I am not just taking your photo, I am telling your story. It may be a story you didn’t even know about yourself but that’s true all the same.

The first roll I shoot I tell you I’m going to throw away. I click, you tense, and then start to forget to.

I am your mirror—in the best sense. I coax you to generate more energy in your eyes, how to move, what works well, what doesn’t.

I try to get my subjects to tap into something within themselves that can be released and blossom, a private tenderness that’s allowed to escape.

There’s a rawness that I’m after. It’s what your face looks like when you pull off your mask.

Prepare yourself to witness your own beauty in my photos in a way that might truly surprise you.

What makes me even more excited is if my clients are willing to step out of there comfort zone. It doesn’t have to be crazy—but I am all for craziness—it can be subtle, an almost imperceptible risk of being who they truly are. I love it when I can see that unfolding before my eyes.

In location, often what I am looking for is an unfamiliar element that jars my client’s awareness. I like what I call “hard” elements, such as a dilapidated car, a brick alleyway, juxtaposed with the “softness” of people. There’s something magical in the combination for me that keeps drawing me in.

Here’s a shortlist of some of my favorite places in Boulder to shoot:

Shanahan Ridge

Of course in Boulder, there will always be people who love the mountain shot, with the glorious flatirons in the background and big sky feel above. Shanahan ridge is less crowded that other Boulder parks, and it still has a trace of wilderness left.

The Hill

Even though this is the student’s turf, I love to do shoots here when people are game. It’s full of bright walls, funky buildings, trash cans, and interesting detritus in the alleys. A lot of character comes out when I use the Hill as my setting.

North Boulder

I recently discovered the area around the Bus Stop where there are a bunch of warehouses. I love the outlaw feel of it, the cool, painted walls, the dilapidated furniture lurking in the shadows.

Here are three great reasons to take wedding portraits before you perform the ceremony:

1. You get a chance to connect with each other without feeling hectic, stressed, or distracted

After the ceremony you get swept away on a tidal wave of social obligations, last minute logistics, group photos, and general craziness. But this little window offers a wonderful, private moment of basking in each other’s beauty and love. Being able to connect to the emotions at stake, the love that prompted you to get married in the first place, puts everything else that needs to happen in perspective. By seeing each other earlier in the day, you set a more aligned, congruent tone for the drama soon to unfold.

2. More time to party

Doing portraits before the wedding, including ones with the extended family, is much quicker before the ceremony. Folks are easier to gather, there are less distractions, and the whole process runs more efficiently. Once the wedding ceremony is over, you can completely relax and enjoy the party.

3. Seize the light

Natural light is the key to the best shots. If you do portraits beforehand, you can make sure you have optimal light that flatters everyone. You don’t have to worry about the light running out after the ceremony and you can be more present with your guests instead of disappearing for a long photo shoot.

In my experience, I have seen time and time again how choosing to take the most important photos of the wedding before your ceremony can have a huge impact on your stress level. It’s a total win-win, as it increases everybody’s overall enjoyment of the day.

Here are five reason you know it’s time to get thee to a photographer:

1. Your professional head shot is terrible—your hair color has changed three times over, you look like you just got out of a hot yoga class, and it screams lackadaisical. Think about what your profile photo says about you. What will people’s perception be about you, judging by your photo alone?
2. Even if you never leave the house without a camera, and are always taking photographs of your kids, there is something special and ineffable about getting a family portrait. For one, it’s rare to get everyone in your family in the shot. Secondly, the effort it takes to coordinate outfits and wipe faces clean pays off in spades. And thirdly, a good photographer can reflect back to you in the photo something even you are not conscious of in your family dynamic. An unexpected moment of tenderness, the poignancy of a child coming into his independence, the battle scars of parenting you and your partner proudly bear. It’s something worth doing every year, as having that intimate, quirky look at your family’s evolution will be something you will always treasure.
3. Your business has changed it’s name—or its location. Though it’s impossible to keep up with the flurry of trends, topics, and tweets, you have to keep up a modicum of being with it. Don’t let your business change without catching its current metamorphosis in pixels. Keeping it fresh, new, and relevant is what it takes these days to run your business effectively.
4. Mix it up intergenerational style when you can. Next time the grandparents, or a beloved aunt comes to town, plan to spread the love to include the extended family. A photo that captures the grandparents delighting in their children’s children is the best gift imaginable.
5. Don’t miss the milestones right in front of you. Between your child’s first steps and first prom lie a thousand opportunities to catch a glimpse of their deepening spirit. Don’t think of portraits of your children as something you do only their senior year, but rather as frequent pit stops on the wonderful arc of their childhood.

My sweet aunt Nancy recently passed away from cancer. Instead of seeing her at her funeral, my family decided to visit her in hospice. I was nervous and scared and very sad. This wonderful person I have known my whole life was dying.

When we finally were able to see her, I was struck by how her wonderful sense of humor shone through. Despite being bound to a bed and unable to move, her brain was sharp as a tack. And that was all the more amazing since the cancer was in her brain. Aside from all the emotions that I felt, I couldn’t help but notice all the love and life around her. Friends and family came from everywhere, to say good bye. The amount of love that filled the room was huge.

And then there is my uncle, her husband, her devoted coffee bringer who sat with her all day everyday. He was the stalwart reminder of what they were to one another. I was so moved by his very apparent love for his wife. What a lucky couple to have know such love. I hope for all of us that we find that kind of dedication to one another. And these are midwest folks, famous for not showing much emotion. Even my wonderful father, who struggles to show how he feels, couldn’t stop holding her hand.

And my aunt’s mother, my grandmother, who is 101 years old, was so sad. She said to me, no parent should ever lose a child, no matter how old you are. I can’t stop thinking about that. And how she would just hold my aunt’s hand, and look at her with so much love.

I guess my point is, that no matter what the tragic circumstances might be, the love that surrounds us all is an amazing and powerful thing. I only wish we could realize that on a day to day basis. To be truly grateful for all that we do have. And when we lose someone we love, to give our love, even more, to those around us.

And that brings me to Rachel Bacchus. She came into my life, in need of photos, to tell her own story with Cancer. What came out of her painful loss of her breasts is an incredible love story. She found her true love. Having been around Rachel and Joe, there is no doubt. And I think that perhaps when you are faced, truly faced, with your own mortality, you come to terms with what is really important in life and surrender to it. Joe and Rachel are two of the most open people, and I mean that in a very deep way, that I have ever met. I hope you all get a chance to follow her on Facebook, under “fucking cancer, a love story.”

I feel honored to have known and loved my aunt, and honored to have been touched by Rachel.

I can only thank life.

This wedding, or elopement rather, was special for me to shoot. There was  so much splendor in the simplicity, such as the crisp beauty of a winter night as backdrop. It was easy for me to capture the couple’s overwhelming love for each other–the gladness of their hearts was evident in every shot. Kindness spilled out everywhere: in the nuzzling of noses, impish smiles, the groundswell of emotion pooling in the eyes. The couple didn’t care that they were gorgeous. They cared that their emotions were true, their hearts were open, their touch tender.

Everything led up to the most magical moment of all, when the couple’s good friend, a singer and songwriter, played an acoustic version of Van Morrison’s Moondance in the middle of the Pearl St Mall. Under the cover of a cobalt sky, trees aglow with lights, the starry-eyed couple glided their way through their first dance as man and wife.

Enjoy.