Brand New Bocci

My best friend had their baby girl and she is absolutely precious. I don’t have any newborn pics, but I can now share the shoot we did a few weeks ago for the big name reveal. And her name is…

Brian Davis

I had the pleasure of taking some promo piece shots for my friend and extremely talented musician Brian Davis (www.doyousmellthat.com) last night in Denver. It was a freezing cold night topped off with a few beers, some ribs, and his good friend Chuck playing the Devil Went Down To Georgia on the fiddle at Sing Sing. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Casa Colorida

WOW! What an amazing vacation at Casa Colorida (www.casacolorida.com) in Mexico. Click the pic Below for an HD picture tour… enjoy!

10 Days of Romance

Shannon and I are on our yearly trip to Mexico and this time we asked God to romance us for ten days. I have to admit, I was skeptical. The following ten pictures will be from each day of this journey, and today (three days in) I am amazed. (…and now 7 days in, all I can say is WOW!) We have seen more grace, beauty, and have felt more treasured with simple enjoyment than we ever have. It’s as if we’re being romanced or something…

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Not Growing Up

Shan and I had a fantastic time hanging out with the Bocci’s and taking their Christmas card pics. Time is flying and they are getting ready to have their second kid along with many other friends of ours. I love being able to take pics for friends, it reminds me how much I absolutely love photography, laughter, and goofing around in front of the camera. We topped off the night with Mexican food, hot fudge sundaes, and of course, a few Halloween costumes for Toby.

Flatirons Sunrise

My wonderful co-worker and her mom wanted to do a family pic with their dogs so we trekked over to Chataqua park in Boulder for a sunrise shoot. It’s amazing how beautiful Colorado is, especially at 6:30 in the morning. A big thanks to my portable light stand and stand up comedian Justin Morgan for helping me out on this one. I never thought I would be able to physically laugh that early in the morning.

Broncos on the Field

I had the opportunity to shoot my first Bronco game for the cheerleaders on the field for the home opener. Being that close to the game was INCREDIBLE! I was overwhelmed with joy and excitement to be a part of something of that magnitude and awesomeness. I say this of course because we won. A huge thanks to Rob Hawthorne for hooking me up and Todd VanFleet who is the new and incredible Broncos graphic designer for showing me the ropes. It was an amazing experience and I hope to do it again and again and again…

Property Shots

I absolutely love property photography. I never would have guessed that of all the things in the world I could take pictures of, this would be my choice. Here are three quick shots from a home last week in Denver.

I Ate New York

Thank you Dave Johnson for being the best tour guide and friend in the world. My stomach would like to say a few words to sum up my vacation… “Thank you New York for the best food I’ve ever had. Without a doubt, the regiment of two slices of Artichoke pizza a day on top of every other normal meal has made Mike happier and more joyful. Between the all he could eat korean style chicken wings, curries, oaxaca cart cheese quesadillas, falafel, prosperity dumplings, bubble teas, craft beers, steak sandwiches, iced coffee and on and on, Mike had the best vacation ever… and he somehow found time to take some pictures in the process…”

Ready, Set, Go!

I just completed the biggest design and video project I have ever undertaken and am extremely joyful and humbled to present to you Bawb’s adventure in the Ready, Set, Go! For the last 6 weeks in our Flatirons Children’s Ministry kids watched as Bawb taught them foundations of faith and how God wants to take us on huge and crazy adventures. A big thanks to everyone that jumped in and helped make it epic. Click the pic below and I hope you all enjoy!

Three

My best friends daughter just turned three! I can’t believe so many of my friends have kids now, and I also can’t believe how many times we get asked when we are going to start having kids. At work we have 1300 kids every weekend coming to Flatirons that are 4th grade and younger… we are taking our sweet little time.

Family Field Day

This Sunday was our 2nd annual Family Field Day for the kids and parents of Flatirons. We had jumpy castles, relays, hot dogs, cotton candy, sno cones, big field games, and much much more. Around 2000 folks showed up and had a great time. Even Bob, Bawb, and Ann made a surprise visit, and I’ll tell you more about them soon… I am really proud of my wife Shannon who ran point for the whole event and knocked it out of the park.

Fireworks with Flash

Happy 4th! We just got back from the fireworks show at Vista Ridge and it was great as usual. It makes me smile to think of the giant colored light shot up into the sky for our viewing pleasure. There’s no better time to add a little light of my own with a flash (these are not photoshopped) and tell a story… hope you enjoy!

