Trystan Photography: An Intimate Portrait.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view the gallery of Jenn and Todd’s wedding at The Rockledge Inn in Manitou Springs.

Once again, we had the most wonderful couple, Jenn and Todd, at The Rockledge Inn. Jenn was absolutely, positively, the most energized, confident bride. Resplendent in her sleek, extremely flattering gown, flamboyantly displaying her tattoos and blue hair accents (something blue…), she gave Charlotte and I the most fun we’ve had photographing a bride. Apparently, Jenn used to do some modeling or wanted to… I can’t remember what her mom told me, but she was a natural. Every turn, look, stare and laugh was gorgeous, and the best part was: the fun was real! We had a blast that day, and her exuberance even rubbed off on Todd, who was a little more reserved and self-conscious to start, but man, the moment the two of them came together, it was pure romantic sparks and magic.

A really unflattering photo of yours truly demonstrating, on Todd, the proper technique for a romantic dip. A special thanks to Char for taking this awful photo of me…

Todd did not hesitate to sweep her up, flirt, laugh, and outright make-out with Jenn as we cavorted around the grounds of the Rockledge Inn. And nothing could hold back the joy of the day, not the wind, not the rain, which gave way to blisteringly bright sun, which gave way to rain, again. Both Jenn and Todd and their guests were jubilant, fun, and endearing, which made for one really memorable wedding.

My favorite moment was when Jenn’s mom surprised the couple with two red lamp shades during the start of their first dance. You see, Jenn and Todd had put a hilarious photo of a couple ballroom dancing with lampshades on their heads on their invitations (promising, in my opinion, that a good time would be had at the wedding by all), and Jenn’s mom wanted to recreate the photo live. The entire wedding erupted in laughter and applause as the couple donned the shades and proceeded to dance quite elegantly across the wind-whipped back patio of the Inn (with only a little stumbling..). Then the lampshades came off and Char and I captured some really dramatic photos against the backdrop of this raging storm-front atop Pikes Peak.

Thank you Jenn and Todd for sharing your incredible day with us. Your photos are stunning, which I hope is how the legacy of your marriage will be, as well.

True high school sweethearts! It’s so amazing when I meet real couples who are high school sweethearts. But Katie and Aaron’s love even made it through going to different colleges in different states. How impossible is that?! But they did it, and judging from their photographs, their love is a real as love gets.

It’s funny how they claimed in the beggining of the session that they weren’t really good at PDA (Public Dispays of Affection)… if they’re “not good” at PDA then Charlotte and I are in trouble, because these two blow us out of the water!

This was one of the last gasps of true Fall colors in Colorado, and I’m so happy we did this session when we did. I love the Fall!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view Amy and Dan’s wedding at the Bear Dance Golf Course.

Charlotte and I must cracked the mystery code, and somehow we’re only attracting the coolest, chillest couples for wedding clients. We have not had one “bridezilla” or stressed -out groom at all this year. It makes weddings so much easier and fun when all the personalities are compatible. That’s why the first thing I tell clients when we have our intial consultation is, “We’re goofy, fun photographers. If you don’t like goffing around, playing, and public PDA, don’t book us!”. Those that love the idea of us book, and those that can’t stand the idea of us don’t.

It’s worked perfectly.

And I think, year to date, Amy and Dan might have been the most laid back couple we’ve photographed this year. And it’s not that they didn’t have things to get their heart rates up:

A groomsman arrived late.

Dan’s daughter, a toddler, was “precious” during the ceremony ( and later the first dance) by sprinting to Dan insisting that Daddy hold her the whole time.

Especially regarding his daughter, I don’t know how they stayed so relaxed. If my daughter, Ella, who is now 3, was crawling all over me during something important, I can’t say I would’t get a little cranky. But Dan and Amy simply smiled, scooped her up, and turned the possibly stressful moments into really touching cute moments that made for some awesome shots.

Sheesh, now that I’m thinking about it, I really need to work on my “Daddy Patience”. I’m a cranky daddy.

The one slightly embarrassing moment for me was when we jumped into some golf carts after the ceremony a zoomed off around the back 9 to hunt for vistas and sunset shots. Bear Dance is one of the most vertical courses I’ve ever seen, with huge inclines and drops. Well, Amy and Dan zipped off in their cart ahead of Char and I, and we hit the gas and began to follow. However, it became obvious once we hit our first hill that we were going to have some issues…

Our golf cart was really struggling up the hill. And this was very alarming to me as I watched our clients and the wedding coordinator lose us in the distance. You see, Dan’s a fairly big guy, and Amy’s very petite and their cart was doing just fine. Well, my wife is petite, too… hmmmmm.

I am so heavy. I officially overwhelmed a golf cart. I don’t feel that heavy. I’m very tall (6’4″), but I do weigh in at hefty 280, but when I look in the mirror I still see a stud (no body dimorphic disorder here folks)! However, I have been breaking friends’ furniture lately (chairs and such…). And now this golf cart…

So Amy and Dan ended up waiting up ahead as they watched our poor golf cart just… barely… crawl… up… those… hills…

The whole time I could hear Chris Farley singing softly in my head, “Fat guy in a little cart, fat guy in a little cart..”

