New York, we love you.

As good 'ol Frank put it:

New York, New York
I want to wake up in that city 
That never sleeps


or


These little town blues
They have all melted away
I am about to make a brand new start of it
Right there in old New York


(I'm pretty sure that's Tess's new life theme song after this trip...she was so kind to sing it to me each morning at the top of her lungs as we woke for each new day's adventure. I preferred to wake to Jay-Z "Empire State of Mind" over Tess's serenade).

What's NYC have to do with anything, you might ask? Well, Tess and I decided we need to step up our game in this industry and invest in furthering our education in preparation for next year's wedding season (and the rest of our careers). Fortunately, we've started a business that is sort of blossoming in a very natural way for us. We've experienced a wonderful, busy first year in business just by being ourselves, putting in A LOT of elbow grease, taking care of our clients, and providing them with images that we would hope to receive from photographers.

Nonetheless, we know great opportunities and success rarely just continually fall in your lap so we decided to take a more pro-active approach to our Love•n•Joy biz. (I hope that you don't take that last line as boastful by any means. My idea of success is someone liking a photo I took enough to proudly display it in public via their living room wall or facebook! And I consider a great opportunity to be esteemed photographers asking us to join them to cover events, etc.) We have decided to do what we can to break away from comfortable mediocrity and challenge ourselves on an entirely new level.

I suppose each individual must define what success means to them before striving for it? Well, we know that for us, success is doing what we love most and that is bringing happiness to others through photography. It's pretty straight forward and it becomes addictive. We would be wise to include mastering our craft in technical terms as an integral part of being successful. Above all, we want to stay true to ourselves and our personal style. This is where I'll interject my favorite Dr. Seuss quote: "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is you-er than you."

What is the first step in achieving this goal? By listening to others who have obtained tremendous levels of greatness in this industry; true leaders and innovative masters of photography who have been there, done that, and continue to push the boundaries of this business. It's always so different reading about these people and their successes in magazines, or on reputable websites, etc. You always find yourself thinking, "Yes! That's exactly where I want to be in a few years! But how did they do it? They must have 'known someone' or had some kind of 'in' that has propelled them to the top this quickly..." This theory is usually dismantled as soon as you experience their presence or aura in person. They exude determination and an unrelenting spirit. Then it all makes sense!

Which brings me back to my point...New York City. We learned of the PDN Photoplus International Conference & Expo from following up on some of the most well-respected names in the photography industry (okay, stalking their blogs and subscribing to RSS feeds helps...). Usually, these fellow photogs are up to amazing adventures that we could only dream of undergoing. But, alas! We noticed a common underlying theme with their updates/posts...they would be speaking at this world renown conference at the end of the month in NYC! The conference prices were reasonable compared to most and we decided it was time to hold off on a new lens in place of biting the bullet and booking this educating, yet a fabulously good time, sort of trip to the Big Apple.

The conference lasted Thurs - Saturday and we each signed up for 5 (2-3 hour) seminars plus access to the expo tradeshow room, where we were completely overwhelmed and inundated with photography equipment and accessories you had no idea existed nor did you realize you desperately NEEDED until visiting the show. Please click here to see what kind of crazy schtuff is really out there! Wow. If you scroll down while in that link, you'll see one of the ginormous Canon lenses we got to try out. Can you imagine your wedding photographer bringing that guy along? We could probably shoot your wedding from another church down the street!

Some of the seminar speakers we had the pleasure of listening to were Jasmine Star, Catherine Hall, National Geographic photographer Gerd Ludwig, Michael Grecco, Elizabeth Messina, and more. Not all of the photogs specialized in Wedding Photography, so it was really enlightening to hear about the other facets of the industry, especially the stories of where their travels have taken them through photojournalism for magazines and commercial work. I like the way Catherine Hall summed up her journey in photography..."The only person who can truly limit you and what you're capable of...is YOU!" Isn't that always the case? The common denominator we identified in all these great photographers was an unrelenting belief and trust in oneself even when they had bouts of self-doubt or others told them they couldn't do it. They each made resolute decisions to accept failures and keep taking risks. Their complete and utter passion for documenting history through imagery, preserving memory through the language of photography, and genuine curiosity for each of their subjects was very inspiring. Some of the wedding photography images, especially ones from Elizabeth Messina and Catherine Hall, were so stunning and beautiful I almost cried a little bit during their slideshow presentations. Now that is a great photographer! Evoking such powerful emotion through each photograph that it immediately makes you consider your own relationships with loved ones. They were so tenderly captured with an honest, quiet humility. This is what it's all about at the end of the day.

