Colorado Engagement Session: Jess & Shawn

When I first visited Colorado in April of this year, I immediately sensed the untapped potential of the area. The atmosphere and landscapes are incredible to behold;  I knew that I wanted to shoot something special out there. While I was lost in thought one afternoon at Bear Lake, it hit me: my brother Shawn had recently proposed to his girlfriend Jess. This would be the perfect place to capture some unforgettable engagement shots.

Initially, we planned to take the photos at the Rocky Mountain National Park. Due to some unexpected snow, however, we were forced to shift gears. With the help of Google and a fantastic stroke of luck, we stumbled right into some of the most gorgeous scenery I've ever witnessed: the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. 

The Garden of the Gods is a natural attraction that draws in more than two million visitors per year — twice as many as the Rocky Mountain National Park. It showcases the area’s giant rock formations and lush, craggy landscapes. It’s nestled right at the base of the mountain range, which creates an otherworldly backdrop for an already-phenomenal scene.

The setting melded seamlessly with Shawn and Jess's natural chemistry, lending itself to some breathtaking photos. We got some gorgeous, unique shots that are truly impossible to replicate anywhere else.

To Shawn and Jess: I'm so grateful to have spent such a fantastic afternoon photographing you two. This was an unbelievable trip, and you helped me get some shots that rank among my all-time favorites. I hope you both enjoy them as much as I do.

Now, without further ado...

We started off with some spontaneous shots in Chautauqua Park while exploring Boulder.

We arrived at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs around 9am. Shawn and Jess warmed up to the camera quickly, and I had a blast capturing their little moments together.

As we progressed, Shawn and Jess started to relax in front of the camera, and the shots just kept improving.

These next two are some of my favorite images from the entire trip. The mood, expression, and lighting came together perfectly.

Our last stop in the Garden was a small field that I'd spotted from the car; it was far too lush to pass up, and I knew immediately that it had to be our last stop.

After leaving the Garden of the Gods, we grabbed brunch at Over Easy, and then we were off again. We ventured to the summit of Pike's Peak, which is one of Colorado's 53 infamous "Fourteeners" - mountains over 14,000ft tall.

I wasn't done yet, however; there was one final touch to be made. 

Just before the trip, our good friend Kelly had asked me if I could surprise Shawn and Jess with a custom pair of Mr. and Mrs. Smith jackets that he had hand-painted with scenes from Red Rocks Amphitheater. On the way down from Pike's Peak, I found the perfect spot to surprise them with the jackets and showcase the brilliant fall colors. They were totally blown away, and we couldn't wait to snag a few more photos in them with the yellow aspens as a nice backdrop.

Passion

Been quite some time since I last sat down and just wrote something that came from the heart. Looks to be over a year and a few months. I have absolutely no clue what the end of this post will be like, but I always enjoy writing and seeing where it takes me. Sitting and reminiscing the year I've had is quite the struggle. Do I have any regrets. Not one bit! I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. A job promotion, embarking on a new business adventure with my brother called The Partystage, becoming a DJ, started to teach myself music production, (I have failed miserably in my eyes) became a resident DJ at a local bar in Louisville on top of trying to just live life.

I absolutely love everything I do and always put 110% in everything I do. Here lately I have struggled with people that do not have the same work ethics that I exude. I am always willing to push and challenge myself with new things to keep evolving myself as a person. People these days I feel don't know what it means to "bust ass". Things just don't come to you for being good at something, you have to work at it and put the time and effort into something. All of this I seems to relate back to one thing, and that is the passion I have for something that I am either working on. 

I'd like to touch on one of my most recent hobbies, and thats music production. I can't ever recall a time in my life that I have failed this miserably in my eyes. I can sit here and say making music is my life, whether its just humming little tunes in my head, playing air guitar or air drums, or just coming up with little doodles on the piano. Music connects with me in such a different way than anything in my life. It is truly is magical to me I swear. I remember the first time I was introduced to any sort of music production was in high school from a friend of mine named Tyler Gaebler. My mind was opened to an entire world that was out there and I was quickly intrigued with ability to produce music on the computer with very little to no instruments. Fast forward 8 years later and I am now fully immersed into analyzing songs and their drum beats, learning the rhythms and melodies and just listening to music in an entirely different way a year ago. 
A few months back my brother and I decided finally say screw it and buy some production equipment. If I was going to dive in, I wasn't gonna half ass it. It's just something that we don't do. I watched hours upon hours upon hours worth of videos learning this new software that seems absolutely foreign to me and still does to this day. Watching countless Youtube videos of guys creating songs in the matter of an hour (which absolutely blew my mind). The many things that I have been able to figure out on my own, this seems to be one thing that is the most complex. I keep telling myself "I remember the first time I opened up Photoshop, and now I operate that program like its my second language." I only hope that one day I will be able to say the same about this music software called Ableton. The thought of going to school to learn about music production has crossed my mind about a million times. I been very confused lately on what to do. I know in time the answers will come to me (hopefully lol) I know the end result of where I would like to be one day, its just a matter the crazy journey that its going to take to get there.

To finish off the end of my babbling, I found this picture below. Its kind of simple, but yet very true. You may not know the things that you do on a daily basis may simply inspire the person sitting right next to you.