Stefanie and Dan's Inverness Hotel Wedding

Hello, a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing Stefanie and Dan's wedding at the Inverness Hotel in the Denver Tech Center with my good friend John Hudetz. Hudetz.
The Inverness Hotel has multiple locations for weddings and I believed I've seen them all. Inverness Hotel.
Click here to see a slideshow from their wedding. Wedding.
Cheers, Kent Meireis

Hiking in the high country

Hello, last week I took a day off to go hiking with my good friend Rick Everstein. We decided to do a big loop around the Herman Gulch area which is near Loveland Basin Ski Area. The trail started at about 10,000 feet elevation and we went over three summits that were more than 12,000 feet before we hooked up with the Continental Divide Trail. Then we came down Herman Gulch.
It was a perfect day for a long hike above timberline. Most of the time we had high clouds to shield us of the sun but it only rain about 10 drops. The views were absolutely amazing and the wild flowers were in full bloom. I've never seen so many columbine flowers before!
Cheers, Kent

Denver Botanic Gardens Concert Soul Stew Revival

Hello, last Sunday we were lucky enough to have tickets to see Soul Stew Revival starring Susan Tedeschia and Derek Trucks at the Denver Botanic Gardens!
Botanic Gardens.
They are husband/wife blues players with an amazing band. This was the first time I've seen them play together. It looks and sounds like they will be a powerhouse blues band for years to come. If they tour anywhere near you, be sure to check them out. Personally, I am looking forward to a CD from this group.
A couple of weeks ago I posted a blog about another concert at the gardens and mentioned the cool Urban Nature art show on display around the different landscapes. This time I wandered around and collected a few more photos of the urban art mingling in the gardens. Urban Nature.
Cheers, Kent Meireis

Summer Denver Debutante Ball at the University of Denver

Hello, last Saturday I documented the 2008 Summer Debutante Ball at the University of Denver. Click here to see a slideshow. Deb Ball.
A local photo studio Bettinger Photography does all the formal pictures of the girls and their families. Bettinger.
Owner of the studio, Dan Bettinger, has hired me three years in a row to photograph a story line of the day working as a photojournalist. Its like photographing a wedding with lots of brides.
Cheers, Kent Meireis
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.

Erik Porter - Triple Bypass

Hello, two years ago I photographed Geri and her two bicycling partners, Susan and Holly, riding the Triple Bypass on a cold, rainy day in July. Only about a third of the 3,500 registered riders finished that year, including the "Fillmore Girls".
Click here to see the 2006 ride. 2006 Triple.
Another cyclist who finished the '06 ride was Erik Porter, who is a good friend of Holly and her husband, Doug. Erik's wife, Eva, called me a few months ago to see if I was available to photograph Erik's Triple Bypass ride - for the 4th time. Since I didn't have a wedding, I accepted the challenge and decided to have some fun with it. The ride is the flagship event for Team Evergreen Bicycle Club. Team Evergreen.
Geri offered to sag, as she knew the route and had lots of great spots in mind for photo opportunities. Click here to see a slideshow of Erik's ride. Erik's Triple.
Erik started his ride at 5am on Saturday, July 12, at the intersection of Evergreen Parkway and Squaw Pass Road - in the dark. Erik headed up Squaw Pass, but Geri and I had to drive around to Idaho Springs and up the back side of the pass (11,140 feet in elevation), because the road was closed to vehicle traffic. It worked out well, as we caught up with him at the summit at sunrise. His neighbor, Steve, dropped him off and sagged for him all the way to Loveland ski area, where Erik's wife, mother, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and two kids picked up the sagging duties.
One of the most interesting aspects of Erik's ride was that he started his ride so early, he was basically a solitary rider - rather than part of a group of riders. There were a handful of other cyclists that started about the same time, and they all kept a good pace and finished in the top ten.
Erik powered his way up to Loveland ski area where he met up with his family and Steve, before climbing Loveland Pass (11,990 feet in elevation), just before 10am on a beautiful, Colorado blue-sky day.
After a quick descent, the route traveled across Dillon Lake Dam Road before entering Frisco, Copper Mountain, and the climb up Vail Pass (10,560 feet). From the summit of Vail Pass to the town of Vail, the course continued mostly on bike paths, so we drove ahead to the finish line at Nottingham Park in Avon. Erik completed the ride, including breaks, in 8 hours and 27 minutes.
Thanks Eva and Erik, for a great day!
Cheers, Kent

Elise and Mark Bisbee Wedding

Hello, on June 27th I photographed Elise Simonds and Mark Bisbee's wedding at the Church of the Good Shepherd followed by their reception at Cherry Hills Country Club. Church of the Good Shepherd.
Cherry Hills Country Club.
I photographed the wedding with my good friend John Hudetz. Hudetz.
Please click here to see a slideshow. Wedding.
I actually enjoy photographing church weddings as much as outdoors weddings. Both situations offer different opportunities to find meaningful and unpredictable images. Both Elise and Mark were great as they were totally camera unaware allowing me to capture very natural pictures.
Thank you so much for letting me do what I do best.
Cheers, Kent

July 4th Camp Out

Hello, I finally had a weekend off to go camping with Geri and a group of friends over the Fourth of July holiday. We decided to pitch our tents near Home Stake State Park between Leadville and Minturn.
Click here to see a slideshow.Camp Out.
My friend, Paul Broome, arrived first and found a perfect campsite off the road with our own lily pond and river access plus lots of room for the rest of the group who were arriving the next day.
So Paul, his black lab named Jackson, and I had the place to ourselves the first night. In terms of car camping this was the best site I've ever had. The ponds weren't deep enough for fish to survive over the winter months, but at the end of the road was Home Stake Reservoir at more than 10,000 feet in elevation.
The reservoir visit was a full day's adventure using Paul's pontoon fishing boat and Jimmy and Rosie's canoe to transport everyone across the lake including two dogs.
It was a beautiful day for boating, fishing and sunning but the water was a little too cold for swimming - unless you were a dog.
Speaking of dogs and fishing, you might be wondering what the deal is with the weird fish hat. Well, it actually belongs to me. I traded for it at a White Elephant post- Christmas party a few years ago and decided to wear it one morning. Then someone came up with the idea to photograph everyone wearing it including the dogs.
Cheers, Kent

Denver Botanic Gardens Concert

Hello, last week I managed to sneak in three concerts between three weddings. The first two shows were at Red Rocks. Red Rocks.
First, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on Saturday evening after a morning wedding. Then Mark Knopfler on Tuesday night. Sorry, I didn't feel like sneaking my camera into the venue - so no pictures.
Finally on Thursday night, we went to see Richard Thompson and Loudon Wainwright at the Denver Botanic Gardens and cameras were welcome! Botanic Gardens.
Not only was it a great show but we were able to bring in our own picnic dinner and beers. Plus, this summer they have a cool Urban Nature art show throughout the different landscapes. I managed to include several in my pictures. Urban Nature.
Ten of the most skilled local, national, and international "Street Artists" created the exhibit using spray paint.
It doesn't get much better than a good concert with interesting art in the best garden in town.
Cheers, Kent

Kids summer music camp

Hello, last week I photographed a kids summer music camp. Sunday night was a performance by the faculty. Eclectic Concerts.
I was pleasantly surprised to see some friends with their kids who were participating in the Intermezzo Chamber Music Sessions that started on Monday and finished on Friday. The camp is for budding chamber music enthusiasts, both novice and experienced, who want to learn how to play in an ensemble. Intermezzo.
I would like to thank Dianne Betkowski, director and cellist for asking me to document their program.
Cheers, Kent