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04-26-2012

Rachel + Greg Engagement Session

I met Rachel and Greg in Boulder for their engagement session on a perfect spring day in Colorado. Honestly, I have never seen a more beautiful spring here in Colorado. Plants that normally get blasted by unexpected remnants of winter in April have had a chance to thrive this year. So, I was particularly excited to get to shoot a session this time of year!

Rachel and Greg are some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. I couldn’t get either one to stop smiling the whole time we were out! We had a blast making our way around Chataqua Park and then later in downtown Boulder. Lucky for us, the tulips on Pearl Street were in full bloom. Another testament to this gorgeous spring. Since Greg is also a musician he brought along part of his drum set to get a couple shots in front of the bar where he plays with his band. I had such a great time with this amazing couple and cannot wait to shoot their wedding in August.

Congratulations to you both!

Happy Thursday!

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03-30-2012

On Being Superman

Posted in Family, Personal

Sometimes you can’t do it all. Really. Trust me. I’ve tried. Something has to give and it always will. In my case it happened to be work. The day job to be specific. It’s been 6 weeks now since Wyatt was born and during that time, it’s been a whirlwind. The adjustment of life with a baby, sleep deprivation, visiting family, trying to stay healthy, trying to focus on photography, and a deadline at work that was utterly impossible under the best of circumstances. The perfect storm.

I always feel like I can do it all and make everyone happy at the same time. Unfortunately, this time, not only could I not pull it off, I wound up making everyone miserable in the process as well. No one was happy with my performance. My work suffered from lack of time there and utter exhaustion, my family suffered because I wasn’t around and was completely and utterly frustrated when I was around. NOT. GOOD. I kept promising – just let me get through this deadline and I can slow down. It’ll be fine. But it wasn’t. My work was suffering from lack of focus and my home life was suffering from lack of time. How could I be so selfish? Family first, right? My problem is that I tend to get hung up on what is ultimately URGENT, but may not be the most IMPORTANT thing at the moment. It’s whatever screams the loudest at the moment. Unfortunately for Wyatt and Natalie, they aren’t really screamers. I tried to make it all the most important. So, it all fell apart. The deadline from hell passed and I finished it, but it definitely wasn’t done to my standards. It felt patchwork at best and there were several major flaws that slipped through the cracks.

Hopefully I can look back at this, take stock and learn from it. Of course work is important, but family is more important. It’s not really that I don’t know that, but probably like a lot of people, I sometimes take it for granted. The urgency takes over and I wind up trying to be everything to everyone. My work quality suffers because I’m so frantic and home life suffers from frustration and exhaustion. Sometimes it’s just not possible to make it happen. And sometimes it’s really not worth it. I have to learn to make smarter choices and take a step back to look at things in perspective. At the end of the day, family’s all you’ve really got anyway.

I mean seriously, what’s more important than this?

Have a great weekend.

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03-28-2012

Sallie + Greg Ranch Wedding

Posted in Photography, Weddings

Sallie and Greg picked an absolutely perfect March day to get married. March is typically kind of “iffy” around Denver, much less in the mountains. They wouldn’t be deterred from the day, though, since it held a special place to both of them. Well, it turned out to be a perfect day. 80 degrees in Denver and 65 degrees in the mountains. In March!! Seriously?? It was meant to be.

They picked the fabulous Deer Creek Valley Ranch to get married. With a view of Mount Evans where they hiked together to the top as well as where Greg proposed, they couldn’t have asked for a more perfect spot.

With a small group of family and friends gathered around, Greg and Sallie said their vows in true Colorado fashion – boots and all. It was a beautiful day and I felt lucky to be there to document it for them. Thanks, Sallie and Greg. Congratulations to you both!

Happy Wednesday!

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02-22-2012

The wait is over.

Posted in Family, Personal

Finally. We have our little man. Yes, it’s a boy. Wyatt Scott Payne was born on February 13. Since that wondorous, life-changing day life has seemed to spiral away into the abyss. We find ourselves staring at this wonder for hours on end trying to wrap our heads around what has happened. Time disappears more quickly than I could ever have imagined. We find ourselves watching the sun set every afternoon and trying to recount the day and what has become of it. It’s a roller coaster ride like I’ve never seen before. Emotions swirl around in our sleep deprived heads. Joy, panic, frustration, fear, amazement, and happiness are in constant battle in my head. Out of everything, I can say the best way to describe it all is that I’m overwhelmed. It’s just so much to take in and you try to soak up every moment while also trying to keep your life moving forward. Overwhelmed with everything, really. I’ve never felt so much love, so much fear, and so much wonder in my life. It’s a very, very powerful feeling. I’m going to try to ride this wave of emotion as long as I can.

For now, we’re getting to know our boy. The more time we spend with him, the more we figure out his little personality. Neither one of us can wait to see what he grows up to be – we just want to see what this kid becomes. Until then, I’ll try to enjoy every second with him. I know it’s going to go by too quickly. Already, I look back at photos taken last week and can see a change! It’s amazing to watch time march by before your eyes. This is going to be one epic ride…

PS – Thank you so much to everyone that has been here for us. To all the friends and family that have done so much – from going to the grocery for us, to just calling and offering congratulations – you don’t know how much it means to feel this loved. Natalie and I both thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We really are grateful to have such great people in our lives. So, I’m going to go on being overwhelmed and try to enjoy every second of it.

Happy Wednesday!

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02-12-2012

DWP.

Posted in Family, Personal

Tomorrow morning. Your mom and I get to meet you finally tomorrow morning. Wow, Dwayne. This has been one crazy ride you’ve had us on. I know that it’s only going to get better…and crazier. I gotta be honest, this whole thing scares the ever-loving bejesus out of me. We’ve been waiting rather impatiently now for a while. Everyone is excited to see you. Your grandparents are so thrilled they can’t see straight. All your friends have been asking about you, and your Aunt Andie has even dedicated a whole website to you. You’d better be up for a big party tomorrow!

In case you don’t know, your mom and I have never done this before, so we’ll do the best we can, but it’s going to kind of be trial and error for the both of us for a while. I want you to get to experience this world fully. The world really is there for your taking. You just need to go out and grab it. Here are a few pieces of advice that I want to give to you before you make it into this world:

You can do anything you want to in this world with a lot of hard work and determination. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

Keep an open mind, always. Everyone in this world comes from different perspectives.

Your mom and I will love you no matter what.

Life isn’t always easy, but it’s the only one you’ve got. Make the most of every day and keep a positive attitude.

Explore. Go and see and do.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Don’t be afraid to get back up and try again when you do make them.

Never forget those that are close to you. Don’t take them for granted.

Life is going to throw you some scary moments, but don’t be too frightened to face them head on. You’ll be all that much stronger for doing it.

There’s lots more lessons to be learned, but we’ll work on those as we go, Dwayne. I really want you to go out and achieve whatever you’d like to do in this life. Your mom and I will do whatever we can to help you through it. We’re just so excited to meet you in the morning and see what you’re like. You’ve kept us waiting long enough and now it’s about time to meet you.

Love,

Dad.

I thought this was appropriate for this post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWcyIpul8OE

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