Boulder Wedding Photographer | Boulder Portrait Photographer |

I can’t help but turn things into a fashion shoot when the opportunity arises. So while this started out as a headshot session, it quickly evolved into a lifestyle/editorial/fashion shoot because, well, why the heck not.    Never one to stick the rules, I wanted as much personality and diversity in these photos as possible.  After taking the safe shots for her acting portfolio, we set out to have a little fun.  Sanja did her best to exude haute couture, and I did my best to break up the mix by making fun of her relentlessly to get these laugh-out-loud shots you see below.  What follows is an example of something that often happens in my shoots; my clients end up with far more than expected.

This is somewhat of an emotional post for me, as Erik’s father Gene recently passed away due to cancer and is no longer with us.  I feel honored that I was able to photograph both his son and daughter’s weddings this past year, and to be part of these great celebrations.  In the brief time I’ve known Gene, he treated me like one of his own and was just the coolest dad for Erik and Christina–not to mention he’s was always one of the first to cut loose on the dance floor.  I remember the first time I saw him dance at Nicole and Graham’s wedding, and was surprised to see him totally gettin’ down on the dance floor.  Gene definitely knew how to boogie and, although I recently learned that he knew of his cancer back then, he was totally sticking it to it and living life to the fullest, savoring the moment.  Gene was a proud, working man that owned his own landscaping company and built a beautiful oceanfront home and gorgeous family.  For some reason or another, he always reminded me of Grandpa Joe in the original Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory–just a fun-loving guy with a whimsical mustache  that wasn’t afraid to enjoy himself and say to hell with his age.

I’ve been meaning to post the complete set of these photos for some time, but it always became one of those ‘things that you tell yourself you’ll eventually get around to’ but never quite seem to get there.  Life is too short to leave things on the back burner and wait for the perfect moment to make things happen.  So i’m dedicating this post to Gene by ‘getting around to it’ and showing you guys the deeply emotional, incredibly hilarious celebration that was Erik and Christina’s wedding at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

It was truly a pleasure to get to photograph this young couple in love.  While theirs was a small, intimate affair–an elopement from the cold winter air of Michigan–there was nothing small about the emotions between these two individuals in love.  Sara had one of the prettiest and most meaningful bouquets i’ve ever seen; she made it herself entirely from family heirlooms passed down through the family.  A small, chocolate-colored seagull at the Broadway Pier took quite a liking to all the sparkly-sparkly in her bouquet and didn’t hesitate to vocalize his lust for the precious, even as he followed us off the pier.

While we all, as wedding photographers, love the luxurious and lavish weddings, I’m sure I speak for my fellow photographers when I say that there’s nothing better than witnessing the magic between a couple in love unfolding in front of your lens.  Sara and Kenny, thank you guys for inviting me to photograph your intimate wedding;  I had a blast photographing the two of you with San Diego’s beautiful harbor and marina as the backdrop.  Thank you, as well, for that rediculously delicious cupcake from Extraordinary Desserts in Little Italy–if only I could eat all of my meals there

Coordinator – Majell of Majell Del Castillo Events

Lighting & Draping – Amber Lyn of Amber Event Production

Flowers – Dodie Sy of Brassavolas Floral Couture

Candy Favors - Suga Momma Candy Designs

Venue – Hilton Pasadena

Invitations, escort cards, programs  -  The Flower Bar

Chairs/dance floor  -  Chiavari Chair Rentals 

Linens  - La Tavola Linens 

Cake  -  SuperFine Bakery 

Wedding Dress – Kenneth Pool

Couldn’t resist sharing these teasers from Laura and Manny’s Platinum Wedding at the Hilton Pasadena–such an emotional wedding.  Thank you guys for inviting me to be part of your special day

Venue:   The Prado

Dress: Mbride Salon

Flowers: Natasha from Classic Creations

Wedding Coordinator: Angie Metts of  Absolutely Events

Cake: Flour Power

What wedding wouldn’t be complete without a random elevator ride with David Duchovny, an orange-creamsicle Lamborghini Gallardo, and quite possibly the most delicious wedding cake ever:  Tony & Devon’s Balboa Park wedding at The Prado–that’s what!

