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!)

Amanda, Lenee and Britney were so much fun, and you can totally tell from their session! Amanda wanted funky, graffiti wall type pictures and I think we did a good job making that happen! Britney didn’t want to let go of her Dora book, but that’s okay …  it captures the moment! Lenee is a beautiful young lady and was a great help with her little sister!

Thanks Amanda, for allowing me to photograph you and your beautiful girls!

Seeing these four together again brings such joy to my heart. Mark just got back from his third tour in Iraq. I am so happy (and relieved!) that he made it home safely… I photographed the Shepherds right before Mark left for Iraq and then again just now when he returned. It was a great pleasure to photograph them again… after that long year apart put behind them, them knowing their family will always be together from here on out!

And thank you to Mark… who has sacrificed so much to serve his country. To keep us safe… you are a true American hero and I feel honored to call you a friend!

“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!

Miss Ava was a joy to photograph… she did everything I asked her to do and with such sass and a cute little smile! I love taking her pictures and look forward to having her in front of  my camera for many years to come! And not just her… but her little brother, Benjamin, too!

When I finished Emily and Neil’s engagement portraits, she wrote back with: “I can’t get used to seeing us in photos like these… more intimate photos.”

It’s a common reaction from our clients. Most people are used to very bland, straight on, looking at the camera portraits. When they see themselves in a portrait where: 1) the composition and lighting are flattering, 2) they look comfortable, 3) they have real emotion in the shot… well, it can freak you out a little (in a good way).

Those things are the essence of fine editorial photography/portraiture. I aim to capture who my clients are, in the most flattering and visually engrossing way possible.

My favorite moment from the session was from the beginning when we met at Union Station, I was going to do the signature “dip” in the middle of 17th St. (see Kristin and David’s engagement pics for a sample), when suddenly I noticed another photographer with another couple. She was standing right where I stand and was doing the exact same shot I wanted to do!

Two things happened: 1) I didn’t feel very creative, 2) I was filled with an overwhelming urge to challenge her to a duel. You see, for those of you who don’t know, the Revised Unified Code for Photographers section 16.28 sub-paragraph 6 mandates that any 2 photographers who meet out on location with the intent to capture the same shot must fight each other to the death (just like Highlander) using our longest lenses as bludgeons. Whoever is victorious absorbs the creative essence of the other photographer. I know, I know: it’s a very barbaric practice, but it’s been in use for thousands of years, before there were even cameras or photographers. Our ancestors strictly adhered to the photographer’s code.

Needless to say, I won. Emily and Neil were a bit shaken, but as you can see from their photos, the initial shock wore off and they recovered quickly.

(For legal purposes I must now explain that I did not, in fact, bludgeon another photographer to death with my tele-zoom lens in a barbaric Highlander-esque battle for creative rights to capturing a particular shot. It was simply my attempt a gallows/nerd humor and was clearly hyperbole. In fact, if  you thought I was serious, you are clearly humorless and are no longer allowed to read our blog.)

So, anyway… it was an awesome shoot and we were all over downtown Denver. From Union Station to 14th and Curtis (riding the 16th Street Mall buses is really easy). Emily and Neil were awesome and very adventurous. It was cold, dark and nearly raining, but we made the best of it.

In fact, the photo of them walking in front of the big yellow wall, holding hands, and she’s skipping forward and looking back at him is my favorite engagement portrait I’ve ever taken. Seriously. I love it. Thank you for being so great, you two!

It’s still within minutes of downtown and right off a major freeway (I-70 this time).

We’re really excited about the potential for Charlotte’s portrait clientele in the new space, and I’m definitely looking forward to my next wedding meeting there, too!

Once again, I had a really awesome, really hardcore “I-don’t-care-how-cold-it-is-I-want-my-engagement-photos-done” couple.

Jennifer and Landon met me downtown Colorado Springs, really early one January morning, when downtown was literally a ghost town. I found that it’s actually the best time to shoot downtown because the streets and sidewalks are completely empty.

The quality of the sun was fantastic and warm, and if it wasn’t for the slightly rosey cheeks and winter coats, I think it looks like we were shooting on a warm Fall afternoon.

But regardless of the cold, Jennifer and Landon were fantastic. We really are hitting the jackpot this year with couples that look great together, and have a kick-ass, fun attitude to boot!

We roamed all over downtown, and even stopped into Starbucks for some hot Chai teas (my first Starbucks photo shoot).

