. fort christiansvaern .

When I was in St. Croix, I loved having the opportunity to visit Fort Christiansvaern in Christiansted.  There is so much cool history that's evident throughout this compound (Courtyard! Archways!  Color!  Right on the water!  Alexander Hamilton grew up here! Dungeons!  Cool windows!  Oceanfront cannons!)  I wandered around, my mouth pretty much drooling at the thought of shooting a session here.  I have maybe a thousand ideas for this place, and it costs all of, I don't know.. three dollars to get in to.  So, here's what you want to do.  You want to get married or do a Trash the Dress session.  You want some amazing amazing pictures.  At the same time, you want a vacation that's fun and off the beaten path, but you don't want to have to deal with the hassle of passports and visas.  You want to hire me to come back to St. Croix and shoot your wedding / Trash the Dress at Fort Christiansvaern. Trust me on this.  This is in your best interests.  Haha.  See?

The view from Fort Christainsvaern:

Yep... you know you wanna :)

. melissa's trash the dress session: part two .

As promised - the beautiful Melissa with her beloved horse, Tempe.  The first shots are in her riding field (hey St. Croix people- she teaches lessons!),  and the cool gourd-looking fruits are mahogany... We had absolutely perfect light and perfect weather!

. melissa's trash the dress session: part one .

I have been looking forward to this shoot ever since Melissa and I started emailing back and forth.  She and Ivan got married just over a year ago, and when she heard I was coming down to St. Croix, we scheduled a Trash the Dress shoot immediately.  Having lived there for many years, she knows the island so well, and she was kind enough to drive us all over to scout out locations, get ideas, and introduce us to St. Croix.  What a fabulous tour guide, and what a beautiful, beautiful bride!

One of the many things I loved about St. Croix is all the old sugar mill ruins from the sugar plantation days.  The one that we used in this shoot is just down the road from her house!  Incredible.  I was surprised to find that they used bricks made of coral, along with regular stone blocks, to build the mills.  How cool.  And the very last shots with the pool... um, yeah.  That's the view from Melissa's house.  Not only does she have an incredible ocean view, but you can see the sugar mill and pretty much the whole island, too.  What?  Jealous?  Nooo, not at all...

Because there's such an abundance of stunning locations, this post is only part one.  Oh my holy color... seriously, from the sky to the water to the green lushness everywhere to the pinkish sand at sunset.. I'm so in love with shooting in the Caribbean.  Part two, with her horse Tempe, is coming soon soon soon!  And a huge thanks to Zach for being the best flash /gear holder ever!

THANK YOU THANK YOU Melissa!  Much love and the rest are coming soon!

. st. croix .

Wow... time is slipping away from me like crazy.  It's already November, which means my St. Croix trip is coming up!  For those who don't know, Zach and I are heading down to St. Croix, Virgin Islands for a much-needed break.  We'll be hanging out and reconnecting with some old friends, and I have some FUN shoots lined up while we're there, including a Trash the Dress session with horses!  I'm all kinds of excited!If you live in St. Croix or feel like hopping on a plane to the Virgin Islands for an epic photo shoot (kids! families!  weddings! trash the dress! modeling portfolios!)  please please let me know!  I'll be available in St. Croix from November 15-20th and I do still have some openings left.  This also means, for my Colorado clients, that I'll be out of the studio and unavailable from November 14th-22nd, so if you have any time-sensitive needs, please let me know as soon as possible before I leave.