My name is Derek Brooks

A couple weeks ago, my buddy Judson asked if I'd be willing to "stealthily take some photos" of him proposing to his amazing partner, Katie. I immediately told him how I stoked I was for them, but I'm not even close to a professional photographer and didn't wanna fuck up capturing their moment. He said it'd be super casual, in a remote park, and just wanted a couple mementos, so I agreed to scout it out with him. His goal was to get a "down on a knee popping the question under a light from a distance" sort of look.

The Recon

Judson told Katie that he was going to meet me for happy hour... but instead, we met at the park after work to figure out a game plan. It was my first time visiting this park, which was effectively closed for the …