Jon + Jenni {Engaged}

This is probably my favorite set of pictures ever. Not to make my other clients feel left out, but Jon is my best Friend, and has been for a long time. I have been looking forward to this session for months. I’m also kinda freaking out because the reality that he is finally getting married is just starting to set in. No going back, its real, and in a few short months, everything changes. Its a good change, and I couldn’t be happier for both Him and Jenni. They are a match made in Heaven, Literally, and as far as examples in my life of two God focused people, falling in Love, and being brought together by purpose and mutual faith, I can think of no other couple that comes close. They have been through alot together, with a cautious boldness that can only come from God, and have become two of the most beautiful people I know. I love you both dearly, and I can’t wait for the wedding next June.

We shot some of these in Missoula, Mt. We were all there for a NEEDTOBREATHE concert(Best live show I’ve ever seen). By all I mean, Rachel, Me, Jenny, Victoria, Jordan, Jon and Jenni. I was starting to get a cold, so that night I successfully kept everybody awake with my snoring. Despite the heat and exhaustion, these pictures were fun to do, and though we were all tired, it was a blast shooting them. We eventully made our way to Helena in the evening, went to the walking Mall where Jon had preposed on the Trolly, took some final images and then got ice cream. It was a good night.

Thank you both so much for letting Rachel and I do your pictures, I’m so blessed to know you both Jon and Jenni.

Be sure to watch the Slideshow for more pictures:) 

Have I mentioned how cute you guys are? Yeah.

Been in a B&W mood lately

Favorite image from the shoot, of course taken by Rachel:)

Thanks for reading:) Be sure to check out the SLIDESHOW:)  

The art of… What? ;)

This is kinda a personal post/behind the scenes rant about style, picking your Photographer, and Artistic compromise. Its probably gonna come out pretty jumbled and a tad confusing, so bear with me:)

I’ve been incredibly blessed to be super super busy, lots of work, and lots of amazing clients. Dates for next year have started to fill up, and I’m insanely happy for the next year. Its also been making me think alot about who I am to my clients, and how best to stay true to the vision I have, and represent each client in the best light. As a Photographer, I’m a very visual person, and shooting weddings, as I’ve said before, is rich in personality, passion, and Love. I don’t demand people call me an Artist, and I try to be as unpretentious as possible. That said, I do deeply believe that the way I approach my photography is an Art, and I am not content to just churn out the same thing each week. I don’t want my clients to see me as a Walmart, but instead I try to walk into each shoot, head and heart searching for what makes each couple unique, and how each Love is different and amazing. I mean this, the whole reason I started taking Pictures was because I was amazed by “Story”, by the fact that God created each person, with such epic potential for, Love, Relationship, and Beauty. I desire to be a storyteller, a messenger of beauty. Its a privilege and Honor.

All that said, I am more and more sure that I am not right for everyone, as much as each person is different, so is each Photographer, I know tons, many of them in Montana. I don’t think of them as competition, they are each talented and amazing people, each with a different vision, and skill set.

I might not be the best Photographer for you, and I’m ok with that:) Lets meet for coffee sometime, and find out, I can’t wait to hear your story:)

Thanks for enduring my rant lol Lots of stuff to come:)

Took this image a couple days ago. Little different from my norm, but I love the feel it has. Thanks for reading:)

Paul + Jessica

Second post in as many days! I’m catching up:) Thanks to all of you that are being so patient.

I’ve known Paul for a long time, worked with His sister Becky for years at a Bagelshop here in Bozeman. I hadn’t met Jess till last year When I photographed Becky’s and Johns wedding. They are both beautiful Christian people, and I was Honored when Paul called me this year and asked me to Photograph there wedding.

