Trystan Photography: An Intimate Portrait.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view Lisa and Jason’s Estes Park wedding.

To the outside world, I seem like a strong, confident man. A rare specimen of talent and testosterone, (if I say so myself).

But secretly, I have a debilitating fear that haunts me to my very core. The mere thought of it has sent thoughts of dread and self-doubt coursing through my being. What is this haunting fear, you ask?

It’s photographing a wedding without Charlotte: my fearless leader, my guide, my muse and the one who yells at me when the clients aren’t around (it helps her deal with stress… I hope). She is my other half, both in terms of my life and as a wedding photographer. We’ve become like one joined mind out there in the field; We can cover each others’ shots with perfectly complimentary angles without speaking a word because we know each other’s style and habits. We just know what is being covered (and how) simply by where we’re standing, how we’re posed for the shot, and by how much sweat is beading out on our foreheads.

I’ve only photographed one other wedding without my faithful Charlotte (and it went very well, by the way), but Lisa and Jason’s wedding was still looming like a dark cloud on the horizon.

So where was my fearless leader, my muse on this day?

Slacking off without a camera for most of the day. Instead, she was grasping a bouquet of perfect flowers and looking resplendent in her navy blue bridesmaid dress as she fulfilled her solemn duty of Matron of Honor. That’s right: she was carrying Lisa’s train, holding flowers, and generally just looking stunning. She did shoot when she could, but for the vast majority of the day, she was but a member of the wedding party.

You see, Lisa is Charlotte’s best friend. They were best friends in Iowa, and when Charlotte moved out to Colorado, Lisa was right behind. In fact, we were all roommates when Charlotte and I were starting this whole marriage/business/family thing. My kids even call her Aunt Lisa. And I call her a pain in the butt.

I don’t have any sisters, and Lisa has become like a sister to me. Yes, in the loving, I’d-do-anything-for-you sibling way, but also in the you-annoy-me-to-death kind of sibling way.

As “roommate” Lisa, she was there for all the trials and tribulations of young love, engagement, early marriage, business start-up, and she often was known to have an opinion or two about the aforementioned drama. Like I asked for any. I’m not saying her opinions were wrong, (they were mostly right for that matter), it’s just that when you’re fighting with your new wife about the logo design of your 1st website, I don’t necessarily need to be double-teamed (although, I am a force of nature unto myself, so Charlotte does need all of the help she can get…)

And that’s how it went for about a year until Lisa (finally) moved out, and shortly there after met this guy: Jason.

Now, don’t get me wrong: for all of our squabbling, Lisa is a rock in my life, and I’m indebted to her for all that she’s done for me and my family. So, let’s just say, I’ve always been a little critical of the guys she’s dated, much like the role of an older brother (but she’s older… much older).

Then, out of the blue, this Jason guy shows up. At first I was nice and cordial, but I’ve been known to ask a probing question or ten, and very quickly I came to realize this Jason guy was really something. From honest, hardworking Minnesota stock, he seemed to embody everything Lisa wanted in a husband, including a huge competitive drive and a penchant for bar related activities (as anyone who has been whipped by the dynamic duo at Good Company’s beer pong tournament can attest)!

Jason and I became fast friends. We lean on each other when trying to deal with these two women, and now I have back-up in some of the squabbles between Char and I, and I don’t hesitate to give an opinion or two to Lisa when she and Jason have some spats. Ahhhh, payback is sweet!

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