Steve-Z.com

Hi. Steve here. I have a ton of new photos and posts to publish from my latest adventures. But first things first. I gotta change the name of this website! This is a blog of personal photos and adventures, and as a result it is a steadily morphing entity. As I evolve as a human and as a photographer, the look and feel of the site needs to change with me.

“The Dark Side” was a name that I impulsively came up with a couple years ago one late night when I was changing both of my blogs to my new ProPhoto WordPress blog template (great template, there is a discount coupon at the bottom of the page!).  My professional websites took over an all-white theme, and I thought it would be fun to have my personal site reflect the opposite of that. So I just started calling the two, the Light Side, and the Dark Side. It was never really a well thought out plan, I will admit. One was white, one was black. One was professional work, one was personal work. It was really supposed to be temporary, but, I’m pretty busy with all the tons of things to do with this photo biz, so I just never got around to changing it, mostly because I never really thought of anything else to call it.

What is the purpose of this site anyway? Do I really need it? Does it really matter?

To me, it does. I love photography. I’m passionate about it, and addicted to it. I love taking photos when I’m on my adventures. Sometimes the photos are just travel snaps. But once in a while I get a really cool shot, the kind that I’d like to hang on the wall of my house. So I feel the need to put them out there and share them with the world, rather than have them live a cold and lonely life on a computer hard drive. I want them to see the light of day. I’d like to set up a cart where they could be purchased . . . but that’s a whole nutha project.

I need a new title that is more representative to the photography work that I publish here. In all reality, there isn’t much that is Dark about my photography. I’m more interested in beauty than sadness. I do have a quirky sense of humor, no doubt. I love what I do and I do have some pretty cool adventures where I have a lot of fun. The Dark Side had some people thinking that they were going to see horror movie stuff or something! So I need a title that is smart and clever, and possibly hints that this is a photo blog featuring photos from my travel, biking and snowboarding, and other random photos I take in my free time. There is also occasionally some technical and educational info for photographers, although I don’t seem to manage to find the time to publish a quarter of the articles that I think of in my mind. How do I sum all of that up in a title? How do I sum up 39 years of me in a couple words?

Until I come up with a cool new title . . . I’m just going to have a clean white sheet of paper.  The Great Title-less Blog! I just couldn’t stand the old look any more and had to change it immediately! I made a Facebook comment about changing the name; in a dream world someone will come up with a clever name for me! I’m not counting on that though. My best ideas usually come from an unexpected moment of clarity, and will just pop into my head when the time is right. As for now, I’m going to throw out the idea that I’m ready for the new name to come to me.

As for the photo . . . It’s just a funny self portrait that I took on my recent trip to Washington State. My chin is all distorted and enormous due to the distortion of my Nikon 14-24mm lens. I love to take beautiful pictures. But I also like taking funny and somewhat distorted pictures as well!

If you actually read all of this, thanks. I hope you keep coming back for years to come, as this blog will still be around, although the format may completely different. Evolution is like that.  Cheers, Steve Z.

I have lots of difficultly buying a product that just works. It seems like when I purchase something, there is only a 50% chance that I will be able to have it work, function, or look like it is supposed to on the first try.  There doesn’t seem to be quality of products any more. We live in a disposable society, where products are actually designed to fail so that you will be forced to buy a new one in a few years.  Additionally, many are just scurrying about with their tails between their legs hiding from The Recession. Consumers are searching for a cheaper and cheaper deal all the time without thinking about where the costs are being cut.

Photography is a luxury expense. As a result, many photo pros running top notch businesses are feeling the crunch of the economic downturn.  No one really understands why it costs so much to run a photography business these days.  I don’t blame them one bit.  I really didn’t have a very good idea when I started doing this either!  There are so many hidden costs that it never ceases to amaze me. And as long as I continue, more and more costs keep surfacing.  My latest is it’s going to cost $1000 just to adjust and calibrate my cameras and half of my lenses.  How much would the already expensive equipment have to cost for the quality to be perfect, so that I didn’t have to make these adjustments and repairs? Sure, I could just deal with my cameras the way they are, but I’m committed to having perfectly calibrated cameras so that my images are perfectly sharp.

The real lesson here, is that quality is just plain expensive.  Just take this photo of this screw for example. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but there are no true threads, just metal rings!  When did it become difficult to buy something with screws that actually had functioning threads?  There were screws like this in two  sofa tables that I bought to display my albums in the studio.  I really don’t have the funds to buy them from Design Within Reach, so I bought some cheap bolt together ones from Target online.  The first ones showed up with brush marks and hand prints under the clear coat on the wood.  Then the second set showed up with non-functioning screws.  Luckily I had screws from the first set, so I could put the tables together.  So while I got a cheaper deal, I still had to waste a bunch of time assembling, disassembling, calling, reshipping, etc.

