Values
The value of an eternal soul, or simply a “choice”?
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Humbled by Auburn and Jason…
Auburn and Jason were married Aug. 30, and last weekend, we stopped by to show them their wedding DVD slideshow. This was the first time they had seen their images, and this was their reaction. Honestly, we’re humbled by their assessment of their experience with us, and honored that they appreciate their wedding photos so much. Thank you for the kind words, Auburn and Jason!
Our wedding photos are amazing…you truly captured the spirit of the day!! Our guests were very impressed at your ability be everywhere without drawing attention to yourself. Everyone is so relaxed and natural in the pictures! I am thrilled that I look so beautiful!! We are especially grateful for the reverence and professionalism shown at the LDS Temple. Everything went so smoothly, I felt totally at ease about the photography because I trusted you and knew you would do a great job. Also, thank you for the referrals for a dress boutique and flowers, they were both amazing!! I didn’t have to worry about those things either, because I had confidence in your judgment. During the reception, Jason said that he would already recommend you, before we even saw the photos, due to your enthusiasm, hard work and professionalism.
I know you understood what that day meant for everyone involved. When we watched the slideshow, we felt all the emotions of the day again. It is wonderful to know we will be able to reflect on our wedding for what is was, the happiest day of our lives, thanks to your beautiful work!! Some of our relatives were not able to be there, but I am confident that they will feel like they were after viewing our pictures. You met and exceeded all our expectations. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Thanks for reading.
A notable day…
Three years ago, today, we had a really bad blizzard.
The roads were all closed leading out of Colorado Springs to our neck of the woods. I don’t know what the temperature was, but it was cold. The wind was howling and the snow was horizontal.
October 10, 2005.
You may be asking how I remember all of that, and why I have a photo of our house on that morning.
Our youngest child, Jonathan, was born that day, right here in our house.
The midwife was stopped by deputies as she tried to get here. They told her that she could not come out because of the condition of the roads. Even though she explained that she had a baby to deliver, they would not let her pass, so she began coming out the backroads. About 1.5 miles from our house, she got high-centered in her little Subaru.
Kramer and I loaded shovels in the back of the 4×4 pickup (which we had nicknamed Grandma because she’s old and slow), and headed out to find Merrie the midwife. After digging her out for about an hour and realizing that we weren’t going to get her car to our house, we pulled her onto a side road, and loaded everything into the truck. The rest of the day went as planned, and Jonathan came into the world as expected. But, the road and weather conditions had gotten a lot worse, so Merrie and her assistant had to spend the night. Bright sun greeted us the next morning.
So, today, Jonathan celebrates his 3rd birthday!
Happy Birthday, Jonathan!
Thanks for reading.
Denver Zoo FREE DAY!
We love the Denver Zoo, but it’s a long way away, and it’s expensive to take a large family, so it was with much excitement that we all headed out for the Zoo’s FREE DAY!
We went with a neighbor family who has 8 children. Only 6 of them were able to go though, and we were missing one of ours, but we still had 11 children in tow around the zoo. Surprisingly, we were only asked twice if all the children were ours… it was fun to tell them that only half of them were.
It was nice and relaxing to have a day off finally. The weather was perfect; the park looked beautiful with the fall colors; and we saw everything we planned to see. It was a perfect day, and felt good to have some time away from photography. Nope… I didn’t even take my camera with me, though I did take our camcorder.
Thanks for reading.
Colorado Autumn
I cannot believe it’s already October. Where did summer go? We spent the summer photographing weddings and high school seniors, and now it’s time for family portraits. But, I did get a few opportunities to get out with the children for their “Days with Dad.” Each of the children get a turn each month to go out with me for a day and do whatever they want to do. Kramer, Benjamin, and Josiah each wanted to hike Pikes Peak. Kramer (17) and Benjamin (13) both made it all the way to the top and down, while Josiah (11) made it up, but we had to hitch a ride down. His hike was in August, but above timberline, it was snowing and 24 degrees. He was pooped, so we found a ride. Last week, I made the hike myself, and the autumn colors were great. 
This was probably the last trip of the year up Pikes Peak. If you have never made this trip, and are thinking of doing it, here are a few tips.
- Take cold and wet weather clothing. Light shells work best. I’ve been snowed and rained on in June, July, August, and September.
- September is the best time to go.
- Take lots of water and food.
- Wear good shoes or boots. The climbing is rugged. There’s only about a stretch of 3 to 3.5 miles where the trail is easy. The other 9 miles of it are moderate to difficult climbing with lots of rocks, roots, and snags. Above timberline is the hardest part. You have 3 miles of climbing over rocks so you are exterting the most at this point, PLUS, the oxygen is very thin here.
