Jenny and Jessica

Jenny and Jessica are both a great part of our studio. Jenny continues editing, designing, shooting and learning. Jessica is working with us for the summer and is helping us with marketing and anything else we need at the studio. They have both been great assets to the studio and are great girls.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

Being photographers means many things to me and Desiree. First, we have a great blessing, being able to do what we both love and spending our entire day together. In the almost ten years we have been together, we have spent more time with each other than a lot of couples married 3 times longer. We also get to work everyday with amazing people, sharing parts of their lives - that a lot of people don't get to see.
Being a photographer also brings a great responsibility. We have a gift to be able to share memories with generations. We have the ability to capture times in people's life that are both overwhelmingly joyous and overwhelmingly tragic. We are there with the joining of two lives, we are there at the birth of new life, and we are now there at the loss of new life. For some time now Desiree and I (mostly Desiree) have been a part an amazing organization. NILMDTS, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, is a fairly new charity started by a beautifully talented and compassionate photographer from the Denver, CO area. As part of this charity we offer our photography 24 hours a day, seven days a week to parents in the hospital who are about to or who have just lost their new baby. Often these precious lives come with just enough time to look into their parents eyes before God brings them home again. The memories of these few minutes often fade in time and the emotions are dampened. Which is a good thing - time heals the deepest wounds. It can, however, take the memories away that we want to treasure.
We get a call from the hospital and with in a few minutes Desiree is there with a camera, documenting the precious moments shared as a family. We hold onto these images until the family is ready to view them. The photography and the images are given to them at no charge. Often these things happen unexpectedly and can cause a great financial problem.
We have been blessed with a great ability and this is the least we can do. There is now an overwhelming need for this service and it keeps the few photographers here in NM that are members, very busy. Please visit http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/
find out what you can do to help us with this truly great thing.
The greatest gift that Desiree and I can give is a way to remember triumph and tragedy, success and sadness, love and loss. We give this with both humility and pride. we are proud to have worked so hard to develop our talents, and humble to have been given stewardship over these talents.

Everyone has a gift whether immediately recognized or not. Everyone has the ability to lift the hands of those who may hang. It is our responsibility, as part of humanity, to do what we can, regardless of how little or great, to help others find the joy in life that we are all meant to feel.

A honeymoon baby?

Today was a great day. Lance and Megan, a beautiful couple we had the great pleasure to photograph came in today with their beautiful little boy Jackson. Born 9 months and 15 days after their wedding. Jackson is one of the best babies that we have been blessed to be able to work with. He was very good and we took a ton of pictures of him. I pulled this image out of the many just randomly. He had so many great images that I would have been proud to show any. A baby like this makes my job easy!!
Megan and Lance, you are two very lucky new parents. Congratulations!!

The new "friends first" wedding trend

Lately there has been an unfortunate trend in wedding photography. With the cost of nice digital cameras being well within the reach of most people, there has been a huge influx of people assuming they can photograph a wedding simply based on the fact they own a digital SLR camera.
This year our weddings have dropped off a bit. with brides having "friends with nice cameras"shoot their weddings. In addition to photographing friends there is also a crop of people advertising a cheap, photo for hire, wedding coverage that for one low price they photograph the wedding and the couple gets a copy of the full size images. After that the contact ends.
Though our number of weddings has dropped, we have been inundated with calls from disappointed to devastated brides wanting to know if we can fix their wedding images. In most cases this is impossible. Technical issues can be, in some cases, overcome through our editing. That is about where our ability to salvage wedding memories ends. There is no photoshop magic that can compensate for an untrained eye, and a lack of passion.
Wedding photography is more than just showing up to snap a few shots of things that happen. It is a photographic discipline that requires expertise in photojournalism, editorial, fashion, and portrait photography. It is an art form that works with the interpretation of human emotion.
To be able to connect with someone and capture the fleeting moments of their life and preserve the emotion that is frozen in the 250th of a second, is an ability that is not achieved with the simple purchase of a digital SLR. The cameras instruction book doesn't say anything about knowing that every time David sees his new wife smile he starts to tear up. It says nothing about knowing that as soon as Amanda looks at her self in the mirror as soon as she is ready to walk down the isle she will start fanning back the tears. And the last time I read through my cameras users manual it said nothing about Thom, the 6'5" 350 pound rancher that is as tough as raw hide and just melts into a sweet pudding whenever he sees his daughter in her beautiful white dress.
Our photography is our way to express our art and passion for life, love and personal connections. We love getting to know our couples and being able to spend the most intimate and important few hours of their new life together. Desiree is an amazing photographer and an amazing person. we have very few brides that don't make it a point to let me know how lucky
I am to have her as a co-photographer and a wife. She is able to provide brides with much more than a few snapshots of their wedding. She provides them with beautiful emotion filled images of the nerves, the excitement, and the love that they are experiencing before the wedding. She also provides them with stress reduction, an amazing knowledge of all things wedding. And the ability to fix almost anything that may come up during the wedding. This is not taught in a users manual to a new camera. It is part of who she is.
I know this is a long post, I just needed to express my thoughts on this. There are a few events in your life that can not be repeated. Once they are over there is but one way to remember them. Once the vows have been read, the minister gone home, the food eaten, the cake enjoyed, the dress preserved in a nice box in the attic or sold on ebay, the presents returned, there are two things that you will keep with you the rest of your life. You vows, and your wedding images. You vows last until death. The only thing your children, grandchildren, great great great grandchildren will have of you and your wedding, is your collection of wedding images. With this knowledge that you will be remembered by your offspring through these images, how is it even conceivable to entrust that to someone just because they are cheap and you receive all of the digital negatives.
Again I apologize for the rant but with all of the brides coming to us in desperation hoping to salvage some semblance of their wedding, I feel obligated to write this. Not that we need more weddings. We just want people to consider the true importance of the wedding photography - the only tangible object you will have and cherish from your wedding. Consider that and then try to put a value on it. If you value your memories as a few hundred dollar gamble. I have nothing more to say. If you treasure your memories and want a document of the beginning of your family's legacy. Search out a good professional photographer and spend the money on them.
Invest it what is truly important in life. If you actually took the time to read this entire thing. I sincerely thank you for the time you spent doing so. We would also enjoy hearing from you and the good or bad experiences you had with your wedding photos.

