Man, do I love this age!  I don’t want to rush a minute with my Ramona, but I have to say, I’m looking forward to this stage in her little life.  Emma Rose is a RIOT!  Miss personality. She’s a performer through and through.  She knows what she wants and gets it.  She’s also a tough little cookie.  With her older 2-year-old brother, Porter she has to put up with a bit of physical rough and touch, if you will.  I had a great time with the Sowa’s documenting this stage in their families life.  Can’t wait to see Emma Rose again when she is Porter’s age.  Watch out world!

I have to say I loved everything about this shoot—the harsh morning light, the chaotic shadows, the amazing “dream home” in boulder on a little brook, the laid back nature of mama who watched on as her boys played, and the yummy authentic personality of these boys.  To me, this shoot was the perfect “day in the life of ” portrait of the Schnitzer boys and their modern, Huckleberry Finn morning in Boulder, CO.

Man, oh man, do I love the Holt’s–they are one of my favorite “regulars”.  I love their mid-century, ranch style home, their laid back way of life, their incredible sense of style, and of course I love these kiddos!  And there is a new addition to the Holt’s since I worked with them last.  Meet Amalia–or “Molly” as they call her.  Oh my goodness, I could just eat her up.  She’s just as bubbly and full of life as her big brother, Merrick, and she’s only 4.5 months old–I can’t wait to see her little spirit in a year…   What a treat it is to have such amazing clients.

I got to spend some time with the Daley’s and their sweet little baby, Levi last Saturday morning.  It was rainy and cold and the perfect day for two new parents to settle in with their newborn, cup of coffee and good music.  Because I’m pregnant with my first, I’m starting to really enjoy these shoots and empathize with families in a new way.  I dream about how I want Jesse and I photographed with the little one when she arrives and I think a documentary approach is so sweet at this stage–especially since there is no real control over the babies emotions or reactions to me being there.  I loved how quite and intimate this shoot felt.  Amy and Matt are adjusting incredibly and are so in love with little Levi that they hardly noticed I was there, which is exactly the way I like to shoot.

If it comes to me starting my blog all over, with a fresh start and fresh content, then I can’t think of  better faces to launch with.  Meet the Goodberry’s.  Cynthia is a colleague in the wedding industry here in Denver and is the best makeup artist EVER.  Check her out at www.denvermakeupguru.com.  Not only would I pay her everyday to do my makeup if I could, she has become one of my very best friends, and I am absolutely in love with her family!   She and her amazingly chill husband, Jim are bringing up three beautiful children and doing a damn fine job–I only hope Jess and I can come close to their incredible parenting skills and love for one another.

Nadine is a precocious 7 year old with perfect trendles and a smile to die for.  We went camping together and she brought a birdwatching book.  Not a kids birdwatching book, mind you–but a real encyclopedia of birds and their habitats.  She is a determined sweetie pie who will go far.

Natalie is my little firecracker friend.  Just three, she talks about viruses and collects baby reptiles.  When she holds them in her hands, her voice changes into a high pitched baby voice saying  “Awww—look at this cute little baby garter snake”, as if she even needs to use a baby voice!  She’s going to be trouble!  But in the best way possible.

Baby Jimmy is hilarious!  He doesn’t talk much, but he is a huge flirt and his natural athletic ability astounds me.  He climbs up on the slide and os down it in 2 seconds flat.  And he struts.  Cynthia thinks he’s going to be a little Matthew McConaughey when he grows up—and I agree.   He’s going to knock em’ down–maybe literally.

I love this family so much.  And I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my morning than to sift through these photos and post about 5 of my favorite people.

Today was the first day I actually met little Tucker… and boy is he a riot! He’s cute as a button and pretty much brilliant. I loved working with this little tyke—equally as much as I have loved working with Tiana and Alex whose wedding I shot back in 2007. And Tiana is pregnant! So I’m looking forward to many more sessions with this adorable family in the future….

Sleep deprived, maybe.  Smitten, absolutely!  Erica and Tim have been some of my favorite clients–super chill, and creative themselves, they let me photograph their  lives however I choose.  I get to be a photojournalist—no posing involved.  And Marek—well, there’s not much to say here that’s not conveyed through these images.  He is beyond adorable.  And he already has a strong little personality.  He’s a perfect addition to the Holt family….

My parents live to help single mothers out.  In fact, our family actually did foster “cradle care” when I was growing up.  It seemed we always had a baby in the house.  Over the years,  I think we had something like 33 babies come through—something that I didn’t always love when I was a teenager.  However looking back, I am so proud that I have such amazing, caring parents who give, give, give and never take.  Shante, a single teenage mother, and her daughter Bella are currently living with my parents in Boulder  My mom called and asked if she could pay me to shoot Shante’s senior pictures.  I of couse said yes and wouldn’t accept a dime from her, but these are Shante’s senior portraits with her beautiful baby, Bella!

