drum roll please………………………NOLA wedding

so i don’t believe i’ve ever posted a full blog of a wedding i’ve done, or maybe i have.. i don’t completely remember but this wedding was a must post.

i had so much fun at this wedding, i actually couldn’t believe it was over when everything wrapped up.  when your pictures start with all of the crazy activity that bourbon street has to offer how could time not fly by. as i edited these pictures i fell in love with the images where leah is so adoringly looking at her groom. she seeps love with her gaze – that sounded so cheesy it’s almost lame to leave in my blog but i can’t delete it, because it’s so true.  you can literally see her stare that she is in love the kind that belongs with “leah and fischer sittin’ in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g” should be following them around. and as far as matt (fischer) goes, he really, really enjoys his bride. she’s pretty much the only one that can make him really smile for real. matt doesn’t really like to smile for the camera even when i ask with a cherry on top you can just see it in his eyes that he’s thinking, “come on, another smile?!” but when leah turns her attention to him and whispers whatever it is that she’s whispering, he smiles.. a genuine, captivating smile that you know he means. these two have fun. they’re friends. they’re marrying their best friends and it’s so apparent. so basically, i really loved photographing their day.. not to mention it was in

NOLA – which means lots of laughter, shouting, singing, jazz bands, a parade down bourbon- 2nd line, lots of colors, people, partying, drinking and more drinking, which led to a lot of shirtless men at some point during the reception, oh and a leah AND matt being lifted up in chairs, no they’re not jewish.  what a fun time!  can’t wait to see who out does these two in terms of fun.

boston

i spent a portion of last weekend in boston before and after shooting a wedding in plymouth, ma. there is so much history in that city!  i cannot wait to go back and explore.  my cousin lauren, who many of you know, came along with me and i’m so glad she did!  company on these trips is always more exciting.

the wedding post will come but for now here are some tidbits from boston. ps it’s Fenway’s 100th year anniversary, just walking around the stadium made me feel like i was there 50 years ago, the signs, the colors, the fame and legends that stadium has entertained is breathtaking! so neat.

mini artists

i have three siblings and when we were little (well – grown up too) we were so ornery.  at three i was handcuffed to a fence outside at 6am until my mom woke up from my screaming…we were always figuring out how to trick the next sibling that was coming through the door, my brother put a red light under his shirt and came in my room at midnight pretending to be E.T which PS was one of my largest childhood fears – that one ended in tears..  am i painting the picture clearly?  however, one of the all-time best stories involving trickery was when my older sister fed my older brother a large spoon full of mud after convincing him it was melted chocolate…  fast forward 26 years or so and i’m pretty sure that in that moment, my sister’s face looked identical to her daughters face as she began to paint her littler brother’s face.

she looks so satisfied with this decision and he looks horrified.. at least to start with. love siblings – they help make us in to who we become.

i learned during this shoot that my niece takes her painting time very seriously and you can tell how perturbed she was to have to pause for a “smile.”

the ranch is breeding all kinds of new life

puppies and calfs and colts, oh my!

jamie and russ were some of the first friends i made when i first moved to colorado.  they live out east, like a full hour out east.. but i really love going to visit them. they’ve answered only about a million of my city slicker questions along the way, very patiently i might add and they’ve allowed me to host boudoir shoots out there as well as a shoot for an album cover.  i went out to visit and to photograph branding day but due to all of the intolerances/sensitivities around the activities, such as this, that it takes to make our ranchers lives go round i’m a bit timid to post the actual branding shots.. so here are some other fun ones of all the new little things they have.. except the puppies.. they’re only four days old and i didn’t want to move their box around.

i’m so thankful for the lifestyle all of our ranchers have chosen, so that i don’t have to do all that hard work. it includes so many elements like 4 am mornings, unceasing labor, lots of time, energy and money to make them run well just so we can keep eating fresh, delicious meat.

sisters…class of 2012

graduating college! what an accomplishment. even though so many people do it these days, it’s something to be so proud of.  both of these lovely sisters have studied nursing and are graduating this year.

