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

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

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

Kent's 50th B-Day Camp Trip

Hello, last weekend I began celebrating my 50th birthday while backpacking with a group of seven friends over Labor Day weekend. Click here for a slideshow. Camp trip B-Day. My actual B-day is September 5th - tomorrow!
We selected Lake Charles near Eagle, Colorado, because it is close enough to Denver, yet a tough, five-mile hike. We were hoping there wouldn't be too many other campers at the lake and we weren't disappointed.
We had a great camp site at the far end of the lake which made for a beautiful sunset on our first night. The next morning I was surprised to see all the paraphernalia my fellow campers had packed-in to mark my special day. It was also our really big day to hike and fish.
We headed off to Mystic Lake which is about another mile-and-a-half at the end of the canyon, with mountain peaks above and an elevation at about 11,500 feet. By the time we arrived at the upper lake, the sun was pretty much gone for the day but that didn't stop us from spending the afternoon fishing for cutthroat and brook trout. Paul and I hiked all the way around the lake, maybe two additional miles, and most of the time in the rain. Our trek paid off as I caught more fish than I've ever caught before - 15 trout! We released most of the fish but kept enough for a delicious dinner cooked on a makeshift grill over campfire coals. Before dinner we had a birthday toast with little bottles of margaritas that Geri had secretly packed in!
While the foil-wrapped trout cooked over the fire, a few of us thought we would dry out our wet socks, using sticks to hold them over the fire - kind of like cooking a hot dog. It wasn't a bad idea, but we needed to be a little more careful than we were. More than one sock ended up charred or with burn holes.
On Monday morning it was time to pack up and head down the trail, which turned into another adventure searching for wild mushrooms. Back in the parking lot, Geri had one last surprise for me, as I was sprayed with little, confetti party poppers.
I owe a big 5-0 thank you to Paul, Margie, Stephanie, Jimmy and Rosie and especially Geri for being such good sports and great friends.
Cheers, Kent Meireis

Democratic National Convention in Denver

Hello, last week the Democratic National Convention in Denver made for some great people- watching, as downtown was as crowded as I've ever seen it. Click here for a slideshow. DNC.
There were planned protest marches every day, starting in Civic Center Park. I covered the Procession For The Future March on a hot, sunny summer day. It was sponsored by Backbone Campaign. Backbone Campaign
On the final night of the convention I was hired to photograph a party in the big, white event tent across from the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The tent was transformed into an amazingly swank club scene with a performance by Will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas. They rocked the house. Sorry, but I can't publish pictures of the show yet. Black Eyed Peas.
Cheers, Kent Meireis

Lacey and Brett's Vail Wedding

Hello, last weekend I photographed Lacey and Brett's wedding at the Donovan Pavilion in Vail, Colorado. Donovan Pavilion
The weather was perfect and Lacey and Brett were a fun loving couple.
Click here if you would like to see a slideshow of their wedding. Wedding
Stacy A. Pisani of Alexan Events planned their wedding from start to finish with amazing detail. Alexan Events
Cheers, Kent Meireis

Tisha and Previn's Wedding

Hello, last Sunday I had the honor of photographing Tisha and Previn's wedding in her grandmother's backyard in west Denver.
Previn is the son of my good friend and fellow wedding photographer John Hudetz. Hudetz
Going into this wedding, I new it wasn't going to be anything short of amazing. There were multiple cultural themes represented as Tisha is part Jewish and part American Indian plus they both embrace eclectic cultures.
Click here to see a slideshow of their wedding. Wedding
The dress and overall style of the day was Celtic/Renaissance including a Celtic Bluegrass Band.
This was truly a fun wedding and Tisha and Previn along with a assortment of family members and friends planned a wonderful ceremony/reception/party. They even had a keg of mead!
Cheers, Kent Meireis
If you would like to learn more about their wedding check out their website. Wedding website

Karen and James Wedding

Hello, last Saturday I photographed Karen and James wedding with my good friend Melissa Rich. Melissa Rich
Their ceremony was held at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church here in Denver.
And their reception was at The Brown Palace Hotel.The Brown Palace Hotel
Click here to see a slideshow of their wedding day.
Wedding
It was a pleasure working with both Karen and James as they were an exceedingly nice couple.
Cheers, Kent Meireis