My favorite shot of the session is the walking in the alley photo. I am absolutely enamored of this coat Jennifer was wearing. It swayed an flowed around her as she sauntered down the alley with Landon in a way I’ve rarely seen a coat move. It was almost like a sassy extension of Jennifer’s personality. I loved it.

Jennifer and Landon are getting married at The Pinery in Black Forest, CO. I can’t wait for the wedding!

]]> http://www.trystanphotography.net/2009/02/downtown-colorado-springs-engagement-se/feed/ 2 http://www.trystanphotography.net/2009/01/2008-senior-favorites/ http://www.trystanphotography.net/2009/01/2008-senior-favorites/#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:26:22 +0000 Char http://www.trystanphotography.net/?p=547 I just got done sorting through my Senior photo sessions from 2008 and thought I’d post some of my favorites!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view the sample gallery from Brittany and Rhead’s Hudson Gardens and Brown Palace wedding.

This was a really fun one!

Brittany and Rhead had a tiny, yet stunning, ceremony at Hudson Gardens (if you don’t know about Hudson Gardens, then you need to. It’s one of the best planned and maintained garden complexes in CO… it’s so cool and easy to shoot at, they charge a membership fee if you’re a photographer and you want to be able to do portraits there!).

After we goofed around in the gardens, Brittany and Rhead took off in their limo for the rest of the day (to be naughty, probably). The next day, we met them at the Brown Palace Hotel for their reception and ran around like sprites in the fading light to try and get as many cool, urban shots as we could. I love the dichotomy of this wedding with the luscious fall gardens, juxtaposed with the urban landscape. It was a very fun and rewarding wedding shoot!

Did you know if you photograph around many of the high rises and skyscrapers, that security teams there get really PO’d? I knew this from Brittany and Rhead’s engagement shoot when we got shooed away from a Dept. of Homeland Security Building downtown. This day, we were setting up for that stunning kiss with the buildings behind (above), and the security guards came running out, and I had to stop shooting and assure them that I was capturing no photographs of the building we were actually next to (not pictured, obviously…).

The perfect example of my favorite philosophy, “Don’t ask permission, beg for forgiveness…”

I’m very respectful of rules and regulations, but if I can just bend them a little to get that shot nobody else does, then I will try every time. Some photographers say this makes me careless and arrogant, I say it makes me a good photographer. My only litmus test is whether or not it will make the clients happy.

Another interesting thing about this wedding is it was the result of the work we did at Kim and Andy’s wedding last year! Brittany and Rhead were guests at that wedding, and Kim and Andy gushed so much about us that Brittany and Rhead chose us for their wedding. How awesome is that?!

But then, a friend of Brittany called who lives in CA, and she booked us without even meeting with us… because Brittany and Rhead were gushing so profusely.

We’ve been working our tails of to create unique, emotionally impactful photographs, and to see and hear that our work is so appreciated is the very reason why we do this.

Thank you so much Brittany and Rhead! Your desire to play and be in love for Charlotte and I really paid off. Thank you for helping us capture your very special and stunning wedding.

… and thanks to Kim and Andy for the referral. And thanks, again, to you both for your referral…

Let’s keep up the word of mouth! Maybe we can cut all of our advertising?

…nah.

Kristen and David were the 2nd half of my “I-accidentally-laid-down-on-a-cactus-day” (see previous post). By the time I got to the downtown studio from Boulder to meet up with them, the cactus quills had, for the most part, burrowed their way completely into my side, so the good news was they didn’t hurt so bad anymore.

The bad news was I was feeling a little chilled and clammy, almost like I was in shock… but a Red Bull later, I was ready to ROCK, pain free.

Engagement sessions in downtown Denver are a blast, and are really inspiring creatively. From jaywalking to get dips in front of Union Station,and the amazing architecture of the Millennium Bridge, to the pure urban landscape and historic facades of LoDo, there is always something new to find and a dizzying array of possibilities every time I go down there with a couple. I think I could shoot downtown for my whole life and always stumble upon something new every time!

I know it sounds like gloating, but it’s true: a gorgeous location, and a loving couple with a great attitude makes my job not a job, but really, really rewarding and fun!

Please click the photo or the link to view Stephanie and Devin’s wedding at the First United Methodist Church and Tre Luna.

Once upon a time in the Springs, there was this seemingly mystical restaurant that served as a cosmic junction of romantic fate for an entire family. It was Devin’s family’s restaurant (The Hungry Farmer?), and it was through their time working at this family owned restaurant that Devin’s older sister, Jessica, crossed paths with her future husband, Darius. Years ago, when it came time for Jess and Darius’ wedding bells, they chose Trystan Photography. A blast was had by all, they loved their photos, and all of us have kept in touch in the years since.