What is the cost of the cheap tables?  The margins are so tight that they are trying to remove fractions of pennies out of the cost of the tables, and the screws.  Should I always just buy designer tables so that they will (hopefully) work the first time? Should I support local merchants in the way that I hope to have my business supported? My accounting spreadsheet doesn’t really support buying top of the line studio furnishings in a business where I’m always being undercut by photographers who are willing to sell out their digital files for nothing.
Despite the sliding trend of photo studio profitability, I am working towards reaching the higher end of the market where quality is respected.  I am seeking the clients that will recognize the top quality of the product that I offer.  While some people in the world will continue to be content to display their Wal-Mart  prints with bad skin tones proudly on their Target sofa tables with hand prints and screwed up screws, I pledge to offer services that represent, support, and exude Quality. The perfectionist in me will only be satisfied offering a premium product at a premium price.

I posted pictures from my recent destination wedding in Palm Beach on The Light Side yesterday.  Here is one photo that I didn’t post on there!  Sometimes I gotta let the freak flag fly and take some off the wall shots during a wedding day.  Here I used up-lighting to give the couple an erie horror flick type look.  Yes, this is The Dark Side!

Greetings sports fans! While some of you might not follow all of the happenings over on Steve Z’s Light Side, here is a post that you don’t want to miss! Sport The Dress™ session up at Arapahoe Basin. Check out the full post HERE.

I am announcing my second new blog in a week! Now you know why I haven’t been posting some of the other pictures that I’ve been taking recently!

The Steve Z Wedding Photography Blog

After months of deliberation, I have decided to divorce my wedding photography from this website. Pun intended, thank you very much! I’ve decided to start a blog completely dedicated to my wedding photography. I know that many brides can be overwhelmed by a vast number of choices for photography and everything else involved with planning a big event. So in order to make the searching and surfing process easier I will now be posting my wedding and engagement blog entries there. And as an added bonus, those of you who are here for the bikes, models, and random weirdness won’t have to surf through pretty pictures of couples in love. :>)

The contents of this post have been moved to my new professional photography blog, to read this post and see the picture please CLICK HERE.

I’ve noticed that Google ranks YouTube videos quite highly. So I think I’m going to start uploading my slideshows there and see if it drums up any hype.

This is a general wedding slideshow that I made a while back for client meetings but I have not posted it yet.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc3KtTqLblA[/video]

The contents of this entry have been moved to my new professional photography blog.  To view this post and see the pictures please CLICK HERE.

I had the pleasure of shooting the wedding of my good friend Chris V and his lovely wife Kerstin last month. Chris and I know each other from the Boulder Cruiser ride, and with a dozen Cruisers in attendance, I knew this one was going to be a par-tay. I wasn’t disappointed, and it turned out to be pretty much the best time ever.

Chris and Kerstin were both brought up skiing, and wanted to make the snow a big part of the wedding. It takes some special people to plan an outdoor wedding in Breckenridge Colorado, at 9500 feet above sea level, in December! The groomsmen were prepared with their matching ski sweaters, but I was just praying that it wasn’t going to be blizzard conditions. Two hours before the ceremony we were a little worried, as it was DUMPING, and I was a bit concerned about keeping my equipment dry! When you can see snow in a photo like the one below, it’s coming down at 2 inches an hour.

By the way, how adorable are these outfits? With the matching muffs and all? I’m serious.

Fortunately, but the time the ceremony took place, the storm had calmed down to some nice light flurries. It was the perfect way to set the mood, but not be out of control. The ceremony was officiated by the less than honorable Bobalicious, who did a spectacular job. I heard several guests using the ‘best ever’ phrase. Nice work!

The reception started out normal enough, with some eating, drinking, and socializing. Cutting the cake, the first dance … all normal enough. For a while there, it was almost traditional.

That was until the toasts started. Chris’s dad gave the best toast I’ve pretty much ever felt. Thoughtful, loving, and metaphorical. Then Chris’s little brother James let loose with the funniest roast ever. I was dying laughing, as was most everyone else.

And that set the tone for a rockin’ dance party, I’m going to keep those images to ourselves to protect the guilty. But I’ll finish off the story with a picture of a bride rockin’ a hoola hoop. Bitchin’!

