Nataly - Aurora Central HS Senior

"I'm dressed in pink." That's how Nataly described herself as we talked on the phone while trying to meet up in LoDo. We were walking from opposite sides of the 16th Street Mall hoping to meet somewhere in the middle. It didn't take long to recognize her since she was not only dressed in pink, but also had a pink purse, pink bag, pink lipstick and pink hair. I think she has something for pink!

The day had been pretty gloomy and rainy, but fortunately the weather held out for our shoot and we even saw a little sunlight peeking through the clouds! Not wanting to waste any light, we started shooting right away, moving from city streets to alleys, hunting for nice locations and good light.

Nataly was a lot of fun to work with. She's got a great attitude and was easy to talk to. Plus, when she flashes that pink smile at you, it's hard not to like her! Belinda came along to assist with the shoot and she even commented on how impressed she was with Nataly, especially how much confidence she has.

As Nataly changed from one pink outfit to another, the daylight kept slipping away. Pretty soon it was getting dark and cold, so we headed back to meet up with her parents. As we said our goodbyes and parted company, I thought about Nataly's plans to become a nurse and eventually a doctor and couldn't help but smile. I'll give you one guess what color I think her scrubs will be...

You can see more photos from the shoot here.

Kristina and Karl - Parker Family Photos

When Kristina told me she knew of a cute little park near her house where we could take some photos I don't think either of us realized that we were setting up a shoot at a location that every photographer in southeast Denver chose for that Saturday morning. Seriously, the park wasn't that big and there were probably 5 other families with photographers there at the same time we were! Fortunately, we were able to get a little privacy and take some great family photos that only included one family: Kristina and Karl's.

Kristina and Karl have two sons, Ethan and Ryan. I think there's a universal law about getting two little boys near water: at least one of them is going to get wet and/or dirty. It doesn't help when there are so many fun things so close to the water such as ducks and geese to chase around, as well as a stream with rocks to stand on. Fortunately, Kristina and Karl are aware of the affinity little boys have for water and kept a close eye on them. While I was working with one boy, the other was off exploring with a parent close behind.

While we looked for secluded spots that didn't include other families, the boys got to have a little fun which always makes for great candid photos. Even when they started to get tired of the camera, we just let them do their own thing and pretty soon their batteries were recharged and we got some more photos of them! By the end of the day, Ethan and Ryan had made it almost an hour without getting too wet, dirty or fussy. That is quite an accomplishment!

As we wrapped up and headed back to our cars, we hiked up a steep hill. We started talking about how great it would be to sled down in the winter. Maybe that will be our next photo shoot... just as long as the rest of Denver doesn't decide to go sledding on that hill at the same time!

You can see more photos from this shoot here.

Christopher - Denver School of the Arts Senior

When you've got a cello that's 200 years old, it needs a story. That's not the kind of thing that you find in a pawn shop. A 200 year old cello has a history and to have survived that long it probably has been cared for by someone who appreciates it. When I asked Christopher the story behind his cello, he told me that it was previously owned by a performing cellist who used it to practice in his hotel room. Apparently he would just sit in his hotel room and play all day on this cello. When it was time for the performance, it would stay in the room and his other cello was the one that went on stage.

I must admit, this was the first senior shoot I've done involving a musical instrument and I can't think of a cooler instrument to photograph! Christopher was a pretty good guy to photograph as well. We met up twice for his session: once in the studio and once in LoDo. Both times the cello came along and both times we had a lot of fun.

In the studio, we went with a simple black curtain for the backdrop, kind of like being on a stage. This was a great session to get to know each other. It was also a great session for photos! With the clean backdrop, Christopher and his cello were the stars of the show. The colors of the cello really popped with the studio lights and black background.

When we met in LoDo a few days later, it had just finished raining and the clouds cleared out just in time for our shoot. I knew that the cello would never see the light of day if there was any threat of rain, so I was relieved that the weather cooperated with our schedule. After shooting in a few alleys, we headed over to get a nice view of the city. As the daylight disappeared and the city lights appeared, Christopher just sat and played his cello while I took photos.

While we were shooting, Christopher's mother made a comment about how nice it is to do what you love for a living. Christopher is planning on going to an arts college and then hopefully on to a career as a musician. Fortunately, I am also doing what I love for a living. It occurred to me the next day that both of us were spending an evening together doing what we loved. Maybe that's why it felt like we could have spent all night overlooking the city, Christopher playing his cello and me geeking out and taking photos. As it turned out, we ran over the schedule by about 30 minutes. Oh well... his cello had waited 200 years to be the star of the show. I can spare 30 minutes.

