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

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

Hiking in the high country

Hello, last week I took a day off to go hiking with my good friend Rick Everstein. We decided to do a big loop around the Herman Gulch area which is near Loveland Basin Ski Area. The trail started at about 10,000 feet elevation and we went over three summits that were more than 12,000 feet before we hooked up with the Continental Divide Trail. Then we came down Herman Gulch.
It was a perfect day for a long hike above timberline. Most of the time we had high clouds to shield us of the sun but it only rain about 10 drops. The views were absolutely amazing and the wild flowers were in full bloom. I've never seen so many columbine flowers before!
Cheers, Kent

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