The day was beautiful, Jess had worked hard on the design, and seeing that She works at Davids Bridal, she made sure it was as unique and amazing as they are as a couple. It was held at the Somewhere in Time bed and breakfast in Huntly Mt. Beautiful venue, hope I get to shoot there again soon:)

Thank you so much Paul and Jess, it was amazing to be part of your day:)

Click Here for Slideshow

Thanks for reading:)

Click here for Slideshow

Chelsea + Brian

This blog it a little behind my normal schedule, things happened. Needless to say there will be a separate blog post about that:) I can’t wait to share more about the Blessings God has given me:)

I met Brian and Chelsea for the first time a couple weeks ago. They had booked me earlier this year, through email, I don’t think I ever even talked on the Phone:) We clicked instantly, and I was super excited to shoot this Wedding. We had tons of fun, and they are a beautiful couple, laid back, with beautiful love between them. Its also the first time I’ve had a couple want Reggae music in the slideshow:)

Thank you both so much for letting me be part of your day, it was an Honor.

Be sure to watch the Slideshow for more of the images, thanks!

 

Please watch the Slideshow!

 Thanks soooooooo much for reading!

The Mystery of Togetherness

Be warned, this is another personal post lol That said, I’ve been thinking about relationships alot recently (weird, right?) Being a Photographer by nature makes us view the world, I’d like to say a little more vibrantly. I think creative or artistic people all have this in common. We take something in front of us, and instantly start trying to see how it could be turned up to eleven. Seeing this in people is what I love about weddings. No where else can you be guarantied to see so much emotion, so free and unrestrained. I was at a wedding a couple weeks ago, and remarked to a friend, that even though I’ve been to probably about 40+ weddings in the last year, and heard all the advice and wisdom of long lasting couples, and the passion of new love, I’m still no closer to understanding how it works myself.

Togetherness, completeness, finding the other half as God intended. This is what love is, but try and put it into a ten step process and everything falls apart. You’d be better off trying to cage a star. Nothing else on earth compares.

My best friend proposed to His girlfriend last week. I won’t go into all the details, but as I’ve watched them over the past couple years, two people that I love deeply, changed. It was like watching creation itself. It continues as I write this, and fascinates me all the more. If someone asks, Why do you believe in a God, all I have to do is point, and ask them to explain this mystery to me. The Mystery of Two becoming One.

Took this a few weeks ago at a wedding I 2nd shot with B2 Photographers. Brian is an amazing Photographer. Can’t recommend them enough! Thanks Brian for letting me post this.

And thanks for reading!

Kevin + Heather Engagement

Engagement sessions are probably my favorite thing to shoot lately. Montana is amazingly beautiful this time of year, and I haven’t Photographed as many engagements as I want. Its an awesome time to really have fun, get to know each other, and learn about each other, both in front, and behind the camera. Its also fun to really dress up, and just have a blast with them.

This session was particularly fun because Brett Birdsong was in town to shoot a wedding in Missoula, and came with me to help out and take a few images. I love working with Brett, and can’t recommend him enough. He was one of the Photographers I found when first starting out, and I blog stalked him for a long time before we ever talked. He is a talented photographer and a fun person to be around.

Lots of blogs to come, I’ve fallen a bit behind in editing so I’m gonna try and catch up a bit before I blog too much more. Thanks to all of you who have been waiting this last couple weeks for images, now that I’m back in town for a bit it shouldn’t take long:)

Congrats to Heather and Kevin! I can’t wait to shoot your wedding in September:)

Be sure to watch the slideshow!

More images in the Slideshow! Thanks for reading:)

Brianna Lifestyle

Took a break last week from the Weddings to have a fun session with Bri, I met Her a couple of years ago through a friend, and she was going to be in town and wondered if I had time to shoot a few images for Her senior year at college. I was happy to, and its always a nice creative break in mid wedding season.

Here are a couple images before I get back to tonights Editing session, Enjoy!

Thanks for reading! More weddings soon!!!  s

Andy + Angie Workshop in Helena

I mentioned the workshop in the last post, but I finally got around to looking at a few of my images, and Jons, and wanted to post a few of my favorites. We were blessed to have Andy and Angie come up to Helena from Denver, Co, to teach a workshop. They crammed a ton of information into a day, and it was amazing to work with them, and meet a bunch of other Photographers from Montana. Chris Rebo hosted the workshop, and He and Andy did a ton of behind the scenes work in getting vendors to supply us with props, makeup artists, a cake, for a awesome styled shoot. I will post a few more in a week or so that Jon took. He is out of town for a few days and its been crazy getting his files.

