Happy Halloween!

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I absolutely adore everything about it. Travis and I started the month with a scary movie marathon. There are actually some surprisingly good scary movies out there. One of the movies we watched was The Nightmare Before Christmas. I am not sure what we were thinking, but we decided to make our own Halloween stop-motion. It totally consumed our free time.

We tried working with clay first....I was embarrassingly bad at working with clay. Travis took to it really fast, but instead of sculpting the characters we talked about, he made a mean looking nun and an old elf. Not exactly what I had in mind.

Anyhow, we opted for yarn characters and we had so much fun making the set. Here is the video:

I also carved a pumpkin at the beginning of the month that was stolen right off the porch! Well, they didn't steal everything, they just stole the poor little pumpkin. They probably just couldn't stand to see the little pumpkin getting eaten.

Wilhelmina Denver Models - Fashion Photography

I recently had the opportunity to photograph models from Wilhelmina Denver. I was really excited to dive into the world of fashion photography. I believe that my photography already had a bit of a fashion flair to it, but working with these Wilhelmina Denver models was loads of fun, and I am extremely happy with everything that came of it. When I scheduled the shoots with the booker Katie at Wilhelmina, the sun seemed to be setting a bit earlier. So we planned to shoot between 5-7pm. The sun actually ended up setting around 6:30-6:45, so I got to play around with low-lighting, and I feel like it's one of those happy accidents that needed to happen. My favorite images from the shoots are actually the ones we took in the dark.

The first shoot I had was with Dana Egleston. We started the shoot off next to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver. The textured walls in the area were perfect, we then literally ran up to the Denver Millenium Bridge to catch the setting sun. I didn't know what to expect with Dana, I am used to giving tons of direction and it's actually something I enjoy doing, but Dana barely needed any. There was a lot of, "Yes...keep doing that, perfect, awesome, you look great!" I absolutely loved working with Dana and I have no doubt that she will go far.

Here is one of my favorite pictures from her shoot, this one was taken at the Denver Millenium Bridge after the sun set.

Here is another image of Dana, and Jordan Casey. It was ridiculously windy when I did Dana's shoot, but I love working in the wind. The images are often more dramatic than they would have been otherwise. I just love the way Dana's hair is blowing in this picture.

Jordan Casey was a pleasure to work with. She is absolutely gorgeous! She has the most amazingly beautiful eyes. We randomly found this tiny patch of grass near a railroad. I wanted to make it look like she was out in the middle of no where. This was also after the sun went down. Nature compliments Jordan very well.

You can really see how stunning Jordan's eyes are in the picture below. The other model in the picture below is Tessa Collard. Tessa is hardcore. It was so cold and windy outside when we shot her pictures, and she didn't complain at all. She not only made it seem bearable (I was wearing both a sweater and a jacket, the Texan in me can't deal with the cold), she looked beautiful while enduring it.

Ok, so I generally don't take pictures of people laying down. It's not always the most flattering position for pictures. I asked Tessa to do it because I loved the the colors with her outfit. She looks so pretty next to the green grass. Thanks again Tessa for complying with my whims. Lynsey Knapp is the model in the picture below on the left. We had so much fun at her shoot just finding little places to shoot. We got off to a late start, but again I had fun working with the sun going down.

This set of pictures is another example of why I am now slightly obsessed with night photography. Girls, you are fantastically beautiful and I wish you the best.

I also want to thank all of the parents that so willingly helped out on these shoots. You are awesome.

My Yellowstone/Teton Vacation

Travis took a wilderness EMT training course in Wyoming for a month this year. Once he finished we decided we would check out Yellowstone as a sort of celebration. Unfortunately we were both strapped for cash, I made the argument that we should just wait until we had more money. He made the argument that I would be on my deathbed someday wishing that I had gone to Yellowstone when I had the chance. Goodness. I am such a sucker. So we went. I planned the trip in a couple days. The goal was to see EVERYTHING which if you have been there, you know that's quite a feat. It was so much bigger, and so much more beautiful than I ever would have guessed. Anyhow, here are the pictures and the video I made while we were there. I suggest that if you can make this trip, that you do.

