6 Peeps

Sixpeeps Has Moved!

2006-08-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

Check out the new blog! It even has it's own web address! www.sixpeeps.com

Going Postal!

2006-06-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

I've never understood what people mean when they say they are "going postal" on this or that, but I am pretty sure I've heard more than one person say that.

I'm going postal too, I guess. Check out my new stamps! I just ordered them, but they should be in next week! Yes, they are legitimate US Postal Stamps. How vain is that? But very cool! I'll be sending surprises to my peeps every month in the mail and they will always have a new stamp design. Here's my first, for July! :)

Pretty soon I'll be sending a surprise gift to all of my peeps, so if you are one of my peeps and want a surprise in the mail, you better send me your mailing address! I'll be using my cool new stamps, but as edible as they look, you probably ought not to try to eat it.

The cake featured in this month's stamp is from Marie's wedding, Troon Golf Club, Scottsdale, AZ.

Jill and Jose, Arizona

2006-06-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the pleasure of shooting a wedding for the daughter of one of my dad's close family friends in AZ. They got married at Our Lady of Carmel, which just happens to be the same church that my dad's family went to as kids! Small world!

The bride, Jill was in a great mood on Saturday. I think it was probably because she was GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!

...in fact she was so psyched, that she started spinning around with joy!

Suddenly a gust of wind came and things took a turn for the worse...

Tune in to FOX for their shocking collection of "WHEN VEILS ATTACK"

...now the veil proceeds to choke the bride, much like a python! Onlookers laugh and refrain from helping!

This is our family friend, Bob! Bob has known me since I was just a sparkle in my mom's eye. I have seen him on occasion throughout my life and he is one of the nicest guys ever! Totally genuine. I love his mustache, he's had it for as long as I can remember and his eyes are always happy. I don't know if that makes sense. I guess you'd have to meet him...

Jose is a sharp looking guy with an incredible Hispanic family full of tradition and culture!

Jose's sister is way too serious.

Butterflys.

Father Daughter Dance

The band was a really cool Salsa band. Jose's family is really in to Salsa dancing and this band totally wore every one of them out. They were AMAZING. They are called Orquesta Salsabor! They had drums, bongos, trumpets, saxophones, a keyboard, and two singers who also played tambourines and morraccas!
The singer had a great voice, was totally energetic and SAUCY!

Featured Peep: Nonnie!

2006-06-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

This whole week's posts are from my weekend in AZ! It was a great weekend and I got to spend some good time with the Cafiero Family, mostly my Uncle Sal and my Nonnie!

We scooped Nonnie out of her old-folk's home that reminds me of the one from Happy Gillmore! "Meesta! Meesta!", or (Gillmore's granny at her first day in the old folk's home to Ben Stiller, who played the Nurse):

Grandma to Ben Stiller: "Could I trouble you for a warm glass of milk? It helps put me to sleep".
Ben Stiller to Grandma: "You could trouble me for a WARM GLASS OF SHUT THE HELL UP! You will go to sleep, or I will PUT you to sleep! Look at the name tag... you're in MY world now".
Grandma: "ohh dear".

OK, where was I... Oh yeah we grabbed Nonnie and got her makin some meatballs!

Here's the Italian Mamma Mia doing what she does best:

Nonnie was so happy to roll some meat balls, that she did her hair and put on lipstick!

...and off she goes!

She can roll like 80 meatballs per minute!

Nonnie doesn't like being photographed while she's rollin meatballs, so here she is taking a cheap shot and throwing a meat ball at my expensive L Series Lens.

Sadly I had to leave and I didn't get to eat any. Oh well it wasn't splurge day anyway. But apparently it was the dog's splurge day.

Joe's Mandolin

2006-06-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

One thing I wanted to do while I was in Arizona last weekend was to get some shots of my grandfather's Mandolin.

To hear the story of my new logo that was designed by Jenny, and the story behind it, click here and scroll down a bit! New Logo

My Grandfather (or Crampa, as we call him) bought this Gibson back in his 20's I think and played at his father's Pizzeria in New York. He played and played and played until he died, which was about 12 or thirten years ago now. We still listen to his music at family reunions, parties (we had it on at my 30th bday party!) and over the holidays. His music has a real classic Italian Jazz sound, with quick melodies like the Tarentella and sumptuous slow Italian ballads. Maybe when I get my iBlog going, I can get some sound clips on the blog. But here's the mandolin he left behind. It's been all over the place and my grandfather's hands have worn through the varnish. My dad and my uncle take turns keeping the mandolin at their homes. Every year or so they make the exchange. My dad played Ave Maria at my little sister's wedding with this mandolin. There's just so much history behind it, I want to keep yackin about it, but I'll spare ya, so here it is!

I love the case. It's totally aged, rivots are missing, old stickers, scratches and scuffs, give it immediate character!

I left the pick in the strings intentionally because it's one thing I always remembered about the mandolin. My grandfather made his own picks.

...And some detail shots

Guadalupe Water Fiesta!

2006-06-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend while I was in AZ, I had a really fun day with my Uncle Sal. We started the day at 6:00 AM... (the morning AFTER my wedding which went till midnight!) and ran up the tallest mountain in a hiking/mtn biking area called South Mountain. Then we visit Nonnie, I got to hang with my cousin Nick, and the day was just action packed. On our way back, my uncle drove us through a short-cut through a town called Guadalupe. It's not a resort town. The people there are pretty poor and I think the majority of the population is hispanic. We saw a sign...

...and saw water flooding the following street. When we drove by, we saw this:

So basically the water festival of Guadalupe is a firetruck, hosing down the residents. There's no way I wasn't interested in stopping for photos! It was so hot and these people were having the times of their lives! It looked painful to me, so I didn't join them, but I did get some cool shots!

In my own little fantasy world, this shot reminds me of something you'd see by legend photographer, Henry Cartier Bresson. I'll never be the next Bresson, but I feel like sometimes I relate to his style. His style, by the way is just totally random. Images that sort of tell a story. SORT OF... :)

Getting hosed is also a spectator sport. I feel kind of ashamed of myself, actually because my first reaction to this scene was me laughing at these people. But when I got up close, I was overcome by all these people just having a great time. To some people, getting hosed by a firetruck on a hot Arizona summer day is like a simple pleasure. I'm an advocate for simple pleasures... although I don't count being hosed by a truck as one of them, but potayto, potahto...

Here is one spectator. He looks like he's been out working construction all day. Now he's just chillin, watching his neighbors, and maybe even his own kids, having fun in the water fiesta...

I love this shot of my Uncle Sal. Just like the guy above, he's not worrying about work, or money, or getting old, or whatever. He's just enjoying the moment. It doesn't get any better than that!

Birthday Boy Part II, and Belated Fathers Day!

2006-06-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

So, where was I... last week I celebrated my 30th and Fathers Day (since I was working in AZ that weekend) in Monument with my Dad and a whole bunch of friends.

Meet my dad, Mario Cafiero! He's a hard working optimist. Someday I'll post about my own three categories of people. There are pessimists, optimists, and optimist achievers. That's my dad, an optimist achiever and the inventor of the Schmop. It's a shoe/mop. He can mop your floors with his feet. He made millions off that invention. OK, not really. But his floor is totally clean!

Here he is with the pasta machine, my sisters and I got him for Father's Day. I'm posting an extra shot of his gift so my sisters can see what they got him for Father's Day! ;)

Thank-you hug to one another. That's my dad! I love that guy!!! Photo by Jenny!

We also got him som gourmet extra virgin olive oil, a parmesan cheese knife and a sweet black leather and steel peppermill!

He whipped up an AMAZING spread that included Eggplant Parmesan (of course), Lasagna, Roasted Leg of Lamb, Penne with meatballs and snausage, Antipasti, olives, good bread and cocktails! Oh and dessert, what else but a nice cannoli!

Nothing beats a Manhattan and Olives! The Manhattan is an old-timers drink, but it's a special cocktail in the Cafiero family. My Dad used to drink Man-attans (my grandfather didn't pronounce his "h's") with his dad, and now I can't go home without having one with my dad, too!

The Antipasti!

More photos by the talented Jenny you all know about...

No, it's not a human heart. Get your mind out of the gutter! Those are delicious roasted peppers, waiting to be cut up and arranged beautifully! There goes my dad, he's a cook-a-holic!

Thanks to all my peeps who made it to the party. It was a gggggggggggreat time!

Here's Jenny and Terence, holding a big honkin piece of bread. I'm heading off on another outdoor adventure soon with T. Lookin forward to it!

The grand finale of the event was a surprise that Jenny made for me. Bless her heart, she just is the sweetest thing! She went to my parent's places and dug up all these photos of me from baby-sized to the more large size, and put them all together in an awesome DVD slideshow to music. It was so cool because I have been working my glutes off these days and it's like my childhood was starting to disappear in my mind, but these photos really brought me back to some really special times in my life! It was strange, seeing me as a little shaver, even though I was a complete angel. :) I loved it though, and as my Uncle says, "everyone had sand in their eyes" after watching it. Thank You Jenny!!!

Birthday Boy (Part 1)

2006-06-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

Welp, yesterday was my 30th Bday and I decided that I wanted to start it off right, so I woke up at 6 AM and drowe out to Boulder and ran Mt. Sanitas, which is a short 3 mile loop, but with about a 1600 vertical gain. I just wanted to run the whole thing without bonking out and I did! I used to run that trail when I was living in Boulder a few years ago, and training for the Pikes Peak Marathon. It's a quick run to excersize your lungs! Here are some shots taken with my little point and shoot camera. The best part of my birthday was the Italian dinner party I had at my dad's home. I'll post those later because I have to catch another flight to AZ for the Erickson wedding!

Self-portrait, about to head off for the summit. My old P.R. was 26:52 to the top, when I used to run it weekly. I surprised myself and ran it in just over 27 minutes today.

Shot at the summit of Mt. Sanitas. You can't see the start of the trail, but it's all the way down there. It's a really beautiful jaunt!

Alethea and Nema

2006-06-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I shot another beautiful wedding, this time at the Villa Siena in Scottsdale, AZ! Alethea and Nema are Persian and I am loving these multi-cultural weddings! I feel like I have been travelling the world, seeing all the cool food, tradition and dancing! I photographed my first Persian Wedding last season, also in Arizona, the Boojum Tree, Scottsdale. That's how I got this wedding, through word of mouth, which is how I am getting most of my jobs these days.

The Villa Siena is a really cool spot for a wedding. It's a photographer's playground! I had so much fun! Never got bored!

Rose petals in the fountains. I love rose petals. Does that make me "metro"?

Meet the bride, Alethea!

There's creepy photographer guy! Hey it's a tradition!

Tears smear mascara. I don't know from personal experience. Here a bridesmaide drys tears of anticipation!

The couple! Alethea and Nema!

Nema's dad is awesome. He reminds me of my dad. Just always smiling and I LOVED photographing him!

Anyone who knows me, knows I live in my flip flops. These are too pretty for my feet.

These flower girls were very cute. Here they are getting primped up before their big walk down the aisle!

The guy on the right is the brother of the bride from the Persian wedding I shot last season. Super nice guy!

Here are the flower girls doing their thing!

I knew when I caught the couple making out in the halls, it would be a keeper!

Aletha, looking just RAVISHING...

OK, I have blogged about how the Koreans and Indian people dance. Now the Persians love dancing more than any culture I've seen so far!

This is Nema who interesting enough had a complete choreographed dance to "BYE BYE BYE", from the Backstreet Boys.

Old School!

2006-06-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

Nowadays I don't get to watch TV. My life is consumed with photography, editing, editing, more editing, making albums, DVDs, photo cds, consultations, marketing, branding (blog fits in there), etc... I do commit 15-30 minues of each day to stop what I'm doing and watch Conan O'Brian. He's the best.

So I have decided to pay tribute to the great TV shows of my time, since television has influenced me so much in my life.