Again, a huge thanks to Andy and Angie for putting this on, it was awesome.

Not my normal look, but I kinda love this, and want to do it more.

Taken with Andy’s 85mm 1.2L. I’m in love with this lens. Seriously.

Thanks for reading! And Huge thanks to all the Vendors that donated to make the workshop happen

Vanilla Bean Bakery – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vanilla-Bean-Bakery-And-Cafe-LLC/357086826159 – provided cake

Brides and Beaux – http://www.brides-beaux.com/ – provided bridal accessories and jewelry

Kleffner Ranch – http://www.kleffnerranch.com/ – location for styled shoot

On Flathead lake with Chris Rebo Photography

Taking a break from preparations for an Epic two wedding roadtrip(All the way to the mysterious land of Canada!!), to talk about a couple of updates, and catch up on some pics I’ve been wanting to post. This week has been insane, and insanely good. Shot an amazing Wedding on saturday, backed everything up, culled some stuff, and then hit the road to Helena with Jon for a workshop with Andy and Angie Wood. Two amazing wedding Photographers from Denver, I’ll post more on that later.

Chris is letting me post a couple of the images I took from our engagement shoot on Flathead lake. I was so thankful to be able to tag along, and the boat ride was amazing. Beautiful weather, a fashion themed shoot, and a boat. I was in Photographer heaven. And yes, I did sing Lonely Islands “I’m on a Boat” while on the boat. Had to.

On a more serious note, last couple days I’ve been thinking alot about this industry, and where it is going, etc. A couple of the local facebook groups have broken out into arguments on the nature of art, whether film shooters had more talent, old school vs new school. It has gotten pretty ugly at times. This is by nature a industry where people are very passionate about what they do and why, and it also is full of new Photographers everyday. This has always been the case, but I think we are more aware of the speed of change now. Some of the long time industry folks in Montana seem hell bent on running us younger/newer Photographers out of town. It cracks me up, only because they used to be us, learning, experimenting, and working our butts off to get better everyday. You never stop learning. I love this Job, and a few “Eeyore’s” aren’t going to stop me from loving it.

On the other hand I have been blessed by several more experienced photographers, and wouldn’t be even close to where I am, without advice, critique and risk taking on their part. We are all better for it, and the upwards drive keeps us all sharp, and our clients happy. Our clients deserve amazing pictures, and by challenging each other, and building relationships, we all raise the bar higher.

Ok, enough ranting on my part, here are a couple images.

The grooms sister, though she wasn’t really part of the shoot, I grabbed this image of Her on the boat, I kinda love the Magazine ad feel it creates in my mind. Let me know what you think:)

Thanks again to Chris Rebo for letting me tag along.

Cody + Katie Wedding

I’d been looking forward to this wedding for awhile now, after meeting Cody and Katie, and shooting engagement pictures earlier this year, I knew that this was going to be an amazing Wedding. Watching the two of them is a constant lesson in Godly, Pure, and perfect Love. Pictures are too easy with them, and Katie’s smile and laugh capture the whole spirit of the day. I took more pictures than I normally do, due in part to the ring bearer and flower girl playing hide and seek with me all day ( Seriously I’ve never had to work harder to capture two kids lol ) but I got a few frames of the mini bride and groom:)

The wedding was held at the Rocking TJ ranch here in Bozeman, Mt. Teresa and the staff did a wonderful job making the day as beautiful as it felt.

Be sure to watch the Slideshow for more pictures! Click Here!

These two made me work for it, but it was worth it:)

Click here for the Slideshow

Makeup and Hair done by Maggie at Theory Hair Salon, and Indulgence in Downtown Bozeman

Thanks for reading!

