Archive for June, 2009

Josh & Alicia- A Dream Wedding In Loveland, CO

06.28.2009 - By Peter
Categories: Weddings
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I could go on and on about how great Josh & Alicia are, but all I need to say is Josh went alligator wrestling and skydiving for his bachelor party, and Alicia was a white water rafting guide in her previous life before becoming a Financial Planner.  What I like the most is that this couple thinks outside the box and lives life to the fullest, much like we try to do in our lives. They have been a joy to photograph and get to know during the process of their engagement and wedding photography. I look forward to a river trip with them in the fall!
When a client tells me that photography is the most important aspect of there wedding day I always get excited. This truly the case with Josh and Alicia. We spent well over three hours photographing them alone both before and after the wedding. We shot all over the amazing log home that hosted the wedding and on the 400 acres it sat on.  Here are a few of my favorite images from the day.
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This is the wine cellar in the home where the wedding took place. What an amazing environment! The light and texture was a true gift to me in creating this image.
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Alicia was so excited and relaxed. She had a smile on face and a twinkle in her eyes all day.
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Josh was a calm Groom as well, and was so comfortable with the day. He has a great sense of humor and had me laughing all day. What else whould you expect from a guy who wrestles alligators just for fun!
I think this image conveys his relaxed demeanor and still shows his excitement  for the day.
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The grand staircase is made out of one continuous log standing over 50 feet and spanning four stories. This is one is one of the most amazing places I have ever been for a wedding let alone a private home.
The textures, incredible detail and quality of light once again was great.
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We shot in the upper meadow before the wedding. This shows how relaxed and comfrtable Alicia was with the whole day. Many brides would hesitate wearing their gown in a field before the wedding. I asked  if she was ok with this and she responded ” I’m a mountain girl, I’m only going to wear this dress once and I want some AMAZING pictures in it. It will be fine!”  And, surprisingly it was - the gown was still beautiful for the wedding!
With this attitude I can create amazing images all day. Photography is half what the photographer brings to the table, the other half is what the subjects have to offer. In this case we had a very big long table. I wish I could do this all over again, it was that much fun for me. I hope they had half the time I did.
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With all the rain Colorado has had this year the grass was glowing green and the flowers were thick. We even had a little breeze for the veil. I love it!
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This is a happy couple in love. Be careful not to sit on a thistle!
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This is one of my favorites and is the last spread of their storybook I created. This image is about them looking and moving into the future. Watching over each other in different directions but still moving on the same path. I think Josh looks like a strong  leader of his new family in this image.
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Alicia loves this old snow fence and really wanted me to use it in some images. How’s this? I must admit I am really glad I listened to her as this is one of my favorites.
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A very impressive ceremony spot. You could see the mountains, a glowing green meadow and past the couple all the way to the plains of Loveland, Ft. Collins and maybe Kansas.
Cobalt blue skies with little puffy clouds. What a great day! Make sure to see the time lapse of the ceremony spot. It is pretty interesting to see the ceremony progress and then pass away in time.
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This is one of the hundreds of  GIANT logs making up this home. I love the bouquet to show the scale of these immense timbers.
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During the Reception the light was too nice not to use. We jumped into a couple of trucks and went up the hill to shoot a little more. Behind them is the home where the wedding took place. The day before, bears had been seen in this area. I hoped to see one, but I think all the gusts and celebrating kept them deep in the woods.
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The First Dance! I really like the light on them with the hints of some of the guests in the background.

Andrew & Rachael: Wedding at Mountain Thunder, Breckenridge, CO

06.20.2009 - By Peter
Categories: Weddings
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It was a great day in Breckenridge at Mountain Thunder with Andrew and Rachael. The day was wetter than we anticipated but it was truly beautiful. After  a quick change of shooting locations, all was well!  I think I will let the images speak for themselves. What do you think, Post comments below….

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This is a fun shot that I got lucky on. I had her do this again later but it wasn’t as good as this one that happened off the cuff.


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I always look for a great way to do a gown portrait. I really like the contrast in tone, color and layering.

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I had a few minutes with Andrew as he was getting ready. This is the wonderful view from his suite at Mountain Thunder.

All the rain this year has made everything so vividly green, A photographers dream come true.

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There were so many great black and white images within this wedding day. I love the direction of light and the Silhouette of the friends and family helping with the dress. This  Symbolizes all the work that goes on behind the scenes creating a great wedding day that is never seen by the casual wedding guest.

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The First Encounter, This is where they saw each other for the first time before the wedding ceremony. This is real joy and love captured forever!

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Dramatic light pulls this image together. It was raining full bore but we couldn’t be deterred. I love the emotion in this image.

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What a toast! I used selective color to emphasize this moment’s importance on the celebration of toasting.

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This image might look to be about the bouquet. It is really about the locket containing a picture and ashes of a family member that had recently passed away.

This is a great way to honor a loved one and include them in the wedding day. Nice touch!

This is also just one example of the amazing flowers that Plum Sage created for this wedding.

