Marlene & Family Winter Park Reunion

Marlene and her family came to Fraser, just outside of Winter Park in Grand County, Colorado. Their family reunion included relatives from all over the country and as close as Golden, Colorado. Here are a few of my favorite portraits from our photo session in the mountains.

Dancing with the Mountain Stars 2010

The professional dancers perform together.

Check out the rest of the photos here:

See the full album from the 2010 event here.

See the full album from the 2009 event here.

Galleries will be available online for a limited time. Prints and personal use downloads are available via the links.

Dancers in the green room, getting ready for the show.

This year's "Dancing with the Mountain Stars" event was held on September 25, 2010 at theKeystone Conference Center. I had a great time as the event photographer and got to meet and dance with lots of fun Summit County locals! The venue had great stage lighting, which is always a fun challenge to shoot, as the lighting is constantly changing.

Jody Thompson of St. Anthony Summit Medical Center & Gerard Heintz.

Gary Wilkinson & Stella Choe

Karn Stiegelmeier & Damian Gomez

Alton Scales of CMC & Stella Choe

Kate Brewer of Slifer, Smith and Frampton & Lucas Raynaud

Co-MC Teresa Moen

Kelly Pesto of More Space Place & Michael Riccio

Breckenridge Mayor and Dentist Dr. John Warner & Choreographer/Dancer Mandy Moore wait for results from the judges.

Mandy Moore

Steve Corneiller & Jessica Reely

Johanna & Chad at the dance party!

The Keystone Conference Center staff.

Flowers for the participants.

Watching the show.

This event, produced by the Summit Medical Center Health Foundation, is a fundraiser for St. Anthony Medical Center & Hospital in Frisco.

Domus Pacis Family Photos and New Revelations

Domus Pacis (Latin for House of Peace) is a non-profit that brings cancer patients and their families to the mountains for a bit of peace and rest. Family portraits are often provided, and Domus Pacis asked me to volunteer to take some photos of one of the families.

Goran was diagnosed with grade IV brain cancer in November, and came up to Breckenridge with his wife Mirjana, and their son, for about a week. We shot at the BOEC Griffith Lodge and Old Town Resevoir with the mountains and aspen groves as a backdrop. After an hour or so with the family, I got to know a bit more about their story, and it's an understatement to say that I'm moved and inspired by their journey.

Mirjana emigrated from Bosnia about 20 years ago, and Goran fled to the United States 6 years after that as a refugee. They met in Boston at a conference, and now have a beautiful 3-year-old son.

Goran and Mirjana both work with refugees in the Denver area. We started chatting about Shoot Cameras Not Guns and my work teaching photography as a tool for empowerment and social change. Goran told me that with all the refugees he's met, the things (besides family) that people regret leaving the most is photographs. It hit me really hard, this re-affirmation of how powerful the medium of photography can be, and a few hours later a potentially life-changing brainstorm popped into my head.

So, let me introduce to you the newest branch of Shoot Cameras Not Guns. In addition to teaching photography for empowerment, I would like to PROVIDE photography as a source of healing for refugees. I'm going to round up my network of great photographers, much like Domus Pacis does, and provide family portraits for refugees resettled in new lives. Let me know if you'd like to help families create new memories.

Many thanks to this inspirational family.

It's time to start fresh.

Fun in the Woods

While working at the Body Mind Restoration Retreat, in Spencer, New York (also known as the Ithaca Zen Center), my friend Kyla and I decided to rock tutus and parasols and take some photos in the woods.

You can view the whole album here and photos of the retreat here. It's an amazing place, focusing on cleansing the body of toxins and disease through an alkaline, raw food diet.

More Photos.... Breck Outhouse Races & Kingdom Days!!!

The winning (pirate) team of the 2010 Breckenridge Outhouse Races.

Each year, the town of Breckenridge, Colorado celebrates "Kingdom Days," a tribute to a tiny loophole that left Breck as a "Kingdom" instead of part of the United States. (Take that, Boulder!) The weekend offered free mining tours including the Lomax Mine, the Washington Gold and Silver mine among others. There was a free petting zoo and burro rides from Laughing Valley Ranch, kid's art workshops in the Arts District, walking tours of historical downtown, gunfights from Gold Canyon Gunfighters and... oh, did I mention THE OUTHOUSE RACES?! For those of you who read the previous post, you know I got a little too close, trying to get "the shot" and, yes, I got hit by an outhouse. Hard. No, I did not get too hurt, no my cameras did not break, and no, there was NO poo in the outhouse.

View the full gallery here.

"Redtail" the Colorado Mountain Man

Breck locals Steve Fisher and Tricia Cole.

The 2009 and 2-time winners with... "The Holy Crap."

"Poodiculous"

The Outhouse Pre-Race Parade

The pirates, getting the crowd psyched.

Fellow photographer Katie Girtman from Studio Kiva.

The Favre House.

The greeters at the Lomax Mine.

Gold Canyon Gunfighters!