Holiday Round Up 2019 - Keim Family in Vail Village

I've lived in Vail for 17 years now.  Sometimes when you live somewhere long enough, you don't notice the little things so much.  But every time we have visitors from out of town, they always comment on the Christmas decorations that are up around town, because they stay up for the entire winter.  We're literally living in a Christmas card.  

The roundabouts have the most intricate lighting designs placed on the aspens and pines.  Every year we look forward to seeing who will have the best roundabouts.  It's Vail vs West Vail vs Beaver Creek (I think Vail wins this round).

Not surprisingly, all of these decorations along with our snow make for an amazing backdrop for family photos.  When I went out to shoot with the Keim Family, we hit up all of the best spots around the village, and even managed to squeeze in some playtime at Pirate Ship Park.

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Holiday Round Up 2019 - East Vail

The Schmidt's were another family that I was able to shoot over Thanksgiving for their holiday photos.  We decided to do their shoot in East Vail, which is an interesting spot over the winter.  The sun dips behind the peak as early as 2pm, which means it's sunny everywhere else in the valley, but it's great flat light in the shadows there.

The girls had the cutest outfits and they made the smart choice of black and grey for their neutral colors and red for their accent.  If you have a shoot booked over Christmas, don't forget that you really can't go wrong with red in the snow.  Here's the proof!

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2019 Holiday Round Up - Beaver Creek Family Photos

We're one week out from Christmas, so I think I'm well within the safety zone of posting family holiday photos without ruining the surprise of anyone's holiday cards!  

Thanksgiving is a crazy week with families coming into town to make the most of the early snow before the Christmas crowds arrive.  It's also a great time to get in a snowy photo shoot before holiday cards need to be sent out. That's how I came to work with the Caperton's.

They had a shoot booked for Beaver Creek, right after a great snow storm.  You can tell how cold it was with the different layers they brought with them.  Both leather jackets AND ski jackets.  It worked out fantastically, because we were able to capture two different looks. 

Here are a few photos from our adventure around Beaver Creek.

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Summer Recap - Vail and Beaver Creek Photos

The mornings and evenings are starting to cool off here in Vail and this week I even had to pull out my slippers from the back of my closet.  Such is life in the mountains.  The leaves are slowly starting to turn, so it's time to have a look back on the summer.  Over the last 10 weeks, I've worked with 55 different families, shooting portraits, proposals and events.  It's been the busiest summer on record, but also the most rewarding.  I've worked with families from every corner of the country in both Eagle and Summit County and I've been able to meet some of the funniest and cutest kids along the way.  

Everyone's officially back in school now, so it's time to start working towards leaf season and (eek!) the holidays.  Oh boy!

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Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy Graduation - 4 Eagle Ranch

When I finished High School in New Zealand, nothing really happened.  I'm pretty sure I got in my car and drove home and I probably went to my after school job that night.  Americans on the other hand, know how to do it up right when they finish high school!  

Last week I was asked to shoot the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy's graduation at 4 Eagle Ranch.  These graduates compete in skiing and snowboarding all over the country and they still managed to get all of their school work done with the help of some amazing teachers.

Astronaut, Jerry Linenger, was the key note speaker and gave the most amazing address.  If you have the chance, look him up and read one of his books.  His tales from his 5 months in space were absolutely unbelievable!

Congratulations to all of the VSSA grads to graduates everywhere!

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Vail Proposal - Vail Back Country Tours

This winter, I was given the opportunity to start with working Vail Back Country Tours.  Like me, they deal with a lot of proposals.  Given that a lot of people want photos of their proposals, it was a natural fit for me to help.  That means I sometimes get to snowmobile for work now.  Yeeeha!

The locations that you can access during your snowmobile tour are breathtaking.  You won't find these views skiing down the front of Vail Mountain, so I highly recommend taking one of their tours.  

I jumped at the chance when I was asked to help Jimmy with his proposal near Piney Lake.  Luckily the handlebars on the snowmobiles are heated because the temps were unbelievably frigid.  Taking my gloves off to put my camera together left my hands completely numb.  Look at the view though!  It was absolutely worth it and so was the hot chocolate afterwards.  

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