I had a short but great trip out to DC a couple of days ago to take Julia and Andrew’s engagement portraits. How lucky am I, that I have a job that flies me to beautiful places to work with beautiful people? Beyond lucky. I am blessed.
Funny thing about life is that you can’t predict the future and you certainly can’t control it. We planned this trip about a month ago in hopes that I would be out there for the cherry blossoms on a lovely warm spring DC day. Ticket was purchased, hotel was booked, and visions of pink blossoms and sunny faces preceded the trip. Little did we know, a nuclear summit would descend upon the city making it insanely crowded or that it would pour rain on the one day I was there for the shoot. Did I also mention I missed the cherry blossoms by about a week? However, there are always silver linings and this day turned out some of the most romantic engagement portraits I’ve made. The rain, the empty parks, the reflection of city traffic in the street, and of course true love. The trip was surreal and the city inspiring. I came home with a hot set of engagement photos and a new love for our nation’s capital.
Thank you, Julia and Andrew for giving me the honor of being your photographer and for showing me around your hometown. This was a highlight of my career.
I’m so fortunate to get to work with a myriad of different people/personalities…. It’s part of what keeps my job fresh. 9 times out of 10 I am meeting my clients for the first time at the shoot. I have no idea what they look like, how they interact, or whether they will even jive with me. Thankfully I’m a gal that gets along with most people, and this certainly helps! Lisa Marie and Codi hired me to shoot their engagement photos through Lisa Marie’s stepmother, so they were no exception to the rule. I really knew nothing about the two of them until our shoot. When I finally met Lisa Marie and Codi however, I instantly loved them. They are completely authentic and honest people. There was no bull with these two—they were frank about what they wanted and straight to the point. A perfect example of this is, after I kept trying to pull all these tricks out of my bag to make Codi laugh or smile he finally turned to me and said, “No offense to you Julie, but I just don’t smile much”. I loved it! And I respected him the more for being honest and real. Smiles or none, this man has a great sense of humor and is smitten with Lisa Marie. After trying to put them into a box of the “giddy couple”, I finally let go and felt like I captured the two of them best when I asked them to “nuzzle”. This was natural to them. This is who they are as a couple—not bubbly or over the top energetic hipsters who want to jump in the air. They are Lisa Marie and Codi… who clearly love each other fiercely. And that is what they hired me to capture.
I have been very excited to post these images from Danielle and Andrew’s wedding…. it was such a fantastic celebration with the ceremony at University United Methodist church and the party at the Grant Humphreys Mansion– two of my favorite venues. The whole day felt relaxed and catered to fit Danielle and Andrew’s taste. My favorite touches to the day were the fantastic band, “Network!”, the vintage convertible limo, the lavender buds thrown instead of rice, and the very special surprise from Danielle’s brother. Danielle and Andrew are two cool cats who were a pleasure to work with… I’m excited to document this family as they grow. P.S. Danielle is expecting–stay tuned for the maternity session!
I loved this moment of joy shared between Danielle and Andrew’s mothers
This may be an outtake. I craked up when editing this image and noticed everybody’s expression. I don’t think people were exactly excited that I was photographing Danielle while she was brushing her teeth… I admit–sometimes I do feel like paprazzi!
…And the big surprise of the day–Danielle’s brother, who was originally not going to be able to make it to the wedding, made a surprise entrance right before Danielle put her dress on! Danielle was immediately moved to tears—along with the rest of us in the room. It was a great moment!
Loved the Lavender! It’s my favorite flower and herb… the smell lingered on me for hours and I’m still pulling buds out of my shoot sac. I’m sure Danielle had quite the collection down her dress, too!
Great moment between Father and Son…
Receiving lines are great—there are so many emotions to capture—and it’s far better, in my opinion to the dreaded table rounds.
Check out this vintage convertible limo! Not easy to park downtown, but so fun!
I took a minute during the first dance to check out the reactions of the guests watching… this shot summed up the love.
Awwwww…. the father-daughter dance always gets me. The emotion on Danielle’s face is priceless.