Enough rambling! In short...we have been INSPIRED! Bring on 2011. We're ready for ya! :)

And now a little glimpse from our trip in NYC. We seriously walked the whole city over a few times accidentally but we saw it all.

(below...us with Jasmine Star...she's adorable!)

View from our hotel, The New Yorker...

Tess striking a pose in Times Square

This is truly the city that never sleeps! We were shopping in Times Square at 1 a.m.! Where else can you do that? And more importantly, why not in Colorado??

Traveling is one of my favorite things in the world...and with that enjoyment comes sampling the city's best food! Tess and I had dinner at an NYC landmark... America's First Pizzeria, Lombardi's. Delicious. However, Marco's Coal Fired Pizza on Larimer Street in Denver is still our favorite! (try the Abruzzo and Nutella pizza and you'll know what we mean)

(below) Bryant Park at night...Fashion Week anyone? Also, we saw a couple weddings going on there during the evenings. What an amazing venue! They had the ice skating rink open while we were there also. Perfect romantic date night!

We spent the majority of our time riding the subway...usually in the wrong direction. Then we'd look, completely astonished, as eight year old children boarded and knew exactly where they were headed.

Ha...more food. I think I might start a new blog on just food. This was delish falafels at a cute place called Hummus. If you couldn't guess it, the hummus was AWESOME. I think I'll come back to NYC just to eat more food! They have the best of everything. Fo real.

And, naturally, we had to squeeze in a photo shoot in Central Park while in NYC! We will share a separate post on this shortly... Thanks to Karina & Brett for being so garsh darn cute!

Tess...in an Empire State of Mind?

If you're looking for good people watching, apart from airports, I would recommend Central Park.

(below) We got to meet up with a college friend, Matt Foster! You're welcome for posting this lovely shot! :)

(below) Tess, myself, and Karina, the best nyc tourguide.

We happened to be in town for Halloween and decided to join the city's festivities. Yes, we know we're ridiculous. But we have a good time. I know...sweet costumes, right?

Shot from Roosevelt Island looking towards Manhattan. Thanks to Jake & Justin for taking us out on the town! 

Tess, myself, Justin (Ghostbuster), and Jake (Johnny Cash)This is the part it got crazy...we decided to stop in on a warehouse costume party in Brooklyn. Not use to the party scene, Brooklyn style. And this is the part where the photojournalist in Tess broke loose!

Now concluding the longest blog post ever. Thank you for your time and interest :)

-Stay classy, NYC.

A short & sweet love story...

Grooveshark.com...best music streaming! {Denver Wedding Photographers}

Okay, my friend just shared this awesome website with me that is similar to Pandora.com but better. If you're ever at work, cleaning house, editing thousands of images in one sitting and need some good tunes, you need to check out www.grooveshark.com.  You can customize your own playlists that you can save for future listening and also share with your friends. Just name the artist, album, or song and they have it!

We've had a lot of great feedback about the music on our Love•n•Joy photography website. People asking if we make "mix tapes" ;), etc.... Wellllll, we are flattered people are diggin our music selections. They are always pretty off the radar types of bands (or up-and-coming) and we love that they're not overplayed on the radio just yet.

When you get back from a wedding or event and there are thousands of images waiting for you to edit, you always plan on sitting at your computer for a reeeeeallly looooong time. Awesome, uplifting music that keeps you motivated and inspired always makes a difference.

Well, long story short, the wonderful people at Grooveshark.com have created a little widget that we've added to our blog so that we're able to share all those great tunes we're listening to from week to week as we continue to work away. You might think our music choices are a little weird (they usually are pretty obscure) but we'll put them out there for you to try, nonetheless! Maybe they'll make you get up and shake your bon-bon a lil or at least do a shoulder shrug, toe tap?

The widget is located on our sidebar...so look to your bottom right and you'll see it....hit Play!

We'll be updating our playlist continually, so stay tuned and enjoyyyyyyy :)

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.  
~Berthold Auerbach

Trouble Sleeping? Blog all about it!

Okay, so now I have devised a wonderful solution to those sleepless nights when I just can't seem to turn my brain OFF. I will gather all those random ideas that seem to endlessly bounce around in my head, preventing Z's, and put them to good use. Why not write on our blog instead of incessantly fighting off what could be very profound thinking at 12:35 am? Brilliant!

