2009: Year in pictures

"Norge team member A.J. Brown (left) speeds down the K70 hill during the 104th Annual Norge Ski Jump Tournament in Fox River Grove, Ill., Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009. Brown placed third in the J1 division with a combined score of 228.4."

Whew, that sure went by fast.

One of the best things about being a photographer is that I have visual documentation of where I was and what I did on any given day. I can look at any photo I took this past year and tell you exactly what was going on the moment I pushed the shutter. On several occasions I can remember what I was feeling, what the temperature was like and sometimes what I had for lunch. Weird I know, but give me a break I have a photographic memory.

This group of images may not be my best or most important but they're my favorite from the past year. Mixed in with assignments from the paper you'll find a few images of friends, weddings, personal work and even an image of my mom.

This was a great year for me. I made 100% of my income from photography so I can now call myself a professional. I'm really grateful for all the opportunities I've had this past year. From spending six months in Chicago interning for the Northwest Herald to returning to my hometown to start my freelance career to meeting some of my heros and making new friends at the Eddie Adams Workshop, I really have been living the life.

Personally and professionally, this past decade was one that brought lots of great experiences that shaped where I will go in the next 10 years. Time Magazine, however, called the 2000's the Decade from Hell. Let's just hope that they don't have to re-use that headline in 10 years.

-JCE

Denver editorial and wedding photographer

Classical confinement

"Laura Anderson-Schleiger, 24, plays the violin on a bridge above 15th street in Denver, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009. 'There's so much you can portray as a musician without ever saying anything and it's been apart of my my life, my whole life, so I don't know any different,' said the veteran of 20 years."

Nothing is better than personal work. Amidst all the great people, places and things I get to photograph on assignment I rarely feel more rewarded than when I shoot for myself.

No editor. No art director. Just my vision and my camera.

I've had an image conceived in my brain for a few weeks now that featured a violin player. I don't know where the idea came from. Maybe it was while I was dreaming, or possibly in the shower. All I know is that I wanted to make it happen and Tuesday I did.

My original idea included several tall buildings in the heart of downtown but while Mike Sasser and I were scouting the location we quickly realized that the image just wasn't going to look right. It probably didn't help that it took all of 10 seconds before some rent-a-cop kicked us off the property. I needed to be close to the buildings and shooting from the (public) sidewalk just wasn't going to work.

We met up with Laura near one of my favorite parts of the city, Confluence Park, and walked over to our alternate location. With the help of a planter pot we turned the 15th street bridge into the perfect stage for Laura to showcase her stuff. I'm sure that the cars driving below were quite confused with what was going on.

Everything came together and resulted in an image that I'm really pleased with. Shooting for myself is sometimes put on the back burner because of my other responsibilities. Days like today remind me how important it is to make time to follow through on an idea, a vision.

I plan to do more of that in 2010.

-JCE

Denver portrait photographer

Flames at Avalanche

"Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff (34) watches a shot by Colorado Avalanche right wing Darcy Tucker beat him to the glove side in the second period at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, December 13, 2009. The Avalanche won 3-2."

Unlike the last few times, the Avalanche finally won a game that I photographed.

Despite what it may look like, I seemed to be in the wrong spot all night. I was on the opposite end of the ice from both fights. The Avs controlled the puck nearly the entire first period at the other end and I got blocked by other players on a few goals.

Oh well, I still managed to make a few frames to post here. What do you think?

-JCE

Denver sports photographer

One

"Stephanie Sadler is celebrating her first year in business as owner of Teal Art Gallery in Breckenridge with the opening of a show titled "one," Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009."

This wasn't your typical birthday party.

After a day on the slopes that featured unusually scarce crowds for a Saturday at Breckenridge Ski Resort, I helped my good friend Stephanie celebrate her "birthday." It's rare, to say the least, to find a 24-year-old with enough ambition to own and run her own art gallery in a resort town but then again, Stephanie is one of a kind.

On top of some wonderful new pieces, the event had all the makings of a great birthday party including friends, family, food, wine and some outstanding cupcakes that her sister made. Who knew that chocolate chip zucchini bread cupcakes would be such a hit. No birthday party is complete without a few gifts and as a small token of my appreciation for what she has been able to accomplish I wanted to make a few portraits of her.

The photo above is simple and also my favorite. I also shot a couple wider portraits that included more of the gallery but the image I chose really shows her personality more I think.

Steph had a great first year. I can only expect better things to come as she gets another 365 under her belt.

-JCE

Denver portrait photographer

Full House

This is not your average family.

Back in October I shot a feature story for University of Denver Magazine. The winter issue of the quarterly magazine just published so I thought I would finally share the images and layout with you.

The family structure is rather unconventional but writer Jessica Centers Glynn does her best to describe it. In the story, she writes:

"Geoffrey [Bateman], a full-time lecturer in DU's writing program, is Zian and Eliot's father. They also have two moms -- lesbian couple Indra Lusero (a DU law student) and Allison Hoffman Lusero -- and another father, Geoffrey's partner, Mark Thrun. The boys took their mothers' last name -- Lusero."

Going into the assignment I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was interested to see what the family dynamic was actually like and how they all interacted. Photographing six people at once can be challenging at times but I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was with this assignment. They were a great group of people to work with and if it wasn't for their unique situation you would think that they are the stereotypical perfect family.

I shot the assignment less than 48 hours after returning from my Eddie Adams Workshop experience and channeled our team photo, in addition to American Gothic, as inspiration. I thought it was fitting seeing as though the two families live in a duplex connected by the boys bedrooms.

I often get a front row seat into the lives of people I never knew existed yesterday. This group of six reminded me why I love my job so much.

-JCE

Denver editorial photographer