Southern Hospitality

I just got back from a weekend away to North Carolina with a few of my best friends. We spent countless hours learning to wake surf off the back of the boat, smoked way too many cigars, and had a great final night eating everything in sight in Charlotte. If you ever find yourself there make sure to visit the Penguin restaurant and say hi to Gary.

Iowa Is A Lot Smaller Now

We just got back from our yearly weekend trip to Iowa where I photographed the newest Cabin on Hatfield Lakes. This time though,  the trip was much more somber than usual. Our dearly loved family member Marian passed away as she was getting ready to leave for the trip. She was such a joy and had a spark and gumption about her like no other. There’s something about an 84 year old woman who can sport Mardi Gras beads and Puff Daddy sunglasses on a daily basis and actually pull it off. We are flying back this weekend and I have the honor of doing the memorial service.

Eight Days New

I had the opportunity last week to take some newborn baby pictures and it was really cool. She was only eight days old and the whole experience was totally different than anything I have shot before and it was really fun and really funny. She has some great parents (one of them a realtor hence the key) and I hope they love the pics!

Eerie Colorado

I never thought I would live in a town called Erie. I’m not sure who came up with the name, but apparently the hat they pulled it out of was way too small. Besides the name, it’s an awesome little town that’s just far enough away from civilization, but just close enough as well. Tucked away in this booming little town are eerie pieces of history that are way older than I am.

Bus Stops and Alleys

I love doing street photography because nights in Denver are beautiful and you never know what great personalities await on the blocks ahead. Everyone has a story and unfortunately a lot of good people are ignored, especially on the streets. My buddy Benny Frei was the first to show me how to have compassion for and take care of people on the streets. He would drive me down to Denver with a backpack full of socks and teach me how to start conversations, eat with, and clothe those less fortunate than myself. I am so thankful for guys like Benny.

The Denver Broncos Cheerleaders

I had the incredible opportunity to shoot for the Denver Broncos Cheerleader Tryouts this past Sunday alongside my friend and photography mentor Rob Hawthorne. He has been shooting the Broncos Cheerleaders for years and let me get behind the lens on this one. We set up the big lights and studio gear inside Invesco and his job was to take portraits of the girls after they got done trying out. He and the ladies would laugh, shoot a few pictures, laugh some more, etc. He’s earned it. The job he gave me: get 20-30 pictures of each of the 106 girls as they danced for only 30 seconds 3 at a time in a dark room with no flash. Butterflies were doing Cirque du Soleil around my stomach as the first 3 dancers approached. In the course of 20 minutes my job began, my legs fell asleep, I lost a shoe, and 1850 pictures later, was over… and I thankfully got some awesome shots.

House to Home

Lately I’ve gotten the opportunity to shoot some real estate for a good friend of mine/realtor Jesse Truman. I absolutely love doing property photography. There’s something about taking a house and making it look beautiful and cozy. I can’t believe the amount of pictures in home listings that are absolutely terrible. A house should look like a home.

All My Life

There are those moments when a song speaks to you in a way that nothing else can. For me, the Foo Fighters are to music what Jurassic Park is to reading. Every once in a while I have to visit them again and I experience a joy that comes from deep within. This past Easter weekend at Flatirons the Foo Fighters song All My Life sent me soaring. We worked all weekend, so I made sure to sneak away 8 times at the beginning of service to watch and listen to something supernatural. All my life…

Vail, CO

Our great friends brought us up to Vail with them this weekend and we had an incredible time. Sleeping in late, reading, taking a nap, resting our eyes, eating, taking another nap, etc. Josh, I think you are the only one in the world that is bored enough to read my blog, so thanks again bro!

The Joy Of Cake

Kenley Ryan Walker turned one and had her big birthday bash today! The Walkers always go all out and the festivities included a quiz on Kenley’s life and a “baby food making” station where contestants got to combine as many random ingredients as they wanted and make a home made baby food. Greg, the winner, got two tickets to any movie at the AMC. Hind sight is 50/50 and I should have gone with my salmon-black beans idea. I would be sitting down to Avatar right now.

Handle-Bar Ranch

I took another batch of pictures for my father in law who sells custom western furniture and frames through his company Handle-Bar Ranch and thought I’d share some of the goodies. I have had a great time designing his logo, etc. and we are trying to make the old west feel new again and have some fresh advertising, etc. to be released soon.

Eighties Greaties

Our team at work had a few birthdays and viola! An 80′s extravaganza. I plan on wearing my Mickey Mouse Paris tank top for at least the next two weeks straight.

Cowboy Up

It’s that time of year again to shine up the old buckle, put on the flannel and head to the National Western Rodeo in Denver. This year was a special treat with our good friend Hannah Wiens opening it all up by singing the National Anthem, followed by Jack “buckin’ bronco” Downing tearin’ it up in the Mutton Bustin’! It was a blast as usual… hope you enjoy the pics as much as we enjoyed the evening!