- Take lots of breaks.
- Don’t depend on someone being able to pick you up at the top. If the weather turns bad, they close the road and they don’t care what the driver’s excuse is - they won’t let cars up. If you climb to the top, and you’re expecting a ride down, be prepared to climb back down if you have to. That’s reality.
I’ve seen a lot of unprepared people try to make it to the top. There was the overweight guy from Florida who was practically crawling up the trail above timberline. Two GI’s from South Carolina who told the Barr Camp staff that they were really fit and would have no problems. When I encountered them above timberline, they only had 1.5 hours to make it to the top to catch the last train down (this was their plan). By the way they looked and the distance they had to go, I knew they wouldn’t make it. There was the 20-somethings who met me at Barr Camp on the way up. They asked me if I was headed to the top, then they said, “We’ll see you there, we’re going to beat you.” I took a half-hour break at timberline, and a half-hour break at the summit, then met them as I was coming back down. There were at least an hour behind me. Then, there were the Amish girls from Iowa who had no food, no warm clothes, and were dressed in their Amish garb. This was on the 24 degree day. I never saw them again after I passed them. 
So, go prepared! Thanks for reading. -Tracy The Colorado Springs Photographer
You didn’t have to say that…
But, we’re very glad you did!
The following is a comment that Marion and Kris posted on our old blog site that I am transferring to our new blog.
Tracy, Kris and I have been married for just over one year now. We recently got on your site to get your mailing address as we were reminiscing over wedding memories and wanted to send you another thank you. We watched the abbreviated version of our slideshow you have posted. Thank you, publicly, for providing us amazing memories we are proud to show others through your photography! It brings tears to my eyes not only to watch what you assembled in the form of a slideshow, but also the photo album you put together. I cherish what you have done for us and will contact you when we need baby photos someday! Thanks again! We love your work.
Marion and Kris
Colorado Springs, Co.
Thank you, too, Marion & Kris, for allowing us to serve you and be a part of your great day!
Thanks for reading.
SIX new kids at our place!!
Yes, you read that right. We have 6 new kids here.
Of course, they’re real kids - meaning, goats, not children. You see, aside from being a wedding and portrait photographer in the Colorado Springs area, we also have our own micro-farm. It’s just enough to provide for our own family.
Any way, we had 5 female goats (does), and 4 of them were/are pregnant. Last Wednesday morning, around 5:00, I went out to check on the goats. Behind the barn was a new little kid with its mom. Behind them was another kid and mother goat. So, I dashed back into the house to prepare two 1-gallon buckets of molasses water (molasses water provides minerals, nutrients, and energy that the mom needs after birthing).
When I returned to the barnyard, there was one kid nursing on each doe.
One doe, named Jubilee, is a light brown with a white belly (this will become important soon… keep reading). The other doe, named Achsah (pronounced Ak-sah) is dark brown with black markings. Any way, Jubilee had one and Achsah had one, and both kids were hungrily nursing.
The next day, I noticed that Achsah’s kid was showing signs of weakness. Through talking to some other goat people, we determined that she was not giving enough milk and that the kid was becoming malnourished. So I rushed off to the feed store to get all the things to deal with the situation: electrolytes for the kid, a nursing nipple and bottle, as well as some medicated balm to try to stimulate the milk production in the mom. We tried a couple times to bottle feed the kid with no success, and I couldn’t seem to get much milk out when trying to milk Achsah. Weird. Also, both sides of her udder were the same size. That’s unusual because a kid will normally have a favorite side and so we have to milk out the other side to keep production up. But, hers were balanced and not very full.
So we worried about all of this for a day, then on Friday of last week, I came up with this crazy theory. Jubilee’s kid was dark brown with black markings while Achsah’s kid was light brown with a white belly. Achsah was also still VERY wide. Combining these details with the fact that she wasn’t milking out very much led me to conclude that both babies were actually Jubilee’s and she had rejected one, and that Achsah had adopted it and was trying to nurse it, which wasn’t working well due to the fact that she hadn’t birthed yet herself. But, then we thought about that and decided that was too crazy to be true.
The next day, however, Achsah gave birth to her own set of twins! So my crazy theory had been correct. Hence, the little white-bellied goat we named Annie, after Little Orphan Annie. Now Achsah has her twins and an adopted kid to care for, Jubilee just has her one, which we named Abby (for no particular reason), and one of our other goats, Joy, has her own set of little twins. We still have one more due to deliver. I’m guessing that it will be today, and that it will also be twins.
I’ll let you know!
Thanks for reading.
