Bill + Kate

There are moments in every wedding that show the personality of the bride and groom. For Bill and Kate, it was easy to pick out the highlights of the day - from cartwheels to crossed eyes - because they are two of the most fun people I've ever met. 

I met Bill a couple years back while working at Internet Startup #1 and we hit it off immediately. He is super high energy and super duper nice. When I finally met Kate (she was still living in NYC at the time I met Bill), I was floored at 1.) how stunningly beautiful she was and 2.) how the two of them went together like peas and carrots. They both seem to ooze personality and happiness and kindness. I always seem to be all smiles around them. Their wedding day was no different. Set against the stunningly beautiful backdrop of Crested Butte, Colorado (which just happened to be at peak wildflower season... yeah!), this wedding produced some huge, all teeth, wide lipped smiles.  

Cheers to Bill and Kate and the all teeth smiles!

Tour de France 2013

Every year I work with Full Cycle to deliver their regional commercial to air during the Tour de France. This year's 0:30 spot came to me in the moments just before I was fully awake in the morning. I wanted to make the bike build seem magical. I wanted the parts to dance. So, with the help of some very dear friends, we made it happen. Full Cycle's bikes came to life on their own.

Saturday was the first day of the Tour de France 2013. Saturday's prologue marks the beginning of nearly a month's worth of early mornings sipping coffee (for Bryan... coffee makes me jittery) on the couch, while watching the best of the best road racers during the hardest 3 weeks of the year. Ah, bikes.

Along with the inevitable crashes, KOM points, and the sprint finishes comes my annual participation in the tour: The Full Cycle TDF Commercial.

This year, the idea came in the waking hours of the morning - you know those moments when your bed is most comfortable and you could lie under the covers forever. I wanted the bike-building process to be magical. So that's what we did.

With the help of two super good friends - Jamie Emerson and Valerie Much - the bike parts came to life, including the last, signature touch for shop - the Full Cycle sticker. Magnifique!

Kiel + Jordan

Jordan Olmsted is my best friend. She has been a very big part of my life for the better part of a decade. Neighbor to roommate, acquaintance to true confidant. She knows everything there is to know about me - my favorite colors, what makes my heart soar, and when I just need a shoulder to cry on. Likewise, I know many a thing about Jordan that most do not. It is an honor. On October 27th Jordan got married. A large contingent of Boulder-folk found ourselves on a flight to the Pacific Northwest - Canada, pretty much - to watch our best friends get hitched. The location and decor were unforgettable, the ceremony was incomparable to any wedding I've ever witnessed, and the love bursting out of Jordan and Kiel as they said their personal vows could have unfrozen the polar ice caps. Here's our journey to their wedding. From the Boulder group, with love, to you - Jordan and Kiel. May you both forever see stars in each other's eyes, drink plenty of tea and honey together, and continue on with the overwhelming love you felt the first time you met.

Jordan Olmsted is my best friend. She has been a very big part of my life for the better part of a decade. Neighbor to roommate, acquaintance to true confidant. She knows everything there is to know about me - my favorite colors, what makes my heart soar, and when I just need a shoulder to cry on. Likewise, I know many a thing about Jordan that most do not. It is an honor.

Last week Jordan got married. Here's a little bit to catch you up, if you don't know the story already...

Jordan has always been one for romantic movies (especially anything that is so old I don't know the actors' names), so I should have known that Kiel and Jordan's relationship was destined to play out as such when they had a quick night of heart-pounding, love-stewing, mind-altering chatting and cuddling only to be followed by Jordan's swift 6-week departure to France shortly thereafter. I should have known when they rendezvous'ed  at the airport. I should have known after the first time Kiel made Jordan a cup of tea (with plenty of honey... because that's one of her favorite things in the world) that their love was like an old-time flick. But, as real life would have it, they have seen their ups and they have seen their downs and they have grown even closer and stronger together. Which is better than any movie, if you ask me.

