Heather Lilly Photography | blog bio picture

Welcome to my blog!

Thanks for taking the time to view my latest work here on my blog. I hope you get to know me through my blog posts along with my Twitter box to the right. I am also am on Facebook. Feel free to find me on both.

I spend a lot of time behind my computer, editing images, but when I'm not working, I am hanging out with my husband and our dogs.

The best part of my job is helping people feel great about themselves and spending time with generally very happy people who are celebrating something.

This year I was voted #4 on Denver's Best Photographer (Channel 7's A-list).

selling Think Tank Belt System

I am selling my nearly brand new Think Tank Belt System. I purchased it late September 2009 and have used it for a small handful of events and portraits. Needless to say, it’s in great shape and needs a new home.

padded belt:

Pro Speed Belt™ V2.0 - M-L size M-L | retail $35

Pro Speed Belt™ V2.0 - M-L size M-L | retail $35

harness:

Pixel Racing Harness™ V2.0 (for shoulders) retail $35

Pixel Racing Harness™ V2.0 (for shoulders) retail $35

accessories:

All the Other Stuff™ (holds CF cards, batteries, keys, etc.) retail $35

All the Other Stuff™ (holds CF cards, batteries, keys, etc.) retail $35

Lowepro LOLC1SSF Lens Case 1S (fits fisheye lens) $16.99 retail

Lowepro LOLC1SSF Lens Case 1S (fits fisheye lens) $16.99 retail

Lens Changer™ 35 (holds 24-70L lens) retail $26.50

Lens Changer™ 35 (holds 24-70L lens) retail $26.50

Since all of these items are in fantastic shape, I’m asking $125 (worth $150) and that the buyer either picks them up or pays shipping. Individual items are available at 85 percent of their full retail price.

You can contact me via e-mail: blog @ heatherlilly.com.  (spaces inserted to insure you are a real person)

macro lens challenge v. 4

The challenge: name this household item.

The first person to correctly name the household object below in the comments section of this blog post wins 10 points.

Collect enough points and win a Heather Lilly Photography gift card!

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II | lens: 100mm macro | ISO 5000 1/1600 sec at f / 2.8

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II | lens: 100mm macro | ISO 5000 1/1600 sec at f / 2.8

March 8, 2010 - 7:56 am Sarah - vacuum cleaner hose?

March 8, 2010 - 8:21 am Emily - Dryer hose

March 8, 2010 - 2:19 pm Erika - The spring in a mecanical pencil

March 8, 2010 - 9:47 pm Leighann - Is it the hose to the sprayer on the sink?

March 9, 2010 - 7:14 am Duke - Cups

March 9, 2010 - 7:41 am Robbin - spring

March 9, 2010 - 3:40 pm Amanda Larson - The metal spiral on a spiral notebook.

March 9, 2010 - 4:19 pm Megan - Bed spring?

macro lens challenge v. 3

The challenge: name this household item.

The first person to correctly name the household object below in the comments section of this blog post wins 10 points.

Collect enough points and win a Heather Lilly Photography gift card!

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II | lens: 100mm macro | ISO 6400 1/50 sec at f / 2.8

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II | lens: 100mm macro | ISO 6400 1/50 sec at f / 2.8

March 3, 2010 - 12:00 pm Tim Arrick - Fried egg?

March 3, 2010 - 12:02 pm Jody - I want to say blueberry pancake, but I'm also thinking it looks like a bizarre skin condition.

March 3, 2010 - 12:03 pm Lola - This is tough! My wild guess is a dog toy?

March 3, 2010 - 12:09 pm Danielle - Rawhide dog chew? ◄ WINNER! :) 10 POINTS TO DANIELLE

March 3, 2010 - 12:13 pm Sarah - potato or pita chip

macro lens challenge v. 2

The challenge: name this household item.

The first person to correctly name the household object below in the comments section wins 5 points.

Collect enough points and win a Heather Lilly Photography gift card!

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II | lens: 100mm macro | ISO 3200 1/200 sec at f / 2.8

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II | lens: 100mm macro | ISO 3200 1/200 sec at f / 2.8

March 3, 2010 - 11:17 am Tim Arrick - Sugar on top of a doughnut?