May the 4th be with You

Happy 4th of July!
Its a couple days late, but better late than never right:)

This 4th of July I was blessed to shoot Connect Church’s Free Love event for the second time. It was awesome to see so many people working together for the Glory of God. They doubled the Banana Split from last year, making it 500ft this year. Free food, mini golf, and live music were all supplied free of charge to the Riverrock community in Belgrade, Mt.

The night ended off with an amazing Fireworks display, and I was able to grab a couple shots from across the lake.

 

 

Thanks for reading:) Stay tuned for lots of updates, lots of stuff in the next couple weeks.

Dustin + Melissa Wedding in Yellowstone

I am incredably blessed when it comes to the couples I have been able to Photograph. In just this year alone its been awesome to meet so many unique and crazy people. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Dustin and Melissa contacted me early this year, and though I wasn’t able to shoot engagement pictures because of the distance, I was super excited to meet them and photograph the wedding.

I love hearing stories of how people met, even before I started taking pictures I always found it fascinating. Every story is unique and quirky in its own way, full of both clichés and surprises.

Dustin and Melissa met in College, feet first, literally. He told her she was disgusting, a fact she laughed about as she told me, but as usual he must have felt more. They began hanging out, watching Steelers games together. A few months later, when they had dinner with some friends, Dustin was asked if Melissa was His girlfriend. He quickly took her into the other room and asked if Her being His Girlfriend would change anything. She said of course not, and so they began the journey that is nowhere close to finished, and I am so grateful I was blessed to witness a step in this journey.

Thank you both so much!

Click here for the Slideshow

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was walking up to take a group image at the Old Faithful Lodge, and saw this light as they were walking down, had to stop them and take some images. Amazing light.

 

 

Not my typical image, but I kinda love this. Yellowstone Lake.

 

Thanks for reading! Click Here for Slideshow.

 

Also huge thanks to Genevieve Burmeister of Time of Your Life Events, without her planning and hard work none of this would have happened:)

Of Beauty and Ageless things

I turned 24 yesterday. A fact I managed to avoid thinking about for most of the day. I worked all morning on pictures, then joined Chris up at the woodlands for our first real Video shoot, did that till about 9pm, then came home to find my good friend Emily and her Roommate Tyler with a cake (Thanks again guys:) )  Age is a funny thing to me. I’m not afraid of death, in fact I can’t wait to embark upon that last great Adventure that God has prepared for me. What I do fear is not living. Not being exceptional in everything I do. I don’t just want to enjoy life, or “live it up”. I want to leave a mark. If we say “What would Jesus do?” and Jesus changed the world, then what are we then called to do? In the words of Mark Twain “Let us Endeavor so to live that when we die, even the undertaker will be sorry”.

When I see the love a couple holds for the other, when I can truly see “Two become One”, a childlike fascination fills me, and its that wonder that I wish to capture, to save for my clients. I want to leave them with images that years from now will be something they will look at, and remind them of the Ageless Flame that true love is. We live in a world of ugliness, of twisted beauty and fear. If only for a moment, you can see true beauty in this world, hold onto that with every fiber of your being. Such things are fleeting in this world, but eternal in the universe.

 

Dustin and Melissa(You guys Rock, more pics to come of the wedding in Yellowstone:)

 

“Love it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you,

It will set you free

Be more like the man you were made to be.

There is a design, An alignment to cry, Of my heart to see,

The beauty of love as it was made to be”

Lyrics by my new favorite Band. Mumford and Sons

Thoughts on the Journey

Writing this from the car on our way to West Yellowstone, shooting a wedding in the Park tomorrow. Drove to Helena yesterday to drop off Jenni, and looking forward to Her moving to Bozeman. I took Her to Sushi this last weekend, and despite her best efforts, She hated it haha.

