wedding anniversary

It was our 9th wedding anniversary on Feb. 27th!  Unfortunately, that day was taken up in a very strange way ( I won't go into it here) and we weren't able to celebrate. Things have been kindof a whirlwind since but hopefully we can squeeze a dinner date in soon. I still love Paul so much and I am so happy I married him!  Life has certainly changed in nine years ( and the fifteen we've actually been together). We've gone from college 'kids" to a husband and wife with a mortgage, two kids, a dog and a small business. We've traveled, taken up hobbies, gone through medical issues, moved( several times), and so much more that makes up life and a more specifically a life together. I can't think of anyone else I'd want to go through this journey with!

digital enhancements

 As professional photographers in the digital age we have the tools to do almost anything with an image after we've created it. I've certainly done my fair share of alternative processes ( cyanotype, polaroid transfers, infrared, etc) but I am enough of a "purist" to want to see a really nice unaltered image sometimes. Paul and I were talking about this and he reminded me of how in the 70's wedding photographers thought it was so so cool to do a double exposure during the ceremony and make it look like the bride and  groom were looking down at themselves. Now that type of image is very dated and I wonder if the same will happen with this current trend of digital enhancements. It's fun and it's so easy, the trick I guess is to use it in moderation. Here is an example of an unaltered image and then an action applied to it called "aged photo". This literally took me two seconds. Crazy!

Valentine's Day

Paul and I went snowboarding/skiing yesterday at Keystone for Valentine's Day! It was so nice to get away for a day and play. We are back in the office today and working but refreshed from our day on the mountain!

Solar Energy

Paul had an editorial assignment that had to be shot this morning on solar panels even though it was overcast and  snowy. It was a really tight deadline so he had to work with the weather. I think it turned out great!  I have been especially interested in renewable energy ever since I saw "An Inconvenient Truth". Paul had a website up on the office computer for Real Goods Solar and I thought he was researching panels for our house! He was just finding the subject's contact info but you never know, it might be in our future. The problem with buying a "fixer upper" is that there is a long list of things to do before you get to the fun or  meaningful projects. 

my little cameraman

Luke was playing in the studio today with one of our antique cameras. He loves to point it at us and "say cheese"!  He did NOT get that from us, I think his teacher at school sometimes takes pictures of the kids and says that. He loves to play with camera's though! Paul picked up a cool photography book the other day that has very dark, rich black and white photos of zoo animals in it. We both loved it and this image reminded me of that a little -the rich blacks not the zoo animals ( : 

Future Firefighters

I had two adorable kids in my studio this morning! Mom is a firefighter so she brought in her gear to use as props. What an amazing woman! She works 48 hours on call, then goes home and takes care of her children. Wow, I feel like an amateur complaining about sleep depravation when I've been up a couple of times in one night. Anyway, both kids sat for individual portraits, portraits together and then finally with the fire gear. Little troopers!  The baby even let me hold her for awhile so I could get my baby fix!  My own baby is 19 months old and "little miss independent" so I loved it! Thank you Mariott Family for allowing me to photograph your beautiful children!