Photo Session Blog

In September, my husband and a couple of my parents and I headed to Vail for a weekend. It was so nice to see the fall color, go mountain biking down the ski hill**, and stay right in the heart of town. I loved go swimming in September at the end of Colorado thanks to that warm high altitude sunshine (certainly not because of the crisp air temperature or the cool water), eating at a German restaurant, and having cable (and a t.v. in our bedroom!). Thanks Dad and Mary for an awesome weekend!

I love to travel, and this past summer I did plenty of it. I especially love going to new places, so clearly my visit to Oregon was one of my favorite events of the summer. I went there to photograph a wedding at a bed and breakfast in Eugene, Oregon (images featured soon), but managed to drive about 1500 miles while I was there, from Portland into Vancouver, WA (do I get to count Washington as a state I’ve been to if I didn’t get out of the car?!) then onto the Oregon Coast (my favorite was Cannon Beach and buying cheese in Tillamook), then down more roads to Eugene.

In July I worked for Megan Alvarez to capture this “sweet” Fort Collins, Colorado wedding which took place on the campus of Colorado State University. Before the ceremony, the weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to do–pour, thunder and lightning, drizzle, or just be overcast. Happily for the lovely couple Kristyn and Eric, it decided to just be a bit overcast, allowing for the ceremony to take place outdoors and for beautiful soft lighting in the images. The reception took place in the Lory Student Center, and the decorations were amazing. Awesome vignettes with old family photographs, home-made honey in mason jars for gifts, weathered hard-back books, candles, heart-shaped cookies.

A fun, charming family photography session at a Berthoud ranch complete with a barn, balloons, and a paddle boat.

Back in June I had the honor of photographing a wedding in the mountains of western Maryland, near Deep Creek Lake. The wedding couple rented out the 4-H Camp site and played up on the rustic theme by decorating with mason jars of wildflowers, oilcloth tablecloths, and bowls of cherries. Everything about the day was absolutely perfect–the weather, the food, the speeches, the emotion on everyone’s faces. One of my favorite moments was watching the wedding guests sing and dance to Old Crow Medicine’s “Wagon Wheel”, the perfect song to wrap up this wonderful wedding. Once again, congratulations Eric and Megan, and thank you for the honor of being your wedding photographer.

I’ve been so busy on weekends when my husband and friends are free that I’ve spent under 24 hours in the “back country” camping, and that was way back in early June. I’ve only done a couple of hikes, certainly not any 14ers (and certainly not glissading down any 14ers like I did last summer for my bachelorette party). Luckily I have a few weeks to set things right and hopefully tackle Mt. Elbert, La Plata, or some other 14,000+ peek. I have a few more weeks to head into the mountains before I am faced with snow, and if I don’t get to enjoy the Colorado Rockies…

I was honored to photograph this group of folks who were playing music on a Saturday night at the St. Julien in Boulder, Colorado. The group consistently plays the St. Julien and is comprised of the talented Phil, his son, and several friends. With the younger ones heading off to college, the appearances at the St. Julien will become rarer, so I was there to document the special night. When the son’s high school music teacher (as well as a teacher to several other present musicians) got up to play with the group, I got goosebumps. To see the enthusiasm of the musicians, to hear their talent….I would like to thank the teacher for the wonderful, important job that he has. It was a great night to hang at the St. Julien.

This has been a spring and summer full of trips. Ever since April, I have been on the go: 10 days in the Caribbean for my honeymoon, 7 days in New York, 9 days in Maryland and Delaware. Next up is New York for another week, then Oregon, and then probably North Carolina. Phew! I love that I am fortunate to get to travel, visit with loved ones, and take photographs along the way. I am also discovering that I love being home just as much, enjoying photographing weddings, people, pets and partaking in summer activities like sailing, long walks with my dog, and swimming in my in-laws pool. And not to mention how good it feels in our den with the AC cranked and a blanket on while my husband and I watch True Blood marathons.

felt like I was wearing an uncontrollable grin throughout Chris and Stacie’s April wedding at the Fort Collins Senior Center. In addition to being a lovely couple, the venue was teeming with fun-loving, happy, enthusiastic, polite family and friends. When the DJ (Jim Adelman) played certain songs, all the guests sang along, making me a little misty-eyed and so glad to be a part of this special event.

Rob and I headed to my favorite place in the world, St. John USVI. Since I’ve been there a couple times already, we also visited Tortola BVI too. We enjoyed reading books, not using our smart phones or laptops, swimming, hearing the ocean, and driving around the islands on the left-hand side of the road while blaring Rihanna’s “We Found Love.” I finally made it to Tortola’s famous Bomba Shack, and we made friends with another shack owner, Nature Boy. We saw wildlife and animals roaming freely on the islands: donkeys, goats, chickens, huge iguanas, little lizards, hermit crabs, sea turtles.