Suzanne & Blue

Meet Suzanne & Blue. We shot this session at Daniel's Park just North of Castle Pines. I'm sure these two have a serious side somewhere, but not on this day! Believe it or not, there was very little direction given by me to create these photos. I like it when I can just point, shoot, & enjoy the show!

Kari & Ryan

Hey everyone, meet Kari & Ryan - married on June 14th. The wedding was at the Historic Crags Lodge in Estes Park. I had the disctinct pleasure of inviting a very special guest photographer - Joe Keum of Studio JK. Joe and I have been trying to get together for some time and we finally pulled it off. I am excited to shoot 2nd for Joe at one of his weddings soon!

Here's Joe, directing Kari and Ryan for a cool shot he himself suggested!


Here's the resulting shot - Hot!

We hear so much these days about "photo journalism". The question is; just how much do you see that is actually captured completely in a journalistic manner - that is, undirected in any way? Let me be the first to tell you - not much! This moment between the bride and her maid of honor certainly was not planned, but we had positioned the bride in the reception hall to capture some shots of her in the room with the beautiful window light coming in. All of a sudden, her maid of honor appears and they share a spontaneous embrace - bam! Journalism? Sure!

Again - journalism? You be the judge!

I love to play with light in every way that I can to add dynamics to a shot. Like or hate it, you can't blame a guy for trying! :-)


The image below is about the 15th in a series designed to portray an environmental portrait of an excited and beautiful bride on her wedding day. My motto is, if I can get it in 15 shots or less - it's journalism! :-)

Colorado Imaging Workshops

I just returned from the Imaging Workshops of Colorado, held in Breckenridge, CO. For the past 4 years, I have attended the Imaging Workshops of Colorado as part of my continuing education. Along the way, I have had the privilege of studying under some of the world's finest photographers, including Kevin Kuboda, David Ziser, and (this year) Ken Sklute. Although Ken Sklute is an excellent wedding photographer, I was delighted to learn so many wonderful things about this talented master. Ken is a "Canon Explorer of Light"; one of only a handful of photographers chosen by Canon to represent their digital cameras and related products. When he's not shooting a wedding or traveling the world speaking and teaching, you can find Ken walking the streets of Paris or hiking the mountains of China; documenting his experiences through the lens of his camera.

During this 4 day intensive workshop, we studied the source, quality and direction of the light we photograph with. We studied environmental backgrounds, elemental relationships, and compositions that are pleasing to the eye. We spent a lot of time behind our cameras, shooting the most challenging scenarios Ken could throw at us. We had a blast and in the end, our clients benefit the most!

The image below was created in a church we were able to use for a full day of lessons. Our challenge was to find and create a compelling photograph after overcoming the challenges of our environment while showcasing our subjects against the beauty of our surroundings. Although the church was indeed beautiful, it was difficult to photograph due to a strong yellow color cast coming through a large stained glass window. I was able to compensate using the custom white balance in my camera, which presented a pleasing skin tone. I then exposed for the available light to show off the rustic beauty of the church. To add drama to the shot, I fired a flash (held by my trusty assistant - Ken Sklute himself) to rim light our models from behind.
Our models (Kim & Chris) were cute because prior to our workshop, they had never met! Needless to say, we had them in some interesting and sometimes awkward "snuggle" poses, but they were good sports and and were very cooperative for our cameras!

Katy & Lenny - wedding album

I like designing albums! This is a 10x10 book with each spread designed to span across the spine for a 10x20 layout. These books are produced by Graphi Studio in Italy and are very nice indeed. Check out Katy and Lenny's album design here.

Lesley & Troy

Meet Lesley and Troy - married on April 12th. Super fun, super beautiful. Click here to check out a slideshow of their rehearsal dinner and wedding!

Is there life after 50?

Hell yes! I turned 50 on April 5th and last weekend we celebrated with several of our friends. Thanks to David Brenowitz for snapping a few photos.

Stuuuud! :-)

My Wife Cathy!

Debi & Amanda Tipton

Autumn Burke

John & Elizabeth Hudetz

Travis & Pat Broxton

Kent Meireis

Joe Keum

Cake - Yummy!

To serve his Country

If you have never done so, imagine what it might feel like to send your son or daughter off to the Marines. Now take those feelings and multiply them by about 100. Well, today was our day to send Daniel Aric Tinetti off to Recruit Training with the Marine Corps. Packed into a tiny ceremony room, 6 recruits and several family members listened as a commissioned officer expressed his personal encouragement to our sons. He spoke of his admiration of their courage to fight for our freedom. The recruits were then sworn in and the ceremony concluded with "Congratulations and welcome to the United States Armed Forces".