Below is a slideshow of some of the selected images. I’ve updated the proofing gallery to include these retouched images for purchase, so check them out again!

PERMALINK: Chris and Kerstin’s Wedding Photography Slideshow on it’s own page click here

The contents of this post have been moved to my new professional photography blog.  To view this entry please CLICK HERE.

Here are some engagement photos I took last month when the fall colors were still in full force. I think the color is a nice contrast to the driving white snow that is outside my window right now. Heather and Jim are going to have their wedding ceremony and reception next year at the Hotel Boulderado in downtown Boulder. I know we’re going to get some great photos; look how cute they are! Another fun thing about that wedding is that my good friend Robin Peglow will be officiating the ceremony.

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!

.: 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!

Well, OK, maybe not international.  Or supermodels. But I feel a catchy title is an important part of blogging, and ‘Valerie and Mike’s Denver Engagement Shoot’ just didn’t have the same kind of ring to it.

Here we have Mike whispering sweet nothings into Val’s ear. I think he said, “When he’s not looking, I’ll smack him over the head, and you grab the camera bag.”

I’m kidding. I’m a kidder. They are really nice people. They even humored me while I planned some silliness.

After this urban shot, we jumped in the limo, which took us to my private helicopter, which took us to my chartered jet, which swept us away to the Northern California coast to catch the sunset on the beach. I needed a beach shot for the portfolio, and here at Steve Z Dot Com, we spare no expense.

Last week I took Sarah and Jeremy up to Chautauqua at the crack of dawn for their Engagement Shoot. We got some nice photos in the beautiful early morning light. I don’t normally get out that early, but I am always so happy when I do. It always puts me in a good mood for the day, watching the sun rise onto the mountains, with the field lit up to a golden yellow. I didn’t hear from these guys for a week after posting their proofs, and I was a little worried that they were disappointed with the photos. Fortunately nothing could have been farther from the truth, and Sarah wrote, “We love the pictures! You really captured US.”

I’m looking forward to the wedding next week, which will be held up at the Pastures of Plenty in northeast Boulder County. It should be a beautiful location to shoot photography. This 35 acre farm is listed on the Colorado Historic Registry, and grows more than 100 varieties of heirloom flowers and specialty vegetables. The estate’s signature bouquets and bridal arrangements are sold throughout the Boulder-Denver metro area. It should be a great day!

The weekend before last I shot Dave and Erin Fleck’s wedding; yes the now infamous Winter Park Bachelor Party Crew was in attendance as well. The ceremony and the reception were held at the Colorado Historical Society building above the Colorado History Museum near the capitol building in Denver. It was scorching hot and blazing sun during the ceremony, which may have contributed to it’s whopping 8 minute length. I think everyone was thankful to retreat to the shade with some cold beverages. But soon as the sun went down we were treated to a beautiful view from our fourth floor terrace. The sunset over Colorado’s Continental Divide was divine, and the Denver skylight provided a unique backdrop for some portraiture.

I find the captured moment in the ceremony image below really funny. It is one of those pictures that makes you wonder: What was she thinking? Am I really marrying a man who shaves his legs? Can I really afford to be second to mountain bike trips for the rest of my life? Is Chris Sharma still single, he looked pretty hot in Steve Z’s climbing slideshow … ? Ha! Just kidding, guys, congratulations and I wish you the best. So without further ado, click on the image below to start the slideshow check out some fun pictures.

The garter belt tradition is apparently not one of the most beloved wedding traditions by all brides. But nonetheless, I wanted to to a sexy but tasteful photo of one.

Select Photos from Wedding and Reception

Here are some pictures from Matt and Jacque’s wedding. What a blast! It was really more like a big party that a stodgy ol’ wedding. I knew this wedding was going to be different when the bride’s father started handing out necklaces with Sauza tequila shot glasses on the end. This was BEFORE the ceremony, mind you! He was quite the character, and supplied me with a lot of great experessions in my images. Mom did very well to take all of his shirtless antics in stride. The best part though was the fact that Matt and Jacque are super cool, super smart Ivy League types, and best of all, they loved me and my work ;>) It was wonderful to see two people truly in love and drama-free. I wish you guys the best. Oh, and Jacque wore the coolest wedding shoes EVER … Pumas!

Things have really been cranking on the wedding front these days. I will be assisting two wedding photographers this summer as well as shooting some of my own weddings. My first two of the season will be this weekend as well as Memorial Day weekend. The first one is in Aspen, which should be pretty sweet.

I took all these photos in the last week, practicing up on the skills while not actually attending any weddings. Check out the PHOTO GALLERY HERE.