Hmm, don't get your hopes up about the profound part, but at least I can release some of this nocturnal energy (where was this at 8 am?) via a productive outlet.

The following are some of the random thoughts I had this evening (now morning) while looking up at our blinds and wishing the streetlights weren't so annoyingly bright and wondering why we chose to live in a townhouse that sits alongside a continually bustling city street:

• I recently crowd surfed for the first time in my life this past weekend. A group of us made the journey to Aspen to get there just in time to stand in 30 degree weather where my much adored indie-rock band Vampire Weekend would be playing at a small downtown intersection.

Notice lead singer Ezra Koenig's breath in the following photo:

     Photo by Michael McGrath. Denver Post.


No one seemed to mind the cold, most were pretty warmed up courtesy of the nearby Budlight stands, and VW put on an amazing show. They are one of those bands where once you see them live, your loyalty becomes solidified tenfold. 


Back to my crowd surfing moment (see how one thought can take you on a completely different, irrational course? I know, it's called ADHD. I need to see a professional). 

So, I would have never agreed to crowd surf if asked because simply put, it is dangerous and ya, you rely 100% on the attentiveness of complete strangers to keep you from really breaking something. A friend of mine decided not to give me a choice in the matter and being a little person, it was easy for him to heft me into the air. Before I realized what was going on, I was raised higher and higher and began to drift atop the swaying crowd and glistening lights, Ezra Koening growing larger and larger as I moved toward the stage. It was a pretty surreal moment. I gave into the crowd, cocking my head back and stretching out my limbs. I floated for what felt like an eternity then somehow I was gently set down back where my group remained. And ya, I couldn't stop smiling. That was fun. 


So let me bring this back around full circle. Tonight I was thinking about the timeline of our photography business and how it is growing much more quickly than I would have ever imagined for this first humble year in CO. I was wondering what and who could be responsible for this increase in our emerging Denver presence (I always say it's my Mom watching out for me) then an interesting metaphor became to materialize as I was simultaneously thinking, "Wow, crowd surfing is ridiculously awesome and that concert was totally worth the drive." All those little helping hands pushing you along unselfishly to greater heights. It made me realize what an odd concept that is and how blessed Tess and I have been out here thus far and how blessed we were where we came from as well. I attribute every goal we attain to hardwork, unrelenting passion and genuinely good people who stand by us. Whether it be the support, love, and generosity of our parents, families, and dear friends (and of course you, Jared), or other established industry professionals who are taking the time to share their words of wisdom and graciously telling others about us; bottom line = we are unbelievably blessed and grateful. 


Thank you to those that continue to lift us up as we pursue our love and joy in life. 


One more random thought I must release immediately; while Tess and I worked at a local coffee shop downtown today, a very peculiar, rambling homeless woman decided to sit at our table and divulge her life story and philosophies to us. Among her stories, which most probably aren't appropriate to share publicly, I keep thinking about how she declared that we are the only ones who can limit ourselves and our minds. No one else can do that to us. We will go as far as we believe we can. Good thought, lady. One rational thought amidst the chaotic spouting. 


K, now I'm tired. Buenas noches mis amigas. There will be more midnight ranting to come :) Instead of a quote, I bid thee goodnight with a little lullably from Vampire Weekend called Diplomat's Son.





xoxo
~KP

Chicken Soup for the Photographer's Soul

As creative professionals, we have an affinity for continually scoping out new sources of inspiration that spark our imagination or just pull us in emotionally.

Today I'll just keep it simple and provide you with a few of our faves...


itsonlythewind Blog
Check out http://brokenmachine.tumblr.com/. It's a pretty inspiring blog that contains daily photographs and corresponding quotes. Not sure who the author is yet, but it's durn good!

Brian Andreas - artist & storyteller
http://www.storypeople.com/storypeople/Home.do
I came across this guy's work as my mother and I traveled from Orlando, Florida to Madison, OH two years ago. We made a stop at a restaurant in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia (home to a lot of talented, unique artists) where Brian's work was on display. In short, his stuff is colorful, crazy imaginative, and whimsical with each image containing simple poetic truths about life, love, relationships.

Read below some of my favorites of his:


No Words
I read once that the ancient Egyptians had fifty words for sand & the Eskimos had a hundred words for snow. I wish I had a thousand words for love, but all that comes to mind is the way you move against me while you sleep & there are no words for that.

Real Reason

There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good.