I think in my previous post I said I was going to blog regularly from Colorado, and boy did I fail! We leave early tomorrow morning and I’ve only blogged once in two weeks! BLOG FAIL. Oh well, I’ve had a lovely time here, as always. And, to prove that I still know how to operate my camera, I made a slideshow of some images from our stay with the Ryder clan. I made it originally just for the family to see, but I decided to post it here because, hey, they are photos and this is a photo blog. Genius!

All of the images are SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera), except for contrast and color tweaking, as needed.

Happy New Year, everyone! Something tells me this year is gonna be a great one.

It was of course cold and slightly snowy and I of course did not pack any warm shoes. It was still very hot in California and I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that there would be snow anywhere in the US so early in the year! I kid you not, I was wearing ballet slippers with no socks. I am an idiot. But! The gift shop at the summit came through like a champ and I was able to procure myself some stylish Pike’s Peak socks. Look who’s laughing now!

I wasn’t Megan and Kyle’s wedding photographer (I prefer to, you know, not work when I’m at the weddings of people I know and love), but I was able to take Megan’s ‘getting ready’ photos the afternoon of the wedding. It was very special because most of the time it was just Megan and I and I got to feel like I was a part of her day. It was lovely and I will post some of those later. But, for now, here’s a slideshow of my favorites from our Pike’s Peak adventure.

The lovely song playing in the background (that was a little too long for the slideshow, sorry) is Chris’ cousin Ian and his wife Beth’s band, Dialectics. They are awesome and I find this particular song quite heavenly. Check them out here and buy their album on iTunes!

I’m not one to really take photos of inanimate objects. My camera tends to drift towards people and animals. I sometimes feel self-conscious about this, I don’t know why. I guess I sometimes wonder if there’s anything separating me from the college student who works behind the camera at a JC Penny photo studio. Of course there is, but I do have to remind myself of that.

Sometimes I get shots like this. I’m pleased with this one and looking at it makes me crave shooting things without a face. Nature has a funny impact on people sometimes.

Beverly Hills Motel. Located in the mountains of Colorado, of all places.

When Megan told me she’d like me to take their engagement photos I jumped at the chance because I felt it would be a nice gift that I could give them to show my excitement for their union. These two are the cutest couple I’ve ever met—next to Chris and I, of course. They’re kind and warm to each other and share an amazing sense of humor. I feel very fortunate to be able to (legally) call them family soon.

I feel the need to preface these photos with the disclaimer that this was the most challenging photo shoot I’ve had to date because of the weather. Colorado was cold. I didn’t know if my body was going to be able to handle the temperature, but what I didn’t expect was for my camera to freak out. I guess I take the mild California weather for granted where photography is concerned. Paired with the fact that we got a later start than we had planned and had to rush to catch good enough light, I wasn’t sure how well these photos were going to turn out. While I probably had less to work with due to camera malfunctions, I’m pretty happy with the usable shots I did get. I hope Megan and Kyle are, too. So, without further ado, here are a few:

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