T&C - Fort Collins Wedding Photography

T and C were married back in August at the beautiful Beaver Meadows Ranch Resort outside of Fort Collins in Red Feather Lakes, CO.  I was fortunate enough to help Karina Heneghan photograph this wonderfully fun wedding!

 

 

M & J - Denver Wedding Photography

 M and J's ceremony was held up at Boettcher Mansion in Golden.  I just wanted to share a few moments in B&W from the day.  Enjoy!

Friends

Friends.  I've never had many.  I know a lot of people.  I have a lot of acquaintances.  But the people who I actually consider close friends are few and far between.

Maybe it's because I don't open myself up to many people.  It's hard to develop a friendship when you don't really know a person.  You can be colleagues, co-workers, mutual acquaintances or just drinking buddies, but true friendship is different.

I was talking to a friend a while back and she said that she felt the same as me.  She knew a lot of people but doesn't consider many to be true friends.  To her, a true friend is someone who, if they call you in the middle of the night or show up on your doorstep with a problem, you don't ask questions, you don't judge them.  You help them in any way that you can...

Yesterday was my birthday, but we've been celebrating it since Saturday.  Not only were there many evenings of dinners and drinks, but there was also a surprise party that my wife, Belinda, had planned for over a month.

Something happened that night.  I walked into my studio expecting to quickly grab something and then head over to photograph a wedding.  Instead, I walked into a room full of people who had gathered together to celebrate with me.  A wall inside of me was broken that night.  I was able to let go and enjoy my party without feeling guilty or self-conscious.  I have never experienced that.  Before I walked into the room, I was a photographer who was going to photograph a wedding, a celebration of love, with a good friend.  Once I walked into the room, I was a guy who was surrounded by friends and filled with love. 

I realized what it is to have people in your life who want to see you happy, who will spend time with you for no other reason than to be in the same room together, who don't just take your time but also give their time. I realized that letting go is not something to fear, but something to embrace.  I realized that expressing your feelings is a wonderful thing...

To the friends who helped Belinda keep the surprise party a secret for over a month, the friends who came out to eat and celebrate even though the concert got canceled, the friends who came out with me on my actual birthday and the friends I'll be seeing tonight and tomorrow night, thank you.

Thank you for the well-wishes, for the photos, for the gifts and the hugs.  Thank you for helping Belinda plan an amazing party, for keeping secrets and for getting me to the party without me ever suspecting a thing.  Thank you for helping me start to become the expressive and emotional person I've always been inside, but have never felt comfortable being on the outside.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to discover what it is to not just have friends who you hang out with, but to have friends who you love.  And finally, thank you for choosing to spend some of your valuable time with me.  I can't think of any gift that's more meaningful and cherished than time spent with good friends.

Birthday Week?

I've never been one to make a big deal out of my birthday.

"You want me to be the center of attention?  You want to throw a party just for me?  You want to sing to me while I stand there and listen?"

No thanks.  That's just not how I like to do things.

Nevertheless, that doesn't stop Belinda from trying.  She always wants me to open her gift to me in a restaurant, in front of everyone!  She always wants to sing to me, in front of everyone!  As much as I protest, this happens every year.

This year was an entirely new experience.  Since Belinda seems to always be out of town for work on my birthday, she decided I needed a birthday WEEK!  I can hardly stand one day of attention, let alone an entire week.  Now, some of it just happened to work out.  A concert the night before my birthday?  Good timing.  A beer-themed fundraiser for an organization that we support the night after my birthday?  Luck.  Nothing could have prepared me for the event that kicked off my birthday week, though... a surprise party!

Just the thought of a surprise party makes me nervous.  When I'm a part of one for someone else, I feel so guilty.  "What if they don't want a surprise party?  What if they had plans and really need to be somewhere else?"  And that's just when it's for someone else!  The thought of having one thrown for me is just too much for me to handle.

I guess that's the nice thing about a surprise party that's thrown for you.  You don't know anything about it until it's happening, so you don't have time to worry about it.  I must say, though, that when my birthday week kicked off on Saturday night with a bunch of people yelling "Surprise!", I had no idea that I'd have so much fun or that over the course of the next week I'd learn what amazing friends I truly have.

So, did I enjoy Birthday Week?  I enjoyed it more than I would have ever thought possible.  Do I want to do it again next year?  Let's just say one day per year is enough for me...

Tyler - Golden High School Senior Photos

Tyler wanted to incorporate some modern architecture into his Senior Photo session, so what better place than the Denver Art Museum?  Thanks for a great shoot, Tyler!

Erin - Denver High School Senior Photography

A little rain couldn't stop Erin's downtown Denver Senior Photo session.  Even when there was a lot of rain, wind and lightning we didn't cancel!  Fortunately, the weather cleared up just minutes before her shoot started and we had beautiful light to work with.  Thank you, Erin, for trusting me and waiting for the weather to clear!

Emily - Denver High School Senior Photos

Did you know that there were picturesque spots for Senior Photos in the Tech Center?  There are, and Emily and I found a few!  We even found a little fall color.  Enjoy!

Diana - Denver High School Senior Photos

Diana and I met up at Red Rocks for her Senior Photo session.  Between the great location and her wonderful personality, we had a blast and got some amazing photos!  I wish I could share them all with you, but you'll just have to enjoy what's here... :)

Jer and Sara - Denver Family Photography

I first met Jer and Sara when I was in college.  Those were different times... I was in a band and we practiced in Jer's garage.  After college, we lost touch, but were recently reunited at a friend's get-together.  We started talking and, well, we set up a family portrait session!

Since they live close to Washington Park, we headed over there so Ryah would have some room to run around and they wouldn't have to drive across town.  It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun!  Ryah was in a great mood and Jer and Sara were a pleasure to work with.  Thanks for a great afternoon!

You can check out my site if you want more info about setting up your own portrait session!

Caitlin - Denver High School Senior Photography

I was originally supposed to photograph Caitlin and Bo at the same time since they're a couple, but due to unforseen circumstances, it didn't work out.  Fortunately, everything worked out really well and Caitlin's shoot was pretty amazing!  We met up at Cherry Creek State Park and took advantage of the variety of locations, shooting both in a bunch of trees, grassland and on the beach!