The Stories Behind the Photograph - Death Valley

This was the first national park that Amber Graziano and I visited together. I had heard of this creepy place called "Death Valley" as a kid and honestly, the name stuck. Ever since then I wanted to go there. This particular image was shot on a 35+ year old film camera that was my Dad's. He bought it when I was born to photograph me growing up. I think it is fitting that my first tentative steps into exploring and photographing wild places was with the very same camera that captured my very first steps ever. The scan of this particular negative isn't super high-resolution but I think it really shows how desolate and bleak Death Valley is.

The Stories Behind the Photograph

Last fall I was challenged by a friend of mine to a Facebook photo challenge. I had to share one photo a day for seven days.  Normally I wouldn't pay any attention to something like this, but it sounded fun and I thought I'd give it a go. I honestly thought no one would really pay any attention to the photos I was positing, so in order to make the challenge a bit more meaningful to myself, I decided to share the story behind each photograph - just to give it a little more meaning and context.   I never dreamed that so many people would follow along - the response I got was crazy!! I even had people messaging me to see when the next image and story would be posted!

This little photo challenge made me realize something about photographs; we live in a world that is saturated with images - we're constantly bombarded on our phones, magazines, social media - so much so that I feel like the power of a photograph can be lost, it's just another photo - big deal, right? But think back to the last time you were showing pictures to family or friends - we show the photo but we share the story behind it.  It's the stories behind the photographs that make them so meaningful.  I was rather inspired by this and decided to make this a regular feature on my blog for 2017. Some of the images I'll be sharing are my own personal images - photographs from our travels to wild places that act as my muse and inspiration.  Others will be images I've take for clients.  I hope you find these stories as interesting as I do - I'd love to hear your feedback so be sure to leave comments!!!

Olivia & Rodney - A Sneak Peek

Olivia and Rodney - A Few Favorites

Hannah & Michael - A Wedding Day Peek

It was warm – nearly 60 degrees.  The possible threat of a mid-winter snowstorm that had lingered so long on our minds never came.  In its place dawned a pale blue sky.  Gentle, Spring-like sunlight flowed through the windows creating a warm and airy feeling to the Kirtland Country Club.  Somehow, right in the middle of January, Hannah and Michael hit the weather lottery.

Hannah and Michael are this super awesome, really laid-back couple.  They have this collectively unique personality – it’s a mix of classical tradition and modern personalization and their wedding blended that feeling perfectly! All around them delicate bouquets and floral accents created a warm and romantic feeling while personal touches like favorite books added a bit of the macabre.

Against the background of grand venues and rich architectural spaces, Hannah and Michael said I do and celebrated a new chapter in a love story that was uniquely their own.   Long into the night they celebrated with family and friends – honoring both the treasured past and looking forward to a bright future built together.