Pikes Peak is trying to kill me…
I don’t know why I keep doing it… trying to climb Pikes Peak. Perhaps it’s because I am a Colorado Springs native, and I had never climbed the Peak and come back down all in one day. There was the time when I was 15 and my friends Dave and Jeff and I climbed it, but we camped overnight, went to the summit the next day and came back down.
Then, about 10 or 11 years ago, I tried it again with some different friends, but one got a very bad case of altitude sickness and we had to get him on the train and get him back down as fast as possible.
Then, 2 years ago, my oldest son, Kramer wanted to try it. After only about 4 or 5 miles, he pulled a muscle, and we had to turn around at Barr Camp (about 6.5 miles from the trailhead).
So, last year, Kramer and I tried it again. He pulled the same muscle, thought not nearly as badly. So we kept going. This trip was in September, and right before tree-line, it began to snow. Then it turned to a blizzard. Like a dummy, my warm weather clothing consisted of only a heavy cotton sweater which soaked up every snowflake. Suffice to say that with the hypothermia which was beginning to set it, that if not for the Lord’s help and the recognition that if I quit moving, things may have gotten quite ugly.
Yesterday, we made sure we had adequate clothing in case of cold weather (it snowed and temperatures were in the upper 30’s). But, about 1.5 miles from the top, a bolt of lightning came out of nowhere with no warning, and landed somewhere in the vicinity of where I was on the face of the Peak. Have you ever seen a 45 year-old man scurry like a chipmunk under a rock? That was me.
Well, we made it to the top, rested for an hour in the gift shop, then nearly ran back down the trail to get to timberline again. All the while another thunderstorm brewed at the top of the mountain. I felt like a skier trying to outrun an avalanche!
My other boys may have to find someone else to take them up this homicidal mountain!
Thanks for reading,
-Tracy
The Colorado Springs Photographer
1st Moments baby sessions
We’ve mentioned our new 1st Moments program for babies before, but, having just completed another of these, it seemed like we should mention it again.
Why? Well, I think it’s because these are such power-packed sessions. They’re filled with emotions, and when mom and dad see these shows, it’s like no other portrait type they can get.
What is our 1st Moments program? It’s an intimate, natural, and relaxed photography session of the new parents and their baby. We intentionally keep it simple so that we capture all the emotions and expressions that will mean so much to the family. We love it when the parents invite other members of the family to come over. It just adds that much more emotion and meaning to the show.
You can see a sample of the most recent 1st Moments session we did with baby Grace, and her proud parents, Carlton and Tonya.
This is definitely a type and style of photography that I’m passionate about. First, it’s because I understand the value of children to loving parents. As you may already know from reading my web site, I have 6 children of my own.
Second, this is something I love to do because I have seen what these shows mean to the parents. I’ve never been hugged so much as I am when I come over and show a mom (and dad, too!!) the slideshow of their 1st Moments session.
Enjoy the show, and if you are expecting a baby soon, or you know someone who is, please contact us about doing a 1st Moments Baby Portrait photography session. If you would like, you may reach us at 719-749-0043, or by simply Emailing us.
Thanks for reading,
Extreme Seniors
We just announced a brand new portrait session for our Colorado Springs, and
Front Range high school seniors for their Senior photography and portraits.
We call it our EXTREME session, and we’re looking for 2 young people, a male
and a female, to do a session with and we’ll do it completely free and we’ll
even give you a great 10×20 mounted wall poster from your session, also for
free! What’s the catch? No catch. Really. We’re just starting this type of session
and we want to have some samples to show to our 2009 prospective clients. What’s
an EXTREME portrait session? Pick your favorite activity: mountain biking, rock
climbing, bungee jumping… whatever. Many photographers will do a session with
you with some of your gear from your activity. You know… you with your bike.
That’s OK, but we’re proposing to do the senior’s photography while he or she
is actively participating in the activity. That’s right. We’ll come to Garden
of the Gods with you and get some great photos of you rock climbing. We’ll head
to the trails with you to get some fantastic portraits of you on your mountain
bike. So, now you can have some portraits that are truly YOU. So, we’re looking
for a male and female model to let us do a session of you in your activity.
Again, we’ll do the session for free (some qualifications and restrictions have
to apply), and then we’ll design and give you a 10×20 mounted wall poster for
free. Interested in being one of our models? Give us a call. We’ll get some
information from you and see if we can make it happen. Are you a 2009 senior
interested in having an EXTREME session done for your senior portrait photography?
For seniors who call us to book an EXTREME portrait session for this summer,
if you call or email us BEFORE JUNE 25, we’ll take 33% off the session fee.
Contact us before JUNE 25 to get this discount. After June 25, our normal session
fee will apply.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear from you!
-Tracy