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Real Photography closed in December 2014 and is no longer accepting clients.

Thank you for your support over the years! Please follow me at my new personal blog: www.needlesandapen.com to keep up with my latest photography, craft, and nursing school adventures.

happy 'ween!

Nov 02, 2008

I was getting caught up on my google reader backlog today and loved seeing everyone’s Halloween pictures.  Thought I would share a few of ours…even if it’s a few days late!  Will had a total blast trick-or-treating with his best friend and neighbor Ems (the cute scarecrow and his hug-buddy) and he also loved receiving trick-or-treaters once we’d finished our walk up and down our street.  He loved wishing everyone “Happy ‘Ween!”  (And I appreciate that he looks three years younger in his chicken suit!)

(For the shutter bugs out there, these were all taken with our 5d and 50mm f/1.4 [my usual “run around with the family on a holiday or birthday” lens] with natural light.  The after dark trick-or-treating shots were at 1600 ISO and f/1.4 at 1/50 second.)

Posted in Personal

nic's birthday

Nov 01, 2008

To celebrate Nic’s birthday Monday we went for a hike.  I got so many shots that I totally adore.  I thought I’d share just a few…

Starting down the trail the first time.  (Someone about 3 and a half feet tall started chanting poo-poo potty about 1/3 of the way up, so we had to run back down, get in the car, find a coffee shop with a bathroom…and then try again.)

The birthday boy and his biggest fan at the top:

Nic took his turn behind the camera and got some new favorites of me and The B.

Nobody gives kisses quite like Will!

The highlight of our break at the top was the Norwegian coffee cake that my Nana sent for Nic’s birthday.  She sends them for all of our birthdays (I can’t get the recipe to work at 7000ft).

I’m not the only one who adores this cake.  It is one of Will’s favorite things and has been since he first tasted it when he turned one!  Nana knew that poor Nic doesn’t really stand a chance when it comes to a treat that both Will and I love, so she sent them with clear intentions for Nic to have a cake all to himself.  Will thought it was all wrong.  I had given him what Nic called a “crazy big piece for a two year old” but when Will saw the whole cake Nic had, he grabbed it out of his hand and swapped it.

Posted in Personal

Get ready for lots of pictures in this sneak peek of Meg and Matt’s fantastic wedding!  (I’m pretty sure this is the longest sneak peek ever.)  When I went to check how many pictures I’d flagged for blogging, I saw 80!  Ooops! I tried to cut it down, but as you can see, I pretty much failed.

Getting ready at The Curtis Hotel.

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Look at that ring bearer pillow!  (It’s modeled after an Eat’n Park cookie)  Meg had the most fantastic shoes and orange petticoat!

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At Trinity Methodist Church (the oldest church in Denver) they had a beautiful antique mirror.

Matt getting ready.  He has the best laugh!

The ceremony was stunning.  Trinity Methodist Church is simply gorgeous!

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Nic was up in the balcony and I was down on the main floor.  It’s so nice to be able to take two different levels to get different angles!  Here’s the same scene from both of us.  Nic’s is on the left, mine on the right.

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More from the ceremony because I can’t help myself…

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We don’t normally spend much time on individual portraits on the wedding day, but since we had less than an hour until sunset after the ceremony, Meg and Matt wanted to do some creative individual portraits before the ceremony when we would have plenty of time and light.  I’m so glad they did!

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Check out Meg’s incredible birdcage veil!  I have a dozen variations of this shot that I adore!

Another shot of Meg being adorable:

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Matt’s turn to work it!

The bridal party with some fun yellow stairs:

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This shot cracks me up.  I was concentrating so hard on all of the traffic and timing of the shot that I didn’t realize the ring bearer had gotten in on the action until I was proofing!

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Meg and Matt’s family were complete rock stars, and we powered through family portraits and bridal party shots with enough time to do some couple shots before we lost all light!

My photographer possee knows Meg and Matt collectively as “the balloon shot couple” because of this portrait from their engagement shoot:

So it was only fitting to have a little balloon action on the wedding day!  Here comes my shot…

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And Nic’s versions…

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denver wedding photographer

I am a big fan of spots that allow a couple to stand in a single place and then the photographer moves around for tons of variety.  These two are a great example of that.  In both shots Meg and Matt were standing against the church pillars.  I just moved to first get an architectural shot and then a fun urban background:

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denver wedding photographer

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Meg and Matt had a hundred different fantastic touches at the reception.  Here’s a glance at some of them…

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I have been wanting to do a cocktail/ring shot forever.  We played around with several compositions (and garnishes) but this one is my favorite:

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The grand entrance (with balloons of course)!

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Two different shots of the first dance:

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denver wedding photographer

I like kids a lot.  Mainly because they are one of the few groups that you can take pictures of as they lick the frosting off a cookie without them wanting to punch you.

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There was a LOT of kid cuteness going on at the reception.  Matt’s nephew totally rocked out on the microphone.  I have never seen such amazing rock star performing skills!  He had the moves DOWN!

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Hug after the toasts…

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I have no idea what this was about…but it was hilarious:

And that’s it.  I’m cutting myself off.  Because I really could go on forever.  Thanks for sharing your beautiful wedding with us, Meg and Matt!

***

Behind the scenes.  (This post is ridiculously long already, but it really isn’t a wedding post without a few behind the scenes shots).

Sometimes I am part wedding photographer and part wedding coordinator.  The boutonniere pinning wasn’t going so well, so I ended up doing a few boutonnieres.  But I have crazy “camera pointed at me” radar, so I turned to see what Nic was doing just as he hit the shutter and this was how my face looked at that moment.  Figures.

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Nic rocking the bride and groom portraits…

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A hilarious outtake from family formals…

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And what happens when you give two photographers a weird bathroom mirror.  We end up shooting it.  Nic went for the fun-house distortion.  I went for the prettier capture…

Posted in Wedding Photographer