Copper Family Portraits

I met the Shelley family while working at Copper this winter, and had so much fun shooting them in and around Center Village. It was a perfect winter day at the mountain - though there was a slight chill in the air, the snow was falling and they were happy to take a break from skiing all day.

It's easy to get some great shots and have a blast when the family I shot was so sweet. They had that familiar, midwest, inviting attitude. And even though Luke was really cold, I still got some great smiles and images from him too!

We ran out on the frozen pond, instigated some snowball fights and dodged the snowflakes as it dumped more and more. The shoot was spontaneous (really, I helped them at work and we decided to do the shoot two days later!) and loads of fun.

Lunch Break

I had a longer lunch break yesterday at Copper, and decided to get the camera out and take a walk. This is where I work (in the back of the Copper Sports Center):

Center Village at Copper is my home 5 out of 7 days a week (and when I decide to ride, that makes 6 days!). This year's been a great year - we've already doubled the amount of snow that fell during the entire season last year. I could do without as many brutally-cold days, though.

To the right of the Eagle lift lies the gigantic super pipe, a great place to people-watch (though you won't see me going through the pipe anytime soon). West lake freezes over in the winter, and Chubs (read: best sandwich joint ever!) rents out ice skates to guests looking for a new skating experience.

It's days like these that I feel pretty darn lucky to live and work where I do.

Early to rise...

As it gets colder in the mornings here, frost forms on the car and I can see my breath outside. And every time I drive to work, undoubtedly in a hurry, I watch as steam rises off the corner of the lake. When the clouds are low and the morning sun shines on the water, it's unbelievable. Hard to put into words. So last Saturday I decided to suck it up, wake up extra early to make my normal commute to work and finally catch this beautiful sight.

...but it wasn't very cold on Friday, nor was it very chilly that morning. In turn, there was no steam rising off the lake. *sigh* So I made the most of it and went to one of my favorite spots, Sapphire Point off Swan Mountain Road. I was already up and out, I couldn't very well go home without any photos.

The first and last shots were my two favorites:

The simplicity of each image drew me to them. They're both dependent on light. Without having been there at the right moment, they'd be just another snapshot. All in all, the morning was not wasted, though I'm pretty sure I went to be earlier than normal that night!

Choo Choo!!

At the end of July, I had the great pleasure of showing my dad around my new Colorado home. One of the best things we did was take a day trip to Leadville, where we then hopped on a train and rode through the mountains. Rock surrounded us on one side, Aspens on the other. We could touch the trees as we passed.

The blanket that we brought "just in case" proved to be very helpful in the middle of our journey, when we stopped at the highest point and ran into some rain on the way back. In the end, it ended up being a fun new adventure!

Landscapes

Although we haven't been able to explore too many places, we did go on a hike that overlooked the beautiful Dillon lake. We live below the dam at one end of the lake.

That being said, sometimes I don't need to go further than our backyard - or back porch - to see a beautiful landscape. Here is our view at sunset looking out at the Dillon dam, with Keystone peeking out in the distance.

Row, row, row your boat...

The Marina in Frisco is full of photo ops, from dogs playing fetch in the grass to bikers riding by to boaters sailing on the water. The colorful boats caught my attention as always, and the sailboats mirrored the white-topped mountains in the background.

The Fun Bunch

Thursday nights are fun with the Fun Bunch, one of the teams that participates in a softball tournament in Summit County. Last night I remembered to bring my camera so I could play around. The sun was setting right in front of the batters, so instead of trying to work around the sun, I tried shooting straight in to it. I ended up liking the photos with lens flare and sun rays the most, and I even captured an odd couple watching the game - man's best friend turned softball's biggest fan!

"Make me a Latham"

I had the joy of spending an evening with two of the greatest people I know: Tim Latham and Leah Bend. Their big day is finally here - Leah and Tim are tying the knot in downtown St. Louis at the Thaxton!

Since freshman year of college, Leah has been one of the sweetest, kindest, truest friends. I was excited to shoot her engagement photos and finally meet The Boy - Tim. After just half an hour with them, it was easy to see how perfectly they complimented one another.

Finally, all of the planning and waiting and stressing boils down to one day - today. And I only have one piece of advice (that I found last night on the way to the rehearsal):

Sunday Silhouette

After a late start, I met Joselyn for some photos in Webster University's dance studio. I've always wanted to photograph in that room - the wall of glass is amazing and beautiful, and the dancers that come through there are just as amazing and beautiful.

After making sure I had captured the shots I came there for, we played around with her silhouette against the glass as she danced.

puppy love

March 29 was one of the first real St. Louis spring days, meaning by midday I was sweating and my hair had expanded to twice its normal size! I got to take advantage of the cooler hours of the morning taking some fun photos of my sister's two dogs, Bailey and Seamus. Both are beautiful puppies and posed like models the whole time.

Greyhound Pride

Despite some cold and misty weather, I ended up having a lot of fun scouting out some places for a shoot with Tierney near Clayton High School. We ended the afternoon at the football field, where I got my favorite shots. Thanks for being such a sport!