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Kokoro Photography bio picture

Welcome to Kokoro Photography!

Your dreams.  Your love.  Your family and friends.  Your special day.  We know you want your wedding to be picture-perfect — and telling the story of your wedding is far more than just pointing the camera, focusing the lens and pushing the shutter.  Capturing the “right” moments starts with our relationship with you —  knowing your hopes, your feelings, and maybe even a few of your fears means we will capture and tell your unique and beautiful story...  Your love story.


Many people ask us what “Kokoro” means.  It is the Japanese word for “heart, spirit or soul”, and it’s a word inspired by Amanda’s experience teaching in the Japanese school system after graduating from college.  Both of us, Debi and Amanda, are passionate about the photography profession — and the word “Kokoro” clearly reflects our passion to reveal your heart, your spirit, your soul in each image we capture for you.  

Kokoro:  Heart.  Spirit.  Soul.  We are committed to revealing it within you.

We hope you'll visit us often and please.... leave lots of comments! We love to hear from you.

Anna and Tim - Engagement Session at Red Rocks

It’s been more than chilly around here lately but when the bride is only in town for a short time…. you go for it! We’d planned an afternoon session for a day when there was a slight chance of snow hoping the odds would be in our favor. But Mother Nature has a mind of her own and blessed us with a slight snow shower and 28 degrees. It wouldn’t have been too much of a problem but red noses either make you look really cold or like you’ve had a bit too much to drink - either way isn’t attractive.

Anna and Tim will be getting married in Northern Canada this summer, planning is under way and sounds to be an exciting and beautiful event. Thank you Karen for introducing us - we really enjoyed meeting and spending time with Tim and Anna.

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Thomas at 10 Days Old

We’ve gotten very far behind on our blog. Seems life, the flu and a host of other out of our normal day to day experiences had gotten the best of us. But all things have just about come full circle and we are now getting back on track. So to show you just one of the wonderful photography opportunities we’ve had lately - I give you Thomas at 10 days old. Thomas is adorable with massive amounts of hair and the most wonderful parents to grow up with. We look forward to watching Thomas grow into a handsome toddler. We can only imagine the joy he will bring his family,

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Weekend Retreat - Wild Horse Inn in Tabernash

Last weekend Bob and I used a gift certificate to Wild Horse Inn given to us by Amanda and Parker. Due to family crazyness we were unable to celebrate our 30th anniversary, birthdays and other important events when they happened so this was a perfect get away. Amanda had shot a wedding last September where the bride and groom stayed at the Wild Horse Inn. She love the place and thought we would too. She was right - it’s a lovely place!

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We opted to stay in one of the three cabins. A very good choice! With a living room/kitchenette and a big beautiful bedroom, it was like being home away from home.

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I should mention that the bathroom had a huge two person bathtubs that was fabulous… but I won’t since my children read this and will think it’s totally gross that mom would even bring it up. :-)

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Bob signed us up for the “Romantic Escape Package” which included a beautiful vase of flowers in the room, champagne and yummy breakfasts in the cabin.

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The weather was overcast most of the time. Once in a while the sun would peek through and then just as fast as it came out it would be snowing.

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Saturday morning started with John, the owner of Wild Horse Inn, delivering breakfast of orange ginger french toast.  YUMMY!

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We hung out for a while, then decided to drive out to Granby for the heck of it. Lets just say there isn’t much happening in Granby in October!

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So we gathered up the cameras and headed over to Devils Thumb Ranch for the afternoon. First we went to their stables to take photos. Sadly their horses had been turned out for the afternoon. © Kokoro Photography

I’m convinced the red chicken was trained to stare you down. She never took her eyes off you.

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Then just like magic it’s snowing like crazy again!

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So we hopped into the car and went to The Ranch Creek Spa at Devils Thumb for a couples massage. This was perfect for the two of us - I’m pretty sure with work and family stress we’ve forgotten how to relax. Everyone at the spa was great, very accommodating which was good since I think Bob has had only one massage before and was a bit apprehensive about what his crazy wife was getting him into.

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We stayed for dinner at The Ranch House. Amanda and I have loved their meals when we’ve shot weddings at the Ranch. The food is excellent - lots of game choices and the chocolate desert was perfect. After we headed back to the cabin to watch movies and let the snow fall outside.

