The Dark Side

Last week I attended my second Poise Meetup for models and photographers. It was held at the Denver Space Gallery. Here are some of the photos.

Well here it is Friday and I haven’t posted any new pictures this week. I will try and cure your disappointment by sending you to Photoblogs.org, where you can check out some other people’s work.

I’ve had a strange attraction to Cherry Creek this year. Considering that I’d never been there before this year, I’ve been drawn there a noteworthy amount.  I was taking a seminar there a couple weeks ago, and we regularly got 15 minute breaks.  On Saturday I was quoted as saying, “It’s hard to take pictures at a shopping mall . . .” Or something to that effect.

Well Sunday morning had some beautiful clouds and morning light.  I was given the exercise to consciously shift my attention near and far.  I thought about how a zen-like attention is integral with capturing great photography.  A sense of peace and comfort can be achieved by tuning in to the infinite compositional permutations of landscapes and detail shots and portraits and moments that are around us every second of our lives.  This peaceful feeling of oneness is what draws thousands of photographers into nature photography.  I found that it is also possible to have a similar experience at a shopping center.

When I went to the parking garage to get my camera, this old woman was staring at me.  She was quite surprised find out that she was to be featured on such a prestigious website.

My camera data tells me that all these images were taken in a period of 11 minutes.

All of the Photoshop was done in Camera Raw.  Not much was done to the photos, other than color tweaking and a 4:5 crop.

He was very nice. He was a little upset that I didn’t have any treats, but I made it better by rubbing his belly.

This was a sculpture outside a furniture store.

And so was this.

I enjoyed taking some time on my Sunday evening to play with some random photos.  I hope you enjoy.  Coming up this week, plenty of pictures of pretty people!

It has come to my attention that when you click on the “view more” at the bottom of a post, the full page article does not view properly in Internet Explorer.  This is quite unfortunate.  I use Firefox so I never noticed the problem.  I’m assuming Safari views it OK?  I’ll try to get the problem resolved but I’m not sure how I’m going to do it, other than to switch to a new Wordpress Template.

I had been planning a portfolio shoot with Crystal for over a week. By Saturday it was pretty clear that Sunday was going to be a washout. But Crystal has a busy schedule, and we weren’t sure when we were going to be able to shoot again. So we persevered, and despite almost running out of daylight, intrusions on our desired locations, and other setbacks, we made it happen. Lingerie photos in the 40 degree rain! Despite that it was getting dark and she has the tendency to ‘get cold easily’, we came out with some fun stuff.

And yes, I actually do think it is perfectly realistic for a woman to be walking along the railroad tracks, in an industrial area, in the rain, wearing pink lingerie and white high heeled boots, thank you very much. It happens all the time when I’m sleeping!

Finally I have the tale of my second big win that occurred last week!

Premier Bride threw a party at the Phipps Mansion down in Denver. It was a super swanky affair. I think it was the biggest house I’ve ever been in other than a castle in Europe. I knew it was serious when I walked up to the front door and saw the Red Carpet rolled out before 2 vintage Rolls Royce’s.

There were 5 models in wedding gowns inside the front foyer. Sweet! I joined many other photographers by indulging in some pictures.  Now I can say that I’ve shot bridal and wedding photography at the Phipps Mansion!

There was great food in every room, a band, and a selection of adult beverages. This ice sculpture was really cool. The bartender mixed your martini, handed you the glass and instructed you set it at the base. Then she poured the martini in the top of the ice sculpture, where it flowed and spun through the hollow spiral tube in the center before depositing in your glass. Trickery!

So the night was fun and all, then it came time for the raffle. After a long, long drought of coming up short in raffles; I finally cashed in on my biggest win ever: a 1 year, full page ad in Premier Bride magazine! Can I get a “HELL YEAH?” That’s a $3300 value. I do believe that 2008 is going to be a very good year!

I haven’t been asserting my potential as a Colorado Children’s Portrait Photographer too much lately. I’ve been mostly focusing on the wedding portion of my business. The Winter Storm Watch in the mountains is a strong reminder that the long winter is on its way, and Christmas is around the corner. Now would be a great time to shoot Christmas portraits while the weather is still decent enough to shoot outside. Plus the leaves are at there best right now!

The above picture is what Maya looks like when she is the feared Tickle Monster, stalking her prey!

Ooooh!  Another victim!

I was hired to shoot some portraits of Robin Peglow from Signs of Life Health. Robin is a certified Holistic Health Counselor, as was looking for some updated photos to promote her business. She wanted photos that evoke a feeling of positivity and health for individual clients, as well as portray an image of maturity and professionalism for her corporate clients. She knew that she wouldn’t be satisfied with a boring corporate headshot, so we headed down near Commons Park in Denver for some creative shooting.