Kiel - who I met in college through Bryan - emailed me just over a year ago asking to help choose a ring for Jordan. A little under two months later, they went to dinner for her 25th birthday, drank a bottle of Jordan Cabernet (as she will say, is her namesake), and he found himself on one knee asking Jordan to spend the rest of their lives together. Jordan was ecstatic and of course said yes - sorry for lack of romantic detail, I only saw them after dinner. (On a side note, it was extremely difficult to keep that exciting of a secret from my best friend.)

Jordan Olmsted is my best friend. She has been a very big part of my life for the better part of a decade. Neighbor to roommate, acquaintance to true confidant. She knows everything there is to know about me - my favorite colors, what makes my heart soar, and when I just need a shoulder to cry on. Likewise, I know many a thing about Jordan that most do not. It is an honor.

Last week Jordan got married. Here's a little bit to catch you up, if you don't know the story already...

Jordan has always been one for romantic movies (especially anything that is so old I don't know the actors' names), so I should have known that Kiel and Jordan's relationship was destined to play out as such when they had a quick night of heart-pounding, love-stewing, mind-altering chatting and cuddling only to be followed by Jordan's swift 6-week departure to France shortly thereafter. I should have known when they rendezvous'ed  at the airport. I should have known after the first time Kiel made Jordan a cup of tea (with plenty of honey... because that's one of her favorite things in the world) that their love was like an old-time flick. But, as real life would have it, they have seen their ups and they have seen their downs and they have grown even closer and stronger together. Which is better than any movie, if you ask me.

Kiel - who I met in college through Bryan - emailed me just over a year ago asking to help choose a ring for Jordan. A little under two months later, they went to dinner for her 25th birthday, drank a bottle of Jordan Cabernet (as she will say, is her namesake), and he found himself on one knee asking Jordan to spend the rest of their lives together. Jordan was ecstatic and of course said yes - sorry for lack of romantic detail, I only saw them after dinner. (On a side note, it was extremely difficult to keep that exciting of a secret from my best friend.)

 

So a large contingent of Boulder-folk found ourselves on a flight to the Pacific Northwest - Canada, pretty much - to watch our best friends get hitched.

The location and decor were unforgettable, the ceremony was incomparable to any wedding I've ever witnessed, the reception was a blast (and I got to see some dear friends) and the love bursting out of Jordan and Kiel as they said their personal vows could have unfrozen the polar ice caps.

Here's our journey to their wedding.

From the Boulder group, with love, to you - Jordan and Kiel. May you both forever see stars in each other's eyes, drink plenty of tea and honey together, and continue on with the overwhelming love you felt the first time you met.

Visindi Circus

Visindi Circus started when Cassie Drew, a teacher at Sunset Ridge Elementary, decided she wanted to raise money for technology for her school and share her love of the circus arts with her students. Ian Caldwell, a student teacher in the fall of 2012, loved the idea and joined Cassie to make it happen. Together, with an amazing group of local circus talent, they launched Visindi Circus. “Visindi” is Icelandic for “science,” which is perfect for this cast - with many members being scientists themselves (real rocket scientists!) The Visindi Circus show unites science and circus in a spectacle meant to inspire awe and curiosity. Music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Goodbye_Kumiko/My_Wild_Arms/Goodbye_Kumiko_-_My_Wild_Arms_-_01_Bicycle_Waltz

What's the coolest part of a circus?

Other than the cotton candy and popcorn, I would say the feeling of amazement. The gravity-defying, pliable, colorful, and entertaining acts never cease to make my eyes open as wide as tortillas and my jaw drop. But, as I've learned from my brother (who just graduated and will be teaching his first high school physics class this coming semester), science is often at the root of amazement, especially in the circus. Gravity, Newton's laws of motion, centripetal force, acceleration, mass, friction, and so on. One just can't escape it - even if more inclined toward writing or videography - which is why I had to say YES to helping out this group of teachers, scientists, and circus folk.

Visindi Circus is a talented group of people who started a science-focused circus to help educate kids on the power of science. Um, AWESOME! Maybe I would have been more interested in studying science if I had been educated via circus in addition to text book... especially if popcorn was included!