March 3, 2010 - 11:30 am Lola - Looks like salt :) ◄ WINNER!! 5 POINTS TO LOLA! (It was Sea Salt)

March 3, 2010 - 11:46 am jesse - hand with salt

William J. Havlicek’s book Van Gogh’s Untold Journey

Since Art History class in college I’ve been a huge fan of Van Gogh – specifically because of Starry Night.

Fast forward to the present; when my husband told me his uncle’s book on Van Gogh was getting published, I couldn’t wait to get it!

We just got our copy in the mail yesterday.

Uncle Bill’s book is called Van Gogh’s Untold Journey. You can’t call him Uncle Bill, so you’ll need to know this book was written  by William J. Havlicek, PhD. To speed up your searching process: ISBN 9780982487211. ;)

I haven’t started the book yet (I will very soon!), but this website will explain that there’s a connection between Les Misérables and my favorite piece of art Starry Night.  How cool!!

Ok, I need to get to work for the day (so I can start this book tonight). But I hope you check it out!

March 7, 2010 - 5:22 pm Uncle Bill - Dear Heather and Chris, It was a surprise for me to find your wonderful endorsement of my book on your website. You guys are so thoughtful! What can I say? With such great relatives my life is complete! The book is selling well in Holland even though the book is in English. The Dutch teach English as a second language so they enjoy a good read in our native tongue. My publisher recently told me that he will now begin to consign to Barnes & Noble in America and museum bookstores internationally. Yesterday for instance we showed a copy to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and they will likely be stocking it. Very odd feeling knowing some student in Amsterdam or L.A. has you book on their desk or next to their bed! Thanks again for the support, we love you both. Bill and Jeanne

pet portraits | celebrating our dog Summer’s birthday

So March is Pet Portraits Month at Heather Lilly Photography.

Which means: Happy Birthday to our pretty girl: Summer. She’s 5 today.

I remember how BORED Coral was before we got Summer… we found Summer at a rescue called Kat’s Korner Pet Rescue in Crook, Colorado.  She rolled over in the grass about 20 times and we thought “cool, she could teach Coral how to do that!”  Of course this isn’t why we brought her home, but she’s NEVER once rolled over again… and Coral does know how to roll over now. haha…. but Summer is very attentive. She can sit, stay, lay down, give us a five, give us an “other” five (the other paw), put her head down (this is my favorite trick) and even “hang ten.”

We believe she is mostly lab and a little bit whippet

Have to share a few of Coral, too:

March 1, 2010 - 2:09 pm Karen - Summer and Coral are so cute! They both have such sweet faces & expressive eyes. Happy birthday, Summer!!!

macro lense challenge

So I decided it would be fun to take pictures of stuff around our house with a macro lens and see if you can tell what it’s from!

I’ll be doing these on regular basis so you can collect enough “points” to win a gift card to Heather Lilly Photography.

The first person to post a comment below with the correct answer (which household item is this?) wins  10 points for this blog post.

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II | lens 100mm macro | ISO 3200 1/30 sec at f / 2.8

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II | lens: 100mm macro | ISO 3200 1/30 sec at f / 2.8

February 26, 2010 - 12:04 pm hillary - Looks like part of a basket or the back/seat of a chair??? Fun!

February 26, 2010 - 12:22 pm Danielle - Wood table or cabinet?

February 26, 2010 - 12:26 pm Kirsten - I'd say basket

February 26, 2010 - 12:48 pm Stephanie - A placemat?

February 26, 2010 - 2:02 pm Carrie - rattan mat

February 26, 2010 - 6:52 pm karen - I'm guessing a coffee table.

March 1, 2010 - 10:01 am Elke - Wheat cereal.

March 1, 2010 - 10:18 am Robbin - I'd say wicker furniture of some kind.

March 1, 2010 - 2:14 pm Michelle - Back of hairbrush...or not :)

March 1, 2010 - 4:15 pm Amanda Larson - Dog brush?

March 1, 2010 - 4:31 pm Stephanie - Grasscloth wallpaper?

March 1, 2010 - 7:57 pm jesse - wood grain

March 3, 2010 - 7:22 am jesse - Picture frame? ◄ WINNER! (10 POINTS TO JESSE!!)

2010 Portrait Specials at Heather Lilly Photography in Erie, Colorado

This year I’m introducing a few portraits special offers I hope you or someone you know can take advantage of.