This is another one of my random personal posts, you’ve been warned:)

Lately the Blessings of God have really been on my heart, I feel like I’m really seeing more than I have in the past, and I’m blown away. Not only in my own life, but in the lives of my friends. We have always been a tight nit group, and I written before about how much Jon and Jenni were missed while in Africa. We as young people are quickly approaching that point in all of our lives where choices about where we are going to live? who we will spend the rest of our lives with? and what God has in our path? are becoming more and more urgent each day. I am thankful for each day I get to have lunch with Victoria, or drive to Helena with Jon to see Jenni. Its so easy to forget how these simple things, these moments that seem so ordinary can be over.

In a young Christians life no moment is ordinary.

I got an iPhone last month, and its become my favorite camera to have on me at all times. Just making simple snapshots of our group reminds me of how fleeting our lives can be. Its funny how all the technology changes, but the core is the same. Polaroid or iPhone, its a gift of God.

 

Thanks for reading:)

Sarah + Andrew

2nd Post today! Feeling productive. I will not let this busy season get the best of me:) Plus I love my clients, and the awesome Photographers I get to work with, and I’m weird in the fact I actually like Blogging.

I was lucky to shoot a wedding with the ever amazing Kelly Kirksey yesterday. I worked with Her alot last year, and it was a sad day when She moved to Boise. I was excited when she messaged me asking if I still had the 18th open to 2nd shoot, or if I even 2nd shot anymore haha I responded that I’d always do it for Her when I could. She’s alot of fun, and is super awesome letting me share the images here on the Blog.

Just this one image today, because I’m kinda in love with it, and I don’t wanna put it in a post where the other pictures feel less love haha (I’m crazy I know)

 

 

Also like to give a shout out to Callisto Studios for Videography yesterday, Jeanette kept us company, and did an awesome job covering the event. Can’t wait to see some of the video.

Our Father who art in Heaven…

Thus begins the Lords prayer. Jesus teaching a group of men how to pray, begins first by declaring kinship with the most high, and taught us to do the same. To be honest the role of a father is elusive to me, I don’t have kids, or a family yet. But I feel as though a few things really stand out about the relationship of Jesus and Father as God in my mind.

We live in a culture that still, even though it’s less than it used to be, idealizes the family unit, and has a specific norm that each member falls into, the home keeping mother, the kids who constantly scoff at the parents, the bumbling Dad. It feels normal and safe to us. We are taught, that even with this models obvious shortcomings, it is something to be sought after, and expected. I’m not saying all the families I know fall into this, but from the other side of singleness, it’s what serves as a placeholder in many peoples imaginations.

I guess where I am going with this is just how interesting it is when these things are taken away from us, how we feel entitled to the perfect family, the “normal”. In America we blame our parents for our shortcomings and flaws. “my dad was never around”, “my parents fought”, “they won’t pay For my college, how dare they”

We have become a society of entitlement, feeling the world owes us a measure of normalcy.

When you look at the life of Christ nothing was normal, he was born in a stable, we have no sure knowledge of what happened to Joseph, and one of the last things he says is “Father, father why hast thou forsaken me?” does this seem normal? Healthy? The most important moment in jesus life was when his father looked down and said, this is my son in whom i am well pleased. That was all God gave him, A Mission, and a title. Son.

How can we as men, flawed and sinful, expect more from our earthy fathers?

 

Happy Fathers Day, hallowed be your name:)

 

No pictures for this post, but below is the result of two geeks, a Lightsaber, and a iPhone to record it. Some of the humor is stupid photographer jokes, but you get the point haha thanks for enduring my insanity.

 

 

 

A fathers day post just wouldn’t be complete without a reference to the 2nd best father son story in History. Star Wars

Dancing and Experiments

Just a quick post today, before I head off to 2nd shoot with the ever awesome Kelly Kirksey. Did these images last night, and wanted to share them, and the thinking that went along with them. Janna Beecher, Chris Rebo’s Awesome 2nd shooter, and a amazing Photographer herself, set this shoot up, and asked Chris and I if we wanted to tag along. Neither of us had shot a Ballerina before, so we were excited. I didn’t take alot of images, mostly helping with lighting (my 2nd passion, pretty sure if I couldn’t do still Photography I’d have gotten into lighting design for film) but these two images really jumped out at me when I got home, so here they are.

