Check out my new blog!!

Hello, I've started a new blog. Please visit and let me know what you think of the new look and feel. New blog
Cheers, Kent

Las Vegas Valentine's Day Weddings

Hello, This year I spent Valentine's Day in Las Vegas photographing weddings at two different wedding chapels on the Down Town stripe, A Little White Chapel, and Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel.

It was the third time I've done this and I suspect it won't be my last. There is something about documenting Las Vegas weddings because it's such a unique piece of  Americana history, I love it. 

This post starts off with pictures from past years and finishs with images from 2009.

Cheers, Kent  

Child Portrait - David Weister

Hello, recently I photographed David Weister, a cute one-year-old, whose parents Brian and Krista were wedding clients a few years ago. It's always a pleasure to take pictures of one of my wedding couple's children.
We started at their Littleton home before going to David's first swimming class. What a blast it is for me to experience such simple, yet beautiful moments.
Cheers, Kent

Hanging Lake in Winter

Hello, last week Geri and I hiked up to Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon on our way home from Aspen. The lake and Spouting Rock, which is above the lake, is an amazing area to explore at any time of the year. It's about a mile straight up and when it is covered in snow and ice you need to be prepared, with hiking poles and in Geri's case, Yak Trax. Yak Trax pull over your hiking boots and give you traction on slippery surfaces.
Cheers, Kent

Super Heroes on Town to Town Tour

SHAZAM!! Last Saturday we participated in the Town to Town Tour from Aspen to Basalt, on the Rio Grande Trail. It was a fundraising event for Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers who build and maintain trails in the area. Our mountain friends invited us up for the weekend to get in shape for next month's cross country ski hut trip.  Margie, Jane and Geri dressed up for the event in Super Hero costumes. Margie was "Flash", Jane was "Captain America" and Geri was "Iron Man". The ladies attracted lots of attention and almost won the costume contest at the apre' ski party.  The weather couldn't have been better on the last day of January. 

Cheers, Kent

Rocky Mountain News Candlelight Vigil

Hello, last night I showed my support for the Rocky Mountain News by attending a candlelight vigil in front of the building that houses both the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post. 

About 300 people gathered with candles and 150 folks wore signs - one for each year the paper has been published since 1859. 

My friend,  John Ensslin, a reporter at the Rocky, organized the event. He's pictured below in the red coat helping to light candles, despite the wind. 

John and I have worked alongside each other for more than 20 years covering news stories. Now John is part of a news story! 

The owners of the Rocky put the paper up for sale in December and if they don't find a buyer, they may shutdown the publication. 

This is an important story both locally and nationally as the newspaper industry has been losing advertising revenue for several years, due in part, to increased use of the internet. 

If you would like to learn more about the fight to save the Rocky Mountain News click here to visit "I want my Rocky." 

I want my Rocky

Cheers and good luck to everyone at the Rocky, Kent

Pictures of the Year 2008

Hellooooo and welcome to my Pictures of the Year 2008 non-weddings post. It wasn't a huge travel year for Geri and I, but we did manage a few fun trips. The most memorable part of the year was turning 50 and celebrating with friends on a backpacking adventure in the mountains near Vail.
Click here to see a slideshow.
POY2008.

Wedding Pictures of the Year 2008

Hello and welcome to my Wedding Pictures of the Year 2008 blog post! What an amazing year. I went coast to coast doing weddings from Florida to California. 

A huge thank you is in order for all the brides, grooms and their families who chose me to photograph their weddings! Great wedding pictures come from trusting relationships. 

Click here to see a slideshow.
Wedding POY 2008.
Cheers, Kent

Ski Train

Hello, last Saturday we went on the Ski Train to Winter Park with Geri's sister, Melani, and our friends Steve & Sandy. The train left Union Station just as the sun was coming up over the Denver skyline. Snow began to fall as the train twisted it's way through the mountains. We had fresh snow to ski on, all day long. It's great to relax on the train both coming and going, rather than stressing out while driving on snow-packed roads.
Ski Train.
Cheers, Kent

Gallery Shows in Denver

Hello, there are two photo exhibits that are showing in Denver this week and they both come down on Friday, Jan. 9.
First, Sebastiao Salgado at The Camera Obscura Gallery, 1309 Bannock Street, near the Denver Art Museum. Salgado is simply one of the best documentary photographers of all time. It's amazing to be able to see 15-18 of his black and white hand-printed signed photos.
Gallery owner, Hal Gould, is quite a character and can tell you stories about many of the images.
Second, at Rule Gallery, "Light and Time, Wet Plate Collodion Photographs" by Mark Sink & Kristen Hatgi. Their photographs were created by pouring a thin layer of collodion on glass plates before sensitizing them with a silver nitrate solution. The plate then must be exposed and developed while it is still wet. This photographic process was popular from 1852 through the 1860s. The one-of-a-kind glass plate images are on display and are also for sale. Not only is this a cool historic photographic process, but their subject matter makes the show well worth the trip.
Rule Gallery.
Cheers, Kent
PS. Thank you to Robin Rule who allowed me to make  this photo in her gallery.

