Star Trails

Just a quick post today about a really neat night of star trail photography I had back in December. The forecast was supposed to be right around -10 degrees, with dead calm air, which was perfect for a crisp, clean, perfect night sky. I drove out into RMNP and set up my tripod for a couple of shots. This one was roughly a 20 minute exposure...anything longer and the battery would have froze! Luckily the hike back to the car from the spot was short, so I was able to listen to sports radio during the exposure. When I got home and uploaded the image, I was really surprised to see that I had honed in perfectly on the North Star which, because of its positioning near the northern rotational axis of the earth, appears to have all the other stars rotating around it. I hadn't even really planned on it (I think my mind was mainly focused on my numb fingers), but was very excited with the end result! Another surprising aspect of the photo is how bright the forest looks. That was due to moon reflection lighting up the whole scene!

Taken on a Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm, f/8, 20 minutes, ISO 400

A Conifer Wedding

A few weekends ago, I headed up to Conifer, Colorado to photograph the nice, intimate family wedding of Bonnie and Chelo. There were about 40 guests in attendance and the ceremony and reception were held at the bride's parents' wonderful house up in the mountains. The weather was perfect, the aspens were golden and the sunset was really memorable, check out a few more photos from the afternoon:

This little guest loved getting his photo taken.

The night sky turned out to be cloud free and as the sun was just about set, I snapped some longer-exposure shots of the wedding reception.


The wonderful couple!


While I was setting up my cameras for the beginning of the ceremony, a curious fox walked up out of the woods and laid on the lawn. He struck a few cute poses, and I snapped a couple of photos of him in his playful mood. I had the flash all set up on the camera already, and although I felt a bit odd taking "wildlife" photos with a flash, the reflection in the fox's eyes really adds a bit of life to the photo.

The USA Pro-Cycling Challenge

Last month, Colorado was treated to a 6 stage professional level cycling race featuring many of the teams on the pro circuit. The top 3 finishers in this year's Tour de France were even in attendance. Liz, myself and two other friends hiked up Signal Mountain outside Golden, CO to watch the final hill climb of the final stage. This was my first real attempt at capturing a fast-motion sporting event, where there is only one opportunity to nail the shot. We positioned ourselves on a bit of a straightaway and I was able to capture a few great action shots of the riders, including Frank Scheleck, the 3rd place finisher in the 2011 Tour de France (above).

Lindsay & Griff's Big Day

What a spectacular wedding shoot for a wonderful couple! This was my second "professional" wedding gig, and it went off without a hitch! About 2 months ago, Lindsay, a co-worker of mine asked me if I was available to take photos at her wedding, and as I am attempting to start a bit of a burgeoning wedding photography business, I graciously accepted! Lindsay (and I) work at Rocky Mountain National Park in northwest Colorado, and she and her new husband Griff decided to plan a nice, simple, frugal outdoor celebration. As the wedding began, I was a bit tense as this was only my second professional wedding job, but as the ceremony got rolling, so did I. Aside from a few rain drops mid-ceremony (which no true Coloradoan would let affect their ceremony), everything went swimmingly! Along with me I brought my wonderful girlfriend Liz as my secondary photographer. I shot with my D90, and a borrowed friend's D90 with both the 18-200mm and 11-16mm lenses and two borrowed SB-600 speed lights, and Liz had the D40x loaded with the 18-55 lens loaded for detail shots. For Liz's first real photo-shooting outing, she did spectacularly! I was very proud of her.

Many wedding photographers post process their photos with a bit of a washed out filter. This gives the image a soft, pleasant feel, and, I think, serves to accentuate pastel colors which are common in wedding color palates. Being that this wedding was rather informal in dress-code, the soft coloration I applied nicely accentuates the pastel boutonniere and removes any harsh contrast that Lindsay's father's dark suit might have otherwise added.

After the ceremony, The wedding party stuck around for a bit for a few more portraits. Just out back of the ceremony location was a very neat, beat-up old shed that had some teal doors and a bit of really cool green mold growing on it. I captured this photo just as the last rain drops stopped falling for the afternoon.

Interesting angles also help make a wedding photograph stand out. I firmly believe that not every shot taken at a wedding should be a straight-on 90 degree perfect frame. Here, I was lucky enough to capture a loving gaze just after the official ceremony ended.

Before everyone scattered to make their way to the reception location, I got up on a picnic table and asked everyone to gather together for a final shot of the entire group. Right before I clicked the shutter, I thought to myself, "lets have a little fun with this," and told everyone to, "jump on the count of 3!" The resulting capture came out really well. This was truly an easygoing and fun group of people.