Anyway, Visindi started a Kickstarter campaign to help get their project off the ground (AND! raise some funds for a local Colorado elementary school). Go check 'em out, donate some dollars! If you fall in love with their ideas and their love of kids + science + circus tricks, they will be showing off their stuff on February 1, 2013.

Renegade String in SF

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I was in San Francisco this past week for work shooting a bunch of videos for TravelShark. This was the first city that I've spent as much time in and wasn't exhausted by the end of my time there. Each time I was on the brink of emotional shut down, I found something (or someone) exciting to regenerate the enthusiasm. That's what happened on the corner of Haight and Ashbury.

Becca and I were at the end of a very long day shooting the sights and sounds of SF and nearing a meltdown when we stumbled into the Haight and across the Renegade String Band (or 3 of them, at least) out of Portland. We watched for a bit and I couldn't help but pull out the camera to snap a few.  It was magical how it happened, really. The light was great, the music was fantastic, there were even a few comical bums for additional entertainment. A chance encounter with some strangers to lift the spirits.

Tour de France 2012

For those who have not spent a bit of time with me, I think it's time I shared some "fun facts". 

1.) I adore popcorn, but I don't like hot drinks (they make me too hot on the inside).

2.) I'm a lover of people - all people. I meet people all over the place, and most of the time they end up giving me great life advice.

and 3.) Bikes are kind of a big deal in my house. Bryan (the boyfriend) ridesmountain bikes professionally and works at Full Cycle bike shop down the street from our house. I ride my bike to work everyday and both of us - along with most of our friends - end up watching, riding, or racing bikes almost every weekend. One of the biggest months for television in our house is July... because of the Tour de France. Bikes, bikes, bikes.

One of the clubs I've gotten involved in over the last couple of years has been the Venus de Miles cycling club. They are a great group of women who are out to ride for fun and end up taking part in a very large fundraising ride at the end of the summer. I've led group rides for the club and I must say that I have a soft spot in my heart for every female cyclist. That soft spot led me to the Tour de France commercial for Full Cycle this year! I've put the commercial together for Full Cycle before, but I had a LOT of fun this time. There is just something to be said for watching other women fall in love with cycling.

If you live in the Denver/Boulder area, you should be seeing this little ditty on the television as the Tour airs throughout the month of July! Wahoo!

Alex + Britney

Weddings are something I want to shoot more of, especially weddings like Alex and Britney's. This wedding was small, Alex and Britney couldn't have been more easy to shoot video of, I had great company, and the bridal party was hilarious. 

Overall, though, there is just something about weddings that makes my heart pitter-patter. It could be the love between the two getting married or the fancy dresses and shoes that come out for the event (or the stress of it all... to be determined).

I think on this day it was the love - although I did see some great shoes! That being said, the love made the video process go so smoothly. The day was full of laughs and super special moments - my personal favorite being during Britney's vows (just watch, you'll see what I'm talking about).

NewRado Furniture

I especially like people who love what they do. But sometimes, fundraising can be a bit of a roadblock for people when trying to get off the ground with what they love. That's why one of my favorite sites to peruse is kickstarter. There are tons of passionate people - trying to launch businesses or start their music career or sell their first products. Likewise, there are a ton of people who can empathize with just starting a business or who are equally passionate about a product and want to chip in a few bucks toward the cause. Kickstarter brings them all together.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Chaz over at NewRado Designs asking me about shooting a product video for their kickstarter campaign. They were looking for a quick, interview-based video that showed off their deliciously designed furniture, but also gave their kickstarter backers a chance to put a face to the passion. How could I say no?!

Chaz and Max originally developed the idea for their tension-based furniture from a simple sawhorse. What has come out are these amazing! products. And you want to know what's my favorite part? It all packs flat. Oh, and there are no screws, nails, glue, or any other messiness to deal with when putting it all together. And! on the bottom side of the tables and stools are colors! I love secret details.

You can also check out NewRado here and here.

If you're on the hunt for new furniture, awesome. Go check these guys out. If not, but you love that these guys love what they are doing, go check them out. And, totally cruise kickstarter and see what other people are creating.

-- Katie