Ah, well. The poorly overloaded cart did eventually get us to where we needed to be and we got some of the coolest sunset-shots in a long time.

Thank you Amy and Dan. We loved your wedding, and your families. It was a wonderful night.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view Kristin and Brett’s Shove Chapel and Phantom Canyon Brewery wedding.

I suppose you could say I currently have two long-term relationships. One, is my marriage to my wife, Charlotte, the other is to this retro-rock band called Sixty 8 (I warn you… this is real metal, and don’t follow that link if you don’t like metal). We’ve been together since early 2004, and the boys and I are like family, and we fight like brothers…

Brett is the drummer for this little rock escapade, and he and Kristin have been a part of our lives for a really long time (he’s even been thrown-up on by my son, that makes you practically a blood-relation in my book). When I first knew Kristin and Brett, they were best friends. But over the years they grew closer and closer, and all of us their little social circle began to say, “…are they? Nah.”

But in the end, they realized, as the rest of us did, that they were absolutely made for each other. And when Kristin asked Char and I to photograph their wedding, we felt so honored.

Shove Chapel on the campus of Colorado College is one of the most challenging ceremony venues in the Springs. It’s really dark… like cave dark. But it has this mood, this dark romantic atmosphere, that if you can shoot it just right, can make the photographs absolutely breathtaking. Personally, I love Shove Chapel. I love the challenge of it, and I love the expressive shadows of the sanctuary. It seems fitting that my favorite painting style is chiaroscuro, so accordingly I love it in my photography as well. No additional lighting is required at Shove Chapel: it is lit like a theatre with a dark gallery and super-lit altar. Built-in dramatic lighting!

The reception at Phantom Canyon Brewery was one for the ages. All of our friends were there, and Kristin and Brett hired this amazing band, The Phat Horn Doctors (formerly Phat Daddy). They were the coolest band I’ve seen at a wedding. They had the place jumping all night long, every age, every level of sobriety/drunkenness, all were out there bustin’ a move.

Kristin never stopped dancing. Ever. By the end of the night she had sweat soaking through the back of her dress, but she was aglow in happiness, and my buddy Brett, who is normally “too cool for school” was giggling and grinning from ear to ear all night long.

Thank you both for putting your trust in us. We consider it such an honor to have been given the responsibility to capture your wedding day.

Thank you for being our friends, and thank you for being so good with my kids! (Ella’s been watching over my shoulder at different times while I was processing your photos, and she’d see you two and start yelling, “It’s Brett! That’s Kristin! She’s a pretty bride!”)

This was one of the first couple shoots in a very long time that Tryg and I both got to shoot, and it was awesome!  We met up with Emma and Justin at Hudson Gardens in Denver, conveniently after we had photographed a small wedding there on a Friday afternoon. This was by far the most gorgeous fall day this year and Hudson Gardens couldn’t have been a more perfect place to photograph this uber cute couple. They were married earlier in the week and wanted to capture some fun portraits of the two of them in their newlywed bliss! Emma and Justin we had a blast with you guys! Call when you’re ready for baby or family portraits…hehe!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view Tara and Robert’s wedding at The Red Lion Inn near Boulder, CO.

What if:

1) …your mom loves you dearly and wants only the best, most perfect, magical wedding possible for you.

2) …your mom is a professional event planner.

3) …you have plenty opinions of your own.

Well, if you’re Tara and her momma, Pommy, you “hash out” a lot of the details at your initial consultation with your photographer. It made for a very lively meeting, to say the least…

But I could see that neither Tara and her mom had any ill-will, just differing opinions about how things should go. They are both beautiful, strong willed women (don’t worry Robert, I’ve got those in my wife and mother-in-law, and it’s wonderful… in hindsight, mostly), and I didn’t have any trepidations about how Tara and Robert’s wedding would go.

My confidence in the both of them paid off when, on the wedding day, it was an incredibly well-planned and executed wedding. Deliciously appointed, with a wonderful attention to detail and creativity (they had a bar for only custom-made cigars! How cool is that?!?).

The Red Lion Inn is tucked along the twisting creek of Boulder Canyon, and has all kinds of hidden views and alcoves. I especially enjoyed photographing Rob and Tara along the well landscaped creek-walk, which winds low behind the Inn.

The ceremony was so emotional, with Robert choking back tears and Tara flat out crying. I love to see couples so in love. I just want to run and sweep my wife, Charlotte, up in a passionate embrace at these moments, but I didn’t, because I didn’t want to make Rob look bad: I’m a pretty studly guy and I didn’t want all the women who were present to swoon. (My wife, Charlotte, is rolling her eyes as she reads this…)

Tara and Robert were very into the photography. Their enthusiasm was infectious for the rest of the wedding party. The photography was easy that day, and we absolutely love when that happens.

The reception featured one of my favorite Denver emcees, Phil Peralta at Simply Entertainment. He has such a knack for acknowledging the emotion of the day, while keeping the enregy up, and while bringing you to tears. To simply call him a DJ would be insulting.