July 4th Camp Out

Hello, I finally had a weekend off to go camping with Geri and a group of friends over the Fourth of July holiday. We decided to pitch our tents near Home Stake State Park between Leadville and Minturn.
Click here to see a slideshow.Camp Out.
My friend, Paul Broome, arrived first and found a perfect campsite off the road with our own lily pond and river access plus lots of room for the rest of the group who were arriving the next day.
So Paul, his black lab named Jackson, and I had the place to ourselves the first night. In terms of car camping this was the best site I've ever had. The ponds weren't deep enough for fish to survive over the winter months, but at the end of the road was Home Stake Reservoir at more than 10,000 feet in elevation.
The reservoir visit was a full day's adventure using Paul's pontoon fishing boat and Jimmy and Rosie's canoe to transport everyone across the lake including two dogs.
It was a beautiful day for boating, fishing and sunning but the water was a little too cold for swimming - unless you were a dog.
Speaking of dogs and fishing, you might be wondering what the deal is with the weird fish hat. Well, it actually belongs to me. I traded for it at a White Elephant post- Christmas party a few years ago and decided to wear it one morning. Then someone came up with the idea to photograph everyone wearing it including the dogs.
Cheers, Kent

Emily and Eric's Estes Park Wedding

Hello, last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Emily and Eric's wedding at Saint Malo Chapel in Allenspark, Colorado. Saint Malo. Their reception followed in the MacGregor Ballroom at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. The Stanley Hotel.
I photographed the wedding along with my good friend and fellow wedding photographer, John Hudetz. John Hudetz.
You couldn't ask for two more beautiful locations! Emily and Eric had a blast and enjoyed every minute of their day as you can see in the pictures.
One of my favorite details was the Spanish guitarist, Piatro, who played at the ceremony as well as at the reception. Piatro.
If you would like to see a slideshow click here. Emily and Eric.

Children with Diabetes

Hello, Recently I spent a day at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes in Denver photographing kids, families, and doctors. Barbara Davis Center. It's amazing to see kids dealing with a disease such as diabetes that is difficult for adults to handle.
This week Denver Bronco's quarterback Jay Cutler found out that he has Type I diabetes which caused him to loose 35 pounds during last season. Now he knows the cause and that he will have to monitor his blood sugar and other medical conditions carefully for the of his life. He's expected to be able to continue playing professional football.
Cheers, Kent

Extreme Winter Sports

Hello, last weekend I was hired by Alex, a bride from one of my weddings last summer, to go along with her husband Jay and his buddies into the mountains on their snowmobiles to the top of the continental divide where they snowboard or ski down extreme chutes and off cliffs. Alex gave this photo session to Jay as his birthday present last November.
Wow, what an experience! Click here for an Extreme slideshow. Extreme slideshow. It was quite a ride just to get to the top and then the wind was blowing at times 40-50 MPH as these guys negotiated which chute they wanted to drop into. Jay listened to the song White Wedding by Billy Idol as he made his first run so that is the song on the slideshow! Don't worry no one was hurt during this adventure and please don't try this unless you are ready to turn Pro.
After a few runs from the top and grilled bratwursts for lunch, they decided to jump off some cliffs in a gladed area to finish off the day before the sun went down.
If you would like to see Jay and Alex's wedding slideshow click here, Jay and Alex wedding. And if you want to see their engagement session which was shot on one of the coldest days last winter click here, Jay and Alex engagement.
Thanks for another wonderful photographic experience Alex/Jay.
Cheers, Kent

Welcome to Winter in Colorado

Here are a few pictures from a somewhat recent trip to the mountains around Aspen and Basalt. Colorado is having a record breaking snow year, at least in the mountains. It can be fun if you like to play in the snow but it can also make for a long winter and the spring melt will be interesting. For me there is something special about being in the mountains during the winter. Colorado is at the top of the water chain because the Continental Divide, the main series of mountain ridges in North America, forms a watershed that separates the rivers flowing east into the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico from those flowing west into the Pacific Ocean. The last three pictures are our friends Nancy and Ray Broome with their Golden Retrievers, Brandy and Marley, and Geri is the one scraping the ice off the windshield. Cheers, Kent

Holiday Lights - Denver City and County Building and Civic Center

Hello, last week on a snowy cold night after a meeting downtown, I decided to go over to the Civic Center to photograph the Denver City and County building holiday lights.
Happy Holidays, Kent

