Nicole & Shimon

My first “real” job in the photo world was working for the Salem News in Beverly, MA. While working for this wonderful newspaper on Boston’s beautiful north shore I began photographing weddings for myself and last week I had the pleasure to return to my old stomping grounds and photograph Nicole & Shimon’s wedding at Peabody’s historic Brooksby Farm.

I knew the farm well from many feature hunting trips while working for the newspaper and had photographed one of Nicole’s good friends and bridesmaids, Jennifer’s, wedding there.

I was ecstatic Nicole and Shimon liked Jennifer’s photos enough to fly me out for the special occasion.

The day was perfect. Nicole looked ravishing adorned with a topaz necklace Shimon gave her and daisies in her hair. The farm is a wonderful place for the occasion with old barns, orchards and even an old fire station providing fabulous backdrops for the couples portraits.

The reception was held in the Smith Barn which dates back to 1904. It was decorated with twinkling lights and wild flowers on a checkered print tablecloth. The entire party joined the newlyweds on the dance floor for traditional dances from Shimon’s Russian/Jewish heritage. The long dances had everyone panting for air and fanning themselves with joyful exhaustion.

It’s always nice to work with such an easygoing couple. Nicole & Shimon were very, relaxed and natural in front of the camera and never lost sight of the true meaning of the day… to celebrate the joining of two peoples lives together.

Pomp and Circumstance

High School graduations are always fun and interesting events to document. The emotion is so raw and full of excitement I sometimes find it hard to not get caught up in the moment myself as I reflect back on days long past.

Last week I had the privilege of making images at 5 graduations!! Jeffco Public Schools hired me for 4 graduations around the Denver area and the Longmont Times-Call had me head over to Erie High School. I don’t remember much about my high school graduation and sadly I doubt these graduates will appreciate the time and effort put into the day but now as an observer, with over 10 years between my green cap and gown, I see the day through much clearer eyes.

Even though the graduates are being released into the “Real World” as so-called adults they are still in many ways young, rambunctious, kids willing to act like fools and put on a good show for the crowd. This recipe equals fun photos every time.

Andrea & Matt Maternity Session

I met Matt last year when I joined a coed softball team where he kept me company in the outfield and we fought over fly balls. This year when the season started up his beautiful wife Andrea was bubbling over with a proud pregnancy glow and I begged her to let me do with shoot with them.

This was my first time doing a maternity shoot and I loved it! Andrea and Matt were really easy to work with and patient with me as I tried to decipher the best angles to show off her beautiful baby bump.

Their baby boy is arriving in late June and although they are still working on a name his proud papa is sure of one thing, he will grow up a Philadelphia Phillies fan, just like he did.

Mistakes

My first weeks at Angie Star were full of many wonderful mistakes. The first thing they teach all of their apprentices is simple silk cord knotting. That basically means stringing beads onto silk cord and tying knots between them to hold them in place. Although it sounds easy, getting the knot to fit in just right next to the bead so it doesn’t move is pretty tricky and there was definitely a learning curve.

It took me about 3 hours to make one necklace and by the time I finished my eyes were blurry, my hands shaky and I promptly proceeded to clip off the final piece, a metal component used to attach the clasp to. I stood their mouth open, eyes wide, as a look of horror flashed across my face. I thought all my hard work had been in vain due to one wrong snip of the pliers. Lindsey, my mentor, came to my rescue and eased my frayed nerves by explaining to me that jewelry is pretty forgiving. She then showed me how to bail, a wiring technique used to finish most pieces, and saved my necklace.

This was just the first of many mistakes I made. I clipped pieces, put things on in the wrong order, had to redo my bail’s countless times but by the end of those first weeks had my knotting technique down, my eyes were adjusting to focusing in on the tiny components and my hands had stopped their pesky shaking.

The first two pieces I finished were a necklace with matching bracelet made out of pearls and aquamarine.

Stephanie & Will’s Engagement Session

Stephanie and Will’s wedding is right around the corner but I’m so glad we could squeeze in an engagement session before their big day on June 6th. I find these portrait sessions are a great way for clients to get to know me better and feel more at ease in front of my camera. They are also important because by the time their wedding rolls around we have become friends and I’m not just some lady they met once for a consultation at a coffee shop.

For this session we headed over to Chautauqua Park and Boulder Creek to make images in front of the stunning flatirons and along the rushing creek. Stephanie and Will were so much fun to work with. Their quirky, easy-going personalities mesh so well and they made the shoot so much fun for me. Will even convinced his beautiful bride to hop in the freezing creek, soaking her jeans, for a shot and to hang upside-down on a playground.

I am so excited for their wedding where we will be sure to get more fun photos in their adult size moon bounce.

The Beginning

I have always loved unique and original jewelry and had always wanted to learn how to make my own pieces. I remember scouring through my mom’s beautiful, old, wooden jewelry boxes looking for funky pieces to add to my, always well planned out, ensemble in high school. My favorite piece was a chunky silver necklace made out of a walnut shell and turquoise that my dad bought from an old native woman on a cross country trip many, many moons ago.

I moved to Boulder about a year ago and had seen a posting on Craigslist a couple of times for an apprenticeship with a wonderful jewelry boutique on Pearl Street. There were a several reasons why I never applied to the apprenticeship over that first year mostly revolving around work and time but last April the stars all seemed to align and I got the courage to bring in my resume.

The first time I set foot in Angie Star I knew I really wanted to be a part of this amazing community of talented woman artists. I was greeted warmly by Katherine and did my best to show my enthusiasm for getting the apprenticeship. However, I had very little hope of actually getting the position knowing there was always a huge response to these listings and after a month went by and I hadn’t received word I thought I was out of the running.

Just when I had given up all hope I got an email from the lovely Miss Angie herself asking me to come in and meet with Lindsey, one of the store’s designers. I started that same week.

Ally & Chris Engagement

Today I had a blast photographing Ally & Chris’ engagement photos! They are such a fun couple to work with, completely at ease with me and relaxed in front of the camera. We wandered around Denver to a few of their favorite spots including Croc’s, the restaurant where they met and fell in love. I am really looking forward to their June wedding!

Rene Marie

Rene Marie is a fabulous Denver jazz singer being featured in Denver Woman magazine.

Mountain House & Home

I don’t have a lot of experience doing architectural photos but tried my hand at a couple of homes for Mountain House & Home magazine.

Amanda & Chris

I helped out my friend Shane Macomber shoot a wedding in Denver today. It’s fun being the “second” shooter sometimes. It takes a lot of the pressure off of me and I can try different angles and ideas.