Agritopia Orchard

I first met Erin at an ultimate frisbee game at a park in Tempe. She was there to watch her boyfriend Ryan play ultimate and I was there to watch my boyfriend Ryan play ultimate. It was soon after my spinal fusion surgery, when I couldn’t play ultimate. (Thankfully my spine got much better after surgery and I eventually was able to play my beloved sport again.) I had a really good time chatting with her and getting to know her!

Fast forward some years later and Erin and Ryan are married with two little kids!

We met up at Agritopia at the peach and citrus orchards for some holiday photos. I loved how their family portraits turned out!

If you want photos at Agritopia, reach out to me on my contact page here. The Agritopia orchards have very limited availability (more limited than it used to be) so if you are interested, we have to sign up right when spots become available. Usually there are some spots in September, October, and November and some very limited spots available when the peach trees are in bloom in early February.

Rebecca at Agritopia

Agritopia in Gilbert, Arizona has a few restaurants, shops, lots of outdoor seating, community gardens, a farmers market, farm tours, pretty paths to explore, tons of trees, seasonal events like citrus picking, and the cutest coffee shop (that sells cupcakes with edible glitter) plus so much else.

When Agritopia first opened to the public over ten years ago, they didn’t advertise very much and word hadn’t gotten out. I would take my dad there and we were amazed to have this beautiful place almost all to ourselves. I did some of my very first photo shoots there of my friends Annie and Aaron and their two kids, and also of my friends Kelly and Bill and their kiddo. Annie and Aaron’s photo shoot was on a hot summer night that cooled off at the end of the evening because a dust storm monsoon blew through and rained down on us. It was so much fun to go get ice cream afterwards at Joe’s Farm Grill - they make the best shakes! Kelly and Bill’s photo shoot was especially beautiful because the grape vines were in full bloom and made for a gorgeous background. And for each photo shoot, we had the place pretty much all to ourselves.

I got to experience having the place (almost) all to myself when I went there with my sister and nephew early in the pandemic. We got curbside pickup and found a place to sit outside and eat away from other people, picnic-style.

Agritopia makes their citrus and peach orchards available to photographers a few times a year with the purchase of a permit. I love having access to the orchard for photo sessions because the orchards are so beautiful. The grass there is the clover kind - tall and lush. I regularly schedule summer and fall/winter/holiday photo sessions there.

These images are of Rebecca. She met up with me to get portraits created at the beginning of summer early in the morning. I love how summery these photos look. We wandered around the Agritopia grounds for a bit, getting photos in front of their magnificent flowering cactus and then headed to the orchard. Thanks, Rebecca for having me take photos of you at the Agritopia orchard. I love how they turned out!

I will most likely be doing more Agritopia summer portraits, probably at the very end of May and beginning of June 2021. If you are interested in getting photos then, please contact me!

Are you looking for a photographer so that you can get photos at Agritopia? All year long photographers and their clients can walk around Agritopia to get photos, after buying a location permit. Agritopia also gives photographers a chance to purchase permits to photograph in their peach orchards. Those are usually available in September, October, and November and sometimes in the spring. Permits for the pink peach blossoms are available in February. Some years permits are available for the sunflower fields.

Fill out this form if you would like me to photograph you at Agritopia!