Oh Thundercats. You taught me to respect my feline friends. Our family cat, Penny was a Thundercat. I think the Thundercats should market their own Kitty Litter. The most powerful Kitty Litter EVER! If it can deodorize a Thundercat's litter box...

Who needs science class when McGyver is on TV? Now I know how to build a bomb with duct tape, a chocolate bar, hair dryer, and a snorkle. Thanks McGyver! Nice hair!

I Pity the FOO! Mr. T. You have taught me so many things.

You put up a mean fight, and call people fools, but you ended each episode of the A-Team with a positive message, like "Stay in School" (which I did), and "Drink yo milk!" (which I do). Thanks for all your positive Jibba-Jabba. Nice hair!

Jack Tripper. I loved the scenes where he and Janet would be installing a shower curtain, while Mr. Roper is evesdropping on their conversation, which doesn't sound like they are installing a shower curtain.

The whole reason I am doing Body for Life is so that I can compete in American Gladiators. Well no one ever told me that it's no longer airing! NOW WHAT! I miss you, Lace! I'll get you, TURBO!One of my favorite TV shows of all time, "The Broncos". Usually it aired on Sundays and the main actor, John Elway was amazing. I believe it was filmed with a live studio audience.

Doberman Body for Life

2006-06-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

I've been travelling to Arizona once again, and I got to spend some time with my Aunt Peggy and Co. It was quite nice! We played golf and didn't keep score at the Scottsdale TPC. It was actually really comfortable, we started in the evening, like 6. I played like crap (what's new), but it was a blast. Hit some good ones, and some bad ones.

Then I got to hang with her mutts, Shelby and Bart! I think it was about a year ago that I met Bartholomew for the first time. He was a little shaver. Shelby could pick on him, but see how the tables have turned!

This is Bart, before he took the Bill Phillips Body for Life Challenge:

Who's the boss now? Bart is like, twice the size as Shelby! I LOVE these dogs.
Bart's "after" photos from the BFL 12 week Challenge. Bart put on 60 pounds of lean muscle and body fat percentage DROPPED to just 9%! Now THAT is a success!

That's Shelby, Bart's "big" in the background... kind of!

Seoul Train! India Style! Robert and Mina

2006-06-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had another great wedding! This was so cool, I had two very strong cultures coming together to celebrate the wedding of Mina, whose family comes from India, and Robert, from Korea! I loved every second of working with the two of them and their families. I even got the chance to photograph two wedding ceremonies from one couple, in two days.

Here's an artsy shot from the rehearsal dinner at the Wynkoop Brewery.

Something that was really interesting was comparing the dance moves between the two families. Mina's Indian family danced the night away, pointing their index fingers in the air. I almost got my eye poked out a few times as I tried to get some nice dance shots. Robert's Korean family danced with flat hands extended, kind of karate chop movements. Let me just tell you that the dance floor was dangerous that night!

Anyway, here are some shots from their very cool wedding!

Mina's Indian Wedding Ceremony. I ws hoping she'd have the traditional hand painting (sorry I know there's a name for it), but she is a doctor and says that paint takes a good couple of weeks to get off. Robert is also a doctor!

Her hands still look pretty, even without ink!

Here, they hung a sheet between the two of them before they got to see each other.

I got a ton more great shots from the India ceremony, but I have limited # of shots I can post here, so we'll move on. Here's Mina and Robert after the ceremony and their doggie, Sadie. Isn't Sadie, just the sweetest, most adorable, little furry creature EVER???

THINK AGAIN!!!

Not so cute anymore, eh? That dog was VICIOUS! (Just kidding. I was photographing her as she was yawning!)

Saturday soon came and the weather was beautiful! Their wedding was at the beautiful Sanctuary Golf Club. I LOVE working there!

I met Mina on Saturday at the JW Marriott in Cherry Creek. Check out the gift baskets that the other guests got when they checked into their hotel! This is one of their engagement photos that I took of them in Downtown Denver!

Antoine du Chez, getting hair done.

Here's Mina, about to surprise Robert. She can see him, he can't see her!!! SNEAKY!

Robert's reaction... he's PSYCHED!

Mina's mother is a beautiful Indian Princess!

The aisle. Rose petals!

Mina was worried that I wouldn't get a good shot of her and her father walking down the aisle because her friend recently got married and the photographer totally missed that shot. That's crazy. Not THIS photographer, Mina! :)

Reflections are cool!

One of my favorite parts of being at weddings is hearing the toasts. This is Robert's brother. His toast was HILAREOUS! I wanted to press rewind to hear it again. Probably one of the funniest toasts I've heard. I was impressed.

Groomsman, getting a little fancy on the dancefloor. Be careful man!

Again, a sweet Rolls to pick up the bride and groom.

Back in my hippie daze.

2006-06-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

I was going through some old stuff and found this old press pass from college. I was the photo editor at the campus news paper, the UNC Mirror! So being the top dogg (that's right, with two g's... the double-g, ya see), I got to go to DIA before it was open to the public. Check out my fro! That was in the early stages of my fro. It got really huge, to the point where it would bounce when I walked.

Anyway, that was a day to remember. It was the big press day. I got to DIA and found myself amongst some of the top journalists in the country. CNN was there MSNBC, FOX News, New York Times, some big shot AP journalists etc... then little ol' me from the local campus paper. Everyone had the nicest equipment and I had a 35mm Canon EOS Elan and a cheapo 28-80mm lens.

It was so fun being at DIA before it was open to the public. I remember being blown away because it was so much more contemporary than that old Stapleton Airport. Anyway, that's what I looked like in college.

My darkroom was so cool. It was in the main campus building, in the Mirror office. I had a fridge that was always stocked with Mickey's 40s and a stereo that I would play snoop doggy dogg on. I was such a wierdo. But I loved that darkroom. It was my life! My hands always smelled like fixer, and I took pride in my ability to roll film onto a spool. We had two kinds of spools. I was so cool I preferred the old school metal spools, opposed to the new plastic ones with the fancy winding mechanism.

I don't really listen to rap anymore and I haven't had a "40" in years. But I'd like to! For old times sake! :)

John and Jennifer!

2006-06-14T00:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I met up with John and Jennifer of TEXAS for some engagement photos. We hooked up at Chautauqua Park in Boulder, which is the perfect place for some engagement photos. I can't wait to photograph their wedding next month in Breckenridge!

Egg-a-plant-a Parmegianna!

2006-06-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

Oh man oh man... what a splurge day I had this weekend! Here's a rundown of how my splurgeday went:

8:30 AM (Slept in!) - Started the day off with Oreo Cookies and Milk! OHHHH YEAH.
8:55 AM - Costco brand Asian Snack mix.
9:00 AM - Cheetos (while checking email)
9:30 AM - Jenny and I went to the Denver Diner. I had eggs, hash browns, bacon, snausage, coke (two refills), pancakes and bizcuits.
11:00: Bugle corn schnacks and Gatorade
2:00: QUESO! Jenny made some fab queso. Accompanied with fritos and corn scoopz.
3:00 - 8:00 Constant Schnacking. (More oreos, chips, etc.)
8:00 - Eggplant Parmesan!

Before I continue, I am going to teach you how to make Eggplant Parmesan. I tried a new sauce recipe from a photographer friend of mine, Randy Kepple, from Washington! Thanks Randy! Surprisingly it was almost an exact match to my family recipe. WIERD. Oh and Randy is an AMAZING photographer and I am glad he is in Washington, and not CO or AZ.

1. Get some fresh parsley and garlic, and about a half of a large sweet Walla Walla onion. Chop it up!

2. Sautee it up in EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL!!! Don't get cheap olive oil, people, you're killin me! The garlic is tricky. If your olive oil is too hot, your garlic will burn, producing a strong, bitter, NASTY flavor. Dont do that.

3. My sauce for eggplant never has meat, but I was dying to try Randy's recipe, so I added ground lamb and italian snausage. It was soooooo good! But, I think I'll use that sauce for pasta and lasagna only for now on. The meat kind of covered up the delicate flavors of the eggplant. It was great, but I think the sauce is more intended for lasagna and pasta. Add a good glass of Cabernet. Then add some sugar (or like they call it in Mexico, "Choogargh") to sweeten it up a little and reduce the acidity from the tomatos, some sweet basil, large dash of salt and I add a dash of red wine vinegar, too. Add a small can of Contadina tomato paste, and 1-2 cans full of aqua. Randy and I agree that Hunts makes the best sauce. Add a large can of that. Stir, and turn to LOW.

4. The fun part... bring out tha EGGPLANT! Slice it about 1 cm thick. Too thick, and it will be too firm after it's been fried up. Better too thin than too thick. Dredge in this order: 1. Flour; 2. Eggs and a little milk (to make em fluffier); 3. Bread Crumbs.

I always thought this was a wierd order to do it, because the flour makes it hard for the egg to stick to the eggplant, but that's how Nonnie does it, so I don't ask any questions.

5. Fry em up! Again, in good, extra virgin olive oil! BE CAREFUL. I cook em up at less than "medium-high". Just between Medium and Med-High. Too hot and your eggplant will brown too fast and they will be too firm. Too low and it will take forever and your eggplant will taste more like oil, than eggplant. BE CAREFUL.

In a casserole dish, layer the eggplant and a tiny bit of sauce, a good layer of mozzerella cheese. Do this until you're done and then dump as much sauce as you can on the top and add more cheese.
Toss it in the oven, preheated at 350 for about 15 minutes, or however long it takes to make a side dish of Penne.

7. Remove from the oven, serve, garnishing with fresh basil and parley and grated parmesan cheese. Bon Appetito! ...or BAM! ...or "Dinner's Ready" ...or "come and get it!".

8. Jenny was hard at work in front of her computer while I was slaving away. So I made her close her eyes and stand behind the table. I put the eggplant right on the table, under her nose and made her smell it for a while. I could tell she was getting excited!

9. OK! OPEN YOUR EYES!!! Let's EAT!

Check out what I did to our water! Added fresh rasberries and some canteloupe and mint leaves. It was pretty and refreshing!

The end result:

10:05 PM - Jenny and I went to see the movie "Cars". LOVED IT. And even better, Jenny (ahem, I mean, the "Splurge-Fairy") surprised me with a Cars Pez Dispenser! We had popcorn and sody-pop and those mint cream things that are covered with chocolate (I forgot what they are called) and Sour Patch Kids!!! WEW!
11:59 PM - more oreos and milk. Splurge day was officially over. :(

SushiDen!

2006-06-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

I have a little tradition of mine that started about a year ago, I suppose.

It started one evening when I was shooting a wedding in Cherry Creek at the JW Marriott. I was done at around 10:00ish and right next door is Hapa Grill, a pretty decent sushi place. I dropped in for some sushi, and it felt so good to sit, relax, and have a little Saki and Sushi, that I have pretty much made a tradition out of it!

Now, I eat sushi after just about every wedding I shoot. In fact, as soon as the bride tosses the bouquet, I start dreuling because I know I'm getting close to sushi time!

Saturday I photographed a beautiful and FUN wedding for Mina and Robert. I'll post those later. They hired me for my unlimited coverage package, so I decided to do my sushi after their rehearsal dinner instead, at my favorite sushi spot in Denver, Sushi Den!

I called Jenny and invited her and bless her heart, she got all dolled up and we made a really nice date out of it! After sushi, we walked by a creepy costume store and I got some shots of their SCARRRRRY storefront!
Let's see here... there's Unagi (eel) in the back left. FIRECRACKER Tuna Roll (with the jalepeno), can't forget the traditional California roll (back right), Salmon (front, orange), and tuna (front, red). For those of you non-sushiites, the little green blob is WASABI! (I like that word) and ginger (front left, yellow).

Ginger is like soap for your mouth so that you can taste the next piece of sushi for the total sushi experience. WASABI! is a Japanese horsey-sauce with a lot of BITE.

