Wyoming Family Reunion

I was asked months ago about photographing a family reunion. I had never done an event like this, but went into it as I would a wedding. Many people, chaos, lists, cards, etc. There were A LOT of people!

Things seemed to run pretty smoothly. The hostess had a nice backdrop set up with a bench, her brother-in-law had built a western type fence, and they had little family signs hanging up. There were twinkle lights, but alas one thing will always be forgotten.

There were MANY little ones running around

I was organized as much as possible and the families were easy to work with. Though I don't specialize in indoor photography, the natural light coming from the large doors made for some amazing lighting. With it being 95 degrees outside...indoors was best!

Overall a great experience and I met some really nice people. Hoping to work with some of them again in the future.

Sapphire Point Wedding

I was so excited for this wedding when the bride contacted me a few months ago. I had looked up other photographer's at this location and immediately was inspired! Rain or shine this location would shine!

~C~ contacted me about her intimate wedding back in March. She had mentioned her fiance's family was from Germany, and it really intrigued me. Working across the state is one thing, across continents, quite another! She was living in Pennsylvania at the time too! I love a challenge! Not that it was, we were very open with each other and sent emails frequently, and spoke on the phone if we needed to.

Having not been to the location before, I was a little weary the day of. But as stated above, this location was absolutely beautiful. I was a quick and sweet ceremony with the occasional tourist making his/her way down the hiking trail.

While taking photos afterward the chipmunks came out to beg for treats. ~E~ (the groom) was fascinated by them. We tried to get a photo of one of them eating from his hand...but they weren't THAT cooperative! lol Getting the entire group together wasn't as hard as I had anticipated either, everyone was willing and ready for all the photos I needed them for.

Overall, a great day! Look forward to possibly working with ~E&C~ again in the future, if they ever make it back to Colorado!

~A~ Senior 2012

I am so excited to have more Senior shoots this year! I love bringing out the personalities of these young people and seeing such bright futures ahead of them.


My first this year was ~A~ she is one of my trusty wedding assistants and is such a wonderful young lady. She had all sorts of ideas, and so did her Mother. I love it when the clients come with their ideas in hand, I want to make their shoot their own. We got my horse out for her to show her cowgirl side, she wanted to get into the irrigation ditch, which I thought was awesome!






 This is only a portion of her session. She wants to get some more while things are green, then get some when the colors change in the Fall. I love offering this option, as I want Seniors to get the most out of their photos.

Know someone graduating in 2012? Send them my way! Not only will they receive 20% off their session fee AND 25% their print order (if session booked in August or September) but you will get referral bucks!!

Wedding 7-16-11

 Can I just say I love shooting weddings! The atmosphere, the love, the drama, everything about them makes me giddy. To tell you the truth, I stress pretty much the whole week before hand. Even small, intimate weddings. I just know one day I am going to forget something and need it, even though I pack almost my entire inventory of bodies, lenses, stools, checklists, water, etc. It is in my nature to be over prepared! Which isn't a bad thing.

Recently I shot a very small intimate wedding in a meadow by a creek. It was such a dreamy place, that I fell in love with it immediately. (Ok, this happens a lot, lol) There were lots of ant hills in the ceremony area, so that was a bit of a challenge, or workout depending on how you look at it :-)


Q&A finally tied the knot. Like I mentioned before it was in an open meadow surrounded by aspen  trees and a following creek. Their friends and family watched with teary eyes, and big smiles. These two are so cute together, and it was a true pleasure working with them.


Location~  Gould, CO
Venue~ Gould Community Center
Dress~ Handmade by bride's Grandmother

I look forward to working with them again in the future!!

~S~ Expecting!

I met with ~S~ and her husband last Sunday for her maternity shoot. It was a HOT and actually humid day in City Park, but we made the best of it! I love taking maternity photos, Mothers glow and ~S~ was no exception!

 

he park was pretty crowded but we ended up finding this great open area with nothing in the background. The ground was a little damp, but cool, so there were no complaints about having to sit (or lay) down.



I always tell my maternity clients "it's all about the belly!"