The next morning Bob went over to the main house to get another yummy breakfast. Got to love a man bringing you food!

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After lounging around for awhile we headed back to Littleton where the snow was worse than what we’d been having in the mountains. Go Figure!

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We had the perfect relaxing weekend. John and Chris at Wild Horse Inn have a great place to get away from it all. In a month or so the snow up there will be perfect for skiing. Tabernash is called the “Icebox of the Nation” for a darn good reason - it’s cold up there!

Thank you Amanda and Parker for the gift certificate and for staying with Spencer and Grace while we were gone. We appreciate your thoughtfulness!

November 30, 2009 - 8:12 am Chelsea Nicole - Looks like it was a beautiful little get-away. :-)

November 10, 2009 - 7:18 pm skip - congratulations! what a neat adventure! i just don't understand all the photos, though... ;-)

Breckenridge Colorado Engagement Session with Alyssa and Brett

We met Alyssa and Brett in Breckenridge for their engagement session last month. It was such a wonderful afternoon - beautiful blue Colorado sky and golden/yellow leaves on the trees made for a stunning backdrop for a couple very much in love. They are such a cute pair. Lots of laughing. Lots of smiles. A lot of fun!

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Caitlin and Jake - Villa Parker Wedding

Caitlin and Jake had a perfect late summer afternoon for their wedding at the Villa Parker. The weather was beautiful, close family and friends were there to watch as they exchanged their vows… everything was just as they’d planned it.

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November 30, 2009 - 8:16 am Chelsea Nicole - Beautiful work! I really love the dress shots and the one of their shadows kissing. :-)

Jeanie’s Senior Photos

Last September we told you about our soon-to-be intern Jeanie who due to a fall, ended up with a serious closed-head injury. We worried that she may have long term brain damage, physical problems, or the multitude of other issues that come with this kind of injury. Jeanie’s journey has been a remarkable one - one that has amazed her doctors, nurses, friends and family. Jeanie is one determined young lady and has set her sights for her recovery high. Due to a lot of hard work and determination on her part, Jeanie will be released from Craig Rehabilitation Hospital on October 6th, she will be able to graduate with her class and slowly resume her life as a teenager.

Congratulations Jeanie - We are very proud of you!

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On Sunday, I met Jeanie and her parents and sister for a brief Senior Photo Session at the park. We will do more a more extensive session later but for now she needed a photo for the Littleton High School yearbook - they have graciously held a space open for her photo. We are looking forward to having Jeanie interning for us in the future.

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and to Jim and Jean…. you are remarkable parents. Watching from the outside how dedicated your family — Jeanie’s siblings were to supporting Jeanie throughout this long and difficult time is a testament to you as parents.

September 29, 2009 - 12:08 pm Becky Butz - I love these pictures. Look at the beauty, pride, and confidence in all three faces. This is a time when senior pictures truly signify extraordinary accomplishments. Congratulations to Jeanie, her parents, and the rest of her family.

Whitney and Matt Wedding at Kevin Taylor’s at the Opera House

Whitney and Matt are an absolutely adorable couple. Both are athletic - which explains why their rehearsal dinner was a kickball game/picnic. They enjoy their friends and family immensely. They are practical with a sense of artistic flair…. but most of all they are very much in love which showed throughout their entire wedding day.

Whitney works at the Hotel Teatro which is where we met the wedding party. The Hotel Teatro (located across the street from the Denver Center from the Performing Arts) is a beautiful, romantic hotel decorated with costumes and photographs from past theater productions. This gave us plenty of opportunity for fun photography.

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Whitney’s wedding dress and the bridesmaids dresses were from J. Crew Wedding. Not only are they reasonably priced — but they also have pockets. (This is the practical part I mentioned) Every bride needs someplace to hide a tissue or lip gloss.

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Whitney and Matt wanted to see each other before the ceremony so we could take photos at the Hotel Teatro before we left for the ceremony. We are always happy when our couples decide to do this as it make the time after the ceremony much less hectic.

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The original plan was to head to Civic Center Park for formals but a hard rain prevented us from leaving. Fortunately, the Teatro has many beautiful spots for photography.

