Indie Spirit Film Festival!

I was honored this year to be the official photographer of the Indie Spirit Film Festival! In its 3rd year, the festival has continued to grow exponentially. There were over 60 filmmakers who made the trek to Colorado Springs to see their films on the big screen. All films were shown in downtown Colorado Springs at Kimball's Twin Peak, our only indie theater. Two of my favorite filmmakers were from Colombia and living in New York City for school. They had been best friends since 3rd grade. One was the actual filmmaker/director and the other was her "PR agent" and well... I can't think of anything specific to share but they were just so cute and so happy to be in Colorado for the first time.

In exchange for my photography services, I was given my first official ad (seen above) and VIP passes. I have to say the VIP passes were pretty incredible; I've never been treated with such respect in my life! There would be a line out the door to see a movie, and I could walk right up to the door and be greeted with a "OH! Right this way, ma'am." Not to mention free Chipotle, free swag, and a super fun opening night party at the Red Martini! I could get used to this! Unfortunately, it's only an annual event...

As for movies, though - Do Elephants Pray? was a favorite. Turns out it won the whole festival as well, which boosts my ego in my movie tastes :) The shorts on the lighter side were also incredibly fun! There was one about a boy who was watching a dancer in the town square from above and had the unfortunate chance of getting his head stuck in the bars on his balcony. So, he grew up with his head in the balcony, until he met a beautiful girl who kissed him so good he plunged right out! And another short film (animated) about a mouse who could fly because he was raised by birds. Or the one about the morgue employee who started taking corpses home with him so he could take the carpool lane to work and avoid tardiness. People are so creative!!! It blows my mind! I was just glad to be a part of it and was glad to spend some time with some lovely friends and assistants, Adam & Brenna. Also, thanks to Matthew Stevens, the visionary behind the festival and a dear friend. Vive la Indie Spirit!

Suz + Wes Greer

How can one begin to blog and actually do justice to being allowed to capture all the moments from a best friend's BIG DAY? They can't! (which is why it's taken me 5 months to get this up) I deserve a few slaps on the wrist for that. Even now, though this was 5 months ago, this wedding is still so fresh in my mind and remains so special and monumental.

First things first: more people should get married on New Year's Eve! Everyone is looking for something cooler to do than party with Dick Clark, so why not give them a celebration to remember? And why not let me capture it, now that I have New Year's experience? :)

Anyways, I have been a part of this couple's coupledom (?) since it was in its infancy. I was there for the flirting - the games of Sharpie tag and passing the chapstick back & forth (Wes got the last laugh by having his dad, the minister, give the chapstick to Suz right before their nuptial kiss!). I was there for the DTR, for the first dates, the letters to and from in their long distance dating, and the first kisses. Suz is one of those girls that few men were good enough for, but Wes proved himself through and through. "I'm going to be her first kiss and her last kiss," he said to another friend of ours before they were even official. He had his eyes and heart set on her from their first summer at Eagle Lake, and he didn't give up til he got her down the aisle :)

I love them together. I love the celebration that was their wedding. I love that they let me be a part of it. 'Twas truly a great honor ... and a great testimony to the Lord's faithfulness!

Ashley

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.
It's the life in your years.
~ Abraham Lincoln

If anyone has life in their years, it's this beautiful girl. So sassy, so classy, so full of life - what a FUN photo shoot. She laughs so much it was difficult to get her to pose with a plain smile, much less a nice serious face! But thinking about dead puppies seemed to help with that :)

I have actually known Ashley since January and think she's one of the sweetest, coolest, most unique high schoolers I've ever met, as you can see from the pictures. She has a depth about her that's pretty rare at 17. Ashley really is one of a kind and a delight to be around. If laughter is the best medicine, I'm hoping for a lot more big doses of her this year~

Melanie + Bryan

"When you are in Love you can't fall asleep because reality is

better than your dreams."

Dr Seuss

Melanie and Bryan live like this quote is true. It was a joy and honor to share this special day with them, to watch them laugh together, work together and cry together (ok ... maybe the crying was only Bryan). They are so easy to be around, probably because they are so at ease with one another. I loved taking their pictures because I didn't have to direct them at ALL! They are just naturally beautiful people who knew how to kiss and hold each other ... on and off camera, i'm sure :)

It's always nice when you overhear guests on both sides talking about "what a catch" the other had landed. I'd have to agree. I'd also have to say I'm thankful for the tall grass and playground outside the church! Congratulations, Bryan and Melanie!

New York, New York

Start Spreadin' The News...

What do you get when you get when you have 2 best friends+2 fancy cameras+6 or more modes of transportation+1 BIG Apple?? A blast of a good time and some pictures for the masses!

My best friend invited me to the wedding featured below, but of course we had to get some fun pics in for ourselves while we were serving the bride and groom all weekend! So, here are some shots from our time in the Adirondacks. The nighttime shot of us laughing is definitely a favorite. The funniest part is that I showed that picture to Erin, our fave bridesmaid, after we took it and she said "I want one too!" (hence the similar pic of the 3 of us... plus the guitar boy who refused to let me take pictures of him after 5 snapshots or so)

Also, I want to share that we were on a train between NYC and Utica, NY when we heard about Michael Jackson's death! (can't keep away from the information these days, i tell ya) There was a guy with an iPhone 2 rows in front of me who sort of let the cat out of the bag by saying, "I don't give a s*#t about Farrah Fawcett; this is the King of Pop!!"

At any rate, I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures as much as we enjoyed making them. There's nothing like sharing creativity with a dear friend.


Shea has balance :)

Dirty Dancing?

Glory be. Mine and Shea's inaugural professional collaboration. (how's that for big vocab?)

I went to NY with Shea (my best friend from college) to help shoot this wedding, and her sister Lindsey (who was my fave biking buddy when I lived with them in the summer of '02) did hair and makeup. Talk about a dream team! The wedding was super fun - more of a weekend event than a 5-hour one. We went to the Adirondack League Club, which is like that camp in Dirty Dancing where the society elites go to "rough it."

Alan and Lyndsay met in college in Wilmington (where Dawson's Creek was filmed...ha) and have been together for 4 years. The weekend was a blast - definitely 72 hours of celebration! here's a few sneak peeks.

This Apple's not BIG enough for us!

This was quite possibly the best 24 hours I've had this year.








Broadway show (9-5), revolving rooftop restaurant, hotel room that barely fit the bed, fruit stands, hot dog stands, NY pizza, Ground Zero, Central Park, B&H photo supply (woot!), and of course... a good old fashioned NY Chipotle burrito :) (Lindsey's FIRST one EVER)

Even though Shea and lil' sis Lindsey live multiple states away, we still got to participate in our favorite pasttimes (traveling and laughing) and work professionally together for the first time ever! What a good deal. Thanks to Shea for inviting me on this "job" and thanks to Linds for opening me up to the world of makeup again. This was absolutely awesome, but I'll let the pictures do the talking.



[there was construction in Times Square, so people just took the blocked lanes as opportunity for a block party]



(iphone - checks out to be pretty handy, much to my Verizon dismay)