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To show the unity of Andrew & Rachael a tree was planted in soil from their home town’s. They will then plant this tree at their home to symbolize their union and growth as a couple. I really like the bold lighting in this image with the Silhouette of the giant grown trees in the background symbolizing the great potential that Andrew & Rachael have and will grow into as a couple.


This is Andrew & Rachael’s Wedding day storybook. This book will be bound in Italy as a heirloom and testament of this great day.

Jonathan & Courtney: Engagement Portraits in the Colorado Mountains

06.19.2009 - By Peter
Categories: Engagement
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I am so happy with how great Jonathan & Courtney’s engagement shoot turned out! As I was driving up to meet them in Idaho Springs it was raining, hailing and just all around nasty. This is the year of perseverance.  With rain nearly every afternoon, it has been a very wet year.  We decided to go for it and just see what happens. The rain quit on the drive and we had a great day until we got up to Mt. Evans.  At the base of this 14′240 peak the clouds came back and the wind picked up. It looked like it might rain or even snow at any moment. We photographed for a while around Echo lake then decided to push on higher up the mountain. I am so glad we did! Driving up was near zero visibility, and then we climbed out of the cloud layer we were in. Suddenly we were looking down on a sea of clouds with amazing clouds above us as well. I quickly found a great spot  and set up my lighting equipment and got ready to shoot. Then another cloud came in and we couldn’t see anything again. This is what shooting in the Mountains is like especially at 11-14′000 feet in a storm. Courtney stayed warm in the car and between clouds I would call them out and we would shoot a few images and then they would retreat to the car. This went on a half dozen times until I felt like we had gotten the image I was after. However , I did notice a clearing in the storm to the west. It was a long shot but I thought that maybe we would get a nice sunset when the sun got low enough to shine under this cloud base.  Jonathan & Courtney didn’t mind waiting to see what might happen, so we waited.  With my background in landscape photography and spending half my life in the mountains I knew there was potential for something extraordinary. The Mountain Gods smiled upon us this day. We got one of the most amazing sunsets I have ever witnessed. To top it off I had Jonathan & Courtney and all my gear ready to go. The last few images in this post are from that time. I know many people will assume the sunset was created digitally in Photoshop but this is truly a real and magical moment. I feel so lucky to have been in this situation. Jonathan has climbed all but one of the 54 14″000 foot peaks in Colorado and said he has never seen such a sunset either. It was the perfect day. Just proving that if you push forward, sometimes you will be rewarded for your efforts. I feel this is so true in photography, business and life.  You get out of it what you put into it.

Please enjoy these images……I am so happy with how great they turned out!

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Texture in paint on an OLD concrete wall in Idaho Springs.

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This was fun, They were being yelled at by an old man to get a room or rent one from him. I love the depth and rich color in this image.

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This is all about the color and depth as well as Jonathan & Courtney’s connection in this fleeting moment.

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Just playing around in one of my favorite meadows to photograph in.

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A quite moment in the Aspen grove. It is so green this year!

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Old building near Echo Lake at the base of Mt. Evans.

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Sandwiched between cloud layers. This sea of clouds below us is more common to the Cascades than the Rockies.

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The magic is starting. Sometimes less is more. Do you need to see their faces to feel the emotion?

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This is one of my favorites. I love the start of the amazing sunset, I love the warm glow surrounded by the cool blue of the storm. This offsets the composition of them being weighted to the left.

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I can hear angels playing harps…..

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Another favorite. No MANIPULATION ON THE SKY. This is what we were rewarded with for hanging in there on an unlikely day. Blue stormy skies with a briliant light show high in the Rocky Mountains.

Matt & Elissa-Engagement shoot in the Boulder Foothills

06.09.2009 - By Peter
Categories: Engagement
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I love the vignette of trees. I shot this to show their love for spending time together in the outdoors. I can almost smell the pines….

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Spring in Boulder with the a non-standard view of the iconic First Flatiron in the background. This is all about the color (new Flowers and grass) and the depth of this mountain environment. We are so lucky to live in Colorado!

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Drama, in light and position.

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Wow, This is cool!

Brianna - In and Around Boulder.

06.02.2009 - By Peter
Categories: Portraits
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I love the texture in the clothing and surroundings. The scarf is a great touch. She looks so confident and relaxed; it is so hard to get that strong of a look out of a girl her age. This is very real and natural for her.

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I love those boots? Would people whisper if I wore a pair like that?

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Furry hoods are the best…… She looks so warm with the frigid blue background and the barren limbs of the tree.

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This was the image I wanted to create over all the rest. I went into this shoot with this image in my mind; all the others were just a warm up.

It was freezing cold and the wind was gusting up to 30+ MPH. It is amazing how something great can come out of such an inhospitable environment. She gets huge merits for hanging in there while freezing to make this picture. She is bare-foot although you can’t see it in this image. This is a spot I will revisit many times this year. This was my first visit with a client and there is so much more potential here. Anyone interested?