For starters, we ordered... shoot, I forgot the name of this. It's a common cold dish of tomatoes, cilantro, onion, and other stuff, mixed with seafood (calamari, shrimp, etc.). It's gaspacho, basically, but a lot better! Jenny likes to talk to her food before she eats it. In this particular incident, Jenny and her food got into a yelling match with each other. They totally caused a scene and it was really embarrassing. I always tell her to leave politics out of her conversation with food. Here she goes!

Here are some shots from this creeeeepy costume store near Sushi Den. Here's a creepy unicorn and a woman.

Here's a creepy girl costume. Isn't it adorable? NO, actually it's FREAKY! I don't know why anyone would want one of these costumes. It reminds me of creepy porcelain dolls that you find at grandparents homes. Thankfully I think my grandparents are too cool for those dolls. They always look like they are watching you.

This lady isn't as creepy. In fact, she's almost attractive. Nevermind, I take that back. CREEPY!

Uncle Mark!

2006-06-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

I like the sound of that!

Oh... wait, I'm already an uncle to Jay, Gina's son, but I just got news today that Gina is PREN again!!! (My nonnie pronounces pregnant, "PREN").

I am really excited! Gina is the best mom I have ever met, too. She could be the next Nanny 911. She sets firm boundarys, doesn't cater to poor behavior, such as whining and tantrums (I was the kind of tantrums when I was a shortie), yet she showers her son Jay with love and compassion when it's due, and it just totally fun. And now she's got another bun in the oven!! SUHWEET!

Here's to my older sister Gina. Jenny told me that I need to post a nicer photo of Gina because the last one was "mean". WHATEVER! It was hilareous! But I will.

Here's a shot at my younger sister's wedding. Gina is upper right. Not my style of photography anymore, I've become a little more contemporary since then, but Geenie looks very nice, so does Katherine (center)... anyway, CONGRATULATIONS, GINA!!!

Ben & Stefanie, Denver Country Club!

2006-06-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I photographed the wedding of Ben and Stefanie, two school teachers who are IN LOVE!!! Sometimes you can really feel it at a wedding and theirs was no exception. So here's their story. I threw in a bunch of extra shots, since I didn't get these up the following day, which is what I usually shoot for. I'm a slacker! No I'm not!

These were photographed at the Denver Country Club and I want to give a special shout to Amber, who was their catering manager. She was AWESOME. She got me everything I needed for the reception slide show and otherwise... and was so accomodating that I thought I was in some sort of great dream. Thanks Amber!!

Nice shoes!

The wedding programs. I LOVE outdoor ceremonies!!!!

Stefanie is happy because well, she's gettin hitched! She looks great, even before her make up!

Beautiful flower girl in anticipation!

I never got a chance to see who the dress is by, but it was very elegant!

BOING!!!!!

Mom, putting an antique necklace on Stefanie.

Bridesmaide puts on Stefanie's garter, while others keep her upright!

Trying to get a sneak peek of the wedding site, awaiting her arrival!

These are music CDs, party gifts for the guests.

Groomsmen, doing what they do best... horsin around.

Here comes the bride!

I Love it when there are rose petals in the aisle!

Ben's dad's reaction to "the kiss"

I took probably the largest group photo in my life at this wedding. I'll put up the grand daddy in another post, but here's a close-up with my Canon 70-200 2.8 IS L Lens.

Let the party begin!

It's like artwork that you put in your mouth...

NOT to put in your mouth. This is for smelling and looking at.

Ben and Stefanie, listening to toasts...

The engagement photo I took of them last winter in Breckenridge!

Guess what song they are listening to, and you win a prize!

OK... as I was packing up, I realized I didn't get my famous mirror shot that my peeps like so much. So I decided I better not let down my peeps, so here are a few before going home. My dawgs were barkin, but I can't let down my peeps!

OK, so I got a little carried away!

...OK REALLY CARRIED AWAY. I was havin fun!

Published!

2006-06-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

Hey, I got published again, this time in The Knot Real Weddings, CO. So if you find yourself at the book store or grocery store, look for this and see if you can find my schtuff!

MC Paparazzi

2006-06-06T16:02:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I was visiting my cousin Laurie in the Bay Area, CA. She lives in Palo Alto, but we went out to San Francisco. YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO GUESS WHAT HAPPENED.

...which is why I will tell you. Anyway, we were walking through town and went by this huge park. There were all these really nice studio lights set up. So I told Laurie to stand in the light so I could get a nice portrait of her. Of course I just happened to have my Canon EOS 1D Mark II Camera and my 70-200mm 2.8 IS L Lens with me. I took her photo and then got yelled at by this movie director guy. Turns out we were on the set of a movie that Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo was in. Somehow we managed to get by security and were hanging out on the set of this movie! As soon as I found out that I was among celebrities, I got into Paparazzi mode.

We saw Reese and Ruffalo on the set and so I started to take photos. I wasn't the only one doing this. Every passer-by with a camera stopped. Just happened that I had a long professional lens. I got singled out. Reese's bodyguard or something smacked my camera and broke my flash! I didn't know it was broken until later or else I would have put the guy in a strangle hold. Maybe not. He was twice my size.

Here's the damage done to my precious Canon Speedlight 580 EX, a'la REESE WITHERSPOON and company! Cracked my LCD!

I toyed with the guy and would casually walk away, then quickly I'd point my camera right over to Reese and Mark! Then he'd start walking briskly over to me, which is when I'd start casually walking away. I did this for a good half hour. It was hilareous!

Anyway, here are the shots. :)

Mark Ruffalo. Not to be confused with Mark Cafiero.

Oh man, Reese is lucky that Jenny was not there to see her trying to kiss me!

Here are some shots of Reese and Mark, chillin out. Reese is a GHOST in this movie. Don't be scared though. She's a happy ghost and doesn't want to hurt anyone. I just noticed in the background of this shot, you can actually see Mr. Meat Head, glaring at me! (upper right hand corner!).

Here's a few other people with Reese and Mark. I never saw them in the movie. But they had sushi on the set. Maybe they were bringing Mark and Reese some sushi. Mark and Reese are happy.

The title of the movie at the time was "If only it were true". That's what was embroidered on all the directors chairs, but they changed it to "Heaven Sent" or "Heaven only Knows" or something like that. Jenny and I rented it last week. It's a chick flick, but I actually enjoyed it! I saw the exact scenes that these shots are from.

If you look close enough in the movie, you can actually see a big meat head of a bodyguard smacking an innocent wedding photographer's camera! ;) You owe me, Reese!

Big MAC

2006-06-06T15:35:00.000-07:00

I'm playing catch up on my blog! Sorry peeps! I've been busy this week. I am writing an article right now for Rangefinder Magazine... I'll tell you what it's about later... it's a SURPRISE!

And I've spent many a late night putting together an outline for the 2007 Wedding and Portrait Photographer's International convention. As you know I was a Master Class presenter this year. While I was in Vegas, I got to hang out with Jim Kennedy, who's quite possibly the largest wedding photographer out of Orange County, CA. He's literally making history in this business, so I am excited at the opportunity to speak at the next WPPI Convention and Trade Show in Vegas. I sent out our outline this morning.

This week for Splurge Day, Jenny and I got a Big Mac. A big MAC. Here I am, stealing the mac from the Apple store. Photo courtesy of Cherry Creek Mall Security Camera.

I've been so busy though, it's been set up, but only turned on once so far.

I'm excited about it for many reasons, one that pertains to my peeps is my new upcoming iBlog! It's not just another silly ol' blog, guys... I'll be able to post slideshows to music after every wedding I photograph! It will be cleaner and more custom!

Also, get ready for CafieroBride.com. It's my new web site, not to replace Cafierophoto.com, but that's a secret, too! You'll see!

Say What?

2006-06-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

I am dry on ideas for a fun blog post tonight, I'm busy editing images from all of my weddings from the past few weeks, but I love this blog, it gives me such a great excuse to take a little break and recharge!

The television in on in the other room and I heard one of Volkswagon Jetta's new commercials. I think it's hilareous and genious. It shows a 20-something year old guy picking up a girl at her parents home for a date. The girls dad, who looks like just a really nice guy says, "hey, the weather is great today, maybe you two could go on a little hike!".

The guy gets FURIATED and says, "YOU go take a hike! Not every Jetta owner likes hiking ya know".

The girl is all, "Daaaaad!" and her dad is like, "What?"... totally dumbfounded. It makes me laugh every time.

(Oh by the way, sometimes I type things like "she was all" and "I was like". Etc...) Just me being silly, folks. I don't really talk that way. On a related note, in college I broke up with a girl because she decided she wanted to start talking "baby talk". That's not very attractive.

The genious part is that there really are stereo types about Jetta owners. I was shopping for a Jetta, but I'm not a "metro" kind of guy. People think I am because I wear "product" in my hair when I go out with people. Anyway I got an Audi instead and now I REALLY get made fun of by my "uber" friends. Sometimes you just can't win. Fact is, I'm a mountain man, but I don't think my wedding clients would appreciate me parking a muddy lifted jeep via valet at the Four Seasons for their fancy champagne wedding.

This is Derek Zoolander. When I talk "Metro" this is what I mean.
When I first got started in the business professionally I didn't even have a studio. I'd meet clients at Starbucks and would hide my Jeep, parking it WAAAAAY in the back. The door fell off of it once and I had to drive to a wedding with no driver side door. I thought I could hide it, but the bride saw me as I hopped in. At the reception she said something like, "nice jeep." and not in a complimentary way. It wasn't long before I sold the Jeep for $1500 bucks and got a nice Audi A4, which I LOVE.

All the fellow Ski Patrollers make fun of me now and call me "metro-boy" and my good friend, Matt Norfleet said I am officially metro now because I style my hair, wear fancy lookin jeans, and the clencher: "muscular, but not strong". Ouch. That one hurt. I guess it's true. Whenever I go to the gym I can't seem to bench nearly as much as all of the no-necks around me.

Family Feud!

2006-05-31T22:35:00.000-07:00

I never seem to realize what I am getting myself into when I plan a family reunion on my mom's side. But after all the planning is done and I've got all the peeps together, it's without fail a blast of a time.

Just today I sent out my proposal for a Christmas family reunion. I'm proud to say that the last two get togethers were concieved by my email proposal. I'm doing it again because my family is so cool. Here are some shots from our most recent reunion. I think this was like, 3 years ago!

Granny sinks a putt in our putting competition! My cousin Matt in the background is two weeks younger than me and is a Dentist in Scottsdale.

Shelby, takes advantage of an opportunity for some human kibbles. My Granddad's pocket protector in the foreground.

My nephew Jay is upset because Shelby at his torilla chip. My job is not to comfort my nephew, but to DOCUMENT the emotion! ;)

Here's what my Granddad looks like when he's in a good mood. He's in a good mood because it's cocktail hour.

My cousin Russ is at Creighton becoming a dentist, just like his bro. Look how hice his toofs look.

Here's my older sister Gina, under the supervision of my cousin Matt, the dentist. Matt has great teeth too, and Gina lives in a concrete basement with her imaginary friend. We let her out for a quick photo.

Gina pretends to be normal in this one. Man Geenie, you're short!

$4000 for a wedding album??

2006-05-30T22:21:00.000-07:00

I know it seems rediculous. I just got my studio sample for the famous $4,000 album set. It's a three-album set that comes in a beautiful leather triple slip case. It's the Leather Craftsmen 3500 series flush album. Comes with my Mandolino package, which I have named in honor of my grandfather. I photographed these at my studio this morning. Later I'm going to do a more comprehensive blog post featuring my WHOLE studio, including the flat-screen, martini bar, 1600 square feet of shooting area, and even my very own staffed Starbucks! (kind of!)

The first volume holds images from the "preparation" of the wedding. You know, the bride getting ready, guys fooling around, some nice detail shots, etc.

