(6/23/10) Crowds and Colorado

Shooting concerts is a whole lot different than I thought it would be. Battling crowds and swiftly changing stage lights is something worlds away from shooting natural-light portrait sessions.....

I recently got the chance to go to Denver to see Sanctus Real and The Afters. I'm not exactly a concert person (just not into crowds in general), but I'm never about to pass up a random trip to Colorado and a chance to expand my photographic skills!

(6/20/11) Anytime: Victoria

We live faaar apart, but when we're together, we watch movies, construct fairy houses in the backyard, play on jungle gyms at the park, and just generally act about 5 years younger than we really are. This is me and my lovely cousin Victoria!

Victoria is ridiculously sweet and so fun. If we didn't live so far apart from each other, we'd be *constantly* hanging out. But as it is, we're pretty darn close to best friends and thankfully distance can't change that!

Uhm, stunning....

Lots of b&w photos in this post -- it's fun to experiment and stretch myself!

Sooooo lovely:

(6/20/11) Senior: Kaitlyn

I am so beyond stoked to share these! I had a blast with my cousin Kaitlyn last month, taking her senior portraits and getting lost out in the country together. I rarely get to see her, as her family lives in Illinois. We thought we might as well do a shoot since I was in town for a little while!

In one word, I'd say that Kaitlyn is fun. And gorgeous. And hilarious. (No, that wasn't one word. Did I say it would be?) It's ridiculously easy to see that she's her own person. Getting her to laugh is my favorite sport!

We had such a blast on this shoot. Exploring, avoiding creepy people (and pretending to be some ourselves), getting lost for 30 minutes, and finding copious amounts of smelly corn... I'd say it was a successful day.

Isn't she gorgeous?

Love her hat, I wish I could pull of a fedora as well as she does....

My favorite from the whole session:

So, for a while I've had the opinion that anybody who plays the saxophone must be awesome.

Then, out of the blue, Kaitlyn's all like, "Oh yeah, I play sax and stuff."

There's proof that she's awesome, if you really needed any more.

Thank you so much for hanging out with me, Kaitlyn! You are way too much fun, and I can't wait to see you again!

(6/14/11) Wedding: Brooke and Drew

Wow... What to say about this couple? Well, I've known Drew all my life -- he's my cousin. Thoughtful, hilarious, and an incredible musician, he's one of my all time favorite people!

The first time I heard of Brooke was when I was surfing Facebook (a euphamism for "Facebook stalking") with my cousin Bethany, Drew's older sister. Bethany mentioned Brooke's name, realized I had absolutely no idea who she was talking about, and said, "Oh, Brooke is Drew's girlfriend... She's super nice!" I met Brooke maybe a year after that and realized the complete truth of Bethany's statement -- Brooke is one of the sweetest people I've ever met.

Brooke and Drew met at school. At first, they really didn't pay attention to each other; Drew was way into sports and Brooke was just plain quiet. The Hansen family moved away for a year or so... then decided to move back. To the same house, the same neighborhood, the same school. This time, things were different between Brooke and Drew. They started talking, and in Brooke's words, "connected immediately. He was by far the most interesting person I had ever met. And he was pretty darn cute!" Drew later told Brooke that he was surprised at how funny she was, and how she was "weird in an intriguing way!"

Drew proposed to Brooke on a hot air balloon last year. The flurry of planning commenced, and an amazingly fun, joyful wedding happened on May 28th!

So let's get to the pictures!

The lovely bride:

Killing time with I-Spy:

Bethany helping me with the dress:

Drew:

All day before the wedding, it looked like it was going to rain. At first, there were only a few sprinkles in the air, but after about ten minutes it was an all-out hailstorm! It cleared up quickly, but everything was soaked.....

Huddled up on the porch after the hail:

First time he gets to see his bride:

Exchanging vows:

A few quiet moments:

Bridal party! These guys were so much fun!

The girls:

The guys:

Everyone in the bridal party was wearing TOMS shoes... That is my kind of wedding right there.

On to the reception:

Smashing the cake with no lack of gusto:

Brooke and Drew, thank you so much for trusting me with your day! It was SO much fun to work with you, and I can't wait to send you the rest of the pictures. I love you guys!