Two to One

Our friends Caleb and Amy just got married. Wonderful night, wonderful food, wonderful friends and Fat Tire on tap… wonderful!

A Body Ebenezer

Just got back from Red Sky Tattoo in Castle Rock where my anonymous friend got his tattoo finished and colored up. Colin Kolker is the tattoo artist (720-273-4193) and not only great at what he does, but is also a really good guy. A huge Thanks to him for letting me snoop around and take pics. If you want to get a tattoo, go to him, he’s the best.

Christmas Cards

I love seeing the Christmas Cards that come out this time of year. In the digital facebook flooded era we live in today it is rare to get meaningful pictures of people that you can actually hold in your hand and tack to your fridge. I was really excited to take our team Christmas Card pictures this week and wanted to share them with you. Feel free to duct tape your laptop to the fridge and enjoy all season long!

Sal & Guido at Flatirons

Scott Downing and I just “Rapped Up” our walk-on for the latest Flatirons Church series and it was a blast. Think of it as “moving photography” and design…. ladies and gentleman, click the following link for the wonderful world of Sal and Guido

Seniority

I set out into the Senior picture world this year and it was outstanding. After shooting a few weddings, I decided that I love the people part, but cannot hold up under the stress of capturing it all myself. These solved that dilemma. A big thanks to Clayton (one of the guys friends) that was my  ”voice-activated light stand” for the off camera strobe and umbrella. It was a blast taking pics of these guys and capturing who they are.

Colorado Senator Tom Wiens

Tom and his family are dear friends of mine and I can’t say enough good things about them. It was a blast shooting their campaign photos and getting some time to joke around with them. Thank you Wiens family for thinking of me and I can’t believe my photos have now been on the nightly news and across the country. Awesome!

Friend Fotos

Here are a few fun shots of friends and family. I am amazed at how blessed Shannon and I are to be back in Colorado and surrounded by folks that we love dearly and love us well. It’s good to be home!

Hatfield Lakes, Creston Iowa

Hatfield Lakes is beautiful (www.hatfieldlakes.com). There’s nothing quite like shooting shotguns and black powder rifles while drinking cheap beer and smoking your own home-made corn cob pipe. This is a new rental property in Creston Iowa for those folks who want to fish on their own private lake, get married on a John Deere tractor, or just enjoy the farm life for a few days. I love it out there.

Casa Mariana, Zihuatanejo Mexico

Shan and I went down to Zihua a few months ago to shoot a Residencia at the Villa Del Sol, Casa Mariana (www.casamariana.com)  The tourist part of the hotel is called the Tides and it turns out Brittney Spears was there a few weeks ago hanging out with her family. That shot of her in a bikini on  the cover of the trash magazines at the supermarket was taken here. Here are some of my shots so you can see how they justify an $18 quesadilla…

, Zihuatanejo – Mexico

Tentaciones, Zihuatanejo Mexico

For Shannon’s birthday this year we celebrated with a meal at a restaurant in Zihua called “Tentaciones” (www.hoteltentaciones.com). This was the most unbelievable restaurant I have ever been to. It is on the highest hill and overlooks the whole city as well as the bay and ocean, and is a 5 star meal. No menu, just course after course of Top Chef goodness. It was an incredible night!

I took this shot and showed it to the manager… hopefully he will be flying us down there to shoot the whole place and a new restaraunt he is opening down the street in a few months. We’ve got to get him some better pics that capture the beauty.

Casa Monterra, Troncones Mexico

Shan’s dad’s place in Mexico is our favorite getaway (www.casamonterra.com). It’s a two bedroom house right on the Pacific Ocean decorated with all of his amazing furniture and art. It is paradise and we are incredibly blessed to be able to go down there a few times a year. I love being able to take pics of their homes and trying to capture how beautiful they are. And I love reading Jurassic Park on the white sandy beach next to my wife. Life is good.

Casa Colorida, Troncones Mexico

Oh how I love you Casa Colorida (www.casacolorida.com) let me count the ways… This is Shan’s step-moms place and it is breathtaking. She has four lots that line the Pacific Ocean and different houses on the property that can sleep 12 or more. On our first trip down there I took my camera and Ann had me take some shots of the property. They turned out great and that’s where my love for property photography was born. Speaking of photography there, Heidi Klum was in the infinity pool for a SI swimsuit edition a few years back. I’ve been in that pool and so has Heidi. That practically makes us best friends.