Trystan Photography: An Intimate Portrait.

Ken Rockwell is a very wise, and yet seemingly bored man. He has so much spare time (or money, or both), he acquires and reviews nearly every new piece of equipment to hit the market. His exhaustive research into camera equipment and lenses has allowed Charlotte and I to make some very smart, financially wise, and sound business decisions when it came to equipment purchases that have performed wonderfully. We kind of owe a lot to him.

However, outside of his technical acumen, he also has a pretty witty and dry sense of humor that he sometimes displays in riotous posts like my personal favorite, The 7 Levels of Photographers. (Please read his post before continuing or you’ll be completely lost…)

I think he’s hilarious. And I was so glad to see the Rich Amateur fall lower than us Professionals on the levels of photographer hell. There’s nothing worse than when you’re on location, usually at a wedding, and someone comes up and proudly displays their rig with equipment that you could never afford all at the same time (with cash, I mean. Many of us do get all of it at once and then suffer debilitating debt forever…), and asks, “So what are you shooting?”

“Nikon D300, man”, I say. Then I think, Now go away and take mediocre photographs on your state-of-the-art equipment.

And he wrote what is now one of my most often quoted, favorite-of-all-time-sentiments about bad Rich Amateurs:

“Bad rich amateurs think fuzzy B/W images of poor people are art.”

Ken Rockwell

Wait a minute… I have black and white photographs I took of homeless people back in my LA days. They’re in my personal fine art portfolio. Charlotte has some from Mardi Gras… Hmmmmmmm…

But I reserve my wrath for Ken Rockwell’s lowest level of photographer, the Equipment Measurebator. My toes curl every time someone starts to challenge me based on technical data, graphs, resolution, in-camera processing, etc. Some Measurebators speak as if they think that those camera and lens statistics actually make for automatically good photographs. They think if anybody picked up camera A coupled with with lens B, it would take an amazing image. Wrong. I take amazing images. Not my cameras. And I could do it on any camera (well, digital camera, that is… I would probably fail miserably on a film camera. However, Charlotte “I learned on film” Bundgaard probably could… Do I smell a “shoot-off” challenge anyone?).

It’s just like when Mac user’s open their too-hip yappers. Yes, I know your Mac computer is faster, more stable, and overall cooler than my poor little PC, but what can you actually do on your amazingly cool computer that I can’t? Nothing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Charlotte and I are making enough money now that in a few years I’m guessing I’ll be posting about how a really great photographer has to have only the finest, most expensive equipment, and you can’t possibly process photographs on anything less that a Mac G6. But until that time, I rail against the elite and the hip… until such time as we are elite and hip.

For anybody wanting really sound advice on equipment, definitely check out Ken’s site. For anybody wanting to grouse about his sentiments on the levels of photographers, write to him. I just think it’s awesomely funny.

Dave and Sherry had a lovely, intimate wedding in March. Unfortunately, because it was March, we were hit with a sloppy wet snow storm and we had to scrap our plans to shoot some photos at The Garden of the Gods.

However, Dave and Sherry did reschedule that section of the shoot for a much clearer day (except it was still really cold, but you can’t tell becasue they’re such troopers!), and it was well worth it, as you can see.

We love small intimate weddings. Even though the couple with the smaller wedding often gets us for less time than the big weddings do, we often get more quality time with the couple and can photograph more creatively without the rushing around that can come with gigantic weddings.

Dave’s an avid elk hunter, and I’m one too, except I haven’t managed to successfully hunt an elk… yet. Dave passed on to me some great hunting tips, and shared some premium cuts of elk meat from his past exploits. The meat was delicious, and actually put a lot more pressure on me as a hunter because my whole family loved it when I cooked it up, and my mom said, “So when are you gonna get some of your own?”

Dave may be a storied trophy hunter, but I could tell from the look in his eyes, as Sherry walked down the aisle, that his greatest catch was right in front of him…

Congrats you two!

You can view all of Michele and Lucas’ Graphistudio album.

Michele and Lucas were married at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton, CO. Colorado really cooperated on their wedding day with stunning skies, picturesque clouds, and a sunset straight out of a movie.

Our ability to tell the story of the wedding day across the album’s pages is unparalled with Graphistudio albums. Premium covers, professional Kodak photo-papers, lay-flat pages, and custom layouts are why we only carry Graphistudio albums for our entire album line.

You can view Tristyn and David’s sample gallery.

Why do I like Tristyn? (Other than her name…)

I like Tristyn because she was one of our only clients through the course of last year to notice, and mention, that between the time they intitally met with me, to the day I shot their engagement photos, that I had lost a lot of weight (30 lbs in 4 or 5 months).

Why do I like her even more after her wedding?

Because when I told her I’d gained all the weight back she claimed she didn’t believe me! God Bless you, Tristyn! That was, The Perfect Answer.

But seriously, I really enjoyed photographing Tristyn and David because of the true affection and love that shined out between them. They were authentically excited, almost giddy to get married. And it shows: the natural affection, the warmth, and most importantly, the level of comfort and confidence it takes to be naturally close and affectionate with your fiance.

I’ve been taking Hayden’s pictures since he was about 3 months old and I feel like he’s growing up as fast as my own children. I’m thinking I’ll probably be taking his Senior portraits like tomorrow!

He’s always been one of the easiest, happiest babies to take photos of and even now that he’s walking.

It’s so neat to be able to watch so many children out there grow up and capture those moments at each different age in their lives. I really do have one of the best jobs!

Susan is graduating from college this month and she wanted to take some pictures to commemorate this time in her life. I took her sister Angie’s senior portraits last year and I also took pictures of her Dad Mike and his wife Ginger a few months ago. They are such a photogenic family.

Susan has a natural modeling ability and I really think she should try and pursue something in this field. She thinks she’s too short, but her looks are stunning and I think that can override the short thing. I’m calling Tyra!

Good luck with all you do Susan!

Trystan Photography is excited to announce that May is Family Portrait Month! In honor of Mother’s Day, we’re giving away free family sessions all month long! Simply book an indoor or outdoor family portrait sitting between May 1st – 31st, 2008 and you’ll recieve the sitting for free (our $25 deposit is still required to book, but it will be applied in full to your print order).

Please make sure you visit our family portrait samples from areas around Colorado Springs and Denver, and check out our portrait prices.