The first person to book for each of these special offers will receive a bonus incentive!

To schedule your session, please use this easy contact form.

Pet Portraits (all of March)

:: portraits within 20 miles roundtrip of Studio Lilly
:: up to a 90-minute session for your pet
:: proofs posted in a password protected gallery 2-3 weeks after your session
:: all digital files and prints available at ala carte pricing
10 % of all profits will go to Lifeline Puppy Rescue in Brighton, Colorado
Creation Fee $100

Easter Best! Portraits (Saturday, March 27th)

:: portraits at specific outdoor location near Studio Lilly
:: up to a 15-minute session for up to 4 people
:: proofs posted in a password protected gallery 2-3 weeks after your session
:: set of 8 wallets, one 8×10 heirloom print and one Facebook file
Easter Best! Package for just $89

Facebook Pictures (Saturday, April 10th from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.)

:: portraits at or near Studio Lilly
:: up to a 10-minute session
:: ONE digital file for your Facebook Profile
:: other digital files and prints available at ala carte pricing
FREE!

Mother’s Day Portraits (Saturday, May 1st)

:: portraits at specific outdoor location near Studio Lilly
:: up to a 15-minute session for up to 4 people
:: proofs posted in a password protected gallery 2-3 weeks after your session
:: set of 8 wallets, one 8×10 heirloom print and one Facebook file
Mother’s Day Package for just $89

Father’s Day Portraits (Saturday, June 12th)

:: portraits at specific outdoor location near Studio Lilly
:: up to a 15-minute session for up to 4 people
:: proofs posted in a password protected gallery 2-3 weeks after your session
:: set of 8 wallets, one 8×10 heirloom print and one Facebook file
Father’s Day Package for just $89

Celebrate Summer (all of July)
:: portraits within 20 miles roundtrip of Studio Lilly
:: up to a 90-minute session for up to 6 people
:: proofs posted in a password protected gallery 2-3 weeks after your session
:: all digital files and prints available at ala carte pricing
10 % of all profits will go to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Creation Fee $100

doggie dental cleaning before & after pictures

So I realize this falls outside the realm of a normal blog post, but I couldn’t get over how beautiful our dog’s teeth are now.

We land in the category of pet owners who talk to their dogs.

We bawled through Marley & Me, while snuggling with our labs in our family room.

We brush them a couple times a month (oh the massive mounds of fur!), file their nails, take them on long walks (as long as there isn’t ice on the sidewalks), and they have their own doggie back-packs.

They are our furbabies.

They even have their own doggie tooth brushes and peanut-butter flavored toothpaste… But if you were to look at their teeth before yesterday, you would have thought they were covered in dirt (or worse).

Yup, at the tender age of (almost) 5 and 5.5,  Summer and Coral appeared have old-lady-teeth.

With February being Pet Dental Month, we decided to take the plunge and get our girls’ teeth cleaned at our vet: Erie Animal Hospital.

I dropped them off for the day and when we picked them up in the evening, they were all fixed up!

Here’s some before and after pictures. I *promise* they gave us the same dogs back! :)   And I didn’t do any Photoshop magic to these images. What you see, is what you get!

Kudos to Dr. Sally Towner – you can follow her on Twitter (she provides great tips and reminders for small pet owners).

Coral’s dental makeover:

Corals front view | before & after

Coral's front view | before & after

Corals side view | before & after

Coral's side view | before & after

Corals back teeth | before & after

Coral's back teeth | before & after

Summer’s dental makeover:

Summers front view | before & after

Summer's front view | before & after

Summers side view | before & after

Summer's side view | before & after

Summers back teeth | before & after

Summer's back teeth | before & after

February 17, 2010 - 10:32 am hillary - Thats amazing!!!!

Snow Day Dog Portraits | Erie, Colorado pet portraits

At our old house, we had a dog door – and when snow hit the ground, Coral would come zipping in the house, racing around, then back outside. Then, as if it were a victory lap, she’d do it again. She was our barometer for snow days.

Now that our dogs are a little less puppy-ish, and we don’t have a dog door, the barometer is them looming at back our back door.

Going in the yard is a privilege, since they have their own dog run – but they are smart enough to know they generally get a free pass to the yard when it snows.

Here’s our pretty girl Coral:

and Summer, too: