granted wish

On Tuesday night (production) I got to go photograph a Make-A-Wish child named Gabe as he was told that the wish he has been waiting almost two and a half years for will be granted in the next few weeks. I have to say, it was really rough. I was pretty disappointed in myself. I set up with a long lens so as not to frighten him or completely overwhelm him when he came in. I had no idea what condition he would be in or anything. Turns out he has a lot of energy and boy can he run. There were a select few interaction shots in the very beginning that I pretty much completely missed. There was a large conference table and a big group of people between him and me when the hugging was happening. I would have killed for two bodies in that situation. After he ate copious amounts of candy he started tearing around the room/office at top speed, toting a toy guitar since the celeb he is meeting is a rocker in his favorite movie, School of Rock.
Thing was, I'm not sure he was fully aware of what was happening and he was most of the time in his own little world.
Once again, a great learning experience and also simply a really wonderful thing to be able to witness.
Congrats Gabe!

paying the bills

I thought I would post some from my paid work and do a little shameless self-promotion. I mostly do senior portraits but I shot my first solo wedding a few weeks ago.

Funny that this is my paid work. I hope someday to be paid for my journalistic work as well... But until then...

Oktoberfest 09

Didn't spend much time there this weekend, but here are a few.

still here

The idea of fall is in the air again. It seems to be much cooler at night and the trees have begun to hint at change. I'm not sure that I'm prepared yet for fall, but it will come regardless.
These days the cold marks the passing of time and I feel an increasing sense of panic. This seems "only natural" with the amount of work/personal photographic projects I am beginning, but that doesn't make going insane each day any easier.

So, I am thankful to my friends and family and those who will take me in on a Friday night and let me stain their shirts with tears.

And with that I shall take a deep breath as I prepare for the plunge.

Sleepless in Denver

Been pretty busy the last... While.

I have been stressing about this wedding that I shot tonight running off of 4 hours of sleep. I did it and it went pretty well considering a few mishaps and scheduling changes. I learned that I suck at strobe work so I had to learn pretty quickly how not to suck. It's been a long 24 hours.

I have officially shot my first solo wedding! I do not wish this task upon anyone, especially since I now have almost 3,000 images to wade through. In the end, though, Obama would be proud–I learned a lot.

Now I'm off to bed for a few hours before taking on a new week (issue of The Met).

tattoo me

So I went to the Denver Tattoo Convention today... I had been told by the organizer that I couldn't set anything up and do portraits but I brought my stuff anyway. I ended up setting up a black sheet next to a window. I've never done this before and I didn't do a very good job, but it was a learning experience.

Here are a few:

beating hearts

I just finished Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. I'm quite sad because it was what I had to look forward to at the end of the day.

Excerpt:
"From somewhere in the valley below us comes the sound of drums. I recall the time I spent here in the central plateau with the American soldiers, and I remember the sound of Voodoo drums wafting into the army barracks in Mirebalais at night and how unsettling it was to some of us sitting there, in all its mystery. I'm sure we'd have felt different if we'd known we were probably hearing ceremonies to cure the sick. For myself, right now, I like the sound, like so many hearts beating through a single stethoscope."

May we all discover something beautiful this week.

second time's the charm

A few from a second edit of some old takes over le summer.