Kody West | Rifle High School Class of 2020

HUGE shoutout to the Rifle High School Class of 2020 as they celebrate their graduation this Saturday with a Motorcade Processional through downtown Rifle. Times are certainly unique and unfortunate for Seniors but we will celebrate them the best way we can.

Among those Seniors walking (or rather, driving) this weekend is Kody West. Kody has missed singing and putting together music with RHS’s Varsity and Men’s Choirs the most during quarantine. He’s been done with school for a while now and was really looking forward to hanging with friends and making music for the last couple of months. Sorry, Kody! Kody plans to attend CMU in the fall and is looking forward to the adventures ahead!

Congrats, Kody! GO BEARS!

Hayley Wood | Coal Ridge Class of 2020

Congratulations to all of the Coal Ridge Class of 2020 Graduates!

Another high school graduation is upon us and it’s pretty safe to say that this is one we will all remember for the rest of our lives. One day, the children will be discussing the year 2020 in their history classes. It’s been a wild ride for these Seniors and I can only wish them all the best on their new journeys.

Hayley is a Coal Ridge High School Senior who has already received her diploma. She didn’t get to attend a formal graduation ceremony with all of her peers, family and friends. Instead, she walked quietly alone across a stage receiving school admin handshakes and her parents in the background secretly shedding tears. She turned to the empty gymnasium, flipped her tassel and smiled into the video camera. Hayley will officially graduate this Sunday, May 17th at 1:00pm via a video that will be streamed to the public through the Coal Ridge Facebook page.

Miss Hayley expressed to me that the hardest part of the past few quarantine months has been not being able to hang and talk with her friends at school every day. She has really missed the social interaction more than anything. She’s kept busy at home with online distance learning and baking. She loves to bake! Hayley is looking forward to the fall when she will attend CSU for Music Education, another love she is very passionate about.

Good luck to you, Hayley!! I wish you all the best in your new journey after all the craziness!

xoxo,

Carrie

Candy Apple Carnival!

Summer is for FUN!  And there's no better end to summer than a visit to your local county Fair!  Fairs make the perfect backdrop for a high school senior photo session.  The lights, the people, the cotton candy, the rides, the smell of horse poo in the air...I love it all!   

Next summer when the fair rolls into town, hit me up!  

Coal Ridge Titans | Samantha

Remember, I told you that the Coal Ridge Titans are graduating tomorrow!  That includes this lady Titan right here, Samantha!  I spent a good part of the winter watching this young lady on the basketball court and if you didn't get to see her play then you totally missed out!  I might be a little bit biased as basketball is my jam ;)  She is also an avid soccer athlete and her and her team had a good season this year as well.  If you see Sam out and about this summer then please congratulate her on her future endeavors!  She will be headed CMU this fall with a few of her fellow classmates. 

Congratulations, Sam!!  

Coal Ridge High School | Class of 2018

Rifle Bears Senior | Kylee

Next up on my feature list is Rifle Bears Senior, Kylee!  She will be walking with her classmates tomorrow and turning her tassel in the direction of a bright future.  I have had the pleasure of getting to know Kylee very well over this past year and I won't even try to create a list of her accomplishments as it would take up an entire blog post.  She is an incredible young woman and an amazing dancer and cheerleader, if I might add!  Kylee is headed to the WORLD Dance Competition this summer in NJ with her fellow Full Throttle Dance Co. team mates!  This fall, she will then journey to CMU where she has made the college Cheerleading team!  Seriously, she's so amazing!  

By the way, if you can, please support the FTDC dancers as they have many fundraisers happening right now to help them get to Worlds.  Contact Kylee for more information on how you can help! 

Congrats, Kylee girl!!!  I'm really going to miss you but glad to know that you won't be far!  

xo

Carrie

Rifle High School | Class of 2018

Dirty Laundry | Roaring Fork Senior Photographer

Yearbook photos have been turned in and this Roaring Fork Senior Photographer is celebrating another successfully busy season!  Thank you to all of the High School Seniors who have chosen CJP to create some totally rad images to document this important milestone!  What do I do now that the season has ended?  Well, I get to catch up on all the adult tasks that come with owning a business like taxes and the not so fun stuff that these seniors will soon get to complain about as well.  But, during the midst of adulthood I enjoy getting to spend every chance I get with these young people before they embark on their new adventures.  It's a time for me to be creative, play, and shoot without pressure.  That's exactly what we did here in our local laundromat!  Enough with the cold winter months, let's do something indoors.  So I called up these two awesome gals and said "hey, find some retro"ish" outfits and let's go play in the Laundromat (because I had been there not long ago and the light was amazing!).  We did and we had a blast!  Although, the Laundromat was quite busy - who knew?

Austin | Grand Junction Senior Photographer | Fruita Monument High School

Meet Austin, a Senior at Fruita Monument High School and a 2015 Graduate.  I had a blast taking Austin's senior portraits as he is a charming, bright and definitely handsome young man!  Curious to know why Austin chose to use a pistol as a prop for some of his images?  Well here's the story...  Austin has been competitively shooting handguns for about 5 years.  The action shooting sport he competes in is called IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association).  Austin found his passion with handguns and has climbed his way up to the master classification and recently took third place at the national championships competing against ALL ADULTS!  He has also recently picked up a sponsorship from Wilson Combat, the best custom 1911 pistol model manufacturer on the planet.  Austin is planning to attend college locally at CMU but if he happens to land a scholarship for shooting at Texas A&M, then he would love to venture south for his degree.

To learn more about the IDPA or Wilson Combat, please visit these links.

Congratulations Austin!