When their photographer suggested a nontraditional setting for their engagement photos, Stepanie Quigley and Dan McElwee agreed. The location, an abandoned rail car in Lambertville, NJ, was for-sure colorful, in more ways than one. Kristen Schott covered the kaleidoscopic camerawork for Philadelphia Magazine. 

It was Jenkintown photographer Rebecca Barger who first scouted the spot, a boxy, railroad passenger compartment that looked like a relic from a post-apocalyptic film. Maybe it was the dichotomy that appealed to her. Nestled in a wooded area, the greenery surrounding it contrasted interestingly with the technicolor spray-painted interior. 

Barger just needed to find the right couple to bite on the idea of using it for a couple’s shoot. 

Quigley and McElwee turned out to be that couple. 

They were familiar with Lambertville/New Hope; they got engaged there. The pair appreciated the locations’ serene natural side and their quirky artistic side. 

For the shoot, Quigley wore a creamy dress made of sheer material and lace, which she and Barger believed would contrast well with the wild artwork in the background. 

More on this couple’s Ektachrome engagement shoot is at Philadelphia Magazine.