Sara and Steve's Fall Photos in Vail. Through the Lens Series, Entry 30

The first time I saw the leaves change in Vail was in 2003.  I had no idea it was going to be such a spectacle and I had no idea how to take a decent photo.  I drove out to Bellyache Ridge and took a few photos of the Aspens and showed them to my brother in London a couple of weeks later.  He thought it was a postcard and didn't believe that my cheap little 35mm camera could take that kind of photo.

If you haven't been to Vail or even Colorado while the leaves are changing, then I highly suggest putting it on your list of things to do.  It's a very short window and the whole valley can change overnight (September blizzards are a common occurrence in these parts), so it can be really hard to plan.

This year the leaves changed a little earlier than usual, but they also seem to be holding on a little longer.  Luckily for Sara and Steve, they timed it just perfectly.  Sara wanted some photos of the her and Steve with the leaves in the background.  We started over by the Vail Rugby Field with Golden Peak in the background.  The first few photos show you why it's called Golden Peak!  Then we drove across I-70 and found a perfect meadow, where the lighting was unbelievable.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from their shoot.

This was taken by Golden Peak, looking towards East Vail.

The Meadow on the northern side of I-70.  I'd love to tell you where, but locations are like secret recipes !

To see more, go to Fall Photos in Vail

Park Hyatt, Beaver Creek Wedding in Colorado

It's always nice to be able to shoot for a family that you've worked for before. I shot Brice and Jen's wedding at Beaver Creek last year, so when Jen's sister Nicole asked me to photograph her wedding in Beaver Creek during the holidays, I jumped at the chance. It was a beautiful winter wedding at the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek, overlooking the ice-skating rink at sunset. Congratulations!

To see more, go to Nicole and Kevin's Wedding in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Click here to see more Wedding Photos in Vail and Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Through the Lens Series - Entry 1

Towards the end of 2011, I started thinking about what type of goals I would like to set myself for photography.  I was getting newsletter emails every day telling me what goals I should set and what I could do to improve my photography business for the coming year, but the problem with sending out those types of bulk emails is that you might end up with a thousand other photographers doing the same things to improve their SEO and make more money.

After a lot of thought, I decided that I just want to become a better photographer.  I had my plate full with great photography jobs last year, but sadly I don't take too many photos just for the love of it anymore.  I had so many people comment that I must have screeds of photos of my son and my family and the truth is that sometimes I get over worked and I just don't feel like pulling out my camera at the end of a long day.

So, my goal for 2011 is to carry some sort of camera and lens combo with me as often as possible and to capture the people in my life, just purely for the love of it.  In the process, I think it'll help to improve my portraits and my editing skills, and I should end up with a good collection of interesting shots at the end of the year.  Sometimes it's hard to find an interesting angle on things you see every day, and this is my way of stepping up to the challenge.

I'm hoping to do a post at least once a week.  A lot of photographers do a 52 week challenge each year, but the honest truth is that sometimes I just get swamped, like everyone does.  It's something to work towards and if I miss a week, I'm not going to beat myself up about, but there will probably be 2 posts the following week!

Enough rambling and on with the show.  Here is my first entry for the year and these were actually taken in the last few hours of 2011.  I won't go into the full story, but all I can say is that sometimes when you become a parent, the anticipation of going out for a big night can be more fun than once you get there.

Happy New Year!

Family Portraits in Vail, Colorado with Jeff, Suzanne and Briar.

Here are a few more photos from Thanksgiving, this time featuring Jeff, Suzanne and Briar.  Vail still pretty much looks like this.  Oh, what a winter we're having!





Click here to see more Family Portraits in Vail, Colorado.

12 Days of Christmas

Well, tomorrow is the start of the 12 days of Christmas and I haven't posted anything for the month of December.  This week has been busy with 2 business shoots and I'll be shooting a winter wedding on Saturday.  Fingers crossed for some good snow! 

Once we get closer to Christmas, I can start posting more photos that have been taken for Christmas cards without spoiling any surprises with clients cards.  There's some good ones in there too.

On the SEO front, huge leaps and bounds from the last posting.  White Starfish has leapt from page 16 on google when searching for a Vail Photographer to page 1!  It's all thanks to some good planning on Google Maps and some very sweet reviews from some of my very sweet clients.

