Amara

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.”

:: Coco Chanel ::

And that is how I would describe this wonderful TCA Senior, Amara.
I was initially excited just to photograph her bright red, wondrous hair, but was even more excited to find out she was a cowgirl and wanted some cowgirl country shots. I love it! We had a great time photographing in their friend's garden/backyard where Amara used to play growing up. With the country, though, come the country animals. I expected we'd have interference from a horse or rooster, but we actually had the darndest time with the cat! I had to crop cat tails out of a chunk of the pictures since the cat seemed pretty smitten with her. At any rate, a good time was had by all (cat included), and here are some of the favorites.

Latigo!

I love shooting for COPPeR! This organization does SO much for our community, specifically for the arts community, and I'm proud to work as their official photographer. They run a website called Peak Radar that is chock full of exciting (and sometimes f-r-e-e) cultural events happening in Colorado Springs.

Having said that, now I am glad to tell you about this concert COPPeR had me photograph for them the other day. Latigo. According to Wikipedia, latigo has 4 definitions:

Latigo has four meanings: Latigo Is a type of leather used on saddles to help them stay in place. It is part of the girth. For a definition on girth please refer to the folllowing lnk:

• Part of a girth (tack)

Latigo is also an automobile

• Fisker Latigo CS, an automobile

Latigo can also refer to a newpaper comic strip by Stan Lynde.

• Latigo (comic strip)

Latigo can also refer to a Mexican-American Surname and/or Last Name. It also came from Spain and expanded to Mexico Throughout The U.S. Ex. Pancho A. Latigo.

Those sound pretty nice and all (especially the name Pancho Latigo), but they failed to mention the up and coming country band from here in Colorado! Now, I really don't like country music, which I feel shameful about sometimes seeing as that I'm from Nashville. But, I just can't get into it. This band was really fun, though, and I was surprised at the number of people up north who came out to 1st & Main off Powers & Carefree to sit in the grassy field in front of a movie theater and rock out for a few hours. It was so fun! There were cute kids playing, teenage boys dancing, older people flapping fans, and the lead singer ... well, he was either flirting with me or the camera. But the camera sure did love him, so I guess that's better than nothing :)

Windee + Kyle

True confession: I got a bit misty-eyed and moved to tears at this ceremony, which is funny because I had barely talked to Kyle or Windee before we started talking about shooting their wedding. But, there are just some people that you instantly care about and know are going to be a powerful team for the Kingdom, and those people are worth getting emotional over :)

Kyle and Windee are those people. They are so kind, so caring (they must have thanked me at least 10 times for being at their wedding), and were so loved by everyone at that wedding. One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was post-kiss, when the officiant does the whole "I now present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. ...." thing. The audience went nuts. I mean, it's normal to have some clapping and a little bit of whoop-whoop, but this audience clapped and clapped and clapped. I actually wondered how long Kyle and Windee were going to have to stand there being celebrated before they got to do their celebratory exit. These are the weddings that make me glad to do what I'm doing. Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Fabatz. (and the crowd goes wiiiiiiild)

QUAD CAM!

I love new toys.
And no one knows this better than my best pal, Shea, who was like my Santa Claus this year! In addition to lots of other fun presents, she got me a quad cam! It takes 4 pictures at once (about a 2-second time span), so it can capture some motions in a single frame. Plus, it's just plain fun! I do love shooting with film. I love that mystery– the anticipation, the waiting, the curiousity of what will develop! Here are some fun shots I got on rolls #1 & 2:

Publicity is Weird. (but I kinda like it)

It's been a year of firsts so far - first shot on the cover of a newspaper, of a magazine, for a film festival guide and poster... it's exciting! I've been so honored to be a part of these projects. Various Magazine has the potential to unite our community and bring attention to some deserving folks and the Indie Spirit Film Festival is in a class all its own, bringing quality indie films from around the world to our small conservative world in Colorado Springs. It's such a treat to work alongside these people who are doing great things for our great city. Anyways, here's a sampling of my most "high(er) profile" work as of late:

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!