Why I do What I Do | The Happiness Gratitude Connection

I have something personal to share on why I have been a photographer since ... long before I realized I was actually a photographer ...

I recently caught the tail end of a TED radio talk on Happiness, when I was struck by these words:"WE HAVE TO BUILD STOP SIGNS INTO OUR LIVES."


The speaker, David Steindle Rast, was talking about gratitude as an essential key to happiness. He suggested that this simple active pause can revolutionize our lives, inspiring a sense of gratitude, and in turn bringing more happiness to our daily lives.  He suggested that we could ALL benefit by taking time to "STOP. LOOK. And GO." Every day.


This is PRECISELY what I love so passionately about photography. 


Great photographs are stop signs: they evoke a moment's pause, a moment's reflection, a moment to be grateful. 


The world moves fast. Faster, every day with digital images pummeling most of us for most of our waking hours (I'm probably not the only one guilty of absorbing digital media even from bed)!

When I recently started ordering PRINTS again -- for myself and for clients -- it struck me how much value there was in looking at something that wasn't being projected in pixels. It was inspiring me to STOP. And LOOK. And then GO on with my day. With Gratitude.


THIS is why I do what I do. My work is ever inspired by love, gratitude, and a desire to share.

To see more of what's been happening in our latest newsletter, click HERE!

Stay GRATEFUL... and as always, Stay INSPIRED!

Apple - iPad Air | Your Verse

I don't usually blog this kind of thing, but I've seen this a few times and truly think it may be my favorite commercial of all time. The concept, the footage, the score, the narration (who doesn't love listening to Robin Williams wax poetic about life?).

" ... that the Powerful Play goes on ... and You may contribute a Verse ... "

Portrait Shoot in my NEW STUDIO! { Denver High School Senior Photographer }

Ali and I had an absolute BLAST workin' it in this session.

First of all, how STUNNING is this amazing young woman?!

But what makes it even better is that she was just as excited as I was to experience the session as something empowering and fun; to explore the grounds of the factory where my studio is located, to feel the amazing light, and to express her beautiful depth... and together we discovered some pure photo MAGIC.

I am so lucky to get to do this! And I am super grateful to have found this studio, as the grounds are truly special -- natural light pouring in and bouncing everywhere, authentically vintage (an historic cotton mill!) and endlessly inspiring.

Autumn Family Portraits { Family Photographer, Denver }

Within seconds of picking up my camera it was apparent exactly how accustomed this awesome family is to having their photos taken. What I loved most, though, was loosening them up after the "expected" photo, and watching them enjoy each other (and their pets!), and capturing them in more candid poses. And hello?! This family is just beyond beautiful in every way!!

I do honestly learn something new on every single shoot, and my favorite moments from this shoot were, as is often the case, the unscripted ones. So much of my best work happens, as Annie Liebovitz says, "in the moments in between the main moments."

High School Senior Portraits | Custom Magazine Design, Denver

Ryan & Julianna

By jennifer koskinen in Merritt Design Photo Portraits

40 pages, published 12/10/2013

One of the advantages of hiring a photographer with a background in design is that we offer unique ways to showcase your session photos: this custom designed, 40 page magazine features a unique urban Senior Photo Session in downtown Denver Colorado. It was beyond amazing to get to work with these gorgeous and talented cousins! Enjoy!

Actor Head Shots on Location | Portrait Photographer Denver

I do enjoy a creative challenge...

So not too long ago I took on the crazy task of shooting over 150 amazing young actors for the Denver School of the Arts' Theatre Department annual head shot project.

They could only be scheduled in the hottest light of the day. In August.

And did I mention that this is a parking lot in the background?

Fortunately for me, these kids are totally amazing and were TONS of fun to photograph, even at a such a quick pace!

Natural Light. 

Expression. 

Connection.

I. Love. This.

Enjoy a few samples from the day!

Painting with Urban Light | Modern in Denver Photo Essay

If you haven't yet seen the Fall Issue of Modern in Denver magazine, I highly recommend you pick it up! (ok yes, if you know me at all you know I always higly recommend this magazine -- it is, in my opinion, the cream of the architectural, editorial AND graphic design crop! Even the ads are beautiful).

