Nothing Says SENIOR PHOTOS like a Code 13

Senior photo shoots remain one of my favorite things to do, and this session with Sarah just reminded me why. First of all, high schoolers are just plain awesome. Especially the senior variety of high schooler, because they know it's near the end! They also are just full of life and fun to be around, which is exactly how I would describe this beauty here. Sarah was so natural in front of that camera; the girl does NOT take a bad picture. You would've guessed she'd done more modeling than she had diving at soccer balls, which is another thing I love about high schoolers: they're surprising!

Sarah also has this great sense of humor, which made for a good time when things got chaotic around us at Helen Hunt Falls. We're just minding our own business, trying to take pictures, change clothes (her), change lenses (me), and capture the moments... when all of a sudden, I see this kinda shady character of a man trying to pry open the windows that are nailed shut (always have been, as long as I've been going to the Falls) on the little hut there. Then he starts wandering our way... asking for a water bottle. I give him an almost empty one from my car. He thanks me repeatedly, then starts yelling "And I'm stuck here, and it's YOUR FAULT" while pointing at another shady character, his lady friend sitting a few feet away. He continues to yell, while we duck behind the hut into the nice greenery for some more shots. As she's sitting there, we continue to hear the shady characters continue on into a full blown domestic dispute, while on the other side of us a family (?) of about 12 people walk up and start rehearsing for a lesbian wedding. The officiant was probably my favorite, with his braided gray ponytail yelling about how he needed to stand in a certain spot cause it was his "good side." At this point, Sarah and I have lost it laughing, but I think her mom was genuinely ready to call the cops in for the disturbance from our shady friends. "They call this a Code 13 at my work," she said, "and if I had cell phone service I think I'd let someone know!"

But I shot on, cause that's what a good photographer does :)
And Sarah looks great, cause, well... like I mentioned before, she doesn't take bad photos. And when there's a great story to go with your great photos, well... you can't beat that with a stick!

(to see the entire shoot, just click away on this http://www.zenfolio.com/stellarpropeller/p339292756)  

Picture all the craziness right about here!

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~

Claire

One of the coolest high schoolers I've had the privilege of meeting. Claire grew up in a pretty unique family - born in the Philippines, raised in Colorado, a middle child of 5 (2 older sisters and 2 younger brothers). Their father died before Claire hit double digits, and her mother has raised the 5 kids (with the help of lots of friends and neighbors!). Each child in this family is so unique and gifted, and Claire is no exception. Artistic, aesthetic, musical, beautiful, and both socially and spiritually aware -- she's pretty exceptional in a lot of arenas of life.

We had a great time on this shoot! We actually had to do it in 2 parts, waiting for a nice cloud cover to come around and give us premium lighting for the afternoon. The clouds are actually pretty good to us out in Colorado, at least in that way. We shot everything at Glen Eyrie, which is a place that's quite special to Claire's family. She's off to Arizona in the fall for college, and then probably off to change the world ;)