Lastly, here's an article that ran in the Vail Daily about White Starfish this week.

http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20111207/BIZ/111219973&parentprofile=search

The countdown to Christmas begins tomorrow!

Malcolm Farley Paintings at KKVM The Mile in Minturn

After a month's hiatus, it's fitting that my first post is right from where I left off at 104.7 The Mile in Minturn.  The station is looking a lot more colorful these days with these beautiful new paintings from Master's Gallery by Malcolm Farley.  I'd highly recommend stopping by to see these beauties in person!  To see more of the paintings, go to my Facebook page here- http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150527316409307.462133.207717064306&type=1

Click here to see more Product, Business and Corporate Photos in Vail, Colorado.

Marth Rose Shulman Dinner

Terra Bistro played host to a special dinner as part of Vail Restaurant Month with acclaimed chef and author Martha Rose Shulman on Saturday night. The theme of the evening was "Recipes for a Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner". Guests were brought each of the 5 courses to dine on as Martha prepared the same dishes in front of them. Here are a few photos from the event - delish!

Click here to see more Event Photography in Vail, Colorado.

Vail Restaurant Month

We're into week 2 of Vail Restaurant Month, and as the official photographer, I'm being kept on my toes with lots of exciting events. I personally have been complaining/freaked out by a lot of the tomatoes at the supermarkets here in Vail, (think tasteless, waxy and mealy) so the Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes event at Sweet Basil was super interesting. Here's one of my pix from the event that made it into the Daily, plus a couple of extras.

Click here to see more Event Photography in Vail, Colorado.

Candace and Zac's Maternity Session - Vail, Colorado.

 I had a fantastic maternity session with Candace and Zac recently and we were able to shoot both indoors and out. They were such a cute couple and Candace was such a trooper. I had her hiking up hills, climbing on boulders in the river and trapsing through meadows. I think the results were worth it!

To see more maternity photos, go to Maternity Photos in Vail, Colorado.

Jessie and Brian's Wedding. Vail Chapel and Donovan Pavilion. Vail, Colorado.

I've never had a chance to shoot a wedding in the Vail Chapel, so I was super ex...cited to shoot Jessie and Brian's Wedding there a few weeks ago. This was such a fun wedding to shoot, with lots of Vail locals in attendance. If you're wondering about the dance photo, I can sum it up with one word...Journey!

To see more photos from Jessie and Brian's wedding, go to

 Jessie and Brian's Summer Wedding in Vail, Colorado.

Baby Portraits for Fallon - Gypsum, CO.

We had a really busy newborn shoot at the beginning of April with 3 little cuties.  Miss Emma being one, and then Baby Fallon and Baby Benjamin.  We had a ton of fun props to play around with and Fallon was so easy to work with.  Look at these beautiful blue eyes!

To see more newborn photos, go to Newborn and Baby Portraits in Vail, Colorado.

Baby Portraits for Emma - Vail, CO.

I had a big day of studio shooting a couple of weeks ago, with 3 newborns and a maternity session. Here's the first shots of Miss Emma. I can't believe how much she's grown since we took these pictures!  She was such a wee champ considering it wasn't the warmest day of the year, and we were having a freak Colorado blizzard that day.  Thanks Emma and I'm sure there's going to be plenty more photos of you in the future!

To see more newborn photos, go to Newborn and Baby Photography in Vail, Colorado.

Vicki's Maternity Session - Vail, CO.

We didn't have a whole lot of shooting time for Vicki's maternity session, but we managed to get a lot of great shots in the short time that we did have.  I had 2 great factors in the situation - firstly, she was really flexible and didn't mind standing out in the cold and secondly, she's really photogenic!  Here's a few of my favorite shots.

To see more maternity photos, go to Maternity Photography in Vail, Colorado.

Liz's Maternity Photos - Eagle Vail, CO.

I met Liz pretty much as soon as I landed in America, so she is an extremely special friend to me.  Her husband Rob is also a very dear friend, so I ws really excited to be able to capture the next phase for them - pregnancy!  Our indoor shots went off without a hitch, but the outdoor shots on the Eagle Vail Golf Course lead to some post-holing in the snow.  Thanks for being so game Liz and I hope you didn't have wet socks for the rest of the day!  Here's a few samples from the shoot.

To see more maternity photos, go to Maternity Portraits in Vail, Colorado.