Trystan Photography: An Intimate Portrait.

So, I’m still playing “blogging-catch-up”. Actually, we just shot Lisa and Casey’s wedding last weekend (the really hot one I was whining about on Facebook Saturday night): just an idea of how hard it is for me to keep up on this blogging this year!

I loved taking their engagement photos, and I loved their wedding even more. So let me just say, if you like their engagement session, oh baby, just wait until you see their wedding photos! (Hot or cold, that day would have always been awesome!)

Click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Jocelyn and Chase’s stunning Palazzo Verdi wedding.

*The following video is an update from the amazing videographers at CueMotion Wedding Cinematography, who we worked with for Jocelyn and Chase’s wedding. They are amazing, a while they might be based in Lincoln, NE we’ve managed to work with them on a number of weddings in Colorado! We love working with them and highly recommend them. They are totally worth the travel fee! http://www.cuemotion.com

So here we are in April. Maybe, just maybe, Colorado will start playing nice in terms of weather? Nope. The day before this wedding, which was a HUGE wedding (all day unlimited photography, 300+ guests, at Palazzo Verdi…) I-25 was SHUT DOWN. I-25 is rarely shut down. The snow was coming in “sideways-like”. So, needless to say, we were quite nervous about this one!

The day of we left around 7 am, and things weren’t looking so hot. Monument and Castle Rock heading north were a nightmare. Snow was still coming in sideways. It was bitter cold, with gusts of wind that chilled your very soul. Once we got to Palazzo Verdi, things were better in the sense that Denver had no snow, but it had simply become a frozen, stinging rain with wind. Not good.

The second we got inside for the rehearsal, everything looked a lot brighter, regardless of what the weather was doing because Jocelyn and Chase were on cloud nine!

I don’t mean to beat a dead horse on this topic, but it really it paramount: the attitudes of our clients on the day of their weddings have been nothing short of inspiring. Nothing was gonna keep this wedding from being an absolute joy for Jocelyn and Chase.

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I started taking this little studs photos when he was almost 3 months old, and I can’t get enough of him!

I met Mr. W and his wonderful parents at the wedding of his Aunt Heather and new Uncle Arion, last year! You may remember this spotlight on  Heather and Arion’s fabulous wedding.

Mr.W is on his 3rd session from his first year of photos, which includes 3,6,9 and 12 month photos shoots.  The session I’m posting today is from the most recent session with Mr. W (9 months), and so far my most favorite.  I’ve said this several times, and I’ll say it again, I love 9 month olds!!!   This age is truly such a fun age. With all the funny faces, and smiles, and innocent expressions all in one!

I started noticing about 1/3 of the way into our session that Mr. W kept making this little hand gesture, like he was holding up the number 1.  His parents told me, this was a new and very common thing for him to do. It was hilarious,you have to watch the slideshow below! I think in about every other shot, he made this gesture.  These are the little things that I love to capture at these precious ages. I can’t wait to see what this little man has in store for me at his one year session.  He is already walking with his little push car (as you can see in some photos on the slideshow) at nine months!!!! So, I have a feeling I will be getting my exercise at our next session, no doubt about that!

So I’ve finally finished my last senior session for 2009 (I suppose there could be some last minuters) and have been going through the sessions to pick out my favs.  I’m going to blog a bigger post with more images here in a day or so, but thought I’d show you all, just how awesome my 2009 seniors were.  At some random point during their sessions this year, I would have them do a crazy jump for me.  Sometimes it really helps everyone to just loosen up and have some fun!  I was so honored this year to get some of the coolest high school seniors ever.  Stay tuned for more pics from these sessions, some of my favorite shots of all time. Enjoy this fun little slide show in the meantime!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Rachel and Ethan’s amazing wedding at The Red Rocks Baptist Church.

I’m going to be honest here: my proposal to Charlotte wasn’t the most… shall we say, thoughtful or… romantic, if you will. We were driving in the car back to our house from the mountains, and I essentially said, “Baby, I love you, and I love spending time with you, and I want to be with you the rest of my life, and we already share a checking account… do you want to just go ahead and get married?” No ring. No plan. Nothing.

Amazingly, she said “yes” without missing a beat, and the rest is history. But it was more like we were planning a camping trip than a proposal. It was very matter of fact. No points for style, but I guess I get (at least) a point or two for the fact that we’re married in the end, right?

Well for any other guys out there with a “less-than-stellar” proposal under their belts, I present to you, for your guilty conscience and viewing pleasure: the Guy Who Makes the Rest of Us Look Like Turds-on-a-Stick Compared to Him… Ethan.