 

Deer!!!!! This is more in line with my typical style, and the fact a Deer just decided to walk into my frame really made this image for me. As if I’m simply walking through this forest and happen upon this scene. Kinda creates a fantasy feeling.

 

Almost didn’t post this one, but decided to because of that very fact. Many times as I’m photographing my inner critic keeps me from trying something crazy because I’m worried I’ll miss the “safe” image, the one that will be universally liked. But the fact is nothing exceptional in this world is universally appealing. This is my attempt once again to light crazy, process weird, and see what happens, I do kinda love the rainbow colors and contrast with the solemn nature of the image above. If anything, this image is a behind the scenes look into a experiment that taught me something I’ll use in the future.

 

Anyway, thats all I have time to write, thanks for reading if you’ve gotten this far:) Huge thanks to Janna and Chris, check them out here:

http://www.jannabeecher.com/

and here

http://www.rebophotography.com/

Angel + Aaron Wedding

I was honored to Photograph Angel and Aaron’s Engagement pictures last September, and have been looking forward to this wedding for months. The wedding was held in a small church in Malta, Montana. It started raining almost right after the first look, but we got some beautiful light, and after the rain stopped it was amazing out. This was also the first time I’ve had to literally chase the bride as the bridal party held a race through Malta to the reception site, that wove in and out of side streets and included lots of honking and squealing tires. Things calmed down a bit when the sheriff drove by, but it seemed worth it, as everyone was in good spirits as they arrived at the reception site. They are a beautiful couple, with amazing family and friends. The love they have is clear, and a privilege to witness.

Thank you both so much for letting us be apart of your day.

Click Here for Slideshow!

The first look, this is always such a beautiful moment:)

Probably my favorite from the day.

And the rain came down…

You guys killed it, seriously.

Click here for Slideshow!

P.S. I also wanna give a shout out to my awesome 2nd shooter(and Mom ) Terri Spray, you rocked it!

Jessica + Jeff Anytime

Been a rainy couple of days here in Bozeman, which is a nice beginning to the spring. Been reading alot, and working on projects and ideas I can’t wait to share. Today I’ve got a few images from a session I did this Sunday.

I was first contacted by Jessica a few months ago, Jeff and Her were visiting Montana and wanted some pictures taken of the both of them.  It was awesome to finally meet them both in person, and Jessica is a fellow Photographer, so it was fun to talk gear and cameras as we walked between locations. I was a little worried that it was going to rain on us, but we lucked out and instead just had awesome light all afternoon.

Thanks Jessica and Jeff! It was awesome to work with you both!

 

Totally Jessica’s idea, I love working with other creatives!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here for a slideshow!

Rocking out with Thor.

Quick post today, did these images Saturday evening, and as anyone in Bozeman will tell you it was crazy windy. At one point it grabbed Cody’s Guitar case and threw it thirty feet, thankfully the guitar was not in it.  Currently listening to “Wild Horses” by the Sundays. Been a beautiful day, and the wind is finally calming down. Yesterday I edited all morning, then went to a matinee of Priest. Was actually a lot better than I expected, not nearly as awesome as Thor, but still good. Thor was amazing, both visually and spiritually. From his relationship with His father, to the epic struggle for power between Thor and Loki, I couldn’t help but see Thor as everyman, in the pursuit of Christ-likeness. Chosen to rule, but unworthy, punished by his father and seemingly cast away from his favor. Don’t want to spoil it, just go see it. (Both me and my brother couldn’t help but notice how much Anthony Hopkins as Odin Allfather looked like our own father, it was weird the whole movie.)

I don’t shoot lots of seniors anymore, but its always a nice break from weddings, and we have lots of time to be creative and capture your own voice. It was also fun to work with a guy who really cared about the images and made it easy to capture lots of cool fun stuff. Also major cool points for the transparent guitar. Seriously awesome.

 

 

Thanks for reading:) Lots of shoots to come so be sure to like the FaceBook page and subscribe to the Blog