After the wedding party shots were finished, we headed out for some couple-only portraits in a field of wildflowers that Lindsay was familiar with. For these shots I switched over to my 50mm lens and was able to capture some really stunning shots as the weather cleared for the afternoon.



The "ring shot" is a classic detail image that should never be left out of a wedding photo shoot. In the past I have struggled a bit with these sorts of "macro" or close up shots as I do not have a dedicated macro lens. This image, taken with my 50mm was a tricky one to pull off. First of all, a shallow depth of field is essential to make a close-up photo "pop." My 50mm lens is a master at shallow depth of field, but the second problem that I needed to overcome was the fact that this lens is not macro specific. This means that it cannot focus on something that is within 2-3 feet of the front of the lens. Thirdly, we were out in a field taking these photos and were not able to set up a tripod for a nice, steady, controlled shot. My way around these problems was to switch the camera to continuous shooting mode, but with manual focus. Then instead of focusing individually on each shot, I had Liz hold the bouquet of flowers, with the rings, as I slightly moved in and then out with the camera, shooting continuously for about 12 frames. This allowed a different micro-subject in the frame to become in focus in each shot. I figured, that at least one out of the 12 shots had to have captured the wedding rings in focus, and when I came home and check them out, I was right! I'm quite proud of this in-the-field (no pun intended) problem solving and am very happy with how the shot came out.

The Dave & Anne Mini-Shoot

The last time I saw two of my best friends Anne and Dave I conveniently also had my camera with me. I asked them if they would be OK with me taking a few portrait shots of them as practice, as I am always looking for subjects to photograph so I can improve my skills and technique. They kindly accepted (Dave, having traveled with me before, was all too used to the idea of me sticking a camera up in his face), and we goofed around for about 10 minutes, Anne suggesting that they take a mock "album cover photo," and Dave fooling with the omnipresent "hover-hand." The resulting images, I think, came out quite well! These were taken outside of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Extension Hangar out at Dulles Airport in Virginia with, of course, the slick 50mm f1.4 lens.

Dave getting a bit serious.

Anne, a bit less serious

A proper shot looking off to camera right

The album cover shot

Botanic Gardens

I have rarely had the opportunity to photograph flora, so when my mother, grandfather, girlfriend and I headed over to the Denver Botanic Gardens, I didn't hesitate in grabbing my camera and 18-200mm lens. It was a cold, dreary day with the clouds threatening to rain at any moment; truly an unusual late spring day in the Colorado front range. Luckily there was an indoor tropical conservatory that we took refuge in to warm up and eat some lunch when our hands got too cold. Presented here are a few nice images from throughout the garden complex.

Wonderful Orchids

River stone sidewalk

Overwinter Bamboo

Bamboo pathway

A Black & White England

In this (likely) final edition of British photos, I focus on some black and white shots that were taken in the cities of London and Windsor. Like many people, I have always loved black and white photos. Their simplicity is appealing to the eye...darks seem darker, and basic shapes can become complex entities. For example, the granite amphitheater (below), as a color photograph, might appear too boring, but in a monochrome, the simple black shadows allow the structure to take on a more organic shape which draws the viewer's eye around the curve and places it finally on the two girls who are hanging out on the stage.

Amphitheater, London

Other times, black and white can serve as the perfect medium for portraits. There is no color to get in the way of the emotion that the photographer might be trying to convey. Portraits done in this manner serve as a nice throwback to photography's early days where color was not an option. Here, Liz enjoys some street side fish and chips in Windsor.

Birds in St James's Park, London. In this image, the stark whiteness of the two parallel-walking birds cut a nice outline against the darker grass background.

11mm wide-angle shot of Liz on the apogee of St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

Here, a royal guard paces while standing guard at Windsor Palace. I love how the black and white photo lets the eye to be drawn along the pathway that the guard has walked, allowing the viewer to notice the way that the wet pavement has been dried by his repetitious steps. This might not be as visible if the photograph were in color. Additionally, being that it was winter, the guard's overcoat was gray (as opposed to the classic red tunic of the summer uniform) and a color version of this image might not have been as appealing because the castle walls are also made of light gray stone. Perfect placement of his outstretched white-gloved hand against the darkest shadow in the frame also makes for a wonderfully crisp addition.

Liz beneath the London Eye.

Poseidon on a dock, London.