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I had the pleasure of meeting this amazing family recently at the CU Boulder campus for some fun, relaxed family photos. I don’t do a whole lot of family stuff, though I do find myself doing them more and more lately. The weather was perfect, and thank god, the campus was pretty much empty. Anyhow, enjoy…..
So where to begin? Dia and Garret are amazing people! I started talking to Garret months ago when they were still in the pre-planning stages of their wedding. I love it when there is not much planned yet, but they want to talk about photography, what can be better? After a few emails Garret and I talked on the phone for over an hour about all sorts of stuff, including cameras, photography, cinematography, you name it. Both Dia and Garret work in the film industry, so it means a lot to me when people of their experience and visions, come to me to document their wedding. I had a great time with Dia at her mothers house photographing girls being girls, in the usual getting ready scenarios, except this was outside, so the lighting was perfect! When I arrived at the Evergreen Lake House, we were met with a downpour of rain. Which for me is perfect! I love weather. Maybe it was the 2 hardcore semesters of meteorology in college, or the fact that I love gloomy grey skies, but I was quite excited. It provided the perfect setting for a lakeside wedding in my eyes. Of course, like all weddings, the weather lifted in time for the ceremony, and the rest of the day went off without a glitch. Thanks to both Dia and Garret for being all-star clients, and hope to stay friends down the road. A big thanks to Haley Poulos, for helping me out, and getting some AMAZING shots too.
On a personal note: I received about a 5 minute voicemail from a client today, and it almost made me cry. Not that it was bad, but it went on and on about how amazed they were at some photos I took a little while ago. Some of the things that she said really made me think about the photographer I have become. I realize, as in the first photo I am posting, I am not your stereotypical wedding photographer. Perhaps thats why my clients pick me, and I have a pretty successful business. However, I love the little moments like below, that are REAL. A lot of times I see a wedding blog, and its the pretty photo of the eye shadow going on the eye, with a pretty photoshop action that makes everything look dreamy. Thats nice and all, but its not really who I am. I like to show the behind the scenes things, the not to pretty, “perfect” parts of weddings, and the stuff that really makes a day memorable. Sure, I do posed stuff, and I do detail shots, but its because I feel it helps complete the picture. If my client spends a lot of time and thought into their decorations and details, I want them to have a good record of it. However, I don’t think that those things are my strong points, and I make that as clear as possible when I meet my clients, and generally, I think thats why they hire me. I actually think my posing is pretty darn good if I say so myself. I try VERY hard to keep things not too cheesy, and encourage my friends to speak up if I do go down that road. I shot with my awesome friend Julie recently, and had a great long conversation about photography, art, and business, which was very much needed after a crazy 3/4 of a season, for numerous different reasons. Julie, who has been everything to me and my photography for years now, and she will be getting her very own blog post soon, (haha) and should be giving her annual “State of The Industry” rant and rave coming up shortly, according to her. It is one of these “Jerry McGuire” speeches which made me take out my debit card, and buy quite a bit of camera equipment a little over 4 years ago and pursue this passion of mine. I guess what I am saying is, I love my job, I love my clients, I love what my business has become, and I can’t wait to keep doing it. I know I’m pretty unconventional, I don’t hang out at the big group get togethers anymore, and don’t chat much on the forums. But I am here, I am real, and love sharing my work, and hopefully can inspire someone, somehow. (that is all)
So, I just photographed Heather and Jim’s wedding last night, and can’t wait to get to work on their wedding photos, but I wanted to share some photos from their recent engagement shoot we did in Golden, CO. Both Heather and Jim live in Michigan where they work and attend grad school, but are counting the days until they can come back and live in Colorado. They are both outdoor type of people, and can’t wait to get back to the Colorado way of life. Also, I wanted to mention as you can probably tell from the photos, these two are absolutely NUTS, and the round of beers we had prior to the shoot only added some fuel to the fire…….. Thanks guys for being so awesome!!!!!
Well my first time ever to California and it couldn’t of been for a better reason. Kristin and Justin were married recently on Coronado Beach at the Hotel Del Coronado in sunny San Diego California. Sticking to the basics of a simple wedding by keeping it small, to the point, and very intimate, it was indeed quite an amazing experience. With a nice quiet dinner at the Coronado Boathouse the evening was perfect. Many thanks to both Kristin and Justin for allowing me document this very special occasion, and I wish you both the best.
My good buddy RJ at KERN PHOTO recently asked if I could give him a hand at a wedding this past weekend on the Island at the Pelican Lakes Golf Course which is part of Water Valley. RJ and I get along great, however our styles of photography are so very different, which I believe is actually a good thing for when we work together because of the variety of work that we end up with. Every year we help each other out at a couple weddings and have a blast doing so. Allie and Aaron are a super sweet couple which are in the process of moving to Tokyo as we speak, as Aaron proudly serves in the United States Navy. I wish I had the opportunity to get to know these two better, as they were an absolute pleasure to work with. Many thanks to Allie, Aaron, and RJ.
Donna Valentine is a singer songwriter that recently asked me to take some promotional photos for her, and here they are. She has an amazing voice, and is just counting the days until she makes it to Nashville. Check out Donna Valentine.
A couple weeks ago, I met with Aubrey and Kirk to grab a few engagement photos at Rocky Mountain National Park, despite the weather which had to be around 20 degrees. The original plan was to get some fall colors, but nature did not allow this because of some heavy snow and cold weather in the days leading up to our shoot. I am really looking forward to working with these two next year at their beautiful mountain wedding, and hopefully it will be a lot warmer in June.
Chris and Erin had an amazing wedding at Planet Bluegrass in Lyons, CO complete with a Banjo player and folk band. There is nothing wrong with a traditional wedding, but to mix it up a little bit from a photographers point of view, I was thrilled to be a part of this fun filled wedding. It was also perfect timing, as I drove by Planet Bluegrass the next weekend and it was covered in snow!!!!! Thanks to Chris and Erin and their wonderful families for an awesome time.
A fellow photographer Scott, recently asked if I would be able to shoot a few family photos for his family, and of course I said Yes! Speaking to Lynn Ann, Scott’s wife, she told me they have hardly any photos of all of them together, which I seem to have the same problem being a photographer and living in a house of non photographers. Here are a few of my favorites….
I had the absolute pleasure to photograph Stephanie and Bryce last weekend for a few engagement photos and had an absolute blast. I must say, later that night when I got home, my entire body was a little sore from all the walking. And I’m sure lugging around all my gear didn’t help either. We spent the evening downtown starting in Civic Center Park and working are way down to the Platte, followed by Commons Park with a little exploring near the mall. They both had me laughing almost the entire day and loved the fact they were more than willing to go the extra mile and put up with my ideas. Thanks so much you two, can’t wait for the big day!!!!