Did he have a well thought out plan? Check. Did he include an element of surprise? Check. Was it romantic? Check. Was there an actual ring and not just a promise of one (*ahem*)? Check. Did he secretly travel across the world to surprise his missionary fiance in Israel? Check… wait, WTF?!? Israel! He flew all the way to Israel to surprise propose to her?! Allright, that’s going too far. No man can possibly live up to that kind of high bar, but at least nobody else is gonna find out, especially any wives, and our loved one will still think our cliched idea of her finding ring in her glass of champagne was a creative and unique idea….

There’s video? Aww, crap.

Fellow men of the world: I apologize, but you’ll never be able to live up to this, ever.

So here it is, in all of it’s adorable glory: Ethan’s surprise proposal in Jerusalem, (overlooking the Temple Mount for !@(*&!@ sake…)

And how do I know about this video? Very simply, it was played for the entire church right after the couple walked down the aisle after their first kiss. It was extremely powerful, and there was not a dry eye to be seen. It really stuck out to me, and I begged them to let me show it here, and they obliged, and even put it in easy to use YouTube format!

Thank you both for being such an amazing couple, and sharing your special day with Charlotte and I. It was truly an honor to capture your wedding for you, and it was a blast!

Yes, if you can believe it, it’s that time of year again! Here are the Holiday cards we are offering this year… aren’t they adorable. Make sure you book your session soon, everything takes about 4-6 weeks to get back!

Oh how I adore this little girl, she is such a joy to photograph!  This is the 3rd photo shoot for Ms. Lauren this year and I can’t believe she is already 9 months old. Aren’t those baby blues just stunning! Can’t wait for her 1 year old shoot. I’m sure she’ll be walking on her own, but I just love that fun age.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite wedding photos from Lyndsie and Wes’ wedding at the Pines at Genesee.

Rain.

Why has there been so much rain this year?

Every wedding through Lyndsie and Wes’ has had rain at some point. For this wedding, rain clouds were boiling and threatening all day long, to the point that Wes had to make the call whether or not to even have it outside (why the Pines couldn’t set up both indoor and outdoor options, I don’t know…).

But luck and good fortune were on our side that day in that we only had sprinkles during the pre-photos, nothing during the ceremony, and it didn’t start pouring until we got inside for the reception.

But what a location! Wonderful meadows and views, and a perfectly shaded area full of lush old trees for the ceremony: The Pines at Genesee was a great place for a wedding.

We’re pretty enthusiastic photographers, and we like to roam a lot. We like to tread off of the beaten path and grab shots you don’t normally see. However, sometimes this means that the perfect wedding dress is a little less perfect when we’re done. But hey: you only wear it once. Better get your money’s worth!

Lyndsie is the perfect example of the “trooper bride”. While she was a little hesitant to go roaming about the meadows,  she wrote afterward when we posted her finished images online:

All I can say is…..AMAZING!! We are so happy with how the photos turned out (especially the “dipping” photos…which you must force every couple to do since they look awesome)!! All the grass/dirt stains and dress tearing was WAY worth it

See? Sometimes you’ve got to suffer a little for your art. It’s always worth it.

Thanks for giving us the honor of capturing your day, Lyndsie and Wes. It was awesome.

This being Colorado, most of our engagement portraits feature couples in a more causal style, boots and jeans and all. Usually, we’re hiking throughout some mountain park, getting a little dirty and a little sweaty but always having a lot of fun.

This session was different, but in a great way.

I knew we were in for something special when I met Jill and Matt at Wynkoop Brewing Co., and saw not only were they enjoying a cocktail (something I highly recommend for photo shoots… not for me: I recommend the clients drink!), but Jill was simply a knockout in her stunning little dress and heels… Oh, and I guess Matt looked pretty good, too. (Sheesh)

Now, we were already planning more of a metropolitan, urban look for the session, but once I saw how truly fantastic they looked together, I knew this session had just jumped up to a whole new level.

But cool clothes does not a good portrait session make.

If Jill and Matt had just been bumps on a log, they would have been well-dressed and yet boring bumps on a log. But because they obviously ADORED each other, they had that fun kinetic kind of energy which we celebrate in all of our clients.

Real love is like a contagious drug. When I photograph couples who exude real love for each other, their euphoria almost permeates the air until I’m giddy, too. It’s a very welcome and rewarding contact high. : )

“Comfortable.”

That word is the single most significant trait I see amongst truly happy couples. They are really “comfortable” with and around each other. At times, it almost seems as if they are not complete without the presence of their partner. Their personalities don’t shine as bright, they’re more tense, etc.

Cory and Tarynn are the exemplification of what it means to be “comfortable” in an engagement session. We met outside Union Station in downtown Denver, in a mind-melting heat, but this being Colorado, within minutes it was overcast and cool. The laughs came naturally and easily, the affection was obvious and free-flowing, and their photographs were a joy to capture and reflect that.

You can tell I, too, was “comfortable” with them!