Gracie wanted her senior portraits taken at the Seven Minute Spring Park gazebo... beautiful place. Except that on the day of her shoot it was under renovation AND there was a triathalon course going right around it. Bummer. But was she dissuaded? Not at all! We went directly to downtown Manitou Springs and had a wonderful time capturing Gracie's loveliness and personality. Then off to Bear Creek Park, where it turns out there were no bears or creeks that we saw...but perhaps that's because we were fixed on this lovely young lady.
Nathan is a good man. Yes, man... packaged as a high school senior. Already, he so much maturity, drive and kindness. We were so impressed, we paid mom, Pam, as high a compliment as we could think of—that we hope our boys would grow up to show the same character as her son. Best wishes to you Nathan—we really enjoyed getting to know you.
Kayleigh does this thing before she starts a race. She jumps up and down a few times and then runs in place. At first glance, you may think she's dancing...or possessed. What she's doing is preparing... mentally... physically... to beat you. It's her ritual. When she's not beating you, you may see her being her naturally beautiful self. We saw both. And took pictures.
Do you remember the cotton commercials with the models who had blond hair, looked squeaky clean and the best skin ever? Megan would have been a perfect candidate for those ads, if it hadn't been some twenty years before her time (but we remember!). Megan is also a trooper - braving fields full of pricklies in flip flops and standing in icy water in front of Helen Hunt Falls...in the rain. She was brilliant! We wish her all the best for her senior year!
This is Divyanka, an award-winning performer of Bharatantyam, a style of Indian Classical Dance. Divyanka arrived to her session in costume, which was quite intricate and beautiful, as you can see (she told me later it takes over an hour to put on). Then she and her mother began to apply the red paint (alta) to her feet and hands. Once this was done and she was ready, we made some traditional portraits, and then Divyanka began to execute a series of precise poses, expressions and gestures—each combination of which has a different meaning. When I showed her the finished pictures, I asked her whether she was evaluating them on how she looked in general or if she was evaluating how well she'd executed the poses. The latter, she said. She is seeking perfection.
