Sunshine and Sunflowers (Boulder Family Photography)
Zipping and spinning; twirling and charging faster than a 3 year-old. This was the light I found on a warm summer evening. Obviously it was a PERFECT light to capture three generations of awesomeness. I've been thinking for a while about how to describe these lovely folks. Should I speak of the pure love and happiness that shines through their eyes when they are chasing each other down the trail? Should I mention how my heart melted seeing two generations of sisters play and laugh together? What about how the light frolicked across the sky starting out as strong as a July morning and dipping behind the mountains like a raindrop? I think Emeryn summed it up pretty well herself when she said to her mama, "I want to stay out here forever." That, my friend, is the greatest compliment I can think of during a photoshoot: A five year-old who doesn't want it to end.
One of my favorite parts of photographing extended families is the fact that so many personalities and experiences are coming together for a moment in time and I am lucky enough to be there and preserve those memories. It's hard some days just to get your family in one spot in a reasonable amount of time (ahem...getting in the car with kiddos in the morning.) I loved seeing the how much the girls not only adore their mama and dad but their aunt and grandparents too. The light was bright and strong and made for a great challenge. We were able to get different angles and backdrops all in one spot in the matter of minutes; sort of like going to get ice cream and then realizing you can choose three flavors instead of settling on just one.
Thank you to this incredible family for letting me capture their togetherness on a lovely evening on a mesa.
Boulder Chautauqua Family Photography: Lilah Turns 1
Boom, whoosh, drip, whirl. Boom, whoosh, drip, whirl. The soundscape was melodic and hypnotic. I watched well-dressed and impossibly fit hikers sporting prAna, Pearl Izumi and Patagonia scamper across the meadow. As these active and outdoorsy folks dashed for the trailhead and their vehicles I became acutely aware of a few things: 1. Yet again a storm was threatening to derail a photo shoot this time with a lovely family and an absolutely adorable little gal who was turning one. 2. The parking lot would surely empty out soon. 3. If we can wait it out a bit, the storm just may blow through leaving an excellent possibility for the kind of light this photographer dreams of.
If you live in Colorado you know the weather changes ALL-THE-TIME. Especially in or near the mountains. I checked my gear once more to get my initial settings and prime lens configured. I greatly enjoy the endless surprises that come with photographing energetic families and equally energetic weather. However there is no way we are going to photograph little Lilah in a thunderstorm. I text back and forth with my clients on my "retro" flip phone (please send texts without emoticons so my phone can read it!) and go over the shot list once again. Almost every single photo session I've had has dealt with sketchy weather leading up to our scheduled time. And it is absolutely OK. It is all part of the ever-changing landscape for an outdoor lifestyle photographer in Colorado and I adore this. Often, the weather breaks and we end up with incredible and varied light conditions but occasionally, we need to reschedule. It's part of the package and I try to convey this to my clients. Luckily these are INCREDIBLE clients who have a great sense of humor, a solid understanding of the unpredictability of nature in Colorado and patience. We decide to give it 15 more minutes and I continue to wait, prepare and perhaps hold my breath...
15 minutes pass. Then the light changes. It begins to break through the grey sky and I am giddy with what's before me. I send a quick text letting this fabulous family know that I think the storm has moved on toward the eastern plains. We are ALL excited. They hop in their car with their little gal and head to Chautauqua in Boulder where they easily find parking on a weekend afternoon (no joke!) Thank you rain! We are golden.
When I asked Lilah's parents what she loves and her mother said, "honestly, us." I knew I was lucky to get to spend a summer afternoon playing and photographing this family. True to her mama's words, Lilah absolutely adores her parents. She already is an excellent judge of character. Both mama and dad were fabulous to work with too. They were all animated and joyful. These are my kind of clients! Even though she is learning to walk, Lilah is already an adventurous gal who loves to explore and was a joy to photograph. She is sweet and happy, beautiful and lovely. A big thank you to the entire family for waiting out the storm, playing among the Flatirons with me and reminding me how much I love to work with incredible families in Colorado. I cannot wait to see what the years bring for the three of them.
There Must Be Something in the Sandstone
It tickles...sort of. No it isn't that. It's metallic tasting, in the back of your throat, way in the back. It cannot be scratched, nor overlooked. As I take a lukewarm swig from my scuffed up Nalgene, I satiate my thirst. But as reliable as the sun in the desert, it returns minutes later along with that stinging sensation in my eyes. It's hot. Not summertime hot but 20 degrees warmer than the cloudy, cool temperatures we left that morning in Colorado. Being a bit (or actually quite) temperature sensitive, I always marvel at how people a century before me survived in this landscape. Most if not all of their lives were spent outside (and without any air conditioning). I start to feel big and proud of myself for "roughing it" in a tent, a good couple of hours away from a proper toilet and potable water. Then that voice in my head reminds me that not so long ago Native Americans and later on settlers lived here without any modern amenities and definitely not a sweet tent with an incredibly useful vestibule.
It's springtime in the American West which means a lot of predictably and incalculable surprises. And I love it all. At night we watch the cumulonimbus clouds swell and fly by. I squint my eyes trying to determine whether they will pass by or charge toward us. I smile at the light show and marvel at how the landscape changes colors in a flash: red, blue, orange, white. After determining that we will indeed miss the rainfall I head for the tent to rest in the quiet that is nighttime on the Colorado Plateau. I wake up at exactly midnight to hear that my prediction (as usual) was completely incorrect. Heavy drops of water pelt our rainfly and a melodic smack, smack, of the northwest corner of our tent lashes out at us like a finger wagging not so subtly right at me. It reminds me that the wind doesn't care how good you thought your tent stakes were hammered into the ground. And I love it. I love how in Utah and all across the West nature showers you in it's beauty and power. I roll over in my cozy sleeping bag and check to make sure my camera equipment is safe from any water that may seep underneath our tent, before returning to my not-so-quiet slumber.