Robin is psyched at her photos, and wrote: “I’ve never considered myself photogenic. Despite being pretty animated in my life, I get oddly shy in front of the camera. I needed some photos for my business that felt confident, professional, approachable and peaceful, a tall order for me while feeling wildly photo-awkward. You helped me relax and have fun with it, and were terrific at capturing those real moments where my personality actually came through. I got exactly the photos I needed! Thank you!”

I had a crazy week last week! On Monday I launched my wedding specific website, and posted my latest wedding slideshow. On Tuesday I headed down to Mile High Station for Club Entrepreneur Online Social Network National Launch Club, and the Club Entrepreneur Denver Chapter Kick Off Meeting . I almost didn’t go because I had more Denver events planned for Wednesday, but I am sure glad that I did! I brought my camera and started covering the event, mostly for some new blog content. I met up with the organizers and they are psyched to add my photography as part of their team. Steve Z Photography will now be one of the sponsors of the program, with all of the benefits and exposure offered to the big time advertisers. This could be huge!

The first event was a smashing success. 200 attendees and some big name speakers are giving the event some solid credibility. The first speaker was Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Using his down to earth demeanor, wit, and charm, he told his story about how he founded Denver’s first ever brew pub, the Wynkoop Brewing Company, and then went on to be the Mayor. As it turns out he never really intended to be a politician; he never even ran for Student Council in High School!

The second speaker was Ingrid Vanderveldt of CNBC’s American Made show. Ingrid’s story told the tale of making a TV show pilot based on Entrepreneurship as learned from a mentor. Her modest little pilot found it’s way onto the desk of a VP at CNBC, who loved the idea. Over time, after accepting the job of hosting and producing the show, word on the street got out relating to her lack of experience.

“So, you don’t actually have any broadcasting experience?”

“No.”

“So, you don’t actually have any interviewing experience?”

“No.”

“So, you don’t really have the production capabilities?”

“No.”

“But, you are going to host CNBC’s first ever prime time syndicated show?!!”

“Uh-huh!”

The headline speaker was the renowned entrepreneurial author and speaker Michael Gerber of the E-Myth. The main thing I remember from Michael’s talk (other than his pink tie), was how he poked a jab at small business owners. Do you know what the difference between a small business owner and an entrepreneur is? The small business owner is afraid to dream big.

All and all it was a great day, and I am super excited about thinking big about the future of Steve Z Photography. I feel like I really launched it this week. Tune in tomorrow to hear more BIG NEWS and excitement from my Wednesday events! Continued below is some more info on the Club Entrepreneur Network.

Club E is an “open source” online network for small business and entrepreneurs, run by some of the nation’s top entrepreneurs, offering the largest social network for entrepreneurs and web resources like blogs, articles, podcasts, videos and entrepreneurial television shows. As a combined media outlet, on-ground network and online social network, The Club E Network will empower the entrepreneurial community in an entirely unique and fresh way. Club E will leverage its broadband channel to distribute original and user-submitted content on-demand through podcasts, mobile devices, and DVDs. Plans call for brand expansion to other distribution channels including cable TV and satellite radio.

THE PRIMARY OFFERINGS

Video Programming Short format programming online that first and foremost is entertaining, but also provides valuable information that business owners can use. Profiles of brand new and celebrity entrepreneurs, how-to type shows, reality programming and lifestyle shows all about following your passion and building companies.

Online Community With a growing need for entrepreneurs to interact with one another and leverage their collective resources to bring their businesses up to the big time, CLUB E will provide a trusted referral network for members to expand their network, learn from one another, and quickly find the resources and people they need to articulate and execute their dream and business plan.

In-person community Club E is launching physical chapters in 50+ cities over a 24-month period where members have monthly and bi-monthly meetings featuring speakers, networking events and activities that help/support current and aspiring entrepreneurs.

.: CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO SLIDESHOW OF SARAH AND JEREMY’S WEDDING ON ITS OWN PAGE:.

Ah, the long awaited photos and slideshow from Sarah and Jeremy’s wedding are here. Well maybe you weren’t waiting for them, but some people have been. I wrote about the venue in an older post. Once again I was blessed with overcast skies for shadow-less faces for most of the day. I love it when that happens!

The flower girl walking down the aisle was pretty much the sweetest thing ever! She was handing flowers to everyone; sooooo cute. Then right behind her was her older brother, throwing a tantrum the whole way! Sooooo funny!

When in doubt of a backdrop for the groomsman shots, I opt for power tools or heavy machinery.

Right when Sarah, Jeremy, and I of us broke off from the scene for the Couple’s Photo Shoot, the clouds broke and the sun popped out for some dramatic lighting. I love it when the clouds part for me!

Both Jeremy and this guy were throwing down the breakdancing moves in the grass. I’ll be interested to know what the tux rental place had to say about the grass stains on his shirt and vest!

The day was a smashing success. Perfect venue, beautiful people, beautiful flowers, great food, and no one’s face got smashed with cake. Sarah agreed to participate in a post-wedding photo shoot in her wedding dress on their matching motocross bikes, and you KNOW Jeremy is all about it!