I'll show you the video first because it's so much fun.

I am only going to post a few of my favorites from the trip. I seriously took about 4000 pictures!

I love these signs! I don't know who designed them, but they are so darn cute to me. I am sure cute isn't what they were going for.

This is a little private marina we found in the Tetons. I jumped out of the car to take pictures. Can you imagine living somewhere like this? How could you ever be upset about anything with a view like this?

This is Jackson Lake. This is about the time that we decided that we had to rent a canoe.

These geysers were outstanding!

You can't go to Yellowstone and come back without a picture of Old Faithful. Everyone knows this.

Ok. So I am not the best at taking self portraits, but we just had to. Our out-takes were hilarious! I really love the way this shot turned out though. This is a few steps away from our first camp site at Madison Campground.

This first picture was where I heard the bear. I wanted to stay so I could get some pictures from a distance, but Travis thought it was best for us to get out of there in a hurry. In retrospect, I can see how silly I was being.

At first I thought these were just clouds, then I realized there was a raging forest fire up ahead. We ended up driving though the smoke on the way home for about an hour. Crazy stuff. We talked to a couple of rangers and they said it was a measly fire compared to some of the ones they'd seen. They don't even try to put them out. They just let them burn themselves out unless it threatens something important.

I'm so happy I went, I hope you get to see it for yourself.

I love those Lohmillers! Wedding Photography

Goodness gracious! This was a fantastic wedding. I seriously had a hard time choosing which images to blog because there were so many pretty wedding pictures. The wedding took place in Salida Colorado, and I am so glad it did because that little town is a treasure. Katie and Jason opted for a "first look" which is where the bride and groom see each other in a private spot before the wedding. This is a great option because it allows more time for pictures (always a good thing). They picked a spot overlooking the entire town for this. When we drove up to the top, it was ridiculously windy. I was worried that Katie's veil would just blow away. Fortunately that didn't happen, but what did happen made me very happy. Every picture looks like one of those "fan in your face modeling" shots. I am so pleased with the results. Here is Katie walking up to Jason hiding on the other side of that doorway.

Epic first look? Yes, I think that "epic" needs to be the word for this wedding.

I usually try to stay away from railroad tracks. I feel like they are often overdone in pictures, but there is no way I could pass up this beautiful deserted railroad track. It was just too pretty.

Oh Salida, how we love you for your quirky little alleyways and your breathtaking landscapes.

Ummm....Katie you are gorgeous!

This is another spot that Katie and Jason tagged on the map for pictures. Who knew that canoes would make such an adorable backdrop?

Have you ever seen so many attractive people standing together?

I asked the boys to give me a pose and this is what they came up with. It is such a pleasure to work with silly people.

Then to top it all off, Katie goes and gets all awesome on me, and lets me do a crazy Trash the Dress session of her in the rain up in the mountains! I can't express how hardcore she is. She was drenched from head to toe and not one word of complaint. Thank you again Katie! You are the best!

Raine and Ryan at Hudson Gardens. Denver Wedding Photography

Ryan and Raine were so much fun to work with. I absolutely adored the details that they added to their beautiful Denver wedding. From the penguin cufflinks, to the stacked book centerpieces. Just like Ryan and Raine, the wedding was brimming over with quirky personality.

Okay, so sitting in the flowers. with tons of bees flying around me, waiting for one to land in my shot might not have been the smartest idea. I love the way the picture turned out though. Raine's ring is gorgeous.

If you dislike these cufflinks, you might want to start questioning your ability to discern cuteness.

Making people jump for pictures is definitely my guilty pleasure. I can't deny it.

They were so happy. Ryan couldn't stop smiling. So sweet.

Raine wanted to take some pictures on the Denver light rail after the wedding. What a cool idea! I love it when brides make suggestions. It was actually my first time to ride it. The lighting was beautiful in there. Raine is outstandingly beautiful.