Parade of Homes 2006

Hello and welcome to the Parade of Homes 2006. I was hired to photograph the opening night vendor party by the event cater Three Tomates. You can tour the six multimillion-dollar villas starting today and going though Sept. 4th. If you would like to see the slideshow of Parade of Homes CLICK HERE: Parade of Homes slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player

This years site is in Commerce City near Denver International Airport. All six of the homes at Reunion passed the Built Green point system which means they include energy-efficient materials or products.
More information: www.paradeofhomesdenver.com

Tiki Fest

If you would like to see the slideshow of Tiki Fest CLICK HERE: Tiki Fest slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player
Welcome to Tiki Fest hosted by my friends, Erin and Michael.
Tiki 101, according to Erin.
So, what's this whole Tiki thing about?
Alright everyone.
This is the very brief history of Polynesian pop culture.
Grab a Mai Tai and settle in.
America began its love affair with the exotic in the early 20's.
Novels depicting the voyages of such "heroes" as Captain
Cook and many more adventure stories were extremely popular.
Hawaiian music first made its debut in America during this same
timeframe. And a restaurateur/importer named Don the
Beachcomber opened a small bar in Hollywood that specialized
in rum drinks in the late 30's. But things didn't really get
hopping Tiki-wise until the 50's post-war era. Folks began
donning horrible printed shirts and started drinking
fantastically sweet drinks. Bars and clubs outfitted with gobs
of Polynesian decor, erupting volcanoes and wiggling wahines
began popping up everywhere in America - even in land-locked
Denver, Colorado. The most famous of these bars was Trader
Vic's, founded by yet another restaurateur, who, can be credited
with being the pioneer of the almighty Tiki bar and lounge,
complete with giant A-frame architecture and monolithic carved Tikis.

In these festive surroundings, Americans could shed their
9-to-5 personas and revel in something, well, exotic. Though one
could hardly say 50's exotica is anywhere near realism. But that
was the whole point, right? I mean, they served American
Chinese food in Polynesian bars, for crying out loud.
But God love 'em - what they created was something so surreal
that you forget it doesn't make any sense. Soon Tiki pop culture
reached into the hearts and minds of the underage, and theme
parks like "Tiki Gardens" in Florida and of course Disney's
"Enchanted Tiki Room" starting appearing. Motels and
hotels alike latched on to the craze themselves,
decorating their pool areas with weird Tiki-like statues
and encoutrements. Suburban households around the
nation took to decorating their backyards with Tiki torches,
bamboo patio furniture and fake palm trees. Unfortunately,
with the onset of more serious matters like, well,
another war, America's interest shifted from Tikis to ferns.
Fern bars, that is. The glory days of Tiki came to an end.
This is why weirdos like us come together once a year -
to rekindle the insatiable fires of Tiki and the Polynesian
pop culture. And to kick the crap out of ferns.

Aloha!

CSNY at Red Rocks

Hello, I hope summer is treating you well! If you live in Denver you know that summer isn't complete if you don't make it to a concert at Red Rocks. The geologically-formed, open-air amphitheatre features two, 400-foot monoliths and a naturally occurring theatre set on a mountain stage. It is known worldwide within the music industry for its unique ambience and perfect acoustics.
This past week Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young played three shows! I've been interested in documenting a story on this amazing place for years, and now I have. If you would like to see the slideshow of the CSNY concert at Red Rocks CLICK HERE: CSNY at Red Rocks slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player

Debutante Ball

Hello, last Sat. I was invited to help Bettinger Photography cover the Denver Debutante Summer Ball at the University of Denver Law School. If you would like to see the slideshow of the Ball CLICK HERE: Debutants Ball slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player

