Capturing “the” moment can come with challenges. (Photo by Art Smith)

A wedding engagement is one of the pivotal moments in any couple’s life. It is one of the things that they will hopefully remember for the rest of their lives.

A few months ago, my wife Lori and I got a call from Erik, our daughter Emily’s long-time boyfriend. Erik had been planning a trip to Colorado to compete in an Ironman race. His whole family was planning on attending, and he wanted us there too because a few days before the race he planned on asking Emily to marry him along trails at the foothills of the Colorado Rockies.

The original plan was for us to slip halfway across the country and be there to greet them a few minutes after the proposal. Eventually that plan got modified to me taking photos of the big moment without Emily knowing that I was standing about 50 feet away.

Over the last 48 years I have had a lot of assignments that were hard and stressful. I have dealt with presidents and Secret Service, plus some bad people that did not necessarily want to be photographed. For some reason the assignment of photographing the engagement stressed me out more than any of those. It required planning, a site visit, special clothing, and for some reason, code names.

Lori and I arrived in Boulder the day before. We turned off our location on our phones and laid low. Erik’s brother had scoped out the area beforehand and sent a video. Google Earth provided additional insight into what the assignment would require.

The chosen spot was along one of many trails in Boulder’s Chautauqua Park. The huge rocks of the nearby Flatirons would provide a great backdrop. The park though is mostly grassland, so I visited the park the next morning to figure things out. I had to find a hiding spot. A very small grove of trees would have to work.

I wore all black, black pants, a black hoodie, and to hide my white hair, a black bucket hat. We tracked Erik’s location as he made his way across town. While waiting, I came up with pointless code names. I was Mountain Man, my wife became Wildflower because of the pattern on the dress she was wearing.

The park is very popular, so several people walked by while we hid behind the tree. Most walked more quickly after seeing Lori and me hiding. Some actually started running. Mountain Man must have left a lasting impression on them.

Soon Emily and Erik walked past our hiding spot. We remained undetected as they reached the predetermined spot. “Stop at the poppies” I had told him earlier, “and don’t let her turn around.”

I leapt into position as Erik went to one knee. I whispered to a woman walking her dog to please not go down the trail. She hurried off in a different direction as I began shooting. A nearby bush provided cover if Emily turned my direction at all. Some photos were actually shot through the bush.

When it appeared that things were wrapping up, I returned to my hiding spot and then we followed Emily and Erik to the predetermined spot where his family waited. They were dressed nicely for dinner. I was still head-to-toe black, and I was still wearing my enormous bucket hat. I was somewhat more appropriately dressed by the time we got to dinner.

Still photographs are important because they freeze moments in time forever. The moment captured on that day in Boulder is certain to live on for a very long time, at least in my family.

Art Smith is online manager of The Marietta Times and The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, he can be reached at asmith@newsandsentinel.com.