Happy New Year's

We celebrated New Year's Eve in Denver with Geri's sister Melani, and our good friend, Mary Ellen. The evening started with an early dinner at Osteria Marco in Larimer Square followed by the Colorado Symphony's performance of  "A Night in Vienna". 

At 9 p.m., we watched the fireworks display on the 16th Street Mall, had a night cap at The Shag Lounge for a New Year's toast and were home by 10:30, because as Geri's mother used to say, "Nothing good ever happens after midnight."

Cheers, Kent

Aspen at Christmas

Hello, we spent Christmas '08 in the Roaring Fork Valley south of Aspen with the Broome family and many old and new friends. Four main themes developed: dogs, snow, friends and skiing. 

Cheers, Kent

WPJA-10th in the world!

Hello, remember earlier this year when I judged 15th in the world for 2007 by the (WPJA) Wedding Photojournalist Association? Currently in the 3rd Quarter judging for 2008 I am ranked 10th in the world and 1st in Colorado.
WPJA.
With one quarter to go, I am hoping to finish this year in the top 10! Please wish me luck as this a big order.
Cheers, Kent

Cox Family Holiday Photos

Hello, last Saturday Geri and I staged a photo session with the Cox family for their Christmas card. We've been photographing their smiles and antics for many years. It's always fun to spend time with Mary Ellen, Stephen, Charley, and Charley's son, Avery.
Again this year Stephen requested a photo of his dog, Cody, as he is getting on in years. Cody is a real sweetheart of a dog with only three legs and a crooked nose.
Happy Holidays, Kent

Jerome the travel gnome goes nuts!

Hello,
Jerome our travel gnome found himself buried in a box of pecans send to us from my step mother Kate in Eva, Alabama recently.
Cheers, Kent

KBCO Studio C

Hello, last Saturday Geri and I made our annual pilgrimage to stand in line for more than an hour to buy a few copies of the KBCO Studio C 20th Anniversary Edition CD. KBCO releases about 10,000 copies of the CD, comprised of songs that were recorded in KBCO Studio C by various artists during the year. Sales from the CD benefit the Boulder County AIDS Project. This year's offering may be the best yet - it's actually a two CD set with 38 songs.
KBCO.
We made our way to two different Ultimate Electronics store locations, as the first store sold out of it's supply while we were still in line. Bret Saunders, KBCO DJ, signed one of our CDs. We feel honored.
Cheers, Kent

