Fran & Warner Celebrate 50 Years

Last week Fran and Warner celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Their children and grandchildren were there to celebrate the day with them, so they hired Jim and me to be there to capture some family portraits. Towards the end of the session we took some photos of just Fran and Warner. I noticed how cute they were sitting, holding hands, and decided to get a close up. After we were finished Fran brought me inside where her wedding album was. Turns out their photographer 50 years ago had done the same thing!



Congratulations Fran and Warner!

My boys...

Sometime last week I realized that, though I have been doing an awful lot of photographing lately, none of it has been of my own boys....GASP! On Saturday afternoon Jim and I took James and Colin to a park in Fort Collins to give them some camera attention.

Can you spot Jim??




It seems like I've got quite a few of James & Colin photos with this same sort of "feel." :)



I love this one because of the way James is looking up to Jim.



Then they started throwing grass at eachother. I think I want to turn this one into a giant canvas to hang up in our house.



Funny James story of the week:
We could probably count on one hand the number of times I've actually cooked dinner this summer. Today was one of those days. I was peeling potatos in the kitchen when James came in and said, "Are you making a meal?"
"A meal?" I asked, surprised that he knew the word.
"Yeah...a meal...like on TV."

Wild West MS Walkabout: Fort Collins, Colorado

This weekend was the third annual, Wild West MS Walkabout--a fantastic, 3 Day | 50 Mile walk event in Fort Collins, Colorado. The walk is put together with the help of many amazing volunteers and sponsors, and raises funds to support those living with multiple sclerosis. For the past two years, Jalapeno Design has helped the Wild West MS Walkabout with their website, brochures, posters, t-shirts, etc. Feeling thus connected to the event and the people who put it together, we headed up to Fort Collins on Saturday to cheer on the walkers and volunteers working so hard to make the event such a success. I, of course, brought my camera for some photos. :)





The rest stop that we hung out at had some wonderful clowns and music providing encouragement to all of the walkers. When we first got there, James seemed a bit hesitant about the clowns.
"They're nice clowns?" he asked me.
"Oh yeah, they're very nice."
..."they won't pick me up?" James asked still unsure.

Turned out the clowns were very nice and never tried to pick James up. Phew. :)







If you're interested in walking or volunteering in next year's walkabout, make sure to check their website for opportunities.

E-Shoot: Elizabeth & Doug

Late Friday afternoon Jim and I met Doug and Elizabeth in Lafayette for an engagement shoot. As always, WHAT A BLAST! Here are a few of my favoritos:



Wowzers! ...favorite:



I can't remember exactly what Jim said, but I do remember it was funny.















I know it's against the definition of the word favorite to have two...but I'm okay with ignoring the rules. :) Another favorite:





And finally. Last week I drove around Lafayette hunting for some good spots to take Doug and Elizabeth's engagement photos. I passed this mural and started hyperventilating. Okay not really, but I was excited we had a chance to take some funny shots before the sun went down. These totally crack me up:

Rodney Smith--this guy is AMAAAAZING!

This afternoon I checked my OLLLLD hotmail email account . . . the one I signed up for when I was 16 (!!) and used throughout high school and college. I still have the email account, but rarely check it because it is almost always JUNK JUNK JUNK. Not today.

I was so DELIGHTED to find an email from the studio of Rodney Smith, an amazing fashion photographer in New York.

Until I was 23, I had no idea who Rodney Smith even was. It was the summer after my first year of grad school. I was studying Art History, doing a summer internship at BYU's Museum of Art in the exhibition design department. Brian, one of Museum's lead designers, handed me a stack of Rodney Smith's images. The Museum was putting together an exhibition of his work in the Fall, and we were in charge of designing the gallery guide. I remember being immediately blown away by his work, excited for the day when his photographs would hang on the walls of the Museum.

So back to today. I got an email from his studio, announcing some new photos featured in a fashion issue of New York Magazine. I thought maybe you'd like to take a peek too. This one right here is my favorite. I. LOVE. IT. Fearless and fantastic. Way to go Rodney Smith!

Children's Session: Ella & Jeremy

Today I met Ella and Jeremy [and their mom :)] at a park in Longmont for a photo session. Good times, good shots:

This is the "jungle" where we started.





I love this shot. He's doing his launch-for-the-camera move, which appears in quite a few of his shots. :) Love it!



Ella took off for the playground when I was focusing on Jeremy. When I found her she was laying in the sand making a castle. I love kids!







See--it's the launch-for-the-camera move again. He does it so well!



Love Love LOVE this one:

Portraits: Baby Macy

Yesterday morning I had the wonderful privilege of photographing sweet baby Macy. What a beautiful girl! Here are a couple of my favorites:







Being around a newborn kinda made me want to have another...but then I remembered how much work they are, and decided to pass :) (at least for now).









Macy had the sweetest-ever newborn cry. She calmed right down when mommy picked her up, but not before I got a couple of photos.

5 Years!

Five years ago, TODAY, Jim and I got married. At the time, we were both in college. Jim wasn't even sure what he wanted to study, though he was leaning towards accounting (what?!) I was finishing my degree in graphic design, and about to start my graduate program in art history. We played tennis together, we watched Law and Order marathons, and eaves-dropped on our upstairs neighbors' terrible fights. We studied at the library together, made pancakes on Saturdays, and loudly sang along to our favorite songs while we were in the car together. We had almost no savings, worked part time jobs, and every so often ate at our favorite place in the world, Cafe Rio.

It's been five years. A LOT has changed. But two things remain the same:

1. we still like watching Law and Order together (but not the marathons...no time for that much tv... :)

2. Jim is my best friend in the world, and I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else.


On Thursday we cashed in on James' ticket to Lakeside Amusement Park for doing the library summer reading program. I'll blog some cool photos I got of James in another post...this one is MINE. :) Here we are in the parking lot. (small size photo because i look ridiculous. thank goodness i don't normally have to see the way I look when I kiss)



p.s. Happy Birthday Meg!

Wedding, Santa Rosa California: Lyndsey & Monte

A little over a week ago I flew out to California to assist my friend Meg Reul shoot Lyndsey and Monte's wedding in Santa Rosa, California.



This is perhaps my most favorite shoe shot EVER!







I spent a lot of pre-ceremony time photographing Monte and his groomsmen (which is my explanation for the abundance of photos of the guys).





















Lyndsey and Monte had a beautiful wedding ceremony right along the vineyard. My favorite part? The processional band played Death Cab for Cutie's I'll Follow You Into the Dark as Monte and Lyndsey walked down the aisle. SOOOO AWESOME!







An amazingly beautiful couple in an amazingly beautiful setting. I love being a photographer. :)