It was 6am in October and I woke up to a text message from my sister, Sara. Sara and her husband, Jeff are pretty much the best people ever and they travel the world. They are the reason why my wife and I have a huge love of traveling and we traditionally have always been looking forward to “the next trip” with them… then we had kids and the game changed. Don’t get me wrong, we still travel, but we hadn’t both been out of the country together since our first child was born in August of 2014. So when I leaned over and read the message from Sara asking if we wanted $400 round trip tickets to Paris, a rush of excitement was then followed the harsh reality that it probably wasn’t going to happen. Especially since Sara told us it was a limited offer and we would need to decide within the next 8 hours.
Rikki + Rian // Beachmere Inn // Ogunquit, Maine
I met Rikki and Rian this last fall. They live in Portland, OR (my hometown) and Rikki works with my wife at Comcast. They took a chance at having a photographer from a different state capture their engagement and wedding photos because they said they "wanted to support someone they knew personally." I liked them already. Being from Portland gave us a chance to have something in common right off the bat but before I flew out to PDX to capture their engagement session, I truly had no idea what kind of friendship laid ahead.
The Cuba Blog
I love to travel and I've thought about going to Cuba for a long time. The culture, music, sights, colonial buildings, the people... I could go on and on. The country did not disappoint. I got back a week ago and I can't wait for the next trip there. I don't know when but I will be going back one day. It was important to me to go now because the resorts and American money are literally laying in wait which will more than likely take away from the beautiful culture... in my opinion.
Costa Rica Day 5 + 6 // Quepos // Blue Hole Dominical
So, I'm back in Denver but my mind is still in Costa Rica. So much sympathy from you all, I know. I'm writing this blog in particular a little late because I wanted Kristin and Rick's wedding blog to get the priority. That was the whole reason I was out there in the first place so I guess I should post some pictures of them too.
Kristin + Rick // Costa Rica Destination Wedding
The last few days you've probably seen some blogs and posts from Brian Mallik and I in Costa Rica. Well, the only reason why we were down there in the first place is because two great people fell in love and decided to get married in a pretty rad place, Costa Rica. Meet Kristin and Rick. Kristin was my neighbor when my wife Alysen and I got married in Costa Rica over 4 years ago. She met Rick a few years back and fell in love pretty quickly. I mean, who couldn't love the funny, genuine and positive person that Rick is! I got a text message last June from Kristin saying she was engaged and planning a wedding in Costa Rica... my initial selfish thoughts were if I was going to be able to go. She answered that thought immediately by asking me to shoot the wedding. After hard deliberation of .5 seconds I said yes.
Costa Rica Day 4 // Nauyaca Waterfalls // Dominical
After settling into the villa with everyone, Brian and I went down south about an hour to the trail of the Nauyaca Waterfalls. We drove on the trail until you couldn't drive anymore and then headed up towards the falls. The hike was about 2.5 miles straight up and was arguably the toughest thing I had done since being in Costa Rica. It wasn't the hike itself, although that was tough too. What made the hike tough was the heat. I felt like I had never sweat that much in my whole life. We finally get to the top and there it was... one of the best adventures I'll ever have.
Costa Rica Day 3 // Monkey Business // K+R Portrait Session
Day 3 in Costa Rica was a little less hectic. Brian and I woke up, drank some coffee, edited some and then the monkeys showed up… They arrive every morning without fail to get their daily rations of bananas and photographs before continuing on their day. They got their fill and with full bellies scurried off. Brian and I then headed out to scout for the portrait session later in the day with Kristin and Rick. We scouted a beach called Playa Biesanz which is much less crowded than the main beach in Manuel Antonio. After we scouted and shot around a bit, we saw some people from the wedding on the beach and we purposefully got distracted with some “Guaro Sours”. Not a bad afternoon to say the least.
Costa Rica Day 2 // Catarata del Toro Waterfall // Manuel Antonio
Yesterday we woke up early and left our hotel in Alajuela for good and headed out towards our next destination... Catarata del Toro Waterfall. About an hour and a half north, the trek in the morning was beautiful and arrived at the waterfall in no time. After paying a small entrance fee, we grabbed a couple walking sticks and started off on the 1000 meter trail (3280 feet) to view Costa Rica's largest waterfall from the base.
Costa Rica - Day 1 // Poas Volcano // Barva Volcano
My two friends Kristin and Rick and getting married in Manuel Antonio in Central Pacific area of Costa Rica and I'm lucky enough to shoot it. In fact, I'm so lucky, they decided to have a 2nd shooter and I brought the one.. the only... Brian Mallik. Brian and I decided to have a two day adventure before meeting up with everyone back down in Manuel Antonio. We got a little hotel in Alajuela called La Rosa de America and it's rad. At breakfast I remembered how amazing and fresh the fruit is. After a few cups of coffee we headed out to Poas Volcano.
New York City
New York is an incredible place. Overwhelming... but incredible. The first day or so I found myself thinking "you can have this place", but then you get used the insane amount of people, the subway system and you've had pizza two or three times and the city starts to grow on you.