Bailey and Tanner Engagements

I don't remember the last time I worked with such a happy, playful, beautiful couple.  They say (whoever "they" is) that smiles are contagious.  I wholeheartedly agree - authentic smiles are contagious.  :)  How could you not smile looking at these two?

 

We started at Vivian Park up Provo Canyon, then worked our way past Sundance and through the Alpine Loop.  One of my all-time favorite places during the fall season.   If you have the chance, the Alpine Loop is even better by motorcycle!

To cheese or not to cheese?  I spent many years of my life trying to be sophisticated, mature, and avoiding cheesy at all costs.  But the older I get, the more I smile when people embrace the cheesy, sappy, silly, playful, ridiculous part of life and relationships.  It's fun.  So, with that in mind, we had to throw the leaves in the air.

 

That's all, folks!

Click here to see more of Bailey and Tanner's engagements

Another Fall Engagement - Julie and Mike

I feel like a giddy little girl every time I drive through the fall leaves!  With Julie and Mike, we started at the bottom of Big Cottonwood Canyon with the intention of shooting up at the top, by Brighton.  But, being overwhelmed with the beautiful surroundings, I, pulled the car to the side of the road about a dozen times before finally getting to the top!  Everywhere I turned was stunning.  The colors, the light, the water...  Big Cottonwood was perfect for photos!

Julie and Mike were great also.  (And didn't call me crazy when I'd stop for a moment and exclaim "Holy crap!  Look at this beautiful place.  This is Utah!  I get to live here."

 

There are several stages to a photoshoot:

1. The planning.  Choosing a location, a time, a day, etc.

2. The preparation.  Being ready for the location, the weather, and any emergencies that might come up.

3. Taking the pictures.  This is the first step that I get really excited about.  As soon as I have a camera in hand, and we are walking through our location, laughing, playing, and shooting, I am happy.  There is nowhere I'd rather be.

4. Importing and sorting the photos.  I usually pass this job on to my assistant, as it is my least favorite part.  He goes through the 600 or so files, finds the best of the set, and rejects any that are duplicates or out of focus.  That leaves me with about 100 to edit.

5. The editing.  This is my Zen place.  I can practically edit while sleeping.  It's some part of my brain that will work in any situation - even if I'm sick, tired, unhappy, or if I'm double tasking and watching a movie!  Editing takes a long time.  And I enjoy it.

6. Social media and blog.  This is when the excitement from step 3 comes back into play.  I'm remembering the moments, the personalities, and the emotions.  I'm sharing the stories, finding the highlights.  As I am writing this blog post I wanted to share the steps and the process with you.  I am exhausted, but as I sit here and relive the experience of Julie and Mike's shoot, I have a huge smile on my face.  My words may not always be eloquent, but I try to share what is behind the photos too - the heart.

And what amazing people these two are!  My favorite part of my job, once again, is getting to meet and have my life influenced by so many different people.

 

Spring Engagements - Maria and Todd

As a photographer, I have a rule about wedding days - I am not allowed to go to sleep until every photo from the day is imported and organized on my computer.  So, here I am at 4:30 am with a smile on my face, importing 150 GB of photos from an amazing wedding day!  Maria and Todd were married today in Wanship, a beautiful little hidden community tucked away in the canyon just past Park City.  I was in heaven.  A wedding day with an incredibly picturesque landscape, filled with Swedish food, dancing around the maypole, and drinking song!   So many photos, I'm excited to go through them!

For now, here's a few highlights from Maria & Todd's engagements this spring.  These two were so sweet, I love how Maria never stops smiling!

 

We did the photos up Provo canyon, in the Alpine loop - Sundance, Aspen Grove, Timpanogos Trailhead, and wherever we could find to stop on the side of the road!

 

Congratulations to Maria & Todd!

Dan and Whitney's Excellent Adventure: Day 3 (Lake Las Vegas)

A whirlwind morning!! - I worked out, swam laps, then visited the Container Park in old downtown Vegas.  There was some crazy dirt bike convention where they blocked off several blocks and I experience a culture of people I had never experienced before! But the Container Park was pretty cool. It reminded me of a shopping center I visited in Christchurch New Zealand in 2012.  They set up the shopping area with brightly-colored containers while they were rebuilding the city from the earthquake.  A little stage in the middle with live music, an oasis in the midst of all the destruction.  Apparently the container thing has become a trend!

The one place I always go when I visit Vegas is The Beat Coffeehouse.  They have an entire building of rooms turned into an art gallery.  Each artist has a room and each room in a different style.  I never know quite what I'll find when I walk through.  My favorite this time, was a jewelry guy.  Through our conversation, he shared that after having a stroke last year, his whole life has been about family.  He quit his job and joined his wife in their jewelry making business, they sell the daughter's art on the walls also.  I love those conversations - why people do what they do.  The perspective that comes from our experiences.

