Family Portrait Session

Hello, there's just something about holidays and family portraits.
This week, Geri's nephew, Matt and his family called and asked me to do a new family portrait during their visit to Denver from Salt Lake City over Thanksgiving. I photographed Matt and his wife, Emily's wedding about 8 years ago. Now they have three, beautiful children: Kyle, 6; Ellie, 4; and Mallory, 1.
My good friend Dan Bettinger of Bettinger Photography allowed me to use his studio, which is less than a mile from our house.
Bettinger.
When I scheduled the photo session, I didn't know that it would be a beautiful, warm, sunny day. It was also comforting to have the option of working indoors if need be, particularly with a 1-year-old. As it turned out, we never went inside at all and everyone was content!
Happy Holidays, Kent
P.S. I even had a new portrait taken of me!

Snow Hiking

Steve Wilson
Hello, last week I took advantage of a beautiful autumn day to go hiking up high in the mountains near Loveland Ski Area. My friend Steve Wilson and I hiked in, on and though snow climbing above timberline for about 1,500 feet before stopping to have lunch sitting on some big rocks in the sun. It was too early in the snow season to ski into such back country areas but it was fun hiking the snow.
Cheers, Kent
Me!!!
Coyote tracks

Alabama-momma, daddy, ex's and steps

Hello, last week I featured Chris and Jenny's wedding in Huntsville, Alabama. I was asked to photograph Jenny's wedding by my step-sister, Gail. It's a long, interesting story beginning with my parents divorce back in the mid-60's. My mother took me, my two sisters and my brother and moved all of us back to Wichita, Kansas, from Huntsville.
A couple of years later my father married Kate. Kate had two kids from her first marriage - Gail (mother of the bride) and Thomas Lee. I spent a lot of summers in Huntsville and also lived there for a couple of years during junior high and high school. I moved back to Wichita to finish high school just before my father became sick with cancer and died. Over the years, I've returned to visit a few times, always making a point of going to Huntsville Memorial Gardens where my father is buried.
This was Geri's first trip to Alabama and everyone was excited to meet her. Kate and her husband, Tom, picked us up at the airport and took us to lunch at Crack Barrel before visiting the cemetery. Kate takes flowers to my father's grave a couple of times a year. She usually leaves sunflowers because they are the State Flower of Kansas, where my dad grew up.
Kate and Tom live on a small farm in the country outside of Huntsville. It's a relaxing place; not fancy. There's a pond full of fish, thick woods, and pecan trees that were full of nuts just starting to drop. Geri and I brought a bag home and are spending all of our free time cracking the darn things. They are tough, but are my new favorite nut!
The truly interesting part of this experience is revisiting one of my life circles and studying the relationships between the "mommas", the "daddy's", the "ex's", the step-children and others spread out over 40-years of my life. It isn't that different from many other weddings that I've photographed, and perhaps it explains why I enjoy documenting weddings: witnessing all the different circles of life come together for an important occasion. It's really all about relationships - and six degrees of separation.
Cheers and thanks to everyone who welcomed Geri and I. Kent
Kate and Tom at the cemeteryJenny and Thomas LeeGail and JennyKate and Tom

Jenny and Chris

Hello, last weekend Geri and I traveled to Huntsville, Alabama, to photograph Jenny and Chris' wedding. Jenny is the daughter of my step sister, Gail.
Click here for a short slide show. Wedding.
I lived in Huntsville for a few years while I was growing up. It was Geri's first trip to Alabama. The countryside reminded her of a Minnesota landscape - and the weather was definitely not as cold!
My step mother Kate, and her adult children Gail and Tom, showed us a great time. Thank you again!
The wedding was held at Hope Presbyterian Church, followed by a reception at the Holiday Inn Downtown.
I met up with Jenny and her bridesmaids early afternoon at the church to photograph their wedding preparation. Then we drove downtown to Big Springs Park for a photo session with Jenny and Chris.
The weather couldn't have been better. It was a beautiful, blue-sky, fall day as Jenny and Chris strolled around the lake enjoying a little alone time.
Back at the church, I photographed the bridal party and family history pictures, before the evening wedding ceremony so everyone could go straight to the reception. I also set up a large group photo at the front of the church after the wedding.
Jenny and Chris were introduced during their entry to the reception and headed straight to the dance floor for their first dance.
One of the most touching moments of the evening was when Jenny presented her mother, Gail, with a book of photos collected during her 27 years.
Thank you to everyone who made this a special day for Jenny and Chris.
Cheers, Kent