The second volume holds images from the "ceremony". Father walking the bride down the aisle, the exchange of rings, all that good stuff!

The third book is of the "Celebration"! The party, details, cake, dancing, etc... (my favorite book).

Check out this classy cork finish on the inside of the cover! And that classy logo (design by my delicate flower, Jenny!).

Late Night With...

2006-05-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

Conan O'Brian is my favorite late night personality of all time, so I wanted to give a shout to my man with the big hair.

It's been kind of a tradition of mine, I love to end the day with his monologue and I've been doing it for years. His humor is right up my alley and rarely do I ever find myself laughing out loud from something on TV, but he gets me laughing every time. It's the best way to end the day. I love how he's often the butt of his own jokes. If you haven't given him a chance, you need to. Jenny is also a Conan lover. I have definitely found the woman of my dreams. In fact Conan O'Brian was one of the topics on our first date! Awwwww!

Actually, Jenny and I waited like 2 hours to see him in NYC and we got cut from the line last second. It was heart breaking, but we're going back some day and we're going to try again!

This is borderline "too stupid", but it still makes me laugh: Stupid, but Funny

On a related note, I think Jay Leno has gotten really lazy with his jokes. I can't even watch his show anymore. JayWalking, where he goes out and finds ditsy people to make up silly answers to easy questions is a perfect example. And some people love it. I don't get it. I also hate that he's always bragging about his cars, and he seems to set himself up so that he gets to talk about how wealthy he is. BO-RING!

David Letterman is a classic, but I don't watch him either. He was even in the same Fraternity (Sigma Chi) that I was in, back in the frat days, but I don't speak publicly about that! :)

Casio Exilim Point and Shoot

2006-05-26T23:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some images from my pocket camera, a Casio Exilim. I don't even know how many "megapixels" it has. 5MP, maybe. But I'm not using it for printing. Just to have something handy when I'm on the go. My big ol' Canon lenses don't fit into my pocket too well.

The funny thing is that at every wedding I shoot, without fail, I get asked by someone at a wedding, usualy a guy, like an uncle or something... "How many megapixels does that thing have?". It doesn't bother me, but it's just funny.

Once Jenny was shooting and someone asked her how many "megaplexes" her camera had. That's even funnier! Megaplexes!!! What are those?

Here's a random story.

Yesterday I was at 7-11 getting a protien bar, and I wanted to get a diet pepsi slurpee, but their slurpee machine was down. I was a little disgruntled about that. But anyway, there was this girl buying a grape soda behind me. I didn't think much of it, except, "she better brush her teeth after she drinks that".

So I got in my car and started to pull out of the parking lot. There was the girl, crossing the street. She was looking somewhat frantic, and she couldn't get across because there was too much traffic. Then I realized why she was frantic, she was missing her bus! The bus was stopped.

Finally a car stopped and let her go by. This whole time I was waiting for traffic to stop too, so that I could get going, but I was really involved with what was going on here. So the girl starts running, like full speed. I could feel that the bus was just about to go. I was really cheering on this girl in my head.

So she's running and running and she had a bag and dropped it! By this time I was gritting my teeth as she turned back to get her bag. You could really feel her tension. It was making me anxious! By the time she grabbed her bag from the ground and started heading back, the bus was leaving.

I was heartbroken for the girl, and was contemplating whether or not I should offer to give this girl a ride to the next bus stop or something. Meanwhile, she's chasing the bus at full speed on foot, waving her arms, and yelling, "STOP STOP STOP!!!".

This story has a good ending! The bus driver saw her and stopped! I felt like cheering.

Anyway, there's story time for you. Did you know I'm wearing a robe and smoking a pipe right now? OK, you got me, I'm not.

Union Station: Denver, Colorado

2006-05-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

I'll let this be more of a visual post. Here are some of my shots from a recent photographic field trip that Jenny and I went on a while ago to the old train station here in Denver.

What is a "telegraph"? ;)

I didn't step on any cracks. You can thank me for that however you feel necessary, Mom.

SWEET!

Probably my favorite shot. Just really random. If you ever get a chance, do a google search on legend photographer Henri Cattier Bresson. He's REALLY random, but visually stimulating. It's a lot of fun to see his work.

This is a rubber cone that I found sitting next to a janitor's supply door.

My Secret Weapons!

2006-05-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

I don’t know how many of my peeps are self employed, but it’s definitely not easy. I’m about to post (next week), a more comprehensive story of my journey from being a liquor store employed ski bum in Silverthorne to Wedding Photographer in AZ, CO and wherever people want to have me.

But to make a long story short, it’s an extra challenge being the ADD person that I am. A long time ago, I read a study of a Harvard class where the professor took a poll to see if any of his students were in the habit of writing out their goals. Of his entire class, there were just six students who admitted to writing out their goals every day. He saved the list.

Ten years later, the same professor contacted all the members of his class (or as many as he could, I’m sure), and took another poll in regard to their income. There were exactly six students who reported making over $1 Million dollars a year. You guessed it, they were the same students who wrote out their goals.

My goal in life is not to become a millionaire. It is simply to succeed in doing what I love, which is wedding photojournalism. As of now, my goal is to photograph the nicest weddings and the most beautiful venues in the world. I love traveling and I love witnessing the birth of marriage between two people. It's awesome to look through a 200 mm lens into the eyes of a bride as she's listening to her fiance's vows at the very moment of their wedding ceremony. Sounds silly to most people, but I love capturing the emotions and personalities of the friends and family of those two people. I love photography. Always have.

Anyway, I have been writing out my goals every morning and again every night for years. I write out my goals for the day, month, year, 5 years, and 10 years. Twice a day. I never allow myself to fall asleep before I’ve taken the 10 minutes or whatever to write it all out, and I do not do a SINGLE thing when I wake up, until after I’ve written them down again.

I feel totally blessed that I have found Jenny because she not only supports this crazy habit, but she has taken it to a new level. She designed these cool goal books that have my logo on them. I have new pages that I never had until now that I fill out, like what I'm going to do THIS WEEK to improve myself… (with several tables: financially, personally, on efficiency, and health & fitness).
My Blackberry phone is awesome, too. It allows me to respond to email quickly if it’s urgent. The calendar feature syncs to Outlook so whenever I get a wedding inquiry, I can tell right away if I’m available or not.

Finally, the little leather book is something that Becker Photographer gave to me at his work shop in NYC. Becker is one of the hot photographers in Orange County, CA. I use the book all the time to write out ideas whenever they come to me.

People assume that having your own business means you can just do whatever, whenever, that you can just sleep in if you want. I wish I could just sleep in and eat Bon-Bons in my boxers all day, watching reruns of The Brady Bunch. Or McGyver. That guy is so cool.

Anyway, there’s a peek into the day in the life of me… Some think I am a workaholic, but I do make a real effort to put the work away one day a week and just have fun. SPLURGE DAY!

Here's a shot Jenny took at one of our EARLY MORNIN coffee and goal writing sessions! I love this shot!

My Nonnie can KNIT!

2006-05-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

Over Mother's Day weekend I was out shooting a wedding (see below) and a fashion shoot (see below) in Arizona, which was great because I got to see my Nonnie and family out there. Let me tell you about my Nonnie.

Her real name is Matilda Cafiero, hails from Naples, Italy, and is about 4'10" and can roll a mean meat-a-ball. Her english is a little rough and to this day, she has not been able to pronounce my name. "Mark" is very tricky. It comes out, "Mike". "Mark" is way cooler, but the woman just can't speak the best english. And she's my Nonnie and I love her.

Her favorite show is "Docta Pill" (Dr. Phil), and not too long ago she was at the deli and needed service. She said, "Push-a the butt, and the butch will come out", which means "If you ring the buzzer (by pressing the button), there's a butcher in the back who will hear it and come to your assistance".

As I was growing up, she'd always give me good advice, like, "Don't say no to drugs". I think she meant "JUST" say no to drugs, but I decided not to doubt her just because her english is "no so good".

Anyway, she knitted me a beautiful hat and scarf, just in time for summer! Bless her heart. I wore it out this weekend and I just wanted to take use of this blog to say THANK YOU NONNIE!! I love my new duds!

On Saturday, Jenny and I hit up the City Park Driving Range. It's no Troon, I'll tell you that!

And I did a little shopping...

Here I am, hoping that no one sees me stealing a honeydew.

On Splurge Day, Jenny and I had HOT DOGS and BEER! Mmmmm

Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

Ahhhhh....

Is it hot out here, or is it just my new hat and scarf? Maybe both. The temp got in the 90s here in Colorado!

Here I am this morning on my AM jog at Wash Park. Let me tell you, I was turnin' some heads this mornin!

Photos by my woman, Jenny. ALL IMAGES (C) 2006, so don't even THINK about stealing these photos and selling them to modeling agencies!!!!!

Yanni's! OPA!

2006-05-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to what is officially my favorite restaurant in Denver. It's a little "Greek Taverna" in Denver off of Monaco and Evans. Yanni's! You'd never guess... this little Greek Restaurant sits in a little strip mall in nowhere in particular.

I found Yannis about 7 or 8 years ago, I suppose... I went out to England to visit my sister Gina, and her hubby Nick. One night we went to a greek restaurant out there, which was pretty much my first taste of real, greek food. I LOVED IT.

Long story short, when I came back, I had a major hankerin' for some really good, authentic greek food. I went to the most reliable source, the Yellow Pages and I suppose I got lucky.

Here's a random shot of a wine glass with a reflection of clouds and peeps at Yanni's.

The first thing I noticed was a guy cruising around, kissing everybody on the cheeks. I thought that was cool. I assumed they were family. I thought that was cool, too. I didn't get a kiss, but I got the best service ever! Yanni, the owner... the guy who was kissing everyone, filled up my glass of Ouzo (WHICH I LOVE) like 10 times while I was there. I was a little nervous about my bar tab, but guess what, the Ouzo is free! But it's not like you should go there and just expect free Ouzo. The Ouzo is a gift, from Yanni himself. You don't order a gift.

Yesterday, Yanni was feeling CRAZY and decided to express himself with some really bold fashion. I thought being Italian made me automatically stylish. Yanni is Greek. There is a difference.

Anyway, I have been going back to that little strip mall greek restaurant ever since and it's a favorite splurge day destination. My favorite is their Pastitsio, which is like a really big hunk of macaroni, beef, spices and who knows what else, but I LOVE IT.

This is not the Pastitsio. It's Veal something-or-other. Jenny ordered it and it was tantalizing. I took a photo of my Pastitsio, but it was after I had already started eating it, so I ruined the photo op. It's why I could never be a food photographer.

If you're in Denver, I HIGHLY recommend Yannis, a Greek Taverna! Best service and food EVER. Oh and I love when I call to see when they close. They just say, "Well how long do you want to stay?". They never rush you out when it's "about that time". I love Yannis!

And so does Walt. He doesn't like Ouzo, so since he wasn't going to drink it, he decided to balance it on his head. I tried to do that, but I have too much hair. ;)

And finally, dessert! This is a caramel thing. It was good. I ordered the greek yogurt with honey and walnuts! Mmmm... once again, I ate that before I thunk to take a photo of it. And my embarrassing moment of the evening: I ordered a greek cafe drink. It's sweet coffee in a teeny tiny mug. At the bottom, there appeared to be mocha! Like chocolate fudge! It was splurge day, so I took a huge spoonful of it... turned out to be coffee grounds. What the heck are those greeks doing, leaving the coffee grounds in the cup! I didn't want to spit it out and offend Jenny's family, so I took a big gulp of water and washed it down. "Poor little fool. I was a fool,I was a fool oh yeahhhh..."

OPA!

"Don't trust anyone under 14,000 feet"

2006-05-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

For some of my veteran Peeps, this is a re-run, but I figured, Conan O'Brian (my FAVORITE television personality) does it all the time and people still love him, so I'm going to have a little re-run since I've been a little pressed on time.

