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!

Visit the website to see more Vail and Beaver Creek Portraits and Events.

Vail and Beaver Creek Wedding Proposals - Welcome to 2019

Happy 2019 from White Starfish Photography!  The holidays are a time for gathering with friends and family and taking a break from the daily grind, unless you live in a resort.  

For us ski bums, it's the busiest time of the year.  While most people in town were celebrating over the Christmas/New Year break, I was shooting all over the Valley and into Summit County.  

Over the course of a week, I was asked to shoot four proposals.  I'll write more about each of them over the next few weeks, but here's how I spent my Christmas Break.  More to come shortly!

Proposal at Zach's Cabin, Beaver Creek

Proposal at Country Club of the Rockies, Beaver Creek

Proposal at Intermountain, Vail

Proposal at Red Sandstone, Vail

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Beaver Creek Family Photos - Beaver Creek Chapel - Lind Family

The key to doing a successful family photo shoot in the snow is to keep everyone moving.  You can do this by asking the kids to play in the snow, moving to different locations, setting up different combinations and by taking lots of jacket breaks to keep everyone warm.  

This is the strategy I used the morning of the Lind's family photo shoot in Beaver Creek.  We started off the shoot beside the Beaver Creek Chapel to capture some photos beside the creek.  With a fresh snowfall on the ground and freezing temps, I was able to get a few shots of the kids playing before we moved down to the bridge area.  

It quickly became apparent that the poor kids were about to turn into popsicles, so we retired to a nearby fire pit to get some blood circulating.   After they could feel their fingers and toes again, we were able to head out again to grab a few more shots.  Here are a few of my favorites from their shoot.  I love the red accents against the snow.

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Beaver Creek Fall Photos - Bachelor Gulch - Morley Family

There's a spot at the top of Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek that has one of the best views of the Valley and most locals don't even know about it.  The irony is, we ski over it all the time in the winter.  Our mountain environment is in a constant state of change and when the leaves are in full bloom, you get much more depth to the views than when they're covered in snow.  This makes this little bridge a perfect location during the fall.

We chose to do the Morley family photos there and it had everything you could want for a family shoot.  Lots of space for the kids to run around, a rustic skier bridge and views of the Gore Range all the way down to the valley floor.  The leaves at their peak didn't hurt either!

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Beaver Creek Family Photos - Beaver Creek Mountain - Singal Family

When Alka contacted me to take photos for her family, she told me that they would be celebrating a 1st, 9th and 70th birthday during their first ever trip to the Vail Valley.  What an honor to be capturing so many special birthdays.  

Our shoot was scheduled for early in the morning, which can lead to tricky lighting. The sun was already high by the time I arrived.  To counteract the light, we took a short walk to a huge aspen grove on one of the work roads, that doubles as a cat track in the winter.  There was plenty of shade and some great back lighting with the trees blocking most of the sun.

After a while, we ventured out of the shade to grab some photos with mountain views.  Although the light wasn't in our favor, we still managed to make the most of it and we got a few really great bonus photos.  

Sibling photos on Beaver Creek Mountain

Family photos at Beaver Creek

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Vail Family and Pet Photographer - Miller Ranch Open Space - Eric and Rachel

I did engagement photos for Rachel and Eric a couple of years ago, so I was excited to help them with some photos recently at the Miller Ranch Open Space in Edwards.  

When they booked their session, we didn't know that the valley would be hit with smoke from wildfires.  Although the smoke can be a real nuisance, (and obviously very scary for anyone near the fires) it does make for some crazy lighting that's interesting to experiment with for photos.  The smoke acts like a giant filter over the sun, so shooting during the day is akin to shooting on a cloudy day.  

Thankfully they were okay with the conditions and we were able to play around with all kinds of lighting scenarios.  A few days later the smoke had cleared out and we were back to normal, and Rachel and Eric were able to get some unique images from their session.

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Beaver Creek Family Photography - Storey Family in Bachelor Gulch, Beaver Creek

New Year's Eve in Vail is always bitterly cold.  I know, because every year we watch the fireworks and it takes about an hour to get everyone bundled up before we walk out the door.  

When Shelly asked me to do some photos for her family on New Year's Eve last year, I knew what to expect.  What I didn't expect was the amazing views we would have of Beaver Creek in the background.  Because we were shooting three generations, it was inevitable that some little fingers and toes would start freezing pretty quickly.  Thankfully, we were shooting in their back yard, so we could corral people inside to stay warm and call them out when it was their turn.  

The sun was setting on 2017 during our shoot and what a way to finish the work year.  And yes, we went to the fireworks that night and it was crazy cold.  Nothing a little wine couldn't help with though!

Visit the website to see more Beaver Creek Family Photos.