Sam & Emily: A Denver Musical Love Story

Sam & Emily are part of a much larger musical love story Denver is currently authoring among the several local acts that are shaping the sound of today. They represent the modern day artist couple that speak to a generation that not only idolize, but compliment the lifestyles of New York City's revolutionary music scene in the 1970's. Art was challenged and celebrated for it's diverse sounds - and thus making its mark on history for generations to come. Think of them as the real life characters of La La Land dressed in trendy hats, making their own musical history and their mark on this city. It's in my opinion that years from now people will be talking about Sam and Emily, and how they used to live in an old armory when they first started out. 

Last spring I had the opportunity to photograph some friends of mine who love, play and live music. Samuel Edgar & Emily Cooper of The Samuel Edgar Band, a musically talented couple - both professional musicians living and working in Denver, CO, allowed me to have an intimate look at what an artist's life looks like while living and working in a musical warehouse.

At the time of this shoot Sam & Emily were nestled in a cozy attic studio loft that they shared with their chi-weenie, Dani. The loft, located in the Five Points neighborhood, provided 360 views of the city of Denver, and is also the home of their recording studio and the rehearsal space for about 30 local Denver bands. 

Sam & Emily entertained me with some songs as I clicked away catching their faces beam naturally of love for their music, and each other. Their words and notes beat effortlessly to their songs, all originals, as they harmonize and share faint smiles to one another as they lock eyes unknowingly. Dani the dog and myself just stood back and watched in awe of the authentic relationship that was in front of us. Allowing the music to be heard and seen undisturbed. 

After Sam & Emily played a few songs for me in the attic loft, we then moved to the roof and then the full tour began of the decades old former armory. As we paced through the building, the halls echoed with other musicians rehearsing in individual practice rooms, filling the hallways with a constant white noise as we photographed in different nooks and corners of the unique space. In halls that were dark and unpainted, and large rooms filled with forgotten antiques, Sam and Emily acted as if they were in their natural element. And rightly so. Every person who we encountered during our short session they knew by first name and were genuinely interested in their ongoing musical projects. 

To get more updates on Sam & Emily and The Samuel Edgar Band check out their facebook page for their next performance. 

https://www.facebook.com/SamuelEdgarBand/

Nadia & Blake's Enchanted Cherokee Castle Wedding

Nadia and Blake have the kind of love that you read about in a fairy tale: Girl goes through a heartbreak. Girl goes on an adventure in a far away land. Boy sees girl in this new far away land, falls in love with her and doesn't let distance come between them until they are united again. 

Nadia and Blake met during a girls' trip in Colorado while Nadia was living in Washington D.C. Over the course of several months Blake and Nadia fell in love over many calls, texts, emails, and a few visits back & forth to each other's cities, and other tropical vacations. Eventually, Nadia decided to take the leap of faith and move to Colorado to be closer to Blake and begin the next chapter of their relationship, which later turned into a proposal. 

Upon their fairy tale wedding, held at the enchanting Cherokee Ranch Castle in Castle Pines, CO on a perfect April afternoon in 2016, both families came beautifully together to wish this joyous couple with blended families, loving parents and step-parents, many siblings, cousins. and several friends. Even grandma had her dancing shoes on! The stars were shining upon them that night, no doubt. 

The newlyweds continued their love story and love of travel directly after their wedding to spend their honeymoon in the Mediterranean. A dream destination of Nadia's since she was a little girl. May Nadia & Blake's love story continue to grow as their fairy tale continues! 

Many thanks to my second shooter, Nicole Pettit of Nicole Pettit Photography for her assistance with this wedding. It's always a pleasure!

Holiday Shoot 2015 Announcement

It's that time of year again!  The hustle and bustle, the merry and bright, the crazy shopping sprees and the food comas!  The holidays have approached us.  This past Sunday I had the pleasure of photographing these little cuties, who are also known as two of the coolest little kids I get to hang out with from time to time, Fletch & Eve (my friend's kids).  Fletch & Eve were awesome models for their holiday shoot in Evergreen.  I kept telling their dad that he had two little Zoolanders on his hands.  I'll be truthful here, it's been a while since I've had a session with smaller children, but it helped that these two have such a beautiful brother-sister bond that it made photographing them as easy as dad telling a joke. 

For a limited time I am offering a discounted 1-hour rate for your Holiday Photos.  Normally my hourly sessions are $175, but until 12/19/2015 I will offer them for $100 for 10 digital prints.  Contact me soon to book a session.  Time is running out!

Everyday Ritual

Oh, hey there.  For those of you who haven't known me for a million years (unlike my mom...hi mom!), I have been photographing musicians since I was 14.  My brother was in a punk band, and many friends of ours were in the punk/ska scene of Rochester, NY in the early 2000's.  Therefore, I was always known as "Matt's sister" who just so happened to have her film camera flashing away at shows, just hoping to catch awesome jumping shots.  It's no secret that I have soft spot for musicians (in case you missed it in my bio, I'm married to a professional bass player), and I love to capture the personalities and creative forces filled with passion on stage.  

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to work with a Denver hip-hop group that was not only built of four fun personalities to work with, but four people that love this city as much as I do.  I was honored to be able to capture their individual spirits as we ventured through one of Denver's growing art districts known as RiNo (River North), which, little did I know when I suggested it, the art has a lot of ties to one of the members!  How perfect was this?  Visit Everyday Ritual's website for upcoming events at www.everydayritual.com and tell them their new friend Laura sent you :)