ANYWAY… I’ve just planned another trip with Terence, who’s one of my very good friends, for another adventure in the wilderness this year. We’ll be taking three days to head out to the wilderness, deep into the woods, far beyond civilization, and into the land of the bears and rocky mountain bighorns and who knows what else.

Here I am with a bad llama at the trail head. This was taken after our trip.

For some reason, this llama got left behind by his owner. I think he was being a bad llama.
I started looking through the photos from our last escapade. When Terence asks me to go on an adventure with him, I force myself to say “yes” and commit to it. It’s just harder to do this now that I’m a wedding photographer, but it’s also what life is all about. Some of the most valuable moments in my life are on our wilderness adventures, so I found a good week late into the wedding season where I’m not going to be hard pressed to come back from the mtn’s, having to clean up and go straight to a wedding with blistered feet.

Let me tell you a few things about my friend Terence… he’s not what you and I would consider ‘normal’. Terence is a Paramedic here at Denver General Hospital. He sees a lot of crazy stuff, but that’s for another post… in some other blog. Terence enjoys long, painful, arduous treks and prefers to start moving at night. One year he dragged me out on my most brutal trip to try and bag Challenger and Kit Carson (two 14ers) in one day. We started hiking at like, 10 PM and reached the base of Kit Carson at 5 AM. We took a 2 hour COLD nap on a rock, and headed up. That was the only sleep we got, as we finished our trip, returning to our car in the middle of the next night, hiking straight through.

Here's Terence leading me through our trip last summer. It was probably about 5 AM in that photo.

Our bags were covered because of all the thunder storms, and as you can see, we travel light. ;)
He’s a little nicer to me now. Last year we started our hike at like 2AM and reached our camp a little lower. It rained and stormed and I was too afraid to take out my camera for the most part. And it was so bad that I skipped to the section on “Lightning” in my Outdoor Emergency Care book, to pretty much find out that I was just KIND OF screwed. I brought along my OEC book because I was trying to get certified for Ski Patrol, which I wasn’t even guaranteed a spot for, but very hopeful. Anyway, I did get certified and I did work my first year of ski patrol and it was awesome. And now I’ve gotten off track.

Shot from the inside of my tent. Bear Mace, my OEC book, flash cards and gummy treats!

I got a lot of studying in on that trip because of the thunderstorms.
One thing I value from the adventures I’ve been on with Terence is that he pushes me. Not off mountains, and not to where I’m in a life or death situation (I’ve been on one too many of those), but just a teeny tiny bit past my comfort zone. And as a result I have seen some of the most spectacular views in the world that not just anyone gets a chance to see in their lives.

Summit of Mt. Sneffels. It was freezing and I had some good blisters on my feet.

Legs felt like rubber bands. Hurt so good! To give you some interesting perspective,

the solid thing by my left hand is an alpine lake that we would have camped at if it weren't for the thunderstorms. Instead we camped out lower, below the tree line.. Our ending elevation!
I met Terence in college when we both set out to American Adventure Expeditions to become whitewater raft guides. We were rookies together. We became good friends when we were going through a painful and freaky three weeks of training for that job. We have been on a lot of crazy excursions from there on out. Terence is also the person responsible for leading me to 3 Pikes Peak Ascents, which is a RUNNING race from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak. About an 8,000 vertical foot gain in 13.6 miles. Oh and one Pikes Peak Marathon, 26 miles (we had to run back down). I did OK, placed in the 400’s of just a little over 800. Terence did awesome and came in like, 82nd place.

Terence running through a field of flowers. Looks like one of those commercials you

see on TV advertising... uh, nevermind.
Anyway, I wasn’t planning on this becoming a tribute to my good friend Terence, but that’s what has become of this post, so here’s to my wing man, Terence. Looking forward to our adventure!

CAFIERO, switching to MAC!

2006-05-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

OK my peeps, it’s time. Next week I’m diving head first and not looking back into the Apple store here in Cherry Creek and getting my first Mac in years. I was a mac user about 6 years ago. Bilingual, actually. I had a mac for work and PC for personal use. I preferred the PC and decided to go all PC based. I now have three PC machines, and was convinced that the Apple vs. PC debate was all just a bunch of hype, and there’s no way a Mac can make my image work any better. I still don’t…BUT I am sold on the point that PC’s are just way more susceptible to viruses, and crashing, etc. I have been through hell and back on my PCs over the winter. Two got viruses, one required a new hard drive, the other required a new machine altogether. I usually get top of the line stuff too, and my new PC had issues, and I had to deal with getting a replacement, which was just a MESS!! Oh and by the way, all of my wedding clients were safe because I have three copies of all their images on external drives! I am so smart!

Here it is... I'm going with the BIG 20 inch screen!

Then last week, Jenny and I went into an Apple store and were sold immediately after just 5 minutes or so of seeing an iMac in action.

Why do you care? Well let me tell you what I’ll be able to do with my new 6 Peeps blog! (ahem, I mean ‘iBlog’) ...

Once I switch over to iBlog, I’ll have a fully customizable blog and guess what, now you’ll get to see slideshows… to music! Of every wedding I shoot. My plan is to have slideshows for every wedding I shoot, posted here at 6 Peeps within days of shooting an event. There’s more, but you’ll just have to see.

These commercials are pretty good too. You can tell that Apple has a pretty good marketing department. I hope that my new iMac is as good as they make it sound in the commercials.

These advertisements are funny, they feature the guy who played the cheerleader in Dodgeball! (5 D's of Dodgeball, 'DODGE, DIP, DUCK, DIVE, & DODGE'):

Hank... H-A-N-K, Hank

2006-05-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

After looking over my posts and my 6 Peeps weekly announcements, I noticed that my spelling and grammar has gotten lazy! How unprofessional of me!

As a former 5th Grade Spelling Bee champion who made it all the way to the regional competition (finally lost to the word, "physician"), I am sorry to say that I have lost my pride... but I'm going to try to get it again! Announcing new spell-checked 6 Peeps from here on out! Maybe if I start updating my blog during the day when I'm not half-asleep will help.

NOW... sometimes I intentionally mis-spell words, so that doesn't count. Just because it's fun. Sometimes I like to mispronounce words, just to get a reaction. That's fun, too. I like talking to my dad and saying things like, "I'm in the mood for a good expresso"... one time I was telling him a story and I kept saying, "So I says" (blah blah blah), and "THEN I says" (blah blah blah). Or I'll pronounce "groceries" as grosheries". It gets him all fired up. It's funny.

Even with my friends, I'll say something like, "I expecially love this or that" and I watch their faces to see if they caught it or not. You can tell by looking at them. I just want someone to correct me, but no one does!

If anyone knows me, they know I like to get reactions out of people. I like making up far-fetched stories and seeing if I can convince people that they are true. Once I had someone convinced that Ben & Jerry's has a new ice cream called Burrito Supremo and that it's a play off of Taco Bell and that the ice cream is refried bean flavored with swirls of sour cream and cheese pieces. That was fun. :)

Anyway, back to the spelling... spell check and grammar check for now on, people! No more lookin like a horses - - - in public! ;)

(shot from my car window. I just thought it was funny. Hank is so loved that his owner took the time to write his name on his very own trailer!) :)

Ode to my WOMAN...

2006-05-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

I just found this shot of my special little lady, Jenny. This was taken at a ski patrol party we had this year. Is she not just the cutest thing ever?

In fact, let me tell you a little more about her. She's my no.1 competitor in Denver, but it's cool, we work together. She's new out here and I really want her to do well, she's crazy talented. As you know, she designed my logo, among help with all sorts of other stuff. She's adding a very nice feminine touch to my packaging and presentation, and every Monday we go on field trips to talk business.

I'm personally a freak when it comes to task management. I have ADD so that's a must for me. I write out all my tasks every morning when I wake up and right before bed. Most girls would think that's wierd, but Jenny supports me so much and has even joined me! We write out our goals every day together and it's so great to have someone in my life who supports me, believes in me, and laughs at my jokes... most of the time!

I finally got to meet her family this last week and they are awesome. Her brother is an extremely passionate chef. It was so fun to watch him work his magic in the kitchen. He's a perfectionist and I'm thinking we'll see him on Food Network some day. Not even kidding. I considered bringing my camera, but you know when you meet the woman's family for the first time, you want to make a good non-paparazzi first impression.

Anyway, this weekend... ON SPLURGE DAY!!! We're taking him and his wife and Walt and Lori, who are close family friends to my personal favorite Greek Restaurant, Yannis. That will be another blog entry for next week! ;)

My New Competition

2006-05-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

Recently Gina, my older sister sent in some images that my nephew Jay took with her point and shoot when they went to visit my other sister, Katherine. Jay is I think 5 years old now and Gina, please don't let Jay move in on my territory here in CO or AZ.

Photos by 5 year-old Jay Radovcich:

OK, Jay has a thing for animal butts. I'm going to pretend I didn't notice.

Marlin's Hiney:

Tootse's Hiney:

I love this shot, a little action shot of Tootse, ready to put the smack down on Marlin:

Here's a shot of Jay's foot:

And a close up of Katherine, my younger sister's mouth. Heavy, profound stuff, Jay! To me, this image represents life and society, and ummm... yeah, life and society today.

Way to go JayBird!!!! You're a great photographer and I can't wait for more submissions!!!!

Vintage style couture!

2006-05-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Oh man, I had a great weekend! It started with an absolutely beautiful wedding (see Dan and Marie below), and ended with a good 5 hours of shooting a really nice line of wedding dresses and womens business attire for Stephanie James Courture of Huntington Beach, CA. Remember the pin-up girl photos I posted a while ago? Well this caught the eye of Stephanie and her husband Jim Kennedy, who is one of the photographers I admire most in this business. We met at Becker Photographer's workshop in NYC and have kept in touch since then. In Vegas I saw them again at Becker's shin dig and that's when we decided to make this photo shoot happen.

It was a lot of fun, the weather was GREAT for AZ, and I got to get to know Jim and Stephanie a lot better and they are both awesome people. So many photographers are so caught up in their own positioning, that they sometimes forget what is really important to their clients; great, amazing photography, excellent customer service, and just knowing that their business is really appreciated. Well Jim focuses on all three of these things before himself and it's no surprise that the hundred plus brides who hire him each year absolutely love him. Same with Stephanie, who's also a wedding photographer.

Here's a shot of Jim from yesterday, and his wife Stephanie (I took that photo at Becker's workshop in NYC, she was a model for it!) - she's quite the looker! I gave Jim the ride of his life after the shoot to a place where we could all eat some dinner and download our images. You know I am in AZ at least a couple times a month these days, but when we got in the car my ADD really kicked in full force. I impressed Jim with my cognitive map-reading skills, my ability to drive at night with no headlights, and got a few nervous laughs out of him as I skillfully dodged a median, and crazy drivers who didn't know how to drive. ;) What am I doing as a photographer! I need to become an airline pilot. I told Jim that I started taking flying lessons a while back. I can take off on my own, but I can't land yet. As soon as I learn to land, I am bringing Jim and Stephanie out for a flight, a little adventure tour somewhere cool. And poor Stephanie who had to follow me, was dying for a pit stop. Sorry Stephanie!

And here are just a few shots from my shoot. Jim and I were both shooting and by coincidence he was working more with Jamie, the model they brought out from CA and I worked mostly with Amber, so I'm not playing fav's here, I just happen to have more shots of Amber. They were both just PERFECT for this kind of shoot and worked it very well for the camera! I haven't even seen them all yet, these just stuck out from a very quick scan of the images.

Here's Jamie - this shot probably wouldn't work for Stephanie's use because it doesn't show the whole dress, but it's one of my personal fav's.

Jim already thinks I'm a liar because I convinced him I knew where I was going when I was driving (I really thought I did), and now just yesterday I told him that I no longer do the spot coloring thing, and I went on and on about how it's so over-done, and blah blah blah. And so then I go home and do THIS. How can I ever be trusted! ;)

Jamie, looking very elegant...