Fast forward to ’07, Jessica’s brother, Devin, asks his longtime girl, Stephanie (who he met through the restaurant , too), to marry him. Now, as far as Stephanie’s family were concerned, they had no prior relationship with us, but our relationship with the Heitzmann’s was so strong and their praise so effervescent, Stephanie did not hesitate to book with us for her June 2008 wedding as well!

This was our first “return family”. I can’t tell you how amazingly easy and fun it is to work with an entire family again. Everybody was familiar with us, how we work, the personal relationships were already in place and we know half of everyone there (our past blushing bride Jessica was the Matron of Honor!).

I mean, weddings are already a very personal experience. As wedding photographers, we are truly honored with the responsibility to faithfully record these amazing events in couples’ lives, but to have that responsibility bestowed upon us, again, by the the same family is utterly astounding ( and very flattering, I might add)!

Stephanie and Devin’s First United Methodist Church wedding was grand and splendid, but still had such an atmosphere of (PARTY!) fun, that it had no hint of stuffy formality throughout the entire day. (If you’re a dedicated reader of our blog, you may start noticing a pattern developing in regard to the vibe of our latest weddings, and that’s on purpose: we purposefully seek out fun loving couples as part of our interview process…)

Stephanie was, bar-none, one of the most energetic, laughing, goof-around, sexy brides we’ve ever had! She even convinced Char to do a impromptu bridal boudoir session while she was getting ready (sorry folks, no samples available of that…). Her zeal for the day was simply unwavering, and it was irresistibly infectious.

Their reception was held as the art-deco, always hip, (and this time very packed), Tre Luna in downtown Colorado Springs. It’s one of the more unique venues in the Springs, with an almost multiple personality of frontier (stamped tin ceilings and stucco walls with exposed brick) meets modern art-deco (arches and pillars,and paintings of zoot-suited fellas and flapper girls abound) combined with swanky night club (dramatic lighting, brushed steel accents, and a swank upper level for lounging). It’s always a cool venue, and the fact that it’s right down the street from the First UMC is a bonus!

So back to The Hungry Farmer(?, I can’t remember the exact name…), now defunct: How cool is it that through this one commonality in all of these peoples’ lives, all of their families and fates intersected in ways they never could have predicted! The restaurant may be closed now, but it’s legacy remarkably lives on in the lives of Jessica, Darius, Devin and Stephanie.

Charlotte and I are grateful to all of you for choosing us for your wedding photography. Your weddings have truly been a blast.

By the way, Jess and Devin’s mom, Kristen Heitzmann is a prolific author. If you like romantic suspense, (or suspenseful romance… I think that’s what Char and I have…), written from a faith based perspective, then you should definitely check out her books!

I know I say it over and over: a huge aspect of how Charlotte and I capture awesome photographs is directly dependent on how responsive, comfortable, and intimate our couples are. We can’t take happy, cool and funny photos of people who aren’t happy,cool and funny. One of the smartest things we ever did as a studio was we started to “pre-screen” our couples by essentially telling them how we like to work in a very informal, lighthearted way, and if they don’t like a fast paced, goofy, irreverent, joking atmosphere then we frankly aren’t the right photographers for them; and it’s worked wonders.

The caliber of clientèle we’ve booked over the last year or so has been a phenomenal crop of subjects. So cool, fun and relaxed that it’s a sheer pleasure to take their photographs.

Brittany and Rhead were no exception.

I met them in the lobby of the Brown Palace in Denver and we eased into shooting by doing a few test lighting shots around the hotel, talked about the reception set-up, walked around and shared ideas about the day of the wedding. Then we headed outside with the eventual goal of getting down to Coors Field. We stopped wherever we saw something cool or interesting to the eye and they were totally chill and fun about eveything. Brittany said, “… it feels more like we’re just hanging out and you happen to be taking photos…”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

We didn’t make it to Coors Field, but we did find this amazing little sculpted office park garden where we got some really neat long shots with remote lighting, too. It was funny though, the security team for the office building came out and informed us we could take no photographs of the building itself. It seemed like a strange rule, it must have been a secret Dept. of Homeland Security building of something. It didn’t have a markings or signs… very interesting.

Thanks so much Brittany and Rhead. I can’t wait for your October wedding!

We’ll finally be able to stop meeting in Starbucks with our Denver client