Family Portrait Session

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

Snow Hiking

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

Alabama-momma, daddy, ex's and steps

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

Jenny and Chris

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

Sierra Nevada Mountains

Hello, earlier this month we visited the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Click here for a slide show.
Sierra
We flew into the Tahoe/Reno airport where our good friends Kim and Gregg from San Francisco met us in their silver Jetta. The four of us piled in and drove an hour to Lake Tahoe for a long-weekend birthday celebration. Gregg and I celebrated our recent 50th birthdays and Kim also had a birthday to commemorate! The entire trip was new ground for Geri and I as we'd never been to Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake or Yosemite National Park before.
The weather in Tahoe was cold and even snowing as we arrived! This first part of the trip was really more about relationships than location, although we did go on a great hike once it warmed up a little. Lake Tahoe is big and beautiful, and an unbelievable area from so many different views.
Geri and I decided to tack on an extra week after Gregg and Kim headed back to S.F. We drove south and explored Mono Lake and Yosemite. Our first stop was at one of the most atmospheric gold mining ghost towns in the West named Bodie. In the 1880s, Bodie was the second largest city in California after San Francisco! In it's heyday, it boasted three breweries, and some 60 saloons and dance halls. It also had a well-earned reputation as the raunchiest and most lawless mining camp in the West, where almost every day ended in a shootout on Main Street while the firehouse bell rung once for every year of a murdered man's life, seemed never to stop sounding.
Bodie is now a California State Park and a very peaceful place on a warm, fall day.
I had so much fun there, they had to ask me to leave at 5 p.m. - closing time! I am beginning to act my age closing state historical sites rather than bars!
From Bodie we drove over a tough dirt road to the town of Lee Vining on the edge of Mono Lake with its blue expanse and 60 square miles reflecting the snow-capped Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. The salty alkaline lake is most known for the strange, sandcastle-like tufa towers that were formed underwater, where calcium-bearing freshwater springs well up through the carbonate-rich lake water. The calcium and the carbonate combine as limestone, slowly growing into the weird formations that resemble giant coral. The towers became more visible as Los Angeles drained away the waters that flow into the lake between 1940 and the 1990s. Now the lake is slowly expected to refill to its natural levels in about 20 years.
We arrived at the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve's South Tufa area as the sun set in the west and the moon was rising in the east. We weren't alone as about 30 other photographers from around the world lined the shoreline with cameras on tripods. This scene played out again the next morning at sunrise with the moon setting in the West over the eastern Sierra Nevadas.
After breakfast at the Whoa Nellie Deli, we drove into Yosemite National Park traveling over Tioga Pass at almost 10,000 feet in elevation, taking in some of Yosemite's most breathtaking high-country scenery. Tioga Road is the highest paved road in California!
We decided to stop and hike up to Lembert Dome, about a 4-mile roundtrip that was well worth the time and effort. The park is full of granite domes, the most famous is Half Dome - which we decided not to climb. It's a 12-hour hike including the last part which uses cables to get to the top. The cables were pulled up in anticipation of winter the day we arrived.
In the minds of many, Yosemite National Park is Yosemite Valley, a four-square-mile nugget of stupendous landscape that never fails to impress. This valley not only lives up to your expectations but exceeds them! From the first views of El Capitan's 3,000 vertical foot wall of rock, past Yosemite and Bridalveil Falls, Half Dome greets you with a smile as you drive beside the Merced River. The river and the falls were dried up at this time of year, but I can imagine how the springtime runoff would be a sight to see.
We drove past Yosemite Village to the end of the road at the Ahwahnee Hotel, built in 1927. This six-story grand European-style hotel has attracted royalty, heads of state and movie stars. From there we hiked up to Mirror Lake at the base of Half Dome about four miles round trip, even though the lake was also dry. As the sun was setting, bathing Half Dome in pink alpine glow, we headed for our hotel just outside the parks south entrance.
Over the next few days we explored the valley and the south end of the park including Glacier Point, which provides one of the best views of the valley. We also did a couple of cool hikes to Taft Point and Sentinel Dome. Taft Point is known for its valley rim view and the fissures that cut down the steep edges. It is not a comfortable place if you are afraid of heights! Sentinel Dome was a much more mellow hike and a good spot for lunch.
I should note that the park service was doing a controlled burn, so the sky was more than a little hazy, which made some pictures not so interesting and others became more interesting.
No trip to Yosemite would be complete without a stop at the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village, where you can study and buy some of the best landscape photography created by Ansel Adams and others who've specialized in photographing Yosemite and the western states.
Cheers, Kent

Fall Hikes in the Rocky Mountains

Hello, Fall is one of my favorite times of the year to go hiking in the mountains because its not too hot, cold or crowded. Plus if you are lucky the fall colors will turning.
These pictures were from a series of hikes with friends, John Hudetz, Dave Russell and Steve Wilson. Two of the hikes were in or around Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park with John and Dave while Steve and I went hiking up Herman's Gulch which is off I-70 near Loveland ski area.
Cheers, Kent

Home and Garden

Hello, Fall is upon us and I have been collecting pictures around our home and garden to celebrate the season. Enjoy!
Cheers, Kent

Kristen and Joe's Magnolia Hotel Wedding

Hello, last Saturday I photographed Kristen and Joe's wedding at the Magnolia Hotel in downtown Denver. Jane Knauf with Magnolia Hotels did a great job of helping Kristen plan her wedding from Washington D.C. providing great service start to finish.
Magnolia Hotels
Click here to see a short slide show.Wedding
At noon I met up with Kristen and ten of her gal pals at Crush hair salon in LoDo where David Reed was doing her hair including putting her veil in place.
Crush
The ceremony was held in the lower level of the main hotel while the reception was held in there beautiful ballroom across 17th Street.
After the ceremony, the couple, bridal party and family members walked up the street to the Supreme Court House for pictures as it is one of the more interesting buildings in all of downtown Denver.
A good friend, Kathleen Davia, of Gateaux made a tasty cake for the event.
Gateaux
Cheers to the happy couple who are probably playing Rock Star in Steamboat Springs as I write this.
Kent Meireis

