Christopher Cross lied to me. (dedicated to my mom)

"Oh the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see... Believe me... Sailing takes me away to where I always heard it could... Just a dream and the wind to carry me... and soon I will be free." 

Christopher Cross lied to me. His song "Sailing" is, as my Uncle Cam puts it, "The most serene song ever recorded." This can lead one to believe that sailing is a purely serene experience. Ha. I wanted to believe it, but now... I know the truth. You can call off the hoax, Chris Cross. I know what really goes on out there. Or, perhaps he wrote about sailing while he was on a pond. The ocean + sailing, I have learned, is not quite like I was led to believe through this amazing song I have listened to on repeat for hours at a time.

In May, I got an email from my friend Brianna, saying that she wanted me to road trip to FL with her, go sailing with her fiance and his friend for a few days, and buy me a plane ticket home. Now Brianna is fun enough without all these bells and whistles, but this was definitely an offer I couldn't refuse (especially since I've been wanting to go sailing for a couple of years now and had never been!) In fact, my response to her invitation was probably something like "Duh." I have to say, the first few days of sailing were incredible (I mean, except for the dern engine). In fact, all of it–except for the last few hours and then the few hours in between when my neck went out– was incredible. I was lovin' it. Then, our faulty engine + lack of radio response for help + 8 ft swells of waves + terrible winds + the fact that it was nighttime... well... it 'turned the tide' for us a bit. Our glorious sailing-into-the-sunset-freedom-ride turned into a 4-hour Disney water ride from hell. BUT, before that, I was able to shoot some engagement pics for Bri + Josiah, which was...  trickier than I thought! Taking pics while the waves are ... waving (?) ... is a bit of a daunting task! But they turned out okay, and we all came out of the trip alive, and below you can see pics of us having fun before we figured out CC was a liar.

Hope you enjoy :)

tying the knot! (couldn't resist that one)

Oh Captain, my captain

left, hakuna mata in all her glory right, me learning how to drop anchor

Kleenex, anyone?

I stopped crying at weddings a while back... I think. I could be wrong, though, because if crying was an Olympic sport, let's just say I would bring great honor to my country!  All I know is that when sweet Ally stepped out of that limo in her beautiful dress with her beautiful self, there was no stopping it. I had to cry all over myself. And I wasn't the only one! Her Dad, who's kept it all "together" during wedding planning, rehearsals, and everything, finally broke down in the middle of the ceremony ... which only made it harder for everyone else to keep composure! This wedding, like many, is bittersweet. Everything about Ally & Greg is lovely and perfect, except that they moved to Georgia the next day and will be moving to MN after that. Where is the justice? :)  They are truly an incredible couple, though, with hearts to live their lives for something bigger than themselves and a desire to do that as a team. Pretty rare for a couple of 20-year-olds! We raise our glasses to them, though...  glasses of sparkling apple cider, of course  :)

[ally + greg, i love you!]

Daddy's last embrace of his baby girl before giving her away

This was one of the MOST fun wedding parties of all time.

2 Generations of looooove.

Love ALL these girls! Didn't even have to tell them jokes for this!

I had to squeeze in a picture with my surrogate sisters :)

University Prep

I can't even express HOW MUCH I ENJOY shoots just like this one. Enthusiastic people who want to make a difference. Kids who are super cute (most of the time!) and whose lives will be changed forever. Justin Beiber backpacks. Little black shoes and khakis. Raised hands. Freshly sharpened pencils. The smell of people making a difference!  And me – just creeping in the background as a photojournalist. I love it! I love just capturing moments as they happen instead of having to create them. I love getting a pass into places that are otherwise off limits for your average citizen. Heck, even the board members and parents weren't allowed inside these school walls this first week! And there I was, camera in hand like a VIP pass.

These photos are all from the historic first days of school at University Prep in Denver, a school that believes in taking minority/underprivileged children and believing in & educating them all the way to college. In fact, if a child speaks softly in the Kindergarten class to answer a question, they will be told "Use your college voice." And the principal stands out front to greet and shake hands with each student every morning. I love it. I love what they're doing here at U Prep. A big thanks to them for letting me be a part of this, and a big shout out to Katie Skattebo for putting in a good word for me :)

full slideshow of the highlight reel can be seen here. (i'm kinda proud of this one) :)

Double Trouble.

Well, actually it was less like double trouble and more like a doublemint gum commercial. You know, double your fun?  Taking senior pictures with 2 best friends is something I would like to do more of! These 2 crazy, beautiful, spontaneous, loving, unique, and FUN girls are very dear to my heart. I met them both before they were going into 9th grade, so it's hard to believe they're already about to graduate and move on to bigger and better things! I loved getting to photograph them together on this shoot because they have this wild, untamed energy around each other (which isn't great for trying to get "serious" photos!) that made it possible to bring out all kinds of personality in the shoot. I hope I get to do more Doublemint shoots in the future, because it was a blast. And just look at them?! Aren't they beautiful?? I'm going to have to bring a box of tissues to this graduation...

 

Love is a Battlefield? No, ma'am. It's a party.

I have been to a LOT of weddings by now, and I can honestly say that I've never been to one quite like this. Celebration is an understatement! Ann & Larry told me at our initial meeting that they simply wanted to have one big party with their best friends, and all I have to say is: Mission accomplished! Pre-wedding cocktail hour, post-wedding cocktail hour, dancing, delicious dinner, and a Star Wars theme to boot! I could shoot weddings like this all day long :)  There were a few things I had never seen before: broach boquet (SO cool), Princess Leia & Luke Skywalker cake topper (which were actually Larry's childhood toys), and an absolutely stress-free bride and groom! I was honored to be part of this celebration, and I hope more couples will consider the pre-wedding cocktail hour ;) Congratulations, Ann & Larry– I really wish you all the best! 

** This wedding and reception all took place at Springs Orleans restaurant downtown, and I'm happy to report that the food was DELICIOUS and the staff was very kind and helpful! It's worth a visit.

LOVE this!

SO many cute kiddos at this celebration

The Tuesday Night Club! (they've been going to happy hour every Tues for the last 15 years or so)