Friday, February 29, 2008

What a great time of year...

60 degrees today, 70 degrees tomorrow...I've been out running and riding my bike this week. We have our first wedding in two weeks. The Rockies have started spring training, the NFL draft is a month away. Spring and summer are around the corner (that means no more school for Jess.) I really enjoy this time of year because there are so many exciting things coming up. And If you're in Denver you absolutely have to get outside and do something. Go for a walk or a run, go take some pictures, just sit outside and read. Whatever it is get outside.

Leave a comment and let me know what you plan to do with the warm weather, and what your favorite time of year is.

Have a great weekend!

By the way here's one random picture from a wedding this past year. Ashley is beautiful and her and Chris's wedding was so much fun...

Monday, February 25, 2008

Slow Down

I was getting into my car after church this morning and an elderly gentleman was getting into his car which was right next to mine. He apologized for inconveniencing me (which he wasn't) and then said "Us old people don't move so quickly." And I though to myself, why should anyone apologize for moving slowly, especially an elderly gentleman. I quickly told him there was no need to apologize, that I wasn't in a hurry and told him to have a great day.

How often during the day are we moving so quickly that we forget why we're doing anything at all. I think it is so important to slow down sometimes and see the world around ourselves. Slow down and just think about your life, what do you want, are you happy, are you helping others? There really is no reason that we have to rush through life; stop for a minute and enjoy your day for what it is.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Skiing This Weekend

This was my first attempt at mobile blogging, and I think it worked pretty well. Jess and I spent the weekend in the mountains with our family and I got my once yearly skiing in. We had a great time, my 3 year old nephew has been skiing for over a year, and I'm afraid he's almost better than me. I'll have a few more pictures in the next couple of days; I hope you had a great weekend.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Networking or making friends?

One of my goals this year has been to meet more photographers and create more meaningful relationships with them. It has been so wonderful to meet other professionals in the same place as me; as well as others who have been around for awhile and even those who are newer than me. We all have so much to share with each other and learn from one another; and I have been so excited to meet so many of them.

I think no matter what business you're in you can benefit from meeting others in your industry. Luckily in the Denver area we have found a great group of photographers who want to learn from each other and who just enjoy spending time together. I am so thankful that I have found this group and all of these people; they have really helped our business grow. And I am excited about the possibility of being able to return that to other photographers and professionals in the area.

So is it networking or making friends? I guess it's both, but it just seems like making friends to me.

Tim Sanders says..."Your network is your net worth."

Have a great weekend!

Make sure to get out in the bad weather...

I was going through some old pictures and this one jumped out at me, so I wanted to share it. It is so important to remember to get out and take pictures when the weather isn't perfect; when it's snowing, or raining, or getting ready to storm. We are getting to that time of year in Colorado when we start having more rain and thunder storms, and that doesn't mean you can't take pictures. Of course make sure you don't get your camera too wet, or you won't be able to take any pictures.



You certainly can't create these kind of ominous clouds, you just have to be in the right place at the right time. However the placement of the trail leads your eye into the storm, and the barrier of trees makes you kind of wonder what lies behind them. I could have placed the trail in the center of the picture, but I think it works better moved to the outer third.

Tell me what you think of this picture, and let me know what you would have done to compose it differently. Have a great day!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Christmas in February

This past weekend we decided to make the final jump to a Mac; that's right we're almost PC free. I don't have anything against PC's or Microsoft, we just decided to go in a different direction and we're very excited. If you haven't ever bought or owned anything Apple it really is quite an experience. The employees at the stores are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable; something I can't say for other electronics stores. The packaging of the products is amazing and really gets you excited to open everything. And the design of the computer and monitor is so simple, there aren't a million cords, you don't have to load a million programs. You really just plug it in, turn it on and you're ready to go.

Apple just "gets it," from marketing to packaging to their actual products. Which is cool to see today when so many companies don't seem to "get it" or understand what is important and meaningful to the customers.

Here's just a few quick shots we took...


Saturday, February 16, 2008

"No Country For Old Men"

Jessica and I saw the movie "No Country For Old Men" tonight with our friend Jon. It's up for best picture of the year, and I would definitely recommend seeing it. It's pretty violent, so be prepared for that; but not over the top. Tommy Lee Jones is very good, and the "bad guy" plays an incredible part. It's worth the price of admission just to see him act. Definitely a great movie from beginning to end.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. And too any guys out there who may be "popping the question" tonight, make sure to check our website tomorrow and give us a call.

Seriously though I hope everyone has a wonderful day (single or taken.)

Monday, February 11, 2008

Fun family time at the Aquarium

Our family was in town this weekend, and it is always so much fun to see them. Our nephews love going to the Denver Aquarium so we headed there on Sunday (I think I'm only two visits away from earning my marine biology degree.) It is actually a pretty cool place to visit, there is a wide of variety of plant and animal life there; including three tigers. And yes I understand that tigers don't live underwater. Anyway if you haven't been I think it's worth a trip. Jessica took all of the shots, here are a few of our favorites...









Friday, February 08, 2008

Have you "Stumbled" upon the internet?

I was reading Tim Feriss's blog (which is really good by the way) and he was talking about a great way to surf the internet called StumbleUpon. I have been using it recently and I really like it. Basically you setup an account and select your preferences of things you would like to see on the internet. Than you just hit the stumble button in your search bar and it will take you to all kinds of interesting things. You then rate the pages with either a thumbs up or thumbs down; thumbs up means I like it, so find similar pages.

The variety of content that you can find is pretty incredible, most of it is relevant, sometimes a bit strange, but always interesting. It is a much better way to surf the internet. Once you join you can add me as a friend, or just give this blog a thumbs up.

P.S.- If you are a blogger this is a great way to get more traffic to your site.

Have a good weekend!

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

You can take good photos anytime, anyplace.

I think sometimes we forget that a great photo opportunity can be present just about anywhere. Certainly waiting for the "sweet light" or waiting for the perfect moment can produce some great pictures. However I think you can create great pictures almost all the time.

For example I took this picture last night out my back door. It was about midnight, snowing pretty hard, very quiet and serene, and there was a cool orange-colored light. I just leaned out the door and snapped off a shot; I like the eerie and mysterious look of it.

Basically just get out there with your camera and take pictures, and especially try taking pictures in situations you normally wouldn't.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

The Snowshoeing Extravaganza

I've always wanted to use the word extravaganza, and I think 14 people snowshoeing is an appropriate use. Jessica and I and 12 of our friends went snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park today and it was so much fun. The weather was actually pretty good, nobody got too cold; and there were no frozen fingers. It is a pretty good workout and a great way to get into the mountains when the weather is cold. We found a great cliff and all took turns jumping off (that's what the slideshow is, and it's worth a watch.)


The scenery in the mountains during the winter is so cool; the snow seems to make the mountains look bigger. Here are a few shots of us walking across the lake...




And here is the whole group.

Friday, February 01, 2008

The Denver Brass Concert

Jessica and I went with my family to one of the Denver Brass Concerts tonight. My grandfather was a musician and a conductor his whole life, and he was very closely involved with the Denver Brass. His foundation is still one of the benefactors and helps to fund their concerts. The concerts are always very entertaining and something completely different; there are trumpets, french horns, tubas, saxophones and trombones as well as a piano and a drum set.


I'm sure the musicians don't make very much money, they do it because they love it and they truly enjoy it. It got me thinking about what I do because I truly enjoy it? How often during the day or week do you do something because it brings you true happiness and joy? I think too often we get caught up in some of the mundane aspects of life; we forget to do things we really enjoy.

So what do you do that you truly enjoy? Have a good weekend!