The Dark Side

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.

So one of the things that I’ve been very busy working on is my wedding portfolio. I did a photo shoot for my newlywed neighbors this past Thursday. I rented a tuxedo for Jon, who happens to be exactly the same size as me. When I found out that I was going to have the tux for all of Friday, I called up Steve G to look for some photo inspiration. Being a wacky guy himself, I knew we could come up with something entertaining. Oh, BTW, the shoot was amazing! Perfect light, pretty people …

So Steve G and Steve Z headed out to the intersection of Baseline and 27th Way with some cardboard signs that I made. I have always wondered what it would be like to pan-handle. I’ll admit, I was a little intrigued at the thought of some easy spending $$$. But I was a little let down when I realized that 85% of the drivers out there are really no fun at all. Personally I thought what I was doing was pretty damn funny, yet still most people wouldn’t even acknowledge my presence. Additionally, I’m pretty sure I was responsible for causing a mild fender bender, when an SUV stopped short then the SUV behind her rammed into the back of her. Oops. Sorry.

Overall though, it was a pretty entertaining way to spend an hour. I made a few people laugh, so that’s what’s important. Hopefully you are laughing at my dumb ass right now. I’m not going to be pounding the streets anytime soon though. Maybe it would be more lucrative if I looked more pathetic and needy? The $2.27 and a bag of potato chips that I scored was pretty sweet, well, maybe not that sweet. The shot of the potato chip handoff via mini-van IS priceless, you have to admit!