still tends to get dragged along on most of my shoots. He's driven me up scary mountain roads and navigated confusing city roundabouts. He's braved tiny biting bugs and the wrath of bison. He rarely complains, even when it's scorching or freezing. (Okay, there was that one time in Yellowstone, on the Pelican Creek Trail, when Ryan kept taking spider webs to the face. I followed while swatting at two clouds of pelican-sized mosquitoes. We learned that you can only outrun mosquitoes for so long, and that there were no actual pelicans on that trail. We were very disappointed.) Ryan will point out cute animals and angles I might have missed, and is a handy means of packing extra gear. Once, he carried a tripod for me during a five-mile hike. I never even used it. Thanks, Ryan!

In college, we were both assigned to the same small freshman dorm. I heard that there was going to be a mixer during orientation week to make sure everyone knew each other. Super lame! I thought about skipping it, but ultimately decided to go. I was determined not to be anti-social, so I made it my goal to talk to five guys for five minutes each. Just twenty-five minutes! Then I could hang out and let others do the talking.

We did an icebreaker, and were then turned loose on each other. I took too long tying my shoes, and looked up to find everyone coalescing into groups. Damn! I'm no use in large groups of strangers. I'm generally reduced to nodding my head and laughing at the right times.

But there was one guy standing awkwardly to the side. Yes, I thought, target acquired. He looks like someone I could talk to for five minutes.

We ended up talking a bit longer than that. It's been over five years, so far. I might not have met my goal that day, but I think I did pretty well. So when Ryan asked me to marry him, I said yes. This conversation's just getting started.