Amber, doing what she does best...

Thanks again Jim, Stephnanie, Jamie and Amber and Kelli, the hairdresser who really gave these girls a great look!! I hope we got some keepers here for ya!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!

2006-05-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

I gotta give a shout to my mom this mother's day! I have to say, she's the hardest working woman I've ever met. Being a single mom with a couple of rugrats like myself is no easy task, even when your son is an absolute ANGEL like myself.

Here's my mom - she kind of looks like Celine Dion, but prettier. In fact, I remember in college, I was taking a spanish class and the Professora was all, "OK CLASS, today we're going to learn how to say the word 'BEAUTIFUL' in Spanish. Ready... 'LINDA'." I was like, "uh, tell me something I DIDNT know. My mom's name is Linda and she just happens to be beautiful. What a crazy coinkidink! My mom has taught me that nothing comes to you for free. You have to work to get things. And the harder you work, the more results you'll see.

Also, my mom gave me my first camera when I was like, 12 years old. It was a Canon AE-1. I loved that camera. She said, "if you can figure it out, it's yours". I wonder where I'd be now if my mom would have never given me that camera. Anyway, thanks mom, I love you and happy mothers day! Since I'm in AZ, I'm bringing you out to PF Changs next week when I get home!

When two Italians Marry...

2006-05-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

Last night I photographed a long awaited wedding for Marie and Dan, of Scottsdale, AZ. It was everything I could have ever hoped for as a photographer. But that's no surprise because Marie and Dan are both Italian. Paisanos! I love a good Italian wedding. They were seriously the nicest people EVER.

Victoria Canada, as expected, did an amazing job, keeping things on track, and astounding everyone with her thoughtful decor and surprises throughout the night.

I met Marie at 9:00 AM at Sachi Salon in Scottsdale. It was a very cool place, and everyone there was super nice. They run a solid operation and I could tell that their stylists were top notch.
I love this wide angle shot of the salon. See if you can find Marie! I've been on a ceiling fan kick lately. I don't know why, but I love cool ceiling fans. I'm such a freak! :)

Speaking of freaks, there's that creepy guy again.

Then we were off to the Royal Palms Resort. Holy cow, is that place nice. Nice is an understatement. It's absolutely GORGEOUS (there I am, sounding MetroSexual again). Every time I mentioned to people from AZ that I was off to the Royal Palms and Troon (reception), people whould ooh and ahh. Now I know why!

We got some nice make-up shots and bridal portraits.
Next stop, the church. Beautiful ceremony. The church coordinator had some pretty hefty rules about where I was allowed to shoot. This happens occasionally because there are a lot of low-class photographers out there who don't know a thing about etiquette. They get all up in the faces of the bride and groom during the ceremony and are a total distraction. Therefore it gives the entire business of wedding photography a bad reputation and as a result we are set with very strict rules. Oh well, we still got some awesome shots!

After the wedding, a vintage Bentley was supposed to be awaiting for the drive out to the reception. Despite their good reputation, it turned out to be a no-show. I wish I knew the name of that company so I could EXPOSE them like my man, Tom Martino, but they pretty much didn't show up.

Most brides would FLIP OUT, but not Marie. I ended up their chauffeur for the trip in my Mitsubishi rental compact car! They laughed it off and Dan mentioned that we were just downgrading slightly to a "Mistubentley". He also reminded Marie, "See, I told you we should have rented a Ferrari". :)

Here they are, in the Mitsubentley! That's not so bad, is it?

And much credit again to Victoria Canada, who pulled off a miracle and got an even nicer vintage Rolls Royce to pick them up from the reception at the end of the night.
And finally some more miscellaneous shots.

I also want to make a real point to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to the folks at Troon Golf Course. Anyone in AZ and any GOLFER in the world knows about Troon. It's one of the nicest courses in the US and very expensive if you ever want to hit a round out there. Some of the greats in golfing make it a point to hit up Troon when visiting Scottsdale, which is a golfer's mecca in itself.

But let me tell you a little about the great service and attention I got at Troon. Some of my packages come with a slideshow of the wedding images from the Rehearsal Dinner, Wedding Day Preparation shots, Ceremony shots, and even some shots from the reception. While guests are eating dinner, I'm picking out about 30-50 of my favorite shots, storing them on my iPod and then I plug it in to a TV or flatscreen or projector. Well the TV at Troon was not responding to my iPod. They could tell I was disappointed, so they actually sent someone out to get a new TV! 45 minutes later, they had a new monitor for me! We got it working and next thing you know, Dan and Marie's guests were enjoying my slideshow. They loved it and I got a ton of compliments. It's only fair that I say thanks to everyone at Troon. I have never been so well taken care of as a photographer in my life.

Oh and vendor meals were the most scrumptuous salad and Prime Rib. Awesome! Only at a place like Troon, would a silly ol photographer like me get a meal like this:

Thanks Marie and Dan for having me out to Scottsdale to photograph your wedding. I had a great time!

HOLY GUACAMOLE!

2006-05-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went to Los Sombreros (http://www.lossombreros.com) in Scottsdale for Marie and Dan's Rehearsal Dinner. I'm going to post photos of the people in my next post, but for now I just have to talk about the restaurant! (will ya look at that Guac!)

You will never know the suffering I had to endure tonight. All these people eating this amazing looking and smelling mexican food! Marie and Dan are so nice, they kept insisting that I eat and Marie, who is one of the peeps should know from this blog that I am doing the Body for Life and I can only eat whatever I want on Splurge Day. But she insisted anyway. We made a deal and I walked out with enchiladas to go! I'm going to eat em on Sunday!!!! Thanks Marie! Bless her little heart!

Here's Marie holding a bridal gift.

And Dan is happy because he's surrounded by some amazin Mexican Food (and because he's getting married tomorrow!)

Just to show you what was tempting me all night: (Don't worry Dan and Marie, I got some GREAT shots of your guests, even though I was a little distracted).

I don't know what this was called but I want to eat it.

And I want to drink this.

And the people who are responsible for my suffering. The main chef and owner of the restaurant is third from the left. I didn't get his name but he was a REALLY nice guy and the other owner was there too, Juanita!

Chris Bliss, AMAZIN Juggler!

2006-05-10T22:59:00.000-07:00

This may seem silly to you but I get really inspired by this juggler. How could anyone take juggling to this level? One word: Passion. This is the most passionate juggler I have ever seen. I think it's important for everyone to have a passion like that in some shape or form. If you have a free second, check this out! video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4776181634656145640

Thanks for sharing, Uncle Sal!

Pin Up Girl Got Married!

2006-05-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well she finally tied the knot, and I am happy to announce that Amber's images are no longer on the editing table. Here are a few of my favorite shots of Amber and her wild man husband, Mike, who's a bassist for a punk band out there in Scottsdale. Their wedding was a blast. So far from traditional and a ton of fun to shoot. Meet Mike and Amber! The Mr. and the Mrs.!

AND... check out my new logo!!! Jenny you are AMAZIN! Thank's again for my cool new logo, girlfriend!

Buena Vista, CO!!

2006-05-10T00:39:00.000-07:00

Last week, Jenny and I went out to what I consider one of my most favorite places in the world.

No joke, Buena Vista is the world's best kept secret. In college I'd move out there and live in a little two man tent, working as a raft guide.

This shot brings back memories. I remember these customers. When I first met them, I was nervous because they looked like a bunch of nerdy old timers. Then when I got them in the river they would paddle like maniacs. That's me in the back with the blue life jacket... yelling at my paying customers, "FORWARD HARD!!!!". I don't yell at my wedding clients.

Some of the best memories in my life are in BV. My typical day for about 6 months of my life was: Wake Up at 6:00AM. Brush teeth, rinse from whatever water I had on me. Drive out to Bongo Billy's for some coffee and a pastry of some sort. Drive to work, American Adventure Expeditions. I'd then look to see what kind of group I had signed up (5-load from Kansas, paddle boat or ore rig). Then I'd pray that my group of customers were in good shape. A college group would be nice!

Then I'd head out to the boat shed where all the other guides were and I'd grab my favorite SOTAR, which is a brand of raft. Some people say it stands for "Swim Over To Another Raft", but whatever. I'd roll it out, pump it up, strap on a spare paddle, pack rain gear, clip my Nalgene bottle that was most likely filled up with TANG! and I'd then wait for my customers. When they arrived, I'd give them a "paddle talk", teaching them (hopefully) my paddle commands. We'd get on the water, hit some good class 4 rapids, have lunch, finish it off and head back on one of our school busses.

I was so poor that I actually bounced a check for Ramen Noodles and had a warrant put on for my arrest because of it. (Don't worry mom, dad... it's been taken care of). So I would PRAY for a good tip, which was like, $40 bucks! Then I'd meet my friends for some evening paddling in our kayaks down the narrows or Brown's Canyon.

The sunsets were warm and beautiful. Buena Vista is surrounded by some of the most spectacular Colorado 14'ers, the Collegiate Peaks. We'd grab a beer at the El Duran and FREE chips and salsa for dinner! And soon it was back to our tents. Sometimes I'd just sleep under the stars. Because there are no cities nearby, the stars shine incredibly!

Anyway, Jenny and I went out to BV for a day and it was awesome. I had so much fun showing Jenny my special spots. We even drove out to where my camp site was for the 3 seasons that I lived out there.

Right next door to American Adventure Expeditions was this old truck stop... THE GUNSMOKE. I used to go there for snacks and to gas up my old Ford Ranger. When I didn't have to work, I'd go to the diner and order a "Mr. Ed", which was a plate full of hash browns, snausages, green chili, three eggs, cheese and I think country gravy too! It looked like a pile of something you'd never want to eat, but we LOVED the Ed! I wanted to buy a Mr. Ed for Jenny but it wasn't splurge day. They also have awesome cinnamon rolls!

Here's a shot of some aspen trees off of County Line Road 311. If I ever got sick of my permanent camp site, I'd head out here for a night to "get away". ha!

This is the actual County Road 311. Purdy, huh?

And one more shot of some cool looking clounds on our way back home.

New Cafiero Logo is DONE!!!

2006-05-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! I've been talking about remodeling my logo for months now. The previous logo was nice and classy, but was missing something that really distinguishes it. An icon that represents who I am, where I come from, and what I stand for. THANK YOU JENNY for making this for me! I have tried outsourcing my concept to some really high-end branding consultants. While they seemed to know what I had visualized, I just wasn't feeling it when I got their drafts. Meanwhile, Jenny, who is a pro graphic designer has been telling me that she wanted to do it. When she saw that I was less than ecstatic of my previous drafts, she took it to herself to make me a logo. It turned out EXACTLY what I had been hoping for. Even better, actually!

And here you have it:

Now to explain this logo... The only thing that has really changed is the addition of a flourish on the left edge of "CAFIERO". I wanted something that just subtly resembled the form and design of an old Gibson mandolin. I wanted an icon to honor my grandfather on my dad's side of the family. He was an artist, an Italian jazz mandolinist from New York, playing as a kid at the local pizzeria, eventually earning impressive recognition, while his music even brought him to Vegas. His timing was always so precise. The sound that came from his instrument was gentle and unique. The instrument he used (the mandolin) was a work of art in itself. I remember the bridge was worn through the stain to the wood from his hands working the strings. His fingers could move so fast and with so much finesse across the frets, it often looked like a blur. His music represented our Italian heritage and was an important part of each and every family celebration we ever had, be a birthday, holiday, or reunion. The music and the great Italian food are just two of the things that make me so proud to be a Cafiero. I chose to name my business simply put, "Cafiero" to honor the family that I come from. I'm one of the last Cafiero guys in the family.

I strive to be like my grandfather in more ways than one. His artistry in Italian music inspires my artistic expression through photography. Wedding photography, even! I can't play the mandolin, but I've gotten to the point where the camera has become an extension of my body. My camera is an instrument that I use to create artwork. Visual, rather than audible, but the objective is the same, to bring people closer together; to create a piece that will elicit a heart-felt response.

