Brigit + Bret + a little gift in the Aspens

Brigit and Bret got married! BUT BUT BUT!! I wanted to shoot their wedding, as you can see, who wouldn't? We heard the whole story on the way up to this beautiful spot in the Aspens...

They got engaged and went to NYC for a function and on a whim decided to go ahead and tie the knot right then and there at a NYC courthouse. They went to the diamond district and POOF! Done. Married. Clearly, they were not dreaming of the fabulous wedding photos, like I was, but I gave them the gift of a photo session for their "wedding." Clearly getting married in a courthouse is THE way to really save $$$ on your event; however, if you do this, you should still hire someone (ahhHEM, me) to take some great shots becuase as you can see.. it's worth it. :)

We hiked 20 minutes into the woods for this particular Aspen grove and a favorite tree of Brigit's. I love how that pine is all alone in the middle of Aspens. This year, the Aspen leaves turned gold and 1 minute later they fell to the ground here in Flagstaff. We had two really cold and windy days and this was one of them. Brigit and Bret were great subjects... Thanks guys!

Kate + Norm are getting married!

Matt and I are delighted that my sister Kate is getting married to a great guy, Norm. We almost made "Norm for brother-in-law" t-shirts when we met him, but we didn't want to jinx the situation! They were VERY fun to photograph and we all had a good time making these images. They are a charming couple--both are Wildland firefighters--HotShots-- Norm on Mormon Lake crew and Kate on the Flagstaff Hotshots. Some photos are in order with the chainsaws but I thought we'd see how they clean up.

The planets aligned for us because Jamelle left a photo stand in the exact spot where we were finishing up some portraits and thank goodness we were able to get a little flash flavor(ah hem, the last four). Thanks Jamelle! I don't normally post 14 photos BUT hey, it's my sister, and I really like how these images turned out. I reinvented Flagstaff downtown and tried NOT to go to my usual spots. Kate has the most amazing blue eyes EVER. One tip for couples is to laugh a lot be yourself and HAVE FUN. I promise it will show through in the photos.

I didn't even PhotoShop these files. All images are straight out of Lightroom. I was too excited to mess around with PS.

*side note* I am experimenting with our branding and "striping" these photos with our logo. The whole logo blog thing...I'm on the fence. Comments?

e-session | Brandy & Grady & Dom...

Dom Perringom that is! These two were crazy about champagne. Quick--er- long--interlude story...So as a good photojournalist I arrived in the "area" of my photo shoot about an hour and a half early... YES! Just enough time to hit the In and Out Burger. One burger (animal style), fries and a strawberry milkshake later, I roll north back to Carefree, AZ (north.... NORTH Scottsdale) to discover the location we'll be shooting at. Mind you I left enough time to arrive about 20 minutes prior to our appointment for scouting purposes. Here's where I remind myself NEVER EVER fully trust the directions you get from (1) a newspaper reporter or (2 )from Mapquest. Always consult a real map. So anyway, I was in my awesome paid-off AWD Subaru wagon zipping along some dirt road in the desert that map quest told me to take. Unlike back country Georgia, there was a sign... so I'm zipping around thinking "holy smokes" this is gorgeous country. Picture the desert before the strip malls, the cookie cutter houses, think Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin West circa 1940. THIS is where I was. Ah! The old West... huge cactus, jackrabbits, tumbleweeds and gorgeous views without even the slightest hint of a green golf course or Target-Greatland. But wait, I was looking for said "golf club" and realized that now I was 10 minutes into this dirt-road-desert-bliss-mode and 7 minutes from our appointment. So what does an adventure gal like me do? Well, I got to the highest dirt mound I could find and spotted said club in the distance and I took a right on a rambling dirt road to get there. Certainly, one of these roads will get me close, right? WRONG. Needless to say, I had to backtrack through my beloved desert-side and go one more street down the main road to find a paved road to my destination (incidentially, I cannot COUNT the number of times this happened on assignment for the newspaper) Taking paved roads was not as romantic and fun, but alas it got me there... and only 5 minutes late to boot. Awaiting me was the very friendly Grady and radiant Brandy and a great bottle of Champagne. I was liking these folks already. Clients: take notes, bring a bottle of anything to loosen you up, it makes you look happier :) But also, don't try to pry a Champagne bottle out of this couple's vice grip. They are not kidding about their bubbly! Gorgeous club, fun couple! I can't wait to shoot their intimate wedding next Thursday and reception on Saturday. Enjoy these images.
P.S. Grady & Brandy live in California, and choose to do the e-session close to the wedding date, but normally I shoot e-sessions closer to the engagement...

location: The Golf Club Scottsdale

Jacki + Jeff engagement

Two engagement sessions in Flagstaff! I love summer! Jacki and Jeff inspired me to explore a bit more of the AZ snowbowl...as they are both avid skiiers and both athletes... Matt and I shot this on Friday the 13th but everything went as if it was 7-7-07 with great weather on the peaks while it rained in town. I couldn't get enough of the "70s" light as I call it. It was a gorgeous sunset and we had a great time shooting too. I love Matt multi-tasking... he's learning so fast! We hope to shoot Jacki and Jeff's wedding in Mexico (slide show will post soon)!

Kristine + Dustin engagement

Kristine and Dustin wanted to get in a last minute e-session before their wedding next month and ironically, Kristine was nervous about how she might look ??!!?? Now you tell me-- is this girl hot or what? We shot this in Flagstaff downtown and up in the Aspens.