On a completely different note, I wanted to touch and go on the technical aspects of my work.  I was a die hard film shooter until the last three years, so I shoot and edit my digital photography to look like film.  I am overwhelmed and amused by the “tack-sharp obsession” that a lot of new digital photographers are striving for.  I do love that with digital technology we can get tack sharp images, and there certainly is a time for this, but sometimes I think it’s become an obsession that has taken away from the true art of photography.  Film was different.   I personally prefer creamy, softer, shallow depth of fields.   I almost always open my aperature all the way up–even if I know the image will be soft and out of focus in places.  I actually think there is something impacting about an image that isn’t “perfect”.  Humanity isn’t perfect.  Art is imperfect.  But both humanity and art are perfect is their imperfection.  This approach to wedding and portrait photography isn’t very conventional, but it has always worked for me.  I shot this series of images below, completely open with  a 50mm 1.4.  Some of you might love this, some of you might be uncomfortable with the “softeness” of some of these images.  But this is one of the “tricks” to my work and a snit bit about the way that I shoot…

I’m particularly fond of this series of images… mostly because photographing 2 teenagers (siblings at that) and getting them to act natural for the camera is not an easy task.  I didn’t know if I’d be able to get anything  authentic with Kaylee and Jake, but I was very happy with the images and felt that I was able to extract their personalities in some of these. …However I have to admit I was cheating a little bit because I have known Kailee and Jake their entire lives!  Actually, my very first photo shoot back in 1996 was of little Jake as a baby.  I worked with their mom, Jodi at a little toy store in Boulder called Grand Rabbits.  Jodi is still one of my dearest friends and  I may actually owe my entire career to her, as she was the one who encouraged me to “go for it”.  She found me clients in her neighborhood and proudly displayed my work all over her home.  Needless to say, it’s such a pleasure to get to continue to photograph these kiddos and to see them grow into adults.

Can you tell that Kailee is an athlete??  Wow!

Kailee and Jake really love each other.  This made the shoot very easy for me, and the fact that they play like little pups!

I can’t believe what a stud Jake has become…  he came into my studio a couple months ago with Jodi, and I didn’t even recognize him.  I just looked right past him, then did a triple take.

Where can I sign up for one of these?  By one of “these” I don’t simply mean a baby.  I mean a sweet, perfect, beautiful little baby that at only 2 weeks old already smiles, coos, and gives unconditional love back.  And I didn’t even mention the constant entertainment value, that one of “these” brings to a young family!  Berkley and Mike are smitten as they should be…  Sign me up for one like Finley…

Congratulations, Berkley and Mike  on your sweet, sweet baby girl.  And welcome, Finley!

I can’t gush enough about how much I love photographing families that allow children to be children.  Ashley and Josh were so full of life and spirit, that I think I exhausted them with my energy—I couldn’t stop the shutter!  Their mom finally said that it was time for them to go…I apparently had gotten so lost in Ashley and Josh’s playtime, that I lost track of time.  It was way past their their bedtime, let alone dinner, which they still hadn’t had!

Ashley and Josh are spirited, strong willed children that I would photograph any day of the week.  I love capturing this kind of life!  Thank you Jerry and Julie, for allowing them to play, and for letting me take them late into the evening…. it was a pleasure!

Dirty feet are always a good sign of hard play!

I’m pretty sure the Bregmans are becoming famous.  They are all over my website, blog and studio—in fact, while I don’t shoot studio photography, this entire shoot was done in my  brand new studio.  We have run out of places to photograph the family, and the Bregmans are not outdoorsy, park people—they are urban all the way–but they sure love to have fun!  It’s been so great to get to know the Bregmans over the last 5 years….  I started photographing them when Alexia was pregnant with Max, and now they have three children.  I look so forward to their annual family photo shoots–they are the perfect family for my documentary style because the kids don’t fake it—what you see, is what you get.  I love that!

This is Max—he has the raddest hair!

This is little Milan—he’s still not sure about me.

Alexia, Milan, Mia, Max and Darian…. (from left to right)

Mia is probably photographed the most by me because she is the oldest and I have been photographing her the longest, but she is sooooo beautiful, and her moody facial expressions are a dream!

I love this image because it sums up the typical “family photo shoot”.  Once you try to get everybody to behave and smile for the camera, it’s mayhem!  Nobody’s having fun anymore….  it’s humorous to me!

Mia’s pink dress looked so good on my yellow couch—I couldn’t resist a personal Mia photo shoot…