james christianson - the blog

photo of the week #4

this photo is from a wedding i shot this last summer.  the wedding was to be held in a beautiful meadow up in the mountains.  unfortunately, it rained like crazy for most of the day.  jen & jj were composed and didn't let a little rain ruin their day.  they were lots of fun and they are a couple who are always up for some adventure, so we borrowed this umbrella from someone and headed out into the rain.  i think these photos are fun, romantic and timeless.  thanks for being so willing to take on the rain jen and jj.  you guys are awesome.

my boys first real photo shoot

yesterday i was able to photograph my own son in a truly unformal formal (my style isn't too formal) portrait session.  it was like shooting for another photographer only worse...i had to live up to my own expectations which is never good.  in the end, i got some images i was happy with.  we had some fun with him while he still can't get too mad at us.  anyway, here are the photos.  by the way, if you don't think he is just absolutely cutest kid on the planet...keep it to yourself...i'm a proud daddy. 

in our room.

the book shelves in my office.

the dresser drawer in ian's room.

our boy is here!

some of you may know that my wife has been pregnanat.  well, we finally had our little boy. his name is IAN JAMES CHRISTIANSON and he is sooo perfect.  we couldn't be happier.  if anyone would like to check up on his progress you can check him out here:  ian christianson  here are just a few photos taken the day he was born.

jenn & kyle engagement shoot

on monday i had the opportunity to meet up with jenn & kyle in boulder. they are in from boston for the week to try and nail down all of their wedding plans.  the lighting was tough as it was pretty close to noon but we ran around found some color and had a lot of fun.  kyle even put up with me telling him he had a "cute" smile!  oops!  i don't know what came over me.  i know guys are supposed to say that kind of thing to other guys.  we decided right then and there that we would go chop down some trees or some other manly pursuit.  thanks kyle for being such a good sport and putting up with me.  here are some of my favorites:

i have used a couple of photoshop techniques on the last couple of photos that really make things look old and antique...i had fun playing around.

my favorite

photo of the week #3

here's the story.  there isn't one.  well maybe.  this photo was shot at mike colon's 4-day intensive workshop.  part of the workshop was too shoot with mike colon.  the cool thing about this particular model is that she is also a photographer.  her name is jasmine star and she is as talented behind the camera as she is in front of the camera.  if you are in southern california, definitely check out her site.  it was a fun day of shooting her and her twin sister on the beach.  i just absolutely love this look with the wind blowing her hair...very fashion modelish, except we weren't using a fan. : )  check it out.

maddie & olivia

i love my job.  that is what i have been thinking all week after photographing these two amazing little girls.  unlike adults...little people love to have their photograph taken and these two were no exception.  they were so excited when i came to the house, they even had their own ideas about what pictures we should take.  maddie ran to get her favorite doll so she could be in the photos too, then dragged me to the piano so i could take pictures of her playing.  we even got to break some of the house rules by jumping on the bed (thanks carey).  i laughed a lot during the shoot and then i have been laughing for last couple of days as i edited the photos...what can i say?  i love my job.  thanks girls.  i'll stop writing now and just let you see some photo:

oh, you can see a slide show here

cassie

on monday i photographed little cassie for her one year old portraits.  she is arguably one of the cutest kids in the entire world and i'm sure her parents would agree.  she is quite the live wire, wiggling and giggling and crawling all over the place.  she was such a breathe of fresh air for me to photograph...so fun.  thanks guys.  here's a couple photos from the shoot:

photo shoot of the little wifey

well, my wife charlene is literally days away from having our little boy ian.  yesterday we went to the boulder creek trail to do some walking (she is trying to hurry things along) and take some last photos before she pops.  charlene is amazing, she walked 2.5 miles on saturday and then 3 miles yesterday.  she has also been riding her bike trainer 3-4 days a week for her entire pregnancy, that includes this last week which was her 38th week of pregnancy.  she never ceases to amaze.  here is  a few shots from yesterday.

rockstars

chris and katie humprheys the rock star wedding photographers from santa barbara were in denver this weekend to shoot a wedding.  we were fortunate enough to meet up with them on their whirl wind tour of colorado.  jenna, matt and katie of jenna walker photography (all three of them rock star photographers in their own right) also graced us with their presence.  it was a fun evening with good, down-to-earth people, talking about photography, my favorite type of evening.  my wife made it another evening without popping out our son who is due any day now!  can't wait.

a photo of the group:

we've moved

into the living room that is.  we woke up yesterday to a house that was hovering around 53 degrees, because of a broken furnace...!#@$#@!  it is still getting down around 25 degrees at night here in colorado, that's cold without heat.  fortunately our gas fireplace is still working so i ripped the mattress off the bed and threw it in the living room.  charlene is due to have our baby here any day so she needs to be comfortable.  anyway, here's a couple photos of the setup.

oh and by the way for any of you who are photographers, or business owners of any kind.  if you take a close look on the bed you will see the latest book that i am reading.  "selling the invisible" by harry beckwith. it is one of the best books on marketing and selling in the service industry that i have read so far...check it out, you'll be glad you did.

photo of the week #2

i am so sick of winter...just when we thought we might see spring coming we get dumped on again!  i shot this photo of andrea & shawn last summer.  boulder resevoir was lush and green and it was sooo warm.  andrea and shawn played in this field just behind the resevoir where they met.  it was so beautiful and warm.  did i mention it was summer?  it was so warm!