Well, Tara and Pommy, now that it is all said and done I hope you feel like everything was perfect. From my vantage point, it was, and a true accomplishment, at that…

… and a testament to the endless love of a strong willed momma, and her equally strong willed daughter!

Thank you so much Tara and Rob (and Pommy) for choosing us to capture your special day!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view heather and Carl’s wedding at The Wild Basin Lodge in Allenspark.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll probably be noticing a theme after this wedding: rain!?! Every bloody weekend!!! When I was a kid, I remember daily afternoon rain-showers like clockwork in Colorado, but once the El Nino hit in the late 90′s, the clockwork rain stopped. Almost 10 years passed without daily showers for any extended period of time, but now… it’s not raining every day, but it seemed to rain every weekend… at least in August.

The day after Tessa and Doug’s rainy wedding, we drove 275 miles to the tiny little mountain town of Allenspark. Unfortunately, I think the same rainy storm-front that had dampened Tessa and Doug’s wedding had pretty much kept pace overnight, and now was a guest of honor at Heather and Carl’s wedding!

This storm almost did the wedding in, and if it hadn’t been for the excellent meteorological skills of the coordinator of The Wild Basin Lodge, the outdoor ceremony would have been called and we would have been forced to hold it on the porch. However, after carefully consulting the live feed of the local Doppler for about 30 minutes, she emerged to state confidently, “… it’ll pass in 15 minutes.”

I had my doubts because a steady, medium-heavy rain had been falling unchanged for about 20 minutes. So all the guests, the couple, and Char and I, stayed dry inside the lodge, and the guests passed the time merrily sipping cocktails and chatting. It was actually a great opportunity for Heather and Carl to walk around and talk to everybody, and lo and behold… 15 minutes later it stopped raining and the setting sun broke through the clouds and I realized that we were going to get a gift from God, at least, in terms of opportunity for photos!

Looking back at these photos, I can’t believe how close we came to missing this wonderful dusk ceremony. I mean, a wedding is a wedding, no matter what the setting, but c’mon! It was stunning out. Brides all over the world would kill for a sunset ceremony in a natural, awe inspiring place like that.

I don’t know how they did it, but Heather and Carl showed no sign of worry or stress as they waited out the storm. Maybe it was luck, or maybe it was the power of positive thought, or sheer will of the bride, but they really lucked out and got a one-in-a-million ceremony.

Thank you, Heather and Carl, for allowing us the honor of capturing your beautiful day! Now you have visual proof to show your future children that, in fact: the best things do come to those who wait!

I was recently surprised to see an ill-advised article in Rangefinder which presented ideas for “professional” photographers who might be attempting to combat the “evils” of the AWACs (Amateurs With A Camera)(you can download the article here: rf1008_amateurs_kotsinadelis). I think Rangefinder made a very puzzling faux pas with the intent of this article.

To me, this article seems as if WPPI and Rangefinder are saying, “NO NEWCOMERS!”. It’s such a lame attempt at fear mongering. They’re attempting to scapegoat the new photographers in the industry for the results of a weakening economy and perhaps, the results of bad business practices by “the old guard”. The glaring oversight of this article is: we were all AWACs at some point!

What exactly is Rangefinder implying by this article: that a professional can only be those with the right education, the right equipment, and the right products? I think a “professional” is anyone who gets consumers to buy their photography.

Personally, I think AWACs are a terrific boon to our industry (especially because I used to be one…)

Wikipedia has this to say about an “amateur”:

Translated from its French origin to the English “lover of”, the term “amateur” reflects a voluntary motivation to work as a result of personal passion for a particular activity.

The translation from the French “lover of” is the key to my point of view, and if we “professional” photographers were simply honest with ourselves (and not just fear driven and greedy), we would all acknowledge that it was the love of photography that got us into this industry in the first place. In the beginnings of our journeys, most of us were AWACs, and if there are any of us who got into this field for the money or simply to have a job, their work is probably soulless and unimaginative (and most of those probably go of business).

In fact, that’s what troubled me most about the article in October 2008′s Rangefinder Magazine. It seems to me that anyone who is threatened by the influx of the AWACs’ and their new “untrained” and unbiased ideas,  techniques and styles (and their appeal to the consumer), that they, and not the AWACs, are the real threat to our industry. They are the embodiment of the professional whose apathy to innovation have made them a dead-weight that is slowing down progress in our industry.

True progress in photography (and any art form) occurs when we are inspired by the new creative work of others, not threatened by it. If you’re scared of the competition, you’d probably better figure out why! Cooperation and networking are the keys to growth as a business.

And it may very well be that the reason these ensconced “professionals” feel so threatened is that any creative drive they may have had has shriveled up and died long ago, and they now run their studios on auto-pilot, depending completely on skills already learned, and totally unable to adapt or change to the new, younger and more vibrant creative force pressuring them from “below”, and they simply sit and complain as the face of photography changes around them!

In fact, I believe the wonderful result of a boom in the “untrained” and “uneducated”, in any art form, is the inevitable influx of new ideas and styles.

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