It's been a while since I've gotten to take some time to explore Utah and as always it surprises me. When we crossed the state line a sign announced that we were leaving Colorful Colorado and had now entered a place where you live Life Elevated. I think about how both signs are true for both states and know that it really isn't so much a competition but instead a statement. There is so much to love in Utah from the mountains to the desert and I'm excited to have my camera to see what we can find this go-around.
What to do was a taxing decision. Because of the sheer volume of opportunities, we focused mostly on the southeast corner for the trip (which means more to explore in other areas next time). There are FIVE national parks in Utah and each offer a very unique experience. Of course there were the iconic rock formations everywhere as well as a glimpse into history through petroglyphs and pictographs carved and painted onto the rock face. There was trail running, biking along the slickrock and the Colorado River, hiking through cowboy camps, ruins, and seeing actual dinosaur tracks. Not last on my mind but first in my stomach was some of the incredible food. We indulged in the best quesadillas I've ever eaten at Quesadilla Mobilla in Moab. Absolutely memorable.
After exploring Arches, Moab, the Needles district of Canyonlands all the while using copious amounts of sunscreen, I think about something that ties all of the West together. It's grit. It's the grit you feel in the back of your throat and the grit of the people who live here. It's the red sandstone that now permeates the bed of your truck even a month after returning home. And yes, it's the grit that you bring back with you and find in the most startling places from inside your ear canal to inside your mind. It permeates everything out here. There are two things that always happen after a trip to Utah: 1. I always wonder if I have enough sand and dirt to fill a sandbox. 2. I'm already itching to go back.
Innovators: VSI Parylene {Colorado Commercial Photography}
Dynamic. Over and over this word seeped into my mind. Everywhere I explored, I met talented people who love to innovate. One just couldn't help but feel the energy and verve at VSI Parylene. Having the chance to photograph a company that truly pioneers and thrives on developing solutions was such a unique opportunity.
What exactly DO you do? I asked this question and expected a canned response. Instead eyes lit up as Steve explained to me their processes, functionality and future endeavors. It was easy to see the art in the science and I tried my best to convey their passion and expertise photographically. In case like me you too are wondering what the heck is parylene and why is it amazing here is what I gathered: VSI Parylene protects valuable parts. We're talking biomedical devices, microelectronics, automotive, aerospace projects and many other applications. How? They apply parylene using a special vaporization process. Pretty amazing, right?!
I cannot say enough about how fabulous this company was to work with. They exemplify a welcoming and dynamic culture that is lacking in many other organizations and it shows in their dedication to precision and product. Thanks for letting me capture your incredible company through my lens.
Land of Enchantment- New Mexico Landscape Photography
Sniff the air. You know, the way a puppy does immediately after you open the car window? An earnest plunge nose first into the fresh breeze. My head was not projecting out of a car for I was already standing firmly in the dirt. But, the scent filled up my mind with such power that instinctively, again, I filled my lungs. Pungent, earth, cows, rocks and curiously damp. Then earth once more.
Everything is different here. Go northward one hour up the road that weaves along with the landscape and there is part of the West I am so familiar with. Here...here it is undoubtedly new. This Land of Enchantment is still geographically part of the same region and the mountains are the southern tip of MY mountains back home. Yet here I notice that everything seems news. The light is BEAUTIFUL. I worry my camera and abilities can never fully capture it. It envelops everything like color wrapping around a canvas. It feels like you are living in a painting. The flow of the light waxes and wanes throughout the day and people here follow its rhythm. The bright bursts of ochre and vermilion in the morning and just before twilight bring an energy to me. And when the sun blazes hot, so HOT at times directly upon my sunscreened skin, it implores me to rest. But in this moment I know what is rolling in over the mountain peaks. A summer storm with nature's light show and sound so powerful my 1 year old asks again and again, "Is that thunder?" Yes, I reply.
We were here before. Years ago but in a different world. The same truck rolled along the dirt and through the land but this time our passenger is different. Years ago, we had spent a few days hiking and photographing the adobe, churches, and land with our impossibly energetic Ridgeback but today the back seat holds two impossibly energetic little boys. It strikes me odd how I feel the same connection to a place at two very different points of my life. My first trip in New Mexico I was so excited to capture it all on slide film with a somewhat reluctant canine model in the foreground. I remember not developing the film before our big move; my mind occupied with seemingly endless tasks and lists. And I had a few frames left on that last roll. Everyone knows with film you never waste a shot. Then, with a pair of bolt cutters one night, hundreds of miles from our old home and hundreds of miles from our new one, those photographs disappeared along with my camera and all my equipment. I imagined the people who grabbed it from the back of our U-Haul seeing my Nikon and realizing that there was still film in the back, took it to be developed to marvel at their find. Of course I logically know it was most likely hastily ripped out or not even thought about before being dumped at a Pawn Shop but the beauty of dreams is that I can imagine it as I want to, not as it was.
So here we are again, and this time I am determined to capture a different piece of this beautiful landscape. This time, I will have the photos to see on my computer. My little ones sleep soundly while rain drops play a tune on the windshield.