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Matt and Whitney allowed for plenty of time for us to take photos around the hotel and across the street at Kevin Taylor’s at the Opera House where the ceremony was held.

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Fun with old theatrical prints!

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Across the street in the Ellie Calkins Opera House.

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The ceremony was held downstairs in Kevin Taylor’s restaurant.

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Whitney’s one request was to get photos taken across the street in front of the yellow wall. Luckily the rain had let up by then!

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After the reception Whitney and Matt reserved The Living Room for their guest. They hired a bus service to shuttled their guest making the evening a relaxed time for everyone.

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Danelle and Brandon, Denver Engagement Photography

We had originally planned to shot Brandon and Danelle’s engagement photos at Lakeside Amusement park but about 3 minutes into shooting park security made us stop. Apparently, there are now forms that need to be filled out. A new procedure we weren’t aware of. We filled out the required paperwork and waited…. and waited…. and waited…. and finally gave up. The owner wasn’t returning calls to the park. At this point Lakeside Amusement Park was clearly un-amusing and we’d lost the late afternoon light!

Plan B - three weeks later. We met Danelle and Brandon by the Mayan Theater on Broadway. The Mayan has very cool design features and the area around there has fun walls and building. After the show at the Mayan let out the manager even allowed us into the theater to shoot. Plan B was so totally different than our original plan! We had a great time with Brandon and Danelle - they were willing to give anything a try, relaxed and fun to be with. I’m sure their wedding day will be just as great!

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September 19, 2009 - 11:33 am The Wedding Times » Danelle and Brandon, Denver Engagement Photography - [...] We had originally planned to shoot Brandon and Danelle’s engagement photos at Lakeside Amusement park but about 3 minutes into shooting park security made us stop. Apparently, there are now forms that need to be filled out. A new procedure we weren’t aware of. We filled out the required paperwork and waited…. and waited…. and waited…. and finally gave up. The owner wasn’t returning calls to the park. At this point Lakeside Amusement Park was clearly un-amusing and we’d lost the late afternoon lig Source: http://www.kokorophotography.com/blog/?p=1309 [...]

Sue and Craig, Devil’s Thumb Wedding Photography

Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash is always such a wonderful place to photograph a wedding. They have a true feeling of “Old West Colorado” there. The fields are lush with grasses, wandering livestock and wildlife, while the accommodations are elegantly rustic. You just can’t go wrong with a Devil’s Thumb wedding if what you’re looking for is a Colorado feel - and that’s exactly what Sue and Craig wanted.

We met Sue, their dogs and her bridesmaids at Sue’s log cabin. They’d planned two hours for getting ready photos and photos of Sue in her dress. It was so nice to have that extra time and not feel rushed.

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Craig and I took a stroll out to a field behind the lodge. The view of the back range is beautiful, making for a very dramatic backdrop.

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Tommy, Craig’s best man tied the rings around a shoe string so he wouldn’t lose them.

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One of the ring dogs…. they did a very good job, but really wanted to go hang out up front with Sue and Craig!

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Sue was determined to get photos with the horses. It’s a very brave woman who will tromp through muddy marshes in a Vera Wang dress to get the perfect shot!

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That 80’s Band” played throughout the evening. No stuffy wedding songs here - we were ROCKING!

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Freckles & Craig - Devils Thumb Ranch

I’m in the process of going through photos from Sue and Craig’s wedding last weekends at Devils Thumb Ranch in Winter Park. I wanted to put these on our blog now….  it was such a great moment.

We had finished up shots of Craig and his grooms men, Craig and I decided to walk out to a nearby field with two beautiful horses grazing out in the field. We thought they’d be nice in the background. This beautiful horse (now known as Freckles) decided to join us for a close up. Craig talked with him for a few minutes, we took some close-ups with him and decided to we needed to get moving. But Freckles really liked Craig and followed him out into the field for more photos. Who knew horses were camera hogs!

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More photos to come! Sue and Craig’s wedding was so much fun

September 8, 2009 - 11:34 am The Wedding Times » Craig and Freckles (a sneak peek) - Devils Thumb Ranch - [...] horse (now known as Freckles) decided to join us for a close up. Craig talked with him fo Source: http://www.kokorophotography.com/blog/?p=1270 Sep 8 Craig and Freckles (a sneak peek) - Devils Thumb [...]