On another note, I knew my grandfather as one of the kindest, most gentle humans ever to step on this earth. His smile was genuine, his laugh contagious, and always seemed to put other people before him. He adored my grandmother.

He passed away one Christmas Eve. It was a sad moment, but one thing we all have to remember him by is his music. He left us with sounds that bring us back to the greatest times of our lives. That is the goal behind my photography business. I hope that when my clients are old and grey, they can look back at the images I create for them and remember their day EXACTLY as it unfolded.

Thus, a tribute to my grandfather, Joseph Cafiero.

Artwork by Chris Daniels for my grandfather's last recorded album, Mandolino.
http://www.chrisalandaniels.com/index.html

Splurge Day!

2006-05-07T22:46:00.000-07:00

Warning: the following post features early morning, right out of bed photos. Don't be alarmed, I will NOT show up to your wedding unshaven, wearing Jeans and a Hoodie!

I'm on my fourth week of doing the 12 week Body for Life Challenge. I did take a "before" photo, but I'm not posting that until after I do my 12 week "after" photo. So far I've lost almost 9 lbs, which is like two bags of potaters. I am starting to feel different. Anyway, the fun part of this "lifestyle change" is the one day a week where I can eat WHATEVER I want. It's my splurge day! I binge each Sunday to the point of self disgust. I chose Sunday because I'm usually out shooting weddings on Saturday and if I'm going to splurge, it's going to be ALL DAY LONG. At weddings, my clients may find it offensive if I bring a box of doughnuts with me, although at a recent wedding Amber, my pin up bride had Krispy Kreme doughnuts while she was getting ready and I had one, but that was the week before my diet! It's great. Today, Jenny and I went out for Krispy Kreme doughnuts! We totally pigged out. Jenny's doing this with me.

So here are some very attractive photos of us pigging out at the Highlands Ranch Krispy Kreme. Mmmmmm.....

I tried to eat every one of the rasberry jelly filled doughnuts, but as soon as I finished off this batch, they had already made another 200. What a dirty trick.

Here's a photo of Jenny. You know she's ready to eat because her mouth is open. Kind of like one of those Venus Fly Traps, you know?

Oh man, their glazed doughnuts are TO DIE FOR! Literally! If you eat too many, there is a good chance that you will eventually die. Be careful. I'm taking a risk here, eating too many.

Jenny takes the modest approach and selects the most desireable doughnut before shoving.

And finally, I put on the Krispy Kreme hat and laugh at the storefront. I'LL BE BACK!

Allenspark, Colorado Wedding!

2006-05-06T23:17:00.000-07:00

I just got home from shooting a really great wedding in Allenspark, CO, which is sort of near Estes Park. This wedding was at the Wild Basin Lodge, which was my first time shooting there. I loved it and hope to shoot there again! Meet Dina and Cameron. I loved working with them, they were just totally laid back and cool and just wanted to have a great wedding for their guests to witness.

Here's Dina's reaction to... probably some funny joke I told. ;)

Wine, anyone?

I loved the clouds today!

This might count as one of my favorite ring shots!

Gotta love a good embrace.

Who's this creepy guy that keeps showing up in the background with a camera? This shot was 100% intentional. It's just something I do at every wedding for some reason. I'll post my gallery soon!

Detail shot from the Wild Basin Lodge!

I love this shot. This was the mother of the bride. She's in a wheel chair and doesn't come out of it often, but her son insisted that she get up and dance. You can really tell how great of a time she's having! You should have seen her dance! She was absolutely loving it. As she headed out I heard her say, "Oh dear, that was really a nice time". :) I have some great shots of her dancing, but I REALLY like the reaction shot.

Check out this Colorado Sunset! Ya gotta love the Colorado Rockies!!! (NOT the baseball team... just in general. You pickin up what I'm layin down?)

Our Marathon Runnin Family

2006-05-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

My younger sister, Katherine, ran her 2nd or 3rd Marathon last weekend! She and a friend of hers decided to run a marathon in Tennessee... even though they live in Kansas. Here's Kathy in all her glory .

And here's her bro (me) running the Pike's Peak Marathon just a few years ago! Katherine is smiling and I am grimacing at 14,115 feet!

My older sister, Gina is also a marathoner. I'll dig up some nice shots of her for a future post.

Just havin some fun

2006-05-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

This week I decided to try out a new lab. I've never really had just one lab that I work with consistantly, and decided it would be a good idea to find a lab that can handle all of my jobs. After a lot of research, I've found Fotoworks of Southern California, per Becker Photographer's recommendation is HIS blog. They work with some of the best photographers in the country so I think I can trust them. Also I looked at their product line and they seem to have everything I need to totally wow my wedding clients, so I'm psyched!

To get started, they asked me to send them 5 images to make sure our color calibration is a good match and they are going to send me 5 8x10's for free! Bless their little hearts! Well I didn't know what kind of prints to send em, so I decided to send some of my favorite 6peeps shoots. I had fun playing around with them and in the process I thought of a good way to enforce my brand a little more. That's a secret, but you'll start noticing it more in the future. These images don't employ my new branding idea, but they sparked the idea. Anyway, here are some of my favorite 6 Peep Shots from the past few months!

This is a shot I grabbed driving out to Denver after work one day near A-Basin when I was doing the Ski patrol thing (something I did to give me something to do during my wedding off-season)... why not! I still shot lots of weddings, mostly in AZ, one in Playa del Carmen, MX. Here's one reason I love the mountains so much. Check out that sunset!

One of my favorite shots from my Ski Patrol Rookie Party. I am so happy that I have completed my first season as a Ski Patroller. I had the experience of my life and learned so much about myself. I'm actually pretty good at taking care of wounded skiers with broken bones, dislocations, facial trauma, and all sorts of medical issues. I saw it all this winter, and got some great skiing in (40 hours a week!) and met some really fun peeps. Here's Mark Winchester doing his thing for the camera. In the background, there's Julian Lamarche (black t-shirt), a big-air contestant, and one of the best skiers I've ever met (you should see the that guy huck and jib at the terrain park), and Jake Ziemski (red, black and grey jacket), a stud that all the women dreul over. I've also never seen him in a bad mood. The ladies are various girfriends.

Of course, the vintage pin-up girl shots with the old WWII warbird is a favorite of mine. I'm looking forward to doing another shoot with the planes for a wedding dress company. After these shots got out, I inspired Stephanie James of http://stephaniejamescouture.com/ to do a similar shoot. So next week I'm meeting her and husbend Jim Kennedy http://www.jimkennedyphotography.com/ , who happens to be one of my top inspirations in this business of wedding photography to do a shoot of her line-up. I'll be posting those soon! Also we got my bride, Amber to model some of her dresses and we're looking forward to seeing Amber "represent" for Stephanie!

Oh man, I just realized I never posted the shots of my dad's sailboat! He has a really cool old 1977 33 foot sailboat that's docked out in Oahu! Jenny and I stayed on the boat when we went out there. We made a really cool poster for my dad, a collage of some nice detail shots. This is one of my fav's. I sent this to Fotoworks to see how their sepia tone prints look. I'll post more images from my dad's boat soon! He loved the poster and even got all teary-eyed when we gave it to him. He loves that boat and I could tell this was a special gift.

OF COURSE, much love to my woman!

Scottsdale Wedding!

2006-04-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

I just returned last night from Arizona, where I photographed Brooke and Lanny's wedding in Scottsdale. The weather was nice and in the 80's, and I absolutely loved working with Brooke and Lanny. Brooke really reminds me of Cameron Diaz. Very elegant, and a really fun boisterous laugh. She was all smiles which I love. Lanny is awesome too - he's really animated which made him fun to photograph. I have all sorts of hilareous shots of him. Anyway, it was a great wedding...

Had to add one shot of myself. That one's a quick shot I took for my own enjoyment. :)

Scottsdale Wedding (Cont...)

2006-04-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

I met the bride at her parent's place in Scottsdale, which was VERY nice. It's called The Wellness Ranch, and I assume that's her mother's business. Kind of a progressive medical type of business. Anyway, it was really neat and decorated extremely well...

Also Lanny claims to be non-photogenic. I think he looks pretty dapper here, myself!

Scottsdale Wedding (Cont...)

2006-04-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

The reception was held at the very nice Terravita Golf Course, Scottsdale. It was a great venue, and I hope to shoot there again soon. The golf course looks really nice. I bet I could really hack it up over there.

Scottsdale Wedding! (cont...)

2006-04-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

This old dawg belonged to the bride's family. He's old enough to get a driver's license in the state of Colorado, and judging by Colorado's driving requirements, I don't think his impaired vision or hearing would be a hinderance to his qualifications! So... stay off the sidewalk!

VEGAS!

2006-04-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Vegas, where I was asked to give a 2 hour Master Class presentation (see below) at the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) convention at The Paris Hotel/Casino. It was an honor and I had a great time. A very special THANK YOU to Bill Hurter, who's the big man of that organization, and editor of RANGEFINDER magazine. He has trusted me to give my first presentation at the event and I don't think I let him down at all. I got some really nice reviews and I hope to be back next year with my part deux! Thanks Bill!

Also a huge THANK YOU to Becker Photographer of the O.C. who invited me to his party at THEhotel near Mandalay Bay. Some of the photographers I respect in the business including Jim Kennedy, Mike Colon, Cliff Mautner and many many others were there. I was honored to be in their company and not to mention a really fun party! Becker served Peeps, which happen to be my favorite marshmallow Easter treat! Also I had plenty of cocktails and left feeling pretty good! Becker is extremely talented - see his BLOG at http://www.beckersblog.com. Becker is the man responsible for me getting my own blog going, among so many other things. Thanks [b], you are absolutely one of my greatest inspirations in this business!

Here's a shot from my hotel room - nice view of the Eiffel Tower!

I LOVE the Bellagio water show. I mostly like watching other people, watching the show! You should see the looks of amazement you get from the other people! It's awesome.

Finally, here's just a pretty shot of a tree with pretty flowers. :)

VEGAS! (cont...)

2006-04-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd buy a vacation home in Vegas, since I like it there so much. Here's a humble snapshot of my patio.

VEGAS! (cont...)

2006-04-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

YEAH!!!! This year I was asked to be a guest speaker at the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International convention at Bally's / The Paris Hotel/Casino. It was the absolute highlite of my career! I gave a two hour presentation, speaking of the business side of being a pro photographer, and then more on the photography side, "Capturing the Candid Moment". My first half was called "Pilot or Passenger". Everyone really loved it and I had a ton of great feed back. I'm already sketching my new presentation for next year because there were a lot of subjects that I didn't quite have time to make, so we'll look forward to Pilot or Passenger, Part II. I kept seeing these posters with my name on them in the casino. It was a lot of fun!

Oh and thanks to Jenny for making my photo slideshow that was put to music. It was a real hit!

VEGAS! (cont...)

2006-04-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

Well, everybody knows that in Vegas you should expect to have a few cocktails. I love cocktail hour, and we had a few of them in Vegas. We went to see Mama Mia, which was awesome, and we had some really stiff ZOMBIEs... which are basically a whole bunch of different kinds of rum with a splash of juice. My kind of cocktail! We also had some martinis at the Stone Crab Restaurant

...and my favorite wine, LaFonda, just like the girl from Napolean Dynomite! (OK, I penned in the "a" at the end. Couldn't help myself!)

My Pin-Up Bride

2006-03-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

I just got back from AZ where I photographed one of my brides for this wedding season. Actually, I'll be heading right back to AZ the weekend after next to shoot her wedding. I'm totally psyched to shoot it. She is obviously stunning and her fiance sounds really cool, a punk rocker bassist guy with lots of tattoos and a mohawk! I think his "tux" on the wedding day will consist of Dickies, Con-All Stars, that kind of thing. And Amber is going to be wearing a really cool, form-fitting dress. I love weddings that step away from the traditional! I don't think there will be any chicken dance at their wedding! WOO HOO!