To see more photos from this shoot, click here.

Ariana

I first met Michelle at the big hair shoot I did last year. She was one of Tanya's clients who volunteered to get her hair done and be photographed. When she contacted me and said she wanted some photos of her daughter, Ariana, I was so happy!

When we met up, Michelle warned me that Ariana didn't like to smile for strangers and didn't really enjoy her last photo session. So, I entered the shoot as Ariana's friend. If she didn't like to smile for strangers, I wouldn't be a stranger! It didn't take long for me to start to win her over and get some good photos with genuine smiles.

Talk about a cutie! Ariana's hair (done by Tanya, of course), was adorable and her eyes just sparkled. You could tell Michelle chose her outfits, because they were so stylish (just like her mom). :)

After an outfit change, some photos with mom and a few other family members, and a little playing on the playground, it was time to end the photo session, but not before Ariana played in the water. That's right... she went and played in the water, in her super-cute outfit no less! By the time she was done she was absolutely soaked and couldn't have been any happier. When it was time to go, I even got a wet hug from her. I guess I wasn't a stranger anymore.

You can see more photos from the shoot here.

Tech Tuesdays - OpenSourcePhoto (OSP)

I love a good internet forum. When I was into computers and overclocking, I spent a lot of time on the MaximumPC forums. When I want to geek out about fountain pens, I head over to the Fountain Pen Network. For some reason, I had never spent much time looking for a photography forum. Little did I know what I was missing!

While watching Jasmine Star on the Creative Live event, I heard her repeatedly mention the OSP forum by David Jay. I was intrigued, so I googled it and came up with this: OpenSourcePhoto.

If you're a photographer of any skill level, I highly encourage you to head over and check this forum out. It's got pages and pages of information and an archive of posts that goes back years. The people who frequent these forums are honest and willing to help out. I've only been there for a month and have already picked up lots of useful info and made some good connections. Now it has joined the ranks of web sites that I check on a daily basis. It's definitely time well-spent!

Bluff Lake Nature Center

Yesterday Belinda and I went out to Bluff Lake Nature Center for a nice walk. What a wonderful place! Until last week, I had no idea such a place existed within Denver's city limits.

Although there is no lake at the moment (it's a seasonal lake), there are beautiful grasses and trees that are just starting to change into their fall colors. We had a great time walking the trail around the lake, watching cat tails disintegrate, exploring side paths and hanging out by the river. I also brought my camera along and Belinda was kind enough to let me take some photos of her.

We went out at about the worst time of day for photos: Noon. Despite the time of day, we were still able to find some nice pockets of shade and get some good photos. It was a rather warm day, so not only did we get a little sweaty, we also got a little sunburned! I can definitely see Belinda turning more pink in the photos from later in the day.

So how did we find this place and why was I taking photos of Belinda when she was sweaty and sunburned? Bluff Lake Nature Center is the non profit I'm supporting with my Fall Photo Fundraiser! I wanted to explore the various photo locations and get some examples of what it looks like. Of course, for a "real" photo session, we'd pick a better time of day and wouldn't end up walking 5 miles. :)

If you'd like to help me support Bluff Lake Nature Center, please visit my web page for more information on scheduling a photo session. I'll be donating a large portion from each session directly to Bluff Lake Nature Center. Supporting and protecting places like this is something that I believe very strongly in and I'm sure they'd appreciate your help as well!

Here are a few more photos from out outing:

The Friday Fix - 10/01/10

What a wacky and wonderful week it was! We got wet and went wild in Atlanta. On a whim, I'm working a wedding tonight. Finally, this week will wrap up with a weekend walk to wind down. I'm wishing for warm weather!

OK, what up with the Ws? I don't know, but yesterday I got stuck in the W section of my music library. It started out with We Are Scientists, then moved to Warsaw. While I was there I thought some Weapon of Choice sounded good, and you can't really leave the W section without some Weezer, can you? To keep the streak alive I had to play some Wolf Parade and White Stripes. I didn't break out the Wilco or Widespread Panic, though. It just didn't seem to fit with everything else. Know what I have to say after all that W music? Whew!