Network is now one of my favorite cover bands in Denver—they had the crowd rockin’!
This is not really a workshop, and I’m sorry if I have led some of you want-to-be photographers on with this headline. It’s actually a weight loss support group that I am hoping to lead. I probably should have titled this entry, “Bikini Meltdown”, because that is what it is, really. I just arrived home from the most needed vacation in Hilton Head Island, SC. It was complete with long evening walks, mint juleps, the best and freshest seafood I have had in years, kayaking, sun worshiping etc, etc… it would have been absolutely perfect had I not put on the dreaded bikini. All I can say is serious, meltdown! This sounds vain, I know, but I was in hysterics about the muffin top that loomed above my bikini bottoms and wouldn’t even take my towel off so that Jesse could see me. I have never, ever been a bikini girl, mind you. I have always been the good ole’ sports tank swimsuit girl who wears cover ups and slowly de-robes as she enters the pool, inch by inch so as not to get it wet, but still remained covered at all times. I really wish I would have gone this route in Hilton Head, but Jesse encouraged me to put on a bikini– telling me there is really no reason I should look like a mom before I am one in that frumpy one piece tank. So I gathered all the courage I could muster (liquid of course) and bought a bikini from the TJ Max down the street. It was all downhill from there.
This may be TMI for most of you, but I’m blogging about this because for some reason, putting my thoughts and opinions out there on the inter-web for others to see and read, somehow seems to be a catharsis for me….It becomes “real”. I try to blog about everything from inspiring sabbaticals to Paris to some of my more trying moments with clients. Today I’m blogging about my shame and long life battle with my body image. I wouldn’t call myself fat by means—maybe a little “pleasantly plump”. But I have, since the age of 14 struggled with food, eating issues and body image. You can ask my mom, after every singe meal or snack I would ask her, “Do I look fatter to you”? Logically, of course there is no way that one could look fatter after eating one healthy meal, but that gives you a better picture of my relationship with food. Food has been both my enemy and my console. And every minute of my life feels like another minute of failure when it comes to self-acceptance and/or looking and feeling the way I would like.
Enough is enough. The bikini did me in. I am going to make some serious changes to my lifestyle… both with food and also with how I view myself. It’s ironic that I see every body so unique and beautiful when photographing it, but with my own there so much disgust and shame. I am 32 years old. If I don’t start loving my body now, I never will. So without further ado, I am starting a weight loss support group. Let me preface this by saying this is not a diet, but a program that changes the way we view food. The program is called Prism and is based on biblical principals and address the whole person–body, mind, spirit. The bible verse that inspired this program is Romans 12:1-2 which says “Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Amen.
I am hoping to get a group of 10 together which will meet at my studio once a week on Monday evenings to encourage and inspire each other to commit to this lifestyle change. There will be no humiliating weigh-ins, and I won’t be a Nazi leader up there telling you what “not to eat” or that have done “wrong” each week. Because, let’s be honest here… I’ll be on this road with you. I want to foster confidence, a change in the way we view our bodies, how we deal with our emotions and anxieties and how we view food. And I’d like to drop 15 pounds, of course! If any of you are interested please reply to this blog or shoot me an email to [email protected]. I’m hoping to kick this off on Monday April 19th at 6pm at my studio on 2405 W 32nd Ave Denver, CO 80211. Please come and check it out. There is no pressure and I won’t ask you to commit until you are ready to. I can’t think of a better time to get working on those bikini bodies (and minds) and support each other each week. And of course it will be a great excuse to get together once a week for fellowship and laughter…
It was so fun for me to go to the Rhodes house to catch up and formally meet their 17 month old, Jack. I shot Alison and Trevor’s wedding back in 2005 and I couldn’t wait to get my camera on this threesome. This shoot was all about Jack… he wouldn’t dare sit still for the camera, but insisted on running, jumping and going the opposite direction of where we would. I loved it!! This kiddo is quite precocious and certainly marches to the beat of his own drummer. He’s got Alison and Trevor running all over the place. But they are in love and having the time of their life with this little guy. Wouldn’t you be?!
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