Colorado Rockies Miracle Season

If you would like to see a slideshow of Colorado Rockies Miracle Season CLICK HERE: Rockies Miracle Season. All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player.
Hello, many of you may not know that I've photographed the Colorado Rockies baseball team since they started playing in 1993 at the old Mile High Stadium. Back then I worked for the Denver Post and I covered them regularly for several years including the 1995 playoff games. Colorado Rockies
Now that I work for myself doing mostly weddings, I still enjoy going to Rox games with friends and photographing the games and the ball park from more of a fans perspective. Opening Day is always an exciting day for me. Coorsfield is one of the most beautiful ball parks in the country especially at sunset on a warm summer evening.
This season I started inviting other photographers to join me for outings to the ball park. At the time it didn't seem possible for the Rockies to get into the playoffs and getting tickets wasn't a problem and parking usually cost $5.
All of the pictures are mine except for the group of us toasting beers in the brewery at Coorsfield during one of our field trips. Sean Cayton, a wedding photographer from Colorado Springs took that one. Cayton Photography.
Another one of my favorite times to attend and photograph games is when they shoot off fireworks.
This season the Rockies went on an incredible winning steak to become the wild card team in the playoffs. The Rox swept their way into the World Series with the Boston Red Sox. Boston Red Sox
Some people think baseball is too slow and not as exciting as football, basketball or hockey. For me growing up playing baseball in Kansas, I like a well pitched low scoring game. Home runs are great don't get me wrong. For me I just want to see a good game, cheer for the home team and have a beer and brat with friends. It is considered to be America's favorite pastime.I hope you enjoy in pictures and Go Rockies.
Kent

Backpacking and fishing with friends

Hello last week we went backpacking, hiking, camping, fishing etc. with a group of eight friends. We met up in Buena Vista and stayed at Pinon Court Motel so we could get an early start on the trail into the Horn Fork Basin. I've camped in this basin at least 5 times over the years. It remains one of my favorite places to go because of the variety of things to do. Mt. Harvard and Mt. Columbia offer climbers a good challenge while Bear Lake has many healthy but hard to catch cut throat trout.
We camped just below timberline in the trees so we could have a campfire.
After the four mile hike to camp, we set up camp just below timberline in the trees. The five ladies decided to climb Mt. Columbia, 14,073 feet while the guys hiked another two and half miles up to the lake to go fishing. We only caught one big enough to eat, thanks to Jimmy.
Later in the day, Jimmy and his wife Rosie cooked up the fish in foil over the fire and we all had a nice appetizer to go with our freeze-dried dinners.
The next morning Paul, Margie and Rosie headed up Mt. Harvard, 14,420 feet while the rest of the group settled for hiking up to the lake. Geri, Jimmy and I made it to the lake. Jane and Stephanie decided to head back to camp as they were hiking out that afternoon.
The rest of the group met up back at camp where we helped Jimmy and Rosie pack up their camp as they had to get home. We wanted to stay an extra night after working so hard to get to such a beautiful place.
If you would like to see a slideshow of our trip CLICK HERE: Camping Trip. All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player.If you would like to learn more about Colorado's 1,400 foot mountains visit, Colorado 14ers.

Kelly and Nate Breckenridge

Hello,
A couple of weeks ago I photographed a wedding with my good friend Sean Cayton in Breckenridge.Cayton Photography. Kelly and Nate's wedding ceremony was at the Saint Mary's Church in downtown Breckenridge and their reception was held at Ten Mile Station on the ski slopes.
It was a beautiful warm sunny summer day. If you would like to see a slideshow of Kelly and Nate's wedding CLICK HERE: Kelly and Nate's wedding. All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player.
Their wedding was coordinated by one of the most respected planners in Summit County, Emily Campbell.Bella Design & Planning.
Sean and I recently created a new website called Keystone Photographers designed to market weddings in the mountains of Colorado.Keystone Photographers.We both enjoy spending time in the mountains whether we are photographing weddings, skiing, camping, hiking or fishing. Locations such as Ten Mile Station in Breckenridge are a target for our new plan. Ten Mile Station in Breckenridge.If you are planning a wedding in the mountains or if you know anyone planning a mountain wedding please ask them to visit our site.
Cheers, Kent