Words cannot express how epic Tony and Devon’s wedding at The Prado was; nor can words describe how elegant and stunning Devon looked in her dress from Mbride Salon (Tony is one lucky man. Respect).  So I’m going to do what I do best, and leave it to my photography to tell the story of their san diego wedding that was one of the memorable weddings i’ve ever had the pleasure of attending.  Thank you guys for entrusting me to photograph your wedding and to help preserve your wedding memories for years to come.

I belong to a super top secret Anatolian Shepherd group on Facebook.  You have to be LEGIT to get invited to the group, and the initiation involves several tests of courage, feats of strength and surviving an anatolian puppy stampede.  Ok, maybe just the latter, and driving for nearly 20 hours through pea soup fog to a reputable  breeder to adopt an anatolian shepherd puppy  I met Rachel through this group, which is indeed so secret that even it’s Facebook status is marked ‘secret’  Rachel owns Bauer, or should I say, Bauer owns Rachel–kind of like how there are 6 million players in the world of warcraft only because Chuck Norris allows them to live.  Yes, anatolians are that badass.  So Rachel saw my awesome photos of Razi and spontaneously hired me to photograph Bauer and his glorious Snaggletooth.  At certain angles, he looks strikingly like Chopper, our adult anatolian.  Rachel’s first thought upon seeing these teasers was, “oh, thats a handsome photo of Chopper…oh wait! that’s my boy Bauer!”

Without further adieu, meet Bauer:

So, when Emmy stopped by the studio for her big debut, Razi couldn’t help but admire this pretty giant–and proceeded to give her his patented puppy kisses.

Emmy stopped by the studio the other day for some glamour shots for her modeling portfolio, and I was happy to oblige.  Emmy is the coolest Great Dane i’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, and just so, so well behaved.  She put up with a lot as her owner Matt slid her around into position on the seamless paper, and showed us the classic nobility of the Great Dane breed.  Emmy has her girly charms and enjoys eating high heels–but only the very expensive designer kind worn by Matt’s ex girlfriends.  I also caught her strutting one foot in front of the other at the dog park like she was on the cat walk.

Meet Emmy

Razi’s squiggle has now nearly completely two full twists and resembles a delicious cinnabun breakfast snack–so much so, that Razi tries his hardest to partake in his swirly tail whenever he can, often going ’round and round and round without the slightest hint of dizziness…..

His paws are also now so big that he can almost ‘palm’ his alluring tennis ball that always seems to roll away from him, as if driven by tiny men inside the ball…

Razi got his first taste of that sweet, sweet nectar known as the dog beach  right before Christmas this year, and oh was he pleased

As usual, Chopper let loose the “OMG OMG OMG I smell the dog beeeeach!” cry/whimper of pure joy as we approached the beach.  Razi really didn’t know what the fuss was about, but was glad to get out of the car after suffering a round of the terror that is Chopper’s stinky, but fluffy, anatolian butt.   He quickly found some other puppies at the dog beach and started pouncing and playing about, professing his anatolian awesomeness (and cuteness) by toppling over a labradore retriever puppy and then squiggling between his owner’s legs to tease the downed puppy that yes, Razi is the cutest little bugger on the block.  He’s also quite the ladies man, I should add, and seizes every opportunity he gets to weave about between girls’ legs, leaning and waggling his curly tail of awesomeness–which looks kind of like a snaking swirling about on hot pavement trying to escape.  Razi is also aware of this strange thing attached to his butt, and frequently attempts to grab hold of the menace and pulls himself in circles trying to tame the tail.

I shot most of these dog photos at the coronado island dog beach in san diego with my canon 70-200mm 2.8L IS lens, as Razi was totally running amuck and all over the place.  The extra reach most definitely helped to capture Razi in all of his glory.

*enjoy*