So there we were - after 20 years of raising Daniel to be the best young man we could provide to society and we've managed to boil it down to a 5 minute ceremony, a hug, and a tearful goodbye.
Over the next 13 weeks, our son will be converted into a Marine. Be that as it may, he will always be our Daniel. We are very proud of Daniel and know that he will serve his country with honor.

Hawaii!

We just returned from Hawaiian "garden" island of Kauai. Wow, what a fantastic place - definitely a photographer's dream! This was likely to be our last family vacation for awhile, as our oldest son, Daniel, joined the Marines and ships off to boot camp April 14th. We had a great time going to the beach, kayaking, going to the beach, hiking, more beach, attending a luau, and we went to the beach... a couple of times... :-) Before I get back to work, I have to show off some images from this island paradise!

First up, my two studly kids; Dylan (13) on the left and Daniel (20) on the right. This was taken at the "secret falls" which is a two mile kayak paddle and one mile hike to get to. Totally worth it, but the water was cold!

The nice thing about going to Hawaii is that since it is 4 hours difference from Denver, you're up to view the sunrise, even if you're not exactly a morning person (me me me...).

So gosh, here I am, wide awake at 6am, watching a wonderful sunrise unfold before my eyes thinking, gee this would make a great pictu... bing bing bing!!! Check out some of my favorite images from our trip in a slide show here.

Erin & Matt - Album

We have the opportunity to work some pretty awesome weddings; from the rustic beauty of the Colorado mountains to the charm and opulence of downtown Denver.

Erin and Matt's wedding ceremony was in downtown Denver at the Holy Ghost Church and the reception was at the Brown Palace. After the ceremony, we made time to stop off and get some cool shots at the Cheesman Park Pavilion, followed by a quick trip to the honeymoon suite at the Brown before joining the cocktail hour. From start to finish, Erin & Matt's wedding was the picture of elegance and class. I would like to share with you the story of their day. To view the entire album, click here.

Erin & Mitch Album

Here is another album to view. Erin and Mitch's book is designed as a 10x13 vertical layout with each "spread" spanning across two pages. Check out the complete design by clicking here.

When it is time to design your wedding book, you pick out the images and I design. I honor all change requests until you are ready to print your perfect wedding book!

Lindsay & Charles Album

I'd like to share another album design from Lindsay & Charles' wedding last summer. Check out the entire layout here.

Photographik.org

I'm really excited about a relatively new and very recently redesined photo resource called Photographik. Check them out here and be sure to check out my listing on the home page, as well as in the colorado section.

Sonya & Kelly

I'm still going through the images from Sonya & Kelly's wedding from last Sunday. I was assisted by my good friend and excellent shooter, Larry Winter. On this day, we both captured some great images. Every wedding we look to create something a little different; be it location, environment, lighting, or all three. Here are just a few!

On the way to the reception. Larry was driving and pulled along side so I could hang out the window to get this shot. Let's see... 60mph @ 5 degrees = wind chill of... yikes! And on top of it, now Larry wants stunt driver pay!

This is the 16th street mall in downtown Denver. Man it was cold, but as you can see by Sonya's sleeveless dress, I have nothing to complain about!

Finally - the warmth of the hotel. Larry and I collaborated to come up with this shot. I've seen too may cliche' escalator shots, but I think this one works.

OK, I know what you're thinking - but I did NOT tell this guy to drop trou... Sometimes things just happen! :-)

More Albums!

Kristen and Andrew's wedding was in beautiful Breckenridge Colorado. Although the ceremony was forced inside by rain, we had a great time! This is a 10 x 13" book designed with double-page spreads. I have the entire layout designed into a slideshow. The first slide in the slideshow will be their cover image; hence the black space to the left. Check it out here!

Album Design!

Happy New Year! Now that the holidays are over, I'm busy designing albums. This is the perfect time of year to do it, as we don't shoot a bunch in the winter. If you are a future bride and wondering about albums; here is how the process works: You pick the photos and I design the book. You may have as much or little involvement in the process as you wish. Some couples are more hands on than others. I've designed many books where I pick some or even all of the images. Once you've seen the initial design, you are free to request changes until we have the perfect book!

Here are three spreads from Catherine and Ryan's Wedding Book. This book is designed as a 13x10" horizontal layout. To view the entire layout design, click here.


To view my latest album designs, be sure to check back often; there will be plenty to look through in the coming weeks!

Kim & Ryan

Congratulations to Kim and Ryan, who were recently engaged over the holidays.

These pics were taken at Red Rocks; a spot frequented by many photographers, including myself. The nice thing about Red Rocks in the winter is that it offers some nice color when everything else this time of year is dormant. One challenging aspect of Red Rocks is finding a unique perspective on a heavily shot area. It was cold and there was snow everywhere, but these two toughed it out and we were able to find some great shots.

Although Kim and Ryan's wedding plans (or date) have not yet been set, I hope I get to shoot their wedding! :-)