their bond is so fun and unique, their hearts for one another is so apparent. they are each others best friends and you can just tell that no one or thing comes between the two of them.

congrats beauties.. always a blast working with you!

live

i met steph almost a year ago and for months we talked about getting together without actually doing it (my fault).. i was able to meet all four of her siblings a few months ago and i just so enjoyed them.

each of them are so different from one another but they all have this overwhelmingly kind spirit about them.  their story as a family has contributed to form each of them into how they are so different from one another – which each of our stories do but they are different.  they have this unique sibling bond that i haven’t often encountered in large families. you can tell they have one anothers backs, that they’re willing to do what it takes to make sure the next one is being taken care of and is in a good place. they love one another in a deeply rooted way that is outstanding.

their mom is held in the highest regard. they adore her. these pictures were taken and then turned into a book to give to her as a mother’s day gift – and i think we pulled it off without her suspecting a thing, even though she watched us haul the couch out of her home.

oh, and by the way they’re all artistically inclined and fashionable – so what photographer wouldn’t love to be hired to work for them!

steph’s blog

audrey’s blog

hunter’s ig

these three

you may remember baylee…bay…basil from another post not too extremely long ago but she’s not the only one with beauty in the family…

while in phoenix this past weekend her sweet, little sister asked me to spend some time photographing them – “of course i will!”

these girls are beautiful and ben is the child that single handedly gave me a heart to only want boys when the time comes for me to build my own family.  ben was not even one when i was introduced to this family and the little dreamboat stole my heart.  he would only fall asleep to back tickles and had the lov-iest, cuddliest demenior about him.. obviously when wrapping up the 7th grade things are different but i will say his sweet little hug was just the same as when he was only a foot tall before i left them this time.. love him.

beri is so precious. she’s precious to me for completely different reasons than her other siblings. ber always had a way of doing things that was go with the flow and easy to please. she never created a fuss unless baylee was maybe being giving her a hard time (older sister duties?).. beri would literally glow if we gave her a piece of gum.. it was like the bandaid to everything.  she holds a pure spirit and innocence that gives my heart a peace. she’s confident and glows with the joy that is rooted in her.

baylee mentioned at the end of our time together this trip that the next time i’m in town that she would be at college.  i don’t know if it’s that little defense mechanism in me or what it was but i don’t think i even acknowledged it, in front of her… wow – off to college!  if you want to know a little about my heart for bay check out her senior pictures - i can’t believe it.. praying so many blessings over you during the next four years love, always cherish my time with you ..

lauterbach on the way

so these two are way too cute for words. really enjoyed my afternoon with them – i feel like we might end up being great friends..

here are a few quick favs from today!

baby barth @ 5 mo

little jack man is already five months!  can’t believe it.. all he does is laugh and smile and giggle, way too cute!

love these three

“so, you’ve been traveling a lot…”

if i received one dollar each time i’ve heard this sentence or something relative in the last month i could probably pick up an extra pair of these citizens i’ve been dying to have.. but anyway

i’m blessed to hear it.. i’m blessed to be able to be in a career that not only allows me but requires me to travel our beautiful country and capture it’s beauty and the beautiful people of it from my perspective.  my great grand father was a photographer (hint, he shot with film) who developed all of his own work and wrote notes about each shot that he liked and taped them to the photograph. i have dozens of these images that decorate my walls from california to NYC from the early 1900′s – i only hope my granddaughter is blogging something similar in 95 years..

so where have i been? here we go

chicago ~ bacheloretty party for the beautiful britt smiley ~ new orleans.nola.nawlins ~ photographing the fischer wedding ~

malibu ~ to stand by britt’s side as she was wed to our long time friend matt berres! ~

oxnard ~ with my sweet best mariana and her family ~ drove to fresno ~ visiting my “seester” and her family ~

carmel ~ with brianne “seester” to relax and enjoy God’s beauty