Amazing what $5 can buy at a 9 year old birthday party! VOTE for your favorite photo!

Yes, I did it - I bribed the kids at my son, Tyler's, 9th birthday party yesterday with a $5 reward. Sorry parents, I know it's not a good habit, and they frown on it in the parenting books........but it WORKED! In a BIG way!

As the party started they were all acting wild and making faces for the camera! I got a lot of bad photos, and then my son climbed under the table to hide from the camera and the whole party seemed to be trying to join him in mutiny!

So I quickly remembered another photographer's trick of paying her teenager nephew to smile for the photos at a family Bar Mitzvah. So I offered a $5 reward for the best photos and BOY did I get the smiles and the charm after that!

And I said it would be the "people's vote" to chose between the 8 photos below! So vote and have your friends, your grandma, your aunt, anyone you want to vote on their favorite! All is fair in birthday party bribes and the last day to vote is the first day of school August 25th! One vote per person please! And we cannot accept anonymous votes.

You can view the whole BIRTHDAY PARTY SLIDESHOW here.


Photo #1 - Tyler the Birthday Boy!


Photo #2 - Brian



Photo #3 - Weston



Photo #4 - Sam



Photo #5 - Tio



Photo #6 - Wade




Photo #7 - Heather



Photo #8 - Marley



I also had to share the BEFORE photos of what I was getting BEFORE the reward system was implemented. AND, I even used it as leverage to behave at the bowling party and said if I had to discipline any of the boys at the bowling alley, they would not be eligible for the $5 reward. (Only one unnamed boy has been disqualified)








And I really have to thank fellow photographer Julie Ph, a fellow Pictage photographer for the suggestion!

And Baby Makes Four!

The Laverdiere family came into the studio for family portraits last week and I really enjoyed photographing them. The photos of mom, Dana, and her newborn son just make me cry. Those moments with a newborn baby are so precious! And as you can tell, baby is showered with love!

The whole SLIDESHOW can be viewed here.

We LOVE small Summit County weddings!

Shara and Aaron got married on July 10th with only five people in attendance at the ceremony! If you include the judge and myself, that would be seven people!

I love these kinds of weddings! Simple, beautiful, all about the love rather than the frills!

And aren't they beautiful??

And look at Shara's dad....hiding in the bushes with his videocamera! What a wonderful day! I could have kept shooting without pay! I also love what siblings do when you ask them to pose together.....Shara and her sister could have clowned around for hours!

Congratulations Shara and Aaron and thank you so much for letting me be a part of your special day!

You can view the WHOLE SLIDESHOW here.

Libby & Neal's Winter Park Wedding

Libby & Neal were married last month at the Sunspot - on top of the Winter Park Ski Area. It was an absolutely beautiful day, and the wedding was beautiful! There was a lot of silliness going on at the reception - including folks using their napkins as sunshades!

And I love to see a bride dancing and twirling and smiling like Libby was! (I guess the groom and the rest of the guests all look pretty happy themselves - especially some of the kiddos!) Congratulations Libby and Neal!

The whole SLIDESHOW can be viewed here.

Beautiful Breckenridge Home for Sale on Peak 8

I love this job! I got the opportunity to photograph another amazing Breckenridge property yesterday! I think I smiled with each room I walked into....imagining what it would be like to live in a home like this! My kiddos would love the media room and the basement....

You can view the SLIDESHOW HERE!

And the listing is online at Colorado West Real Estate

Happy Birthday Ben!

Ben turned one today and boy did he have fun! His mom invited 9 of his buddies over (mostly from a mom's group) and they went for it! I love these kind of children's birthday parties! So much action! And it was great that all the mess was contained OUTDOORS!

You can view the whole SLIDESHOW HERE!

Happy Birthday Ben!













Ben's Grandpa was such a sport when I asked him if he would pose for this last photo! He didn't know until after the photo that the hat said "I am One" and then he laughed and said, "Actually I'm closer to One Hundred!"

Sam and Kate are One Year Old!

I've been photographing Sam and Kate for the last year and can't get enough of them! This shoot was really long because Sam was unhappy most of the first hour, but then he just blossomed and I couldn't stop taking photos!

But I can see that they are getting much more mobile and interested in the world around them and are going to get more difficult to photograph as they start walking! Look out Mom and Dad!

The full SLIDESHOW is here.

And you can see some of their earlier portraits this year by CLICKING HERE!

Today's Real Estate Shoot gone WILD!

or maybe a WILDlife photo shoot gone BAD!

I started out today trying to scout the back yard of this BEAUTIFUL HOME in Breckenridge. Right off the ski lift, perfect location, amazing interior and exterior. We want to do a dusk shot this week, so I needed to scout the surrounding area. Today was my day!

With this extremely steep back yard.....I knew from the winter shots I could go across the valley and shoot from near the chairlift! Which I've done....but you can't even SEE the house in summer!



But with all the chairlift and the trees in the way, I wanted a BETTER photo. I was also looking for a photo from right below the home in the backyard. The yard drops off steeply, I knew I couldn't get down their yard, so I scouted the houses one up and one down to see what was there. I tried to find the easiest way down, which was so steep I was clinging to anything possible, I hit water & mud at the bottom, and I seemed to find another location with tons of trees....can you see the beautiful home behind these trees?



But then what to my eyes did appear? It looked like where an animal had slept recently:



Oh yes, and maybe pooped!



And looking and photographing that poop, all of a sudden, I was CONVINCED it was a bear....I was in sandals and capri pants...on a slope that was next to impossible to climb, and I see some friendly folks pointing wildly next to me and I am sure I am the BEAR's next meal!

I rush to the safety of the homes, my car, and call my client...."there's danger in those woods. I'll come back with my husband (and maybe a gun) but I'm leaving here NOW!"

But as time passed, I learned it was only a moose! And although dangerous also, I knew I had more distance and I tried to get a few photos....but none of the photos really worked out from across the valley!

Maybe when I return tomorrow for the real photos, I can get closer?????

Keystone Home for Sale - Elk Crossing Lane

Last week I photographed another beautiful Summit County home - this one at 268 Elk Crossing Lane in Keystone on The River Course. It's really a perfect location, backing up to the Snake River and secluded off the main road. I love this job!

I love photographing babies and weddings, but sometimes after a lot of people photos, I love going into a beautiful home like this and trying to make it look it's best!

You can view the whole SLIDESHOW HERE!











Some other recent homes I've photographed:

Raindance Trail - Whispering Pines between Dillon and Keystone

Game Trail Rd. - Three Peaks - Silverthorne

Four O'clock Road, Breckenridge

Colleen and Eddie's Beautiful Keystone Wedding

Colleen and Eddie were married on June 8th at a beautiful private home in Keystone, the Keystone Meadow House. Their ceremony was absolutely amazing, combining two beautiful families together - at the end of the ceremony, there wasn't a dry eye in the house, including my own!

To view the full slideshow CLICK HERE!

Nancy Cook provided beautiful music for the ceremony. The day could not have been more perfect! They even incorporated a session of blowing bubbles off the back deck during the ceremony, which both kids and adults loved!