You know I couldn't go to City Park and NOT use "the" bench! We were lucky enough that no one was sitting on it. I could find a way to use this bench for any type of session!

~S~ was adorable and quite agile for being 34 weeks along. She was game for pretty much anything I asked her to do. They were a very fun couple to be around. I can't wait to meet their little boy next month!!

Mommy & Me

I had the pleasure of taking photos of my sister-in-law and her daughter. We had a GREAT location at her Aunt's home. She has the most beautifully landscaped yard I have ever seen. I wish I had a yard like this, it would be my studio! There were so many locations, we just walked the whole time. Benches, waterfall, hammock, you name it we had it to use!

I just love the feeling of this photo...

Little Diva

I loved this waterfall and loved this shot!!

Little ~C~ was so good for the camera. I think the atmosphere helped her relax, there were so many things to look at!! I hope to capture many more moments for these two. I love them dearly.

My Journey...



January 2010 198 lbs.



Inspired by a fellow photographer, I decided to share my weight loss journey with all of you. No matter what your size or age most women struggle with weight. I am no different.

Now, I am 5'8" tall so whenever I was at my biggest I still didn't see myself as "big" due to the fact that my weight was proportioned properly...well that's what I told myself.

I didn't really start to notice a huge gain until three years ago. My weight kept going up, closer and closer to 200 lbs...it was not good. Then...I got pregnant.

I had the mentality that "I'm pregnant I can eat what I want, I'm eating for two!" and I did. This was not a good concept to have. My doctors repeatedly told me to exercise more and watch what I was eating. I ignored them.

The day I went into the hospital to give birth to my Son, I was 227 lbs. Granted immediately after having him I was down to 210 lbs. That was still entirely too big. I knew I had to do something, but I have TERRIBLE will power when it comes to food.

I kept eating like I had before (when I was pregnant) and got a Wii Fit. My OBGYN had told me that another patient of hers lost 30lbs using one. I was game! I used it every morning before my Son woke up for months and I lost 12 lbs by the beginning of 2010. Then my loss stopped. I knew I had to do something about my diet.

I have tried many diets throughout my life. South Beach Diet (my sister lost a lot of weight using that one), Atkins (I love meat, sounded like a good plan) and trying to just eat salads. None of them worked for me. I then researched  Weight Watchers.

Portion control, filling foods, and healthy grains. Slowly losing weight to keep it off. I do the online program where I log all the foods I am eating on my own points tracker. At first it was hard. I would lose a couple pounds and gain one. I stuck with it, and within the first six months I lost 20 lbs!

I started to feel good about myself and was able to get back into the jeans I hadn't been able to wear in a couple years! Weight kept coming off slowly but surely and I was still eating what I was feeding my family. The difference was how much I was eating. In the past I would eat two soft tacos on taco night, now it's a small one. Fresh fruit, veggies, low sugar cereals and low fat milk. Egg whites instead of a whole egg. It sounds so easy, and it is!!!


January 2011 160 lbs



Now we are 18 months into my journey, and I am the smallest I have been in five years! Since walking out of the hospital on my Son's birthday, I have lost 55 lbs. Since starting Weight Watchers, I have lost 43 pounds.

Of course it isn't JUST the diet that contributes to my weight loss. I jog when I can, take walks twice a day with my Son when I can, ride horses, anything to keep me active.

I know people look for a "quick" fix and to drop weight fast. For me, that wasn't the answer. I am able to eat whatever I want now, ice cream, pizza, beer, and keep my weight the same. I would like to lose five more pounds, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't. I feel fantastic about myself right now, and wouldn't want to change a thing.

I am now a size 9, and can run around the yard with my Son and not feel winded. I can ride three horses in one afternoon and my legs don't feel like they want to fall off. Life is good!

I now know when and if we decide to have another child, to moderate what I eat. I want to give him/her the nourishment they need, but keep myself healthy as well. We shall see when we cross that bridge.

I didn't write this to endorse WW, or to say that large women aren't beautiful. It's about how you FEEL inside FIRST. I didn't like myself when I was big, I couldn't get on my horse without assistance! I just wanted to feel good about ME. To hell with what anyone else thought, this is MY journey and it is a good one!