Great Wall Story | Denver Center Theatre Company

Cast of "Great Wall Story": John Hutton, Mike Hartman, Jacob Knoll, Larry Paulson, Christopher Kelly, Merritt Janson & Gabe Koskinen-Sansone

If you are in Denver this month, come check out the world premiere of "Great Wall Story" (through April 22) presented by Denver Center Theatre Company in the Ricketson Theatre at the Denver Center for Performing Arts.

Written by award winning contemporary NY playwright, Lloyd Suh, this fast-paced, highly entertaining play is based on the true story of a newspaper hoax which was hatched by three newspapermen on a sleepy night in Denver in 1899.  Their tale had a ripple effect which reached across the globe, and the truth was only actually uncovered several decades later.  The story is beautifully told by a terrific ensemble cast and is at once hilarious, provocative and moving.

For anyone who is interested in truth and ethics in journalism, this story is as profoundly relevant today as ever.

 

Art Manke directs the incredibly talented cast of Great Wall Story which includes: Christopher Kelly, Mike Hartman, Jacob Knoll, John Hutton, Merritt Janson, Larry Paulsen and Gabe Koskinen-Sansone.  Gorgeous layered scenic design by Lisa M. Orzolek, and beautiful period costume design by Angela Balogh Calin.

On a personal note, nothing can quite explain how rewarding -- and FUN -- it has been to watch my son fall desperately in love with the art of theatre.  He plays reporter Jack Tournay's son, Charlie -- a soulful touchstone in the story, living out the consequence of the lies of his father with his own struggle to maintain hope in difficult times. Gabe's experience is instilling in him passion, confidence, dedication, a great work ethic -- and has introduced him to a family of truly talented, creative and wonderful people.

All Photos © Jennifer M. Koskinen

Maternity Shoot | Denver Botanic Gardens

There has been nothing quite so miraculous in my life as the experience of pregnancy - feeling new life growing day by day is surreal, beautiful and is at once profoundly humbling AND empowering.

Of course for me that was over 11 years ago, so I am thrilled when I am asked to spend time photographing pregnant women now! This maternity session was a blast with lovely former wedding clients, and I am SO excited to meet and photograph their new little one when he or she is born!

Restaurant Interior Photography | Ambria, Denver

I was thrilled to be commissioned by Aspen and Denver based architecture firm, Rowland + Broughton Architecture and Urban Design to photograph their recently completed remodel of this beautiful new restaurant, Ambria, on the 16th Street Mall in Denver. Warm, smoke colored Roots Lotus lights and a long community table create a beautiful gathering area central to the space, while flowing fabrics help define more intimate areas within a mostly open floorplan.

And if you were curious, yes - the food is amazing!

 

Wedding Photography in Denver!

Fine Art Wedding Photography

By jennifer koskinen in Wedding Photography

26 pages, published 23 JAN 2012

Merritt Design Photo offers Fine Art Wedding Photography, specializing in warm, candid and gorgeous professional coverage of weddings throughout Colorado and the Southwest. Download a free digital edition of this beautiful 26 page, full color Wedding Photography magazine and pricing guide for 2012, available now, through MagCloud.

Environmental Portraiture in Denver

I absolutely LOVED every minute of this shoot last weekend...

How can you go wrong with such a beautiful girl (a dear friend's daughter) who, it turns out, is a natural in front of the camera and enjoyed modeling as much as I enjoy shooting; a great photo assistant (her awesome mom!);  AND great light?

And who doesn't love wandering around Denver Botanic Gardens on a beautiful day in January?

Already excited for my next environmental portrait shoot!

Also, stay tuned... I'm chomping at the bit to share another project on which I've been hard at work for the past few weeks!

New Family Portraits: More in 2012 !

I still consider myself an architectural photographer.  The merging of great design detailing, material, texture and light are all deeply inspiring to me, and creating photographs of beautiful 3 dimensional spaces is a unique thrill.  However, something has been crystalizing for me lately: what began as simply photographing family & friends for fun has slowly begun to teach me how much I LOVE working with people! It fills me with incomparable joy to capture a fleeting smile; to make someone feel their beauty -- and truly -- there is little on the planet more beautiful and precious to me than a pure smile which radiates from a person's eyes and outward onto his or her face.  As I photograph, a smile grows on MY face as people relax into having fun, and again I'm sure people laugh at me as I edit and smile stupidly at my monitor.  It is great fun!

Yes... I love it.  More of this in 2012, please!

Instagram: Sharpening Capture Skills on the Fly

The year 2011 introduced me to a powerful little app called Instagram. I first explored the genius of this simple app with the limitations of an iPod Touch camera, which, unbeknownst to me at the time, isn't even rated with pixels, but rather based on lesser graphics for video.  Not the best for clean, crisp images, but it forced me to really think about the basics of composition in a tiny square, and I found I could still capture compelling images (half of the images above are from my iPod, half from the iPhone 4s).

If you are even mildly interested in bettering your photographic skills, I swear by this simple technology as a way to explore your eye and sharpen your skills at composition.  I am constantly impressed at how this technology is inspiring me - and some 12 million others - to see the 3 dimensions of our every day world through new eyes; to see beauty, backlight, pattern and shadow as more than just passing parts of our periphery, but as subjects of composition and interest in their own right.

If you're in Denver, grab your iPhone or iPod and join us for our our first Instameet on Sunday, January 15th - base of the Clocktower on 16th Street at 2pm.  

Follow @merrittphoto on Instagram for more details!