On top of the Wood Street Parking Garage, across from the Ernest C. Young Hall, West Lafayette seems deserted. A crane towers over the campus, a sign of the ongoing construction next to the Purdue Bell Tower. It is here that Steve and I are photographing Ben and Courtenay. We walked around campus before this, shooting in various locations. It’s always surprising to me how a college campus, usually so full of people and life, can seem so deserted in the summer time. On top of the parking garage, it doesn’t seem deserted though. There isn’t a student in site, or a car horn to be heard, but Ben and Courtenay are so engaged with one another and so fully in the moment, that they fill the empty space on top of the structure. When you meet two people in love, like Ben and Courtenay, and it’s true love, you get the feeling that all the people that matter most in the world are right there with them, carried deep inside their souls, able to be seen when they look deep, and longingly, into each others’ eyes. It’s this kind of all encompassing love that Ben and Courtenay have for each other, and that we were privileged to capture.

Walking onto Purdue University’s campus always feels like coming home to me. I attended the university for one year during college, and I love going back to visit now. This year, on my birthday, Steve took me to the campus to walk around and relive old memories (he made other plans too, but once we arrived in West Lafayette I didn’t really want to leave, so we made new plans). So this shoot, and ever shoot we do on this wonderful campus, feels incredibly special to me. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Behind the scenes with Jenn & Steve