Photo Workshops

Finally we are planning photo workshops. We have had numerous requests to work with new professionals and photo enthusiasts. Unfortunately, our schedule has limited the amount of time we can spend doing this.
We are going to be starting our evening photo workshops. We are still working on the format and schedule. We will be having workshops on General lighting, composition, and yes Photoshop.
We will be shooting and editing the images together. All workshop participants will also be able to participate in a photo exhibition.
We are still in the planning of the workshops and would like any input on what you might like to see. If you have any comments on what you would like to learn, let me know. Also, we are getting a list of folks together that want to sign up already and we can always add your name to the list. Just let us know.

more NOLA

I'm slowly working through my new Orleans images. As I complete them I will post a few of the images that I like. I am working on a book and an exhibition please comment on the images and let me know what you think as they come up. I would appreciate any input!
Thanks

Fathers Day

Desiree and I have amazing fathers, each have completely different personalities, each have the same outstanding qualities. I remember many things about my dad growing up; whenever he got really steamed he had a crooked tooth on the bottom that always stuck out funny. We thought he was going to turn into a werewolf. He also loved to trick us on April fools day. I remember waiting in line to get a spanking, sobbing my eyes out. Just as I was about to be spanked "April Fools" (I've done that now with my kids it's a lot funnier now) I remember him teaching me to fish and shoot a gun. I thought that the only three things you needed to fish were a license, a rod, and a bag of twizzlers. Though that may not be all you need to catch a fish it is all you need to have a great time with dad. I also remember some of those talks that dads need to have with their sons in order to keep them on the straight and narrow. Though I wandered off the path occasionally during my youth, I made out OK thanks to those talks and to the example of My dad. Yes mom if you read this, I know how much you did...but this is for fathers day.
Anyway, the things that we treasure most in life are these memories and the pictures that bring these memories to surface. I never had a photo session with just my dad. I plan on doing that next time he comes to town. I have, however, had many sessions with my boys. I love those images of me tickling my boys and them laughing so hard they cry. Those are the moments in life worth living and repeating.
This year we want to start making it easier for dads to have the photo sessions that I missed growing up and that I treasure so much now with my boys.
Our fathers day special is a 1/2 hour studio session and a desk top frame with 3 4x6 prints. For only $100.00. The session can be of Dad with the kids, just the kids, Mom and Dad, or for a spicy gift, just mom!! Or just come with an imagination and whatever we can do in 1/2 hour works with us. However you would like to mix it up, it's a gift perfect for Dad!
Tell your family, friends, anyone you know that is, or has, a DAD. That's everyone!! Help us help others by giving this special gift!

Leaving Comments

At the bottom of each post there is a comments link. Please feel free to leave a comment. We would like to know what you think about what we are doing. Thanks!!

To desire a destination

We have been doing a lot of destination weddings and still no one is going to Italy!! What's wrong with Italy? Is it the natural romance that wisps though the countryside like a cool morning mist? Is it the beauty of the language that seduces the soul in it's eloquence? Is it the food, do I need to say anything about the food? Maybe it's the beautiful old buildings that would play host to the most unimaginably elegant wedding. Is it the history, the landscape, the weather, the fact that you could wed and have your honeymoon in the same place? Whatever the reason, we have yet to be contacted to shoot an Italian wedding.
If you are, or know of someone, planning an Italian wedding. We would be glad to photograph it. In fact it would be our absolute pleasure. In fact, I would probably even work out custom package just for your wedding that includes all travel expenses. In fact, well enough facts. We would love to shoot a wedding in Italy. Let us know!!....The above image was photographed at Casa Rondena, about the closest to Tuscany you can get to in NM.

The end of the night

There are moments in our life that we wish would last forever. And more moments that we wished we could forget. Most weddings have ups and downs and there are always little bumps that get in the way and keep the road from being smooth. It's those bumps that, though irritating and sometimes rattle us to a point of apparent exhaustion, strengthen us and make us more grateful for the smooth times in life.
Brian and Amanda had a beautiful wedding. A beautiful ceremony, wonderful friends to celebrate with and 8 amazing cakes from flying star (of which I had not a bite, dang it.) Amanda was the epitome of grace and beauty in her dress, Brian, well he looked ok too. As great of a party as they had and as amazing a union as they created today, there were a few bumps. Fortunately, they were surrounded with people who had great senses of humor and a great love for them. These are the things we will remember decades from now when we tell stories of our wedding day.
Yes there are things that everyday will come up and make us wish we had stayed in bed, but when we do get up and make the best of the time we have, we are still able to come home again and look into the eyes of our best friend and know that everything is as right as rain.
We had a blast being part of this wedding. Brian and Amanda have cultivated a group of people that anyone would be proud to call friends. It was a real joy to be able to spend the day with them.