Clockwise from top-left is Charles Lee, founder of Ideation, Ben Keesey, CEO of Invisible Children, Greg Russinger, founder of JustOne, and Scott Harrison, founder of Charity:Water. (Photos shot with the 85mm f1.8…yes, this was THAT intimate!)

This is Jake Harriman, founder and CEO of Nuru.  His story is incredible…after his second combat tour in Iraq, he left the Marines and devoted his life to humanitarian work to fight terrorism from a different angle…by combating extreme poverty, lack of education, and injustice.  Why highlight him over so many other inspiring, high-capacity individuals?  We went to lunch!

The strength of Ideation was in the numbers…20 speakers, maybe 200 participants.  Not only did we get to hear these amazing individuals, we rubbed shoulders, picked their brains, dined with, and formed relationships. I have never been in a situation where I was surrounded by such high-capacity and high-impact people…people that put their brand to the side in order to focus on changing the world.

It’s easy (at least for me) to get wrapped up in ME. The problems of our day are so much smaller than problems of others…I know that I have lunch waiting for me soon. This experience helped keep my heart in check. I, of course, pass on that challenge to you. ESPECIALLY if you are a photographer with God-given talent…be a super hero and use that talent to benefit others.

What I loved was watching Laura stealing glances at Chris all day…

More photos from their Chicago engagement session can be viewed here on Facebook.

This man has been at the top, and been at the bottom. If you’ve got some time on your lunch break, check out this commencement address by Steve Jobs.

1. Connect the dots from your past to see where you are now…have confidence the dots will connect in your future.
2. Do what you believe is great work by doing what you love. If you haven’t found what you love yet, don’t settle.
3. Ask yourself in the morning, if today was the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today?

Stay hungry, stay foolish.

This is Christion & Megan. Christion is a romantic. Christion flew out to Denver from San Luis Obisbo for a secret proposal. Megan’s neighbors let him in to her apartment while she was away, and Christion proceeded to cover a wall with photographs of the two of them. When Megan came home, Christion proposed, she said YES.

Later, we all went out for sushi and celebrated!

By knowing the runner’s pace beforehand, you can estimate where in the 26.2 miles you will be able to see them. We caught Lindsay and Carrie about halfway through the race. (Yes, this is THE Carrie that has helped me photograph many incredible weddings over the years)

The cheering section includes my mom, our best friends in the world Mike & Erin, and their newest addition, little Jonah. (Jonah gets the most attention from the ladies)

Wearing your name gets you lots of encouragement throughout the race as spectators can cheer you on.

I’m currently teaching Jonah to be the world’s next great drummer. Ladies love drummers, and the world has too many guitarists.

Farewell Chicago.

Lindsay, Carrie, and their mother finished the race with a better time from the year before. While Lindsay was putting in the hours in order to train for the Marathon, she was also working full-time on her Masters Degree, mentoring a teen, and working for a Denver non-profit. She earned straight A’s this quarter. What is she doing today? Leaving for Africa for the next couple weeks. Please pray for her as she helps work for economic stability and conservation, even including de-snareing animal traps set by poachers.

Since moving to Denver a few years ago, I’ve been organizing a lunch each month with some of the best, male photographers around. Being in the wedding industry, it is fun for just the guys to get together and chill. During our off-season we wanted to mix things up a bit and have some creative time in the studio. Hence, Boys Lunch: After Dark was born including pizza, cameras, lights, beautiful models, and one late night.

Enjoy a little video of all the talented photogs in action…taken with the Kodak Zx1 pocket HD cam.

Eat pizza, stay up late, photograph.

This is Natalie, my newest little cousin.

This is my mom, passing along the toys I played with as a kid…tupperware.

“stay bright, little fireflies…make light before my eyes” -saosin

Sending some love back to Style Me Pretty… recently Abby featured Brooke & Edouard’s beautiful Aspen wedding on her industry leading boutique style blog.  In addition to James Christianson’s killer photos, she featured my Super 8 video along with some very kind words.  Check out her Super 8 post here, and the wedding’s other posts featuring James here and here.

Ammar’s family is from India.

Monica’s family is from Columbia.

As the ceremony began at this beautiful location, Monica & Ammar’s personality began to shine through in a way I had not seen before. The ceremony was written in Dr. Suess style rhyming, and just as the guests started to catch on, the surprise hats came out to drive the point home.

The Shadows Ranch property is just beautiful, and very close to Denver.

My favorite part of the day was the toasts. It was a loving and multilingual convergence of different cultures sharing in the same joy and celebration.

And man, this group could dance.

Blessings in Chicago, Monica & Ammar.

**Special thanks to Eric Bakken for catching so many great photos**