I had wonderful time exploring the possibilities of creating surreal images with daytime long exposures for the autumn Photo Essay, and thought I'd share a few of the images here, plus a few "out-takes" from the photographic explorations on which this journey took me. Enjoy!

NOW... if you like this image, I have partnered with Modern in Denver to offer YOU a chance to win a limited edition, signed print!!

Details and all you need to Enter the giveaway are HERE!

Good Luck!!

Shadow Critters | Just for Fun

I photographed this leaf shadow a year or so ago. Reminded me of a Chinese Dragon. Is it just me or can you see it too?

Again this autumn I have gotten lost in the circus of critters that I see in oak leaf shadows early in the morning. They feel like creatures straight out of a dream!

Suddenly, I can't walk under an oak tree and NOT be drawn in by their sinuous, lifelike shapes. I just love them!

Take a moment to look down next time you're wandering beneath an oak tree in autumn -- you might too just get lost in a world of imaginative critter-shadows!

Enjoy!

New Photo Products!! [ Denver Family & Portrait Photographer ]

[ High Quality Archival Prints! In Gorgeous Frames! ]

For too long I resisted jumping on board with the likes of "those" photographers who only sold actual photos and wouldn't release files. I didn't get it. I wanted my clients to have ALL of their photo files to do with as they pleased.

But then...

... then I started visiting clients' homes and realizing I was inadvertently favoring quantity over quality, giving them a inferior product by not overseeing the quality side of my end product. Photos were printed with poor color calibration, on paper that was fading, cropped improperly by automated machines, and looking diminutive on a wall.

Or -- the horror! -- they were sitting lost in a folder of files somewhere. I know you know what I'm talking about...

Bottom line is that I care about my clients too much to have their investment not reach it's potential, and I have too much passion for my work to let sub-par prints or lost files be representative of what I'm putting out into the world.

To that end, I have searched high and low, I have sampled, I have queried, and finally I have sourced an incredible lab (which happens to be based in Denver -- how great is that?) and hand selected a line of extraordinary products on which your photographs will look simply magnificent!

[ 5x7 Image Box ]

So, it's time for your photographs to break out of pixel jail and have a VIBRANT LIFE BEYOND THE DIGITAL FILE!

Speaking of digital files... most of us really only want a digital file so we can share it with friends and family via email, facebook, and other social media. And I'd like you to have that ability as well! So, for every photograph you purchase, you will ALSO receive a web resolution file which is licensed and optimized for you to share electronically!



If you are still on the fence as to why it is worth the investment in real, finished, quality products, here are a few more of the factors that changed my mind:

1) Most of us will enjoy files for a very limited amount of time and then they will become forgotten pixels in a computer file somewhere. Why invest in professional photography at all if it will be lost?
2) Files WILL become corrupt over time.
3) Files will likely be un-readable by future computers / programs (think about how quickly video cassettes became obsolete... then DVDs replaced by BlueRay... etc.)
4) Professional prints are archival, color-calibrated, and guaranteed by your photographer to look the way you want.
5) This is my favorite: Prints on your wall and books on a coffee table, of your family, will be appreciated day after day, year after year, and hopefully generation after generation!

They become HEIRLOOM ARTWORK.

[ 5x5 Press Book with Layflat Pages ]

[ 5x7 Image Boxes ] 

[ Miniature Accordion Books ]

What could be better than a gallery of fine art celebrating the love of your family in your home?

And YES! I am carrying a gorgeous line of frames now, too! 

I am MADLY IN LOVE with all of these incredible products and have samples for you to touch, feel, and see for yourself why the investment in photographing your family can end in something far more satisfying, lasting, and beautiful than digital files!  

Autumn Painting with Light ... in the Woods!

One of my very favorite things to do in autumn is play with daytime long exposure photography, using the foliage to, quite literally, paint an exposure with their palette.

Here are a few of my favorites from a recent road trip to Telluride (for an architectural photography gig which I also can't wait to share).  Enjoy!