Happy Halloween 

It takes a rare and beautiful girl to wear a dress and heels in 40 degree weather to go traipsing through the mountains. Rare and beautiful doesn't even begin to describe Alex. Though she credits her amazing mother for teaching her how to pose more naturally than the best paid models in front of a camera, I like to think it was really the camera's ability to capture the true essence of this stunning woman that made her the easiest person I've ever photographed. 

There was only one thing that shone more brightly than her radiant smile, the glow of true love that they naturally exude towards each other. Though these crazy love birds don't have kids, there is a quote from The Office that reminds me of them: 

Pam - "When you're a kid you assume your parents are soulmates. My kids are going to be right about that."

People who assume these two were destined to be… are right about that. 

Any guy willing to help curl his future wife's hair for their engagement shoot and spend a good chunk of it serenading her with Grandpa's banjo, is a keeper!

I was so honored to share this moment of their lives with them. It will be hard for every couple I work with after this to top how fun and relaxed this photo-session was!

Oh yea, and Kyle ...you did pretty good too =)

When you have a Mommy that's crafty, who can sew you a pumpkin hat, it is easy to pose for fall. This week I got to take photos of this little beauty with pumpkins her Mom and Dad grew in their yard all summer. Because the hat was too cute, we of course went over our allotted time, but like usual I couldn't help it, I just needed to take some fun baby photos inside too!

I got to shoot pictures of this beautiful baby today. I love taking photos in Evergreen, but I can't pass up the chance to photograph in beautiful backyards either. I love me some cute family at home photos! 

Let kids be kids. 

I know, it would be nice if kids would sit still for a picture, hands at their sides (not in their nose), and a big smile on their face. But the truth is, the thing we love most about kids isn't when they are calm… okay when they are sleeping they are pretty cute, but honestly what you adore about your kid is their wild spirit. We remember what it was like to be so carefree and excited about life. 

I'm not a big fan of studio portraits… don't get me wrong, they can be beautiful and Grandma loves them. However, the essence of a kid is lost when they have to pose. That wild, creative, inspiring side is muted.

Since most of us aren't studio photographers my tip of the week is to let your kid be a kid. Instead of making your kid conform to what you want, force yourself to work around what your kid wants instead. 

Chances are you will get a more authentic photo that will not only make you smile, but will touch you way more than a posed photo ever would. 

Example: 
You've seen this photo below. 

This is my friend Luke. He's a ninja. That is one of my favorite things about him. Turns out, it's one of his Mom's favorite things too.

October is one of my favorite months. Not only does Halloween fall on the very last day, the weather here in Colorado is incredible and the colors are spectacular. I decided to drive up to one of my favorite spooky spots today to take some haunting photos… they turned out brighter than I usually do for Halloween, but hey… it's only the beginning of the month. You just wait =)

Back in the day… like way back in the day (think before refrigeration and sliced bread) a wedding was a community event. Entire towns would get together to help make the day as special as possible for the bride and groom. Often times this involved people building structures like a barn on the couple's new property where not only the wedding would be held, but where they would then store their horses and hay for the rest of their days. It was a beautiful concept, everyone join to help the loving union of two people. Sadly the tradition has faded for most. Weddings today mean people show up ten minutes before the ceremony starts and leave after they've worn a hole in their dancing shoes. 

That is why a wedding like Aleece and Kris' is all that much more special. The idea of community and togetherness was alive and bursting from every decoration, bouquet, and wedding facet. Every detail was hand made from the food (Mom let me come with her when she picked veggies for the wedding dinner) to the signs, chopped wood for the fire, wedding dress, wine…etc. Everyone chipped in. 

You couldn't have asked for a more picturesque day. The Bride and bridesmaids got ready in sewing room where her mother and Iris actually created the wedding dress. The Groom and groomsmen put themselves together in the machine shop that helped make the wooden decorations.  Friends brought in homemade photo-booth for people to play around in all day. 

If you weren't chopping, pinning, decorating, or cooking you were wrapping silver wear in napkins or helping to straighten the hay bales.  Or, in my case, photographing. 

Though it can be a lot of work to have a wedding on your family property, the love and friendship that blossoms when people step up to help you put together your special day can be magical. 

You might have started out as strangers, but when you left the Raw wedding you were family. Thank you to all the loving guests who made sure this photographer was getting enough water and sunscreen!

Thank you Aleece and Kris for letting me be part of your special day, it was truly amazing. I'm so glad you two found your better half =)

Some people say that certain animals are drawn to us. I have a friend that swears birds follow her around and all she has to do is set out a bird feeder and bam… tons of birds. It took me 2 months to even attract one hummingbird. 

I do however, seem to call to butterflies. It doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing, hiking, sitting, weeding, butterflies love to land on me. 

If you know me, you know that this is highly unusual because butterflies are attracted to bright and colorful clothing and my wardrobe would impress a witch (aka mostly blacks, dark greens, and gray). 

I guess I could have a worse animal following me around… not sure I want to attract mosquitos more than the next person =)

Melts my heart.