Here's Amber being a 1940's pin up model. The airplane is mine. That's right. (OK, it's not, but after that shoot, I am convinced I need to get me one). Great job Amber, that was a fun shoot. And I hope when she becomes a famous model/actress, she'll give me some serious props.

My Pin-Up Bride

2006-03-27T21:46:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of shots where I kind of desaturated the colors a little to give it a look to kind of resemble the old-school printing tonality. Jenny helped me with this, bless her little heart!

My Pin-Up Bride

2006-03-27T21:44:00.000-08:00

And just a totally candid shot of her doing her make up. She had no idea I was taking her photo. ;)

My Pin-Up Bride

2006-03-27T21:41:00.000-08:00

Just wating for her pilot to show up...

My Pin-Up Bride

2006-03-27T21:37:00.000-08:00

Amber was really good at "playing the part". Here she is, just being a 1940's super star!

My Pin-Up Bride

2006-03-27T20:51:00.000-08:00

This is one of my fav's. Vintage and antique! Sepia Tone and a little soft focus gave this shot a unique effect!

Hawaii!!!

2006-03-17T12:47:00.000-08:00

I just returned yesterday from beautiful Oahu, Hawaii with my girlfriend, Jenny. We went for a workshop and spent a few extra days enjoying Hawaii. We stayed on my dad's sail boat. Stay tuned for photos of the boat. It was a GREAT trip. Here are a few shots from the resort that our workshop was held...

Hawaii!! (Cont...)

2006-03-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

Jenny heard that the Hawaiians love Spam and Eggs. So we went on a mission to find ourselves a real, authentic Spam and Egg Breakfast.

Anna Millers - finding a place with Spam was easy. Jenny is excited.

Mmmmm there it is in all it's glory...

Hawaii!! (Cont...)

2006-03-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

What can I say, she's the girl of my dreams...

Hawaii!! (Cont...)

2006-03-17T12:40:00.000-08:00

Haleiwa - we saw a cool old Chevy Woodie. Also, Jenny and I having a big ol' burger and fries and Hawaiian beer. Mmmmmm....

Hawaii!! (Cont...)

2006-03-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

Some artsy shots from the town of Haleiwa (aka North Shore).

Hawaii!! (Cont...)

2006-03-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

It rained the day we hit up the North Shore. I get so mad when people think that you can only enjoy a trip when the sun is out. The colors came alive from all the rain! It was absolutely beautiful. Be optimistic, people! Whoever said mud and dirt can't be pretty.

Hawaii!! (Cont...)

2006-03-17T12:29:00.000-08:00

Every time I've ever gone to Oahu I have taken a tour of Oahu on the City Bus. It's like a scenic tour of the island for less than $5.00 bucks. Jenny was up for it so that we did! Here are some shots from the bus. We're not too proud to ride the bus!

Hawaii!! (Cont...)

2006-03-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Our last night, Jenny and I hit up Waikiki. I wanted to buy a Ukaleli... but considering I can't even spell the word, I decided I am only worthy to photograph them (from a shop in Waikiki).

My new favorite Japanese Saki. Sho Chiku Bai. I just like the way it rolls off the tongue! We were drinking it casually as we walked through the streets of Waikiki. On Japanese woman stopped me and made a remark (laughing) about the way I was just cruising around drinking Sake.

This girl was a street performer. The hoola-hoop queen.

Hawaii!! (Cont...)

2006-03-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a shot from the airplane window coming home. Man, what an action packed few days we had. A nice view of the moon from our seats was the perfect way to top it off....

One-Hour Wedding

2006-02-26T16:18:00.000-08:00

Today I photographed my first one-hour wedding. It's not something I advertise, and it came up last minute, so I decided I'd go ahead and shoot it. The wedding was walking distance from Jenny's loft here in Denver, so why not. I'll post more, but the bride was very photogenic. Here's one for now. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

...as promised, here are more! This couple in particular wanted mostly posed photography, which is FAR from my preferred style, but like I said, why not. It made for a fun change of pace. ;)

Bowlin!

2006-02-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had our Rookie Party here with the Ski Patrol. Basically, it's tradition that every year the rookie patrollers must host a party, and it better be good... like I have said, being a rookie patroller can be compared remarkably to pledging a fraternity! "Yes Sir, may I have another?!?!".

The party was a good time though. I didn't... but lots of people dressed up. There seemed to be some confusion of the theme. Some thought it was a rock star party, others thought it was a bowling fashion party. I'm not sure what theme Mark Winchester was going for, but it worked!

Jenny, my girlfriend and business competitor ;) , bowled a 122. Check out that perfect form.

I bowled a 172, and I only had one frame that game that wasn't a strike or spare. I think I got 8 spares, 2 strikes and a "9". I even got a "split". The pins were a part from each other and I deftly maneuvered the ball to tip one over to intentionally slide across to knock down the other. OK, it was luck, but I still celebated with shots of Jaagermeister. ;)

Patroller of the Week: "The Colonel"

2006-02-18T12:35:00.000-08:00

...aka "El Tigre", aka "Jon". This week I'm featuring Jon, a retired Army soldier turned Ski Patroller. Jon was the rookie trainer. For the first part of my season at Ski Patrol, I'd report to "The Colonel". He's a crotchety old grouch of a man, but that's just the way of the Colonel! The patrollers actually made up a song about him called "El Tigre" and it's pretty funny. Anyway here he is, sporting the military-issue spectacles.

what my clients think of me...

2006-02-10T00:14:00.000-08:00

One of my brides for 2006 had a funny dream about me. Actually a very scary dream, accoding to her. This is too funny for me not to post. Direct from her email (I'll be nice and keep her name private!):

"Also, about that
dream that i had, i am scared to tell you this for fear you might think i am
crazy, but you strike me as the type of person with a good sense of humor, so i
wanted to tell you. In my dream you actually were taking pictures of everyone
else, but i just missed the boat. Anyway, the funny part was that you actually
had three legs, but one of them had a horse foot with a horse shoe and
everything. and as James later pointed out, this would probably be a good thing
for you, because you could be your own personal tri-pod. I thought that was
funny. But then later in the dream you transformed into this old hippie guy
with long dreadlocks that just kept smoking pot the whole time instead of taking
pictures, and then you had three arms, and then i woke up. Sorry if this freaks
you out, but i just thought it was funny. I have weird dreams a lot though, so
who knows."

Any dream experts that can translate this one?

Also a groom of mine who was supposed to get married last May couldn't because he was involved in a tragic snowboarding accident at my very own Keystone. The crazy thing is that after thinking about it, I am 99% sure that I was skiing the same run as him on the day of his accident... I was about a minute in front of him and didn't even realize it. I remember the day in April well because I was attending the new hire clinic at Keystone, when a snowboarder was flown out Flight for Life. I didn't realize it was a groom of mine until a few weeks later when his fiance emailed me to tell me that he was in a coma.

Then Thanksgiving weekend I got a great email from Scott. No longer in a coma! Scott is now hiking and man, if you check out his blog, you can tell that Scott is now living each day for what it's worth. I respect Scott so much for his passion for photography, the Colorado outdoors and cooking! Scott, I want to try your famous pizza. And if you look deep into his blog, you'll see I am even featured in a photograph. I'm honored, but it's kind of a funny shot! Check out his blog! Scott, I'm glad to have you back!

Stickers

2006-02-09T23:42:00.000-08:00

Stickers are really popular among the patrollers... and in Summit County in general. Most popular destinations for stickers include nalgene bottles, windows, cars, lunch boxes, and you name it. Here are some shots of water bottles inside the patrol headquarters and a sign full of stickers near Loveland Pass. Also a nice sunset shot I got while driving to Denver yesterday after work. I don't know what the "bucket 'o' gout' is all about, but I do think the curly heart shaped straw compliments it well.

'trollin'

2006-02-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

As some of my peeps know, I have been working Ski Patrol over the winter while wedding season pretty much slows down. I decided to take it on for the experience... figured it would be neat to kind of get into a "team" environment. It's been a huge step outside of my comfort zone, and the experience I've had so far this winter is a lot of what I expected and hoped for. I feel like it's keeping me in good shape. I can eat pizza every day if I want, and as much as I want. More than anything, it's been totally humbling. I have learned a lot about myself through this job and it's teaching me endless lessons in regard to Situational Awareness. I'm not used to being told what to do. Now I am being told what to do all day long. That aspect has been challenging, and I'm learning to respect my authority.

I've made some real rookie mistakes. I got a snowmobile stuck a few weeks ago on my way back from dropping some guys off at the back bowls. It was white out conditions and I was worried about driving it off a cornice. Then the next week I was sweeping one of the bowls, and I dropped into the bowls early and the wrong bowl no less. I got a pretty good earful for that one. This job is making me more sharp, which is what I really need for personal reasons and even for the benefit of my professional business of being one of the best wedding photographers that I can be.

The people I work with are absolutely amazing. The patrollers I work with are a ton of fun, but man, when it's time to work, they are 100% committed to their duties. They're awesome skiers and athletes. It's a pretty big group, lead by a Director of Ski Patrol, Assistant Director, and like 6 supervisors. We all have "familys" that we belong to, each family per supervisor. My supervisor is Rick, a tall guy who is known for his attention to detail. The other day he and I opened a few runs and he's constantly stopping to tighten up ropes, straighten bamboo markers, and adjust snowmobile lanes. I'll try to get a shot of Rick in here soon. I'm just starting to bring my camera to work. Being a rookie, I've been on a probationary period and have felt a little reluctant to bring it along, but I brought it the other day and no one seemed to care. So nothing too cool yet, but I plan on bringing it every day from here on out, so keep checking the blog for some tight action shots!

SO.... the photos. The first is of Lee, one of the directors. I'm pretty sure I'm on his good list. His finger is caught in his zipper. The other is of Jeff, our "head coach" and director of ski patrol. Jeff is a hilarous guy, but he's also a true leader. Best boss I've ever had, besides myself of course! The next shot is of a snow cat. Cool story about the head snow cat guy, he's this old guy who smokes cigarettes, wears aviator glasses and listens to... the Cranberrys while he drives the cats.... but he's so good that he has been recruited by the winter olympics as one of their groomers. I think thats really cool. The last one is of a couple patrollers, Mark and Pat. They are in what's called the "out" chairs. The "first out" is the guy who's next on deck for any accidents that are called in. Sometimes they get to "go for a ski", which is always nice. So far, I have been first on scene of a total of 18 accidents, or "1050's". I'll try to get more skiing action shots soon!

Welcome!

2006-01-28T23:18:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my brand SPANKIN new blog! You might be wondering, why the heck is this called 6 Peeps? Well, long story short, a long time ago, I used to enjoy sharing my photography with six people. My mom, my dad, my two sisters, my Uncle Tom, and Granddad. Since then, more and more people have enjoyed looking at my work, and even though I now have like, 60 peeps, I stay true to the original "6 Peeps". I apologize if you find that confusing. ;) So here we goes. What a perfect time to start my blog. I just shot a wedding in beautiful Playa del Carmen, Mexico. If you don't know me or what I do, I am a wedding photojournalist. This wedding was shot last week, and the weather was awesome. You'd never know by being there that just 6 months ago, it was crushed by Hurricane Wilma. Enough of the jibba jabba, here are some shots from the wedding...

Mexico Continued...

2006-01-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

Oh... and by the way - see the shot below of the people watching the fire? That was the Green Parrot, a huge hotel that just happened to go down in flames while we were having a cocktail party at the top of Hotel Basico. It's the biggest fire I've ever seen personally and was so bad that I had to go back to my hotel room to shower up because I smelled like a camp fire and there were ashes in my hair! GRRRROSS!