And then Lake Las Vegas.  A deserted shopping area, almost a ghost town with all the buildings empty and "for lease" in the window.  But beautiful.  Simply beautiful.  We got there for sunset and went on a stroll.  No hurry, just some photos, some relaxing, and a few moments to take it all in.

  

  I spent an hour sitting under this bridge.  I wrote, I sang, I meditated, took pictures, and watched people walk by.  The acoustics were magical!  And I love the ripples from the ducks in the water.  It was nice to slow down, no pressure to take certain photos, not running around doing, but instead, just to be.

Sooooo.... I'm getting pretty good at these selfies!  Except no awkward arm out in front of my face.  I set the camera up, focus on the spot intend to sit, then a self timer and 9 photos in a row with 2 seconds in between.  Yes, yes, I know.  I feel a little vain and little ridiculous.  But even photographers need new profile pictures for Facebook!  Or memories.  Oh yes, that's right.  Photos are for memories, not just Facebook :)

And the amazing Dan McBride...

 

See the other blog posts from this Road Trip:

Day 1: Las Vegas

Day 2: Red Rock Conservation Area

Day 3: Lake Las Vegas

Day 4: Arches National Park

Celebrating Beauty

  I had a wonderful conversation with an artist friend this week about photography, the purpose, and what really drives me.  Yes, there are times I get burnt out.  There are times when I want to give up photography all together.  But the people, the places, the beauty... That's what keeps me connected to my camera.  I have the opportunity today to show you why you are beautiful.  To let you see it through my eyes.  And the world.  This beautiful world we live in.  Every day, I see the mountains, I see a new sky - cloudy, sunny, colorful, or dark is dismal.  It's all beautiful.  And those moments of reality - tears shed, a crying baby, a playing child, the sun rising over the mountain, or even simply the way the light shines on the leaves of the trees.  Moments in weddings or families.  Moments in events or activities.  And moments of peace in nature.

Today, I am alive and that means I get to open my eyes and celebrate the beauty all around me.  As a photographer, my job and my opportunity is to show the beauty in the world as I see it.

Through my eyes, my lens, here are a few examples of the beauty in Turks and Caicos (Caribbean).  There's a story behind every moment, but today I just want to share the photos and let you see what you see.

 

Stock Photos in use

  My wonderful assistant Casey made a discovery this week.  He held onto this information for 2 whole days so he could see my reaction in person when I found out.  And yes, it was worth it.  I screamed, I did cartwheel, I ran sprints in the parking lot.  I have not experienced that much adrenaline in years.  Finally!  This is what I have been looking for for since 2011.  And here it is:  You can use Google search with an image, not just with words!  So I dragged some of istock images into google and was able to locate some of them in use!  So for starters, here are several examples of how my most popular stock image, the hot air balloon photo is being used!  Wahooooooo!!!

Downtown Salt Lake Engagements - Jordyn & Colton

 

This photo with the blue wall looked AMAZING printed on metal!  I feel like they should be fashion models here...  Adorable :)

 

City Creek was a really fun environment to shoot!  There was a cute old security guard who insisted we needed to stick around an extra 15 minutes because there was going to be FIRE coming out of the fountain.  (you can see in the photo above that it wasn't that exciting...  but it made me smile!)

This photo above is one of my favorites because I feel like I caught Jordyn and Colton on a date, not just a photoshoot.  Like they happened to be enjoying the atmosphere around City Creek, and they look like they were having fun.  I like to tell my clients that engagement photos are just supervised flirting.  Yes, I will give some direction, but mostly if you can just make each other laugh and enjoy the evening, everyone will be happier! I love seeing moments like these :)

 

I think this is the first engagement shoot I've ever done with a videographer there, but I've got to tell you - I would trust Chris McClain with my life.  Or my camera.  Or photos... Something like that!  It was wonderful to work as a team, his energy was so encouraging and positive.  Some photographers have horror stories about the video guy getting in the way, but in all the times I've worked with Chris, he's been amazing.

istockphoto - Family at the Park

One of my highest selling photos on istock is of an adorable red-headed preschooler playing on a playground.  I was thrilled to spend an hour with little Collin and his siblings at Sugarhouse Park to do a second shoot last week!  Such happy happy kids.  And beyond that, I think this session proved to me that winter was over.  An hour at the park with the sun shining down... It's going to be an amazing couple of months!

Here's the best photo from last year:

And here are some of the photos from this recent session:

 

 

  

  

 

99... and 100!!!

I'm excited to announce that reached 100 downloads for one of the photos in my istock portfolio.

This is one of the first important benchmarks, when several more in the future I'm sure!  I took this photo at a 4th of July festival down in Provo, UT several years ago.   I'm looking forward to colorful summer days like this one coming up and also looking forward to focusing in on stock photography!  We'll see where this journey takes us...