How the Tradition Started
The idea that a young girl of marriageable age should be presented to society in order to find a husband of suitable means and similar social standing started in England. The landed aristocracy was quite small and physically dispersed on the island. In an agrarian society where wealth and power depended on land, the lords and ladies of England married within a very small circle in order to preserve their holdings and ultimately their social and political influence. One of the principal attractions of their daughters was the often large dowries that came with them. This attracted the bold and the unprincipled at a time when the tradition of arranged marriages was ending.
The need to protect and augment landholdings by widening the field of eligible suitors geographically while narrowing it socially gave birth to the tradition of the debutante ball. Over the centuries English society came to be increasingly centered on the court of the kings and queens of England. At certain times of the year, the court sat in London. During this time, the aristocracy came in from their country homes and opened their city houses and the social season commenced. It was hoped by the end of the season, a girl would have found a suitable husband. The tradition of presenting daughters to the King and Queen lives on in today’s debutante balls in the curtsies the debutants make to mark the beginning of the event.
After the industrial revolution, the foundations of English wealth began to shift from land to money. Impoverished aristocrats became increasingly anxious to make marital alliances with wealthy entrepreneurs. The middle class daughters of industrialists and merchants could be presented if they could find a sponsor from among the aristocracy. From this time emerged some of the more unfortunate traditions of snobbery, social climbing, and frustrated marriages that continue to hurt feelings and color the reputation of debutant balls to this day.
The original presentation of young women to society started in the United States in 1748 in Philadelphia. Denver came to game fairly late staging its first ball in 1955. By then time the traditional sources of wealth were shifting yet again away from growing, mining, or making things towards providing professional services. Women of a certain social status no longer got married at 18 (or pregnant at 19) and started looking to college as the best place to find husbands of means and social standing.
At the dawn of a new century as we see another shift in the economic basis of wealth, the debutant ball has lost much of its original purpose for men. Women don’t have dowries; they don’t need to depend on a man for economic survival. Today divorce rather than marriage marks the great transition in personal fortunes and the debutants of 2006 do not to expect to marry until long after graduate school when they have established successful careers as doctors, lawyers, investment bankers, and venture capitalists. Where a debutante ball was once a great place for men to pick up women, this is no longer the case. The debutant ball lives on now as a celebration of fertility and an expression of the stability of a social order. We follow the tradition today, as we do so much else in contemporary society, because it makes women happy.

Arrowhead Wedding

Hello, last week I photographed Jeff and Elena's wedding at Arrowhead Golf Course southwest of Denver. This location has one of the most spectacular views of red rock formations I've ever seen! I worked this wedding with my good friend Cathy Cayton from Colorado Springs. www.caytonphotography.com
If you would like to see the slideshow of their wedding CLICK HERE: Jeff and Eleana's slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player
Enjoy, Kent

Triple Bypass

Hello! Saturday, July 8, was Geri and my 11th wedding anniversary. Geri started out the morning at 5:30 a.m. participating in the Triple Bypass Bicycle Tour, along with two neighbor friends, Holly and Susan. The ride began in the Evergreen/Bergen Park area and ended in Avon, CO. It covered over 120 miles of rolling terrain and up and over three major mountain passes: Squaw, Loveland and Vail - 10,310 verticle feet in elevation gain. It's a tough ride on a good day. Saturday was not a good day! The ladies started and finished in the rain. Holly's husband, Doug, and I sagged and met up with them as much as we could along the route. Six-year-old Ellie, Doug and Holly's daughter, rode in the Explorer with us, drawing pictures for the girls. My job was to document the ride: sights, weather and all.
If you would like to see the slideshow of The Triple Bypass CLICK HERE: Triple Bypass slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player

The Rainbow Family of Living Light

Hello, This year I celebrated the 4th of July praying for world peace with 15,000 people in a high mountain meadow called Big Red Park 35 miles north of Steamboat Springs Colorado. The Rainbow Family of Living Light is a loosely knit group of people who say they are devoted to peace and love. They hold annual camp outs on federal lands.
If you would like to see the slideshow of The Rainbow Family CLICK HERE: Rainbow's slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player
Peace, Kent

Michaela's visit to Denver

Hello, last week Geri's niece Michaela flew into Denver from Phoenix, AZ. Our first stop was the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to see 'Body World's 2'. We watched the sun set on the back steps of the museum looking into the water fountain with the Denver skyline in the background. The next day we went to the Denver Botanic Gardens and took pictures of all kinds, colors and shapes of flowers. We bumped into a friend and wedding coordinator for the Gardens, Mikel Ziruolo. She was working a wedding and we were able to observe, and of course take a few pictures. If you would like to see the slideshow of Michaela's visit CLICK HERE: Michaela's slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player