DNC nightlife...

Wednesday night we had a great engagement session in Denver and after seeing how close we were to all the action at the DNC downtown, my friend Gary and I decided to walk around and do some street photography. I thought it would be pretty funny for such a big conservative as me to be running around next to the protesters on the street. My late friend Arlen had gotten such great photos of the protests in Houston at the Republican convention in 1992 and I thought this would be a great opportunity to get some of my own.


The Hyatt Convention Center was lit up with the colors of the week:




I was pretty surprised at the lack of craziness and protestors....the 'free speech zone' was almost completely empty and we had to walk quite a few blocks to see much action at all. I wanted to keep my pictures 'PG' and it really wasn't a problem...all the hard core activist must have wrapped up early.




This war protester seems to have about had enough.




Finally some action...this young lady had a bit of a confrontation with the men holding signs behind her...we had a bit of a shouting match on the street corner.



This however was my favorite sign of the night...finally someone not taking themselves too seriously:




And of course, PETA was on hand...I wonder if this is where Chik-Fil-A got their marketing ideas....nah!!!




This was the transportation of choice...probably not so much for being 'green' but because it was far more practical than having a car:




This is about as close as we could get to the Pepsi Center...




But imagine our surprise when we actually ran into Obama! hahaha




Finally, here's a shot Gary got of me with one of the signs laying around....I think I might disagree with the protesters on how to achieve it but can't we all agree we want it? ;)

Reception at the Grant Humphries Mansion

Tuesday afternoon I had the great fortune to photograph a reception at the Grant Humphries Mansion, catered by my friends at Biscuits and Berries -- the best caterers in Denver!

Their clients, some prominent national polititians at the DNC, wanted to put on a great, relaxed 'out of downtown' experience for their guests and constituents, so starting with the historic mansion setting just a few minutes away from the high-rises was a great place to be on this blue-sky day:




Of course, the clients wanted to pamper their guests and Biscuits and Berries never disappoints with their food or the presentation:








A light afternoon dessert cocktail was served from this ice sculpture -- fresh berries were flambéd in brandy and drizzled with orange sauvignon.




Some relaxing piano background by Kent Rautenstraus set the tone for a classy relaxed atmosphere and everyone had a great time.

Team USA Women's Volleyball returns home

One really cool thing about living in Colorado Springs is having the USA Olympic Training center in town which means that we are 'home' for many of the Olympic athletes. Last night my volleyball-playing daughter got a huge thrill when the USA Women's Volleyball Team returned home from Beijing with their silver medals.

I had to be at a photography meeting so DeAnna took her hand at shooting (not her normal thing!) and brought back some fine work ;)

The plane landed at the Colorado Springs airport to quite a few young fans who had brought flags and welcome home signs...as well as a few volleyballs for autographs!








#10 Kim Glass happily autographs volleyballs for her fans...despite just having completed a LOOOONG flight home:




#5 Stacy Sykora brings it home:




#9 Jennifer Joines and #12 Kim Willoughby look happy to be home!









Congratulations on your great play in Beijing and welcome home!!!

Yummy Italian!

A couple weeks ago when my brother was in town we checked out the newest restaurant in the neighborhood, Ciao Bella. Suffice to say it was fantastic Italian fare and we left with full bellies and smiles on our faces after chatting it up with the owner Mike, the most hospitable restauranteur this side of Artie Bucco from the Sopranos!

This Saturday we had the day off from shooting weddings so we decided to head over again.



Mike Boyle from the Restaurant Show was on hand, trying to talk Gina out of their secret recipes.



Pizza and garlic knots were ready to go but we decided to sit down and order off the menu....and have a Peroni ;)



Mike was making his rounds as usual...



And we enjoyed yummy stromboli



and alfredo!




Thanks for the great food and hospitality Mike...we'll be back. And now that we know you do delivery...you might be 'catering' a future viewing session at our studio!

August 16 wedding at the Denver Butterfly Pavillion

Yesterday we dodged the raindrops and caught up with Sue and Brandon for their lovely wedding at the Denver Butterfly Pavillion.

We started out with the guys and Brandon was looking very confident and psyched to see his gorgeous bride:





The guys were in good spirits and up for some fun portraits...then we had to dash off to see the ladies:




Sue had a stunning Maggie Sottero dress and a penny in her shoe for luck:






But no luck was needed here...this stunning bride was about to take her groom's breath away!










About the only time of the day we had to deal with rain was the quick trip out to the giant H2 limo:




But once inside, we were cozy for the trip up to the butterfly pavillion.



The ringbearer was a total ham and we had fun goofing off in the back seat on the drive up:






We had an intimate ceremony among the butterflies and released some at the end:



This one didn't want to leave!




It got dark and cloudy fast but we took our chances and made some cool portraits on the bricks outside:






Then we headed off to The Grange in the Meadows at Castle Rock for an intimate reception:



I had to feel sorry for the baker...the cake, decorated with beautiful butterfly decorations, decided to lean a bit just as we were ready to cut it:




But we survived and danced the night away with family and friends. Congratulations Sue & Brandon!