Camas — When 24-year-old Al Gensitskiy proposed to his 21-year-old girlfriend, Katie Verkovod, on Thanksgiving at the top of Munra Point in the Columbia River Gorge, he thought it would be a great story to one day tell their children. But what the Camas resident didn’t know was that intimate moment would capture the attention of thousands thanks to an amateur photographer who was at the right place at the right time. “What ended up happening just blows me away,” Gensitskiy said. Portland photographer Paul Wolfe was also hiking that day when he saw Gensitskiy drop to his knees in the distance. Realizing he might be catching a special scene, Wolfe whipped out his smartphone to snap the shot of the strangers on the ridge. “I wasn’t sure how the photo would look since it was taken with a soggy iPhone,” Wolfe said. Wolfe took to a Reddit message board asking for the online community’s help in locating the couple, according to The Oregonian. His plan worked, and soon he learned the identities of the couple and reached out. The photo and the pair’s story went viral online, and got the attention of traditional and social media. “I first saw the photo two days ago,” Gensitskiy said Friday. “It was amazing to see all the views it got and that people were so passionate in helping the photo get to us.” See more of Wolfe’s photos on his Instagram page at instagram.com/needsmorewolves.
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