Jenny and Joel's Golden, Colorado Wedding

Hello, last Saturday I photographed Jenny and Joel's wedding at Calvary Episcopal Church in Golden, Colorado.
Calvary Episcopal Church
Nicole Iverson with Swank Stems decorated the chapel with flowers, candles and much more to look and feel like we were in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Swank Stems
Click here to see a short slide show.
Wedding
The reception was held at Rolling Hills Country Club where Kathie Baratta and her staff did a wonderful job.
Rolling Hills Country Club
Michelle Gillette of Dramatic Events kept the events running on schedule from start to finish.
Dramatic Events
One of the big highlights of the evening was having the band Funkiphino, a 12-piece group from Boulder perform.
Funkiphino
They rocked the club until midnight when Jenny and Joel made their exit as guests lit the path to their limo with giant sparklers.
A special thanks to everyone involved for making this a wedding to remember.
Cheers, Kent
PS. My good friend and fellow wedding photographer, Melissa Rich, helped me with this wedding and I can't thank her enough!
Melissa Rich

Comment from bride and her mother

Here are a few comments from Carrie and her mother Mary after seeing the pictures from her wedding in Santa Barbara.
Cheers, Kent
Wow!! I am totally speechless! Oh my goodness Kent, the pictures are absolutely stunning! I can't wait to see more! Thank you again for everything, the day was magical and you truly captured all the best moments!!
Thanks again, you truly made my day!!!!
cheers....carrie
Wow Kent, again I am speechless! They are absolutely amazing! So many of them I didn't even realize you were there capturing the moment, wow! Now I know what everyone else was talking about!!
Thanks again Kent, I know everyone must tell you this but you have a truly amazing eye and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to have you fly out to capture our memories!! You're the best!!
cheers....carrie

I don't think it's possible to express how happy Carrie is with the photos. They are fabulous. I particularly love the black & whites. My particular favorite (of all my favorites) is the one with her skipping on the beach & Scott "grounding" her. A perfect expression of why their relationship works. Thanks again for your part of this tremendous week-end. Mary

Carolyn and Jason

Hello, last weekend I photographed Carolyn and Jason's wedding in Estes Park, Colorado with my friend and fellow wedding photojournalist Adam Welch. Adam Welch
Click here to view a short slide show. Wedding.
The day started off at Marys Lake Lodge with Jason, his family and groomsmen etc. getting ready. Marys lake Lodge
We arrived at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church where Carolyn and the bridesmaids were getting ready. Our lady of the Mountain
After their ceremony the bridal party went up to Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park for photo session. At that point the weather had gone from cloudy, rainy, sunny and back to cloudy.
The weather actually worked out perfectly giving us soft light when we needed it and a rain storm after we were safely tucked in at Taharaa Mountain Lodge for the reception. Taharaa
Just before dinner the storm broke and one of the most beautiful rainbows I've ever seen drew everyone outside.
Jessica Adler with JA Special Events kept everything going from one location to another. Jessica
Cheers, Kent Meireis

Carrie and Scott's Santa Barbara Wedding

Hello, last weekend I travel to Santa Barbara California to photograph Carrie and Scott's wedding at the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore.
The Biltmore.
What a spectacular location in the heart of "America's Riviera" for a their wedding plus they live about a half mile up the beach!
Click here to see a slide show.
Wedding.
The wedding day start with Scott going surfing using a large paddle board because the waves this time of the year aren't big enough for regular surfing.
Mean while back at The Biltmore, Carrie was eating a special waffle while her hair was drying.
Guests began arriving at 10:30 and were treated to Mimosa's in the Mariposa Garden before the ceremony.
Wedding planner Rebecca Gigandet of Imagine did a great job of making sure that every detail was perfectly executed.
Imagine.
The ceremony was filled with laughs and a few tears before Carrie and Scott kissed and recessed as guests tossed rose pedals over them.
The reception was held in the El Mar which has a terrace view of the ocean.
It's always a treat to get such a beautiful location and a wonderful couple.
Cheers, Kent Meireis

Sarah and Shaun's Hotel Boulderado Wedding

Hello, last Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Sarah and Shaun's wedding at the Hotel Boulderado.
Hotel Boulderado.
What a classic Boulder, Colorado location for a fun wedding. Click here to see a slideshow.
Wedding.
Cheers, Kent Meireis

50th Birthday Surprise

Hello, last Friday we woke up to find a cemetery in our front yard, courtesy of my step brother from Birmingham, Alabama. Thank you Tom! Now the entire neighborhood knows I am over the hill. The neighbor kids were all very impressed. The adults are afraid this will happen to them!
Cheers, Kent Meireis