Chaya Digital Arts

Jason Cordeiro is an amazing human being — a world-class veterinarian, a practitioner of Buddhism and mindfulness, and a profoundly calming and loving presence. Not only is he a champion of rescue animals here in the US and in Spain (where he helps in the plight of Galgos, or Spanish Greyhounds), he has neutered over 15,000 dogs and kitties in low-cost clinics. Jason specializes in compassionate home euthanasia and pet grief counseling. Check out his website: 1lastgiftsite.com

Hope is a champion in the dog rescue world. She runs Farfel’s Rescue and also the Farfel’s Farm store here in Boulder (along with the amazing owners, Sandy and Jeff). In the years I’ve known Hope we’ve done a lot of down-on-the-ground rescue dog photo shoots, and she’s one of the best doggie wranglers I know — always posing the sweet dogs with her skill, sense of style and most importantly her compassion. This photo is Hope in glamour mode — a shot taken during a quiet celebration of her and her husband Joseph’s anniversary. She totally rocks her beauty.

…and here is Hope with Joseph as they celebrate their anniversary in the most beautiful way — by recreating their wedding day and getting new photos. Both of them are dedicated to saving the lives of animals, and both of them are gorgeous old souls.

Devon is an environmental journalist who also volunteers as a foster for Farfel’s Rescue here in Boulder. She brought her foster dog Jack here for his glamour shots, and I couldn’t help but take Devon’s portrait, too. She’s doing great work.

Took this portrait of my beautiful Mom two years before she passed. She’d been through a lot of challenges in her lifetime but she emerged a strong, compassionate and wise elder. I’m lucky to have had her as my mom and I still miss her terribly.

Kelly is the awesome foster mom for little Bear, the Chow Chow puppy who was looking for a home through Summit Dog Rescue in Boulder, CO — that is, until Kelly and her husband fell in love with Bear and decided to adopt him. Here she is looking so great for the camera — in addition to all she does to make the world a better place.

Zoe Katsulos is a force of nature. She’s a strong animal advocate, world traveler, professional guide, outdoor skills teacher, active volunteer and photographer who’s been leading outdoor adventures for over 25 years. She recently rescued an amazing dog, Keats (in the Rescues and Pets section below), and is looking for the perfect home for him. Zoe is the founder of HIPAW Rescue and Humanitourism: https://humanitourism.org/the-founder/.

Julia is a professional in the dog rescue world, and came here to help a small rescue dog named Ash with his glamour shots. During the shoot Julia beautifully posed and I effortlessly got this gorgeous shot of her.

Aurora is a professional in the dog rescue world who has helped find homes for many, many dogs in need. She has just found a new career: taking dogs for long hikes in the mountains here in the Boulder area. Her kindness, good cheer and strength show up so strongly in this portrait taken on a trail at the foot of our mountains.

Nya is a gorgeous model and I love the drama she embodied in this shot taken in the waning light around sunset. It was great getting to work with her.

Raina in a fine art piece, taken just after sunset. Love the way she dresses and looks so timeless and cinematic in this portrait.

My friend Amy with her kids and foster dog caught in a moment of absolute joy. This image was a finalist in the 7th Julia M. Cameron Awards / Worldwide Photography Gala Awards, Berlin 2016.

Here’s Jess and Raina showing some edge, which is exactly what I wanted in this shot. Love the way they posed together with minimal prompting. After the shoot I transferred this portrait to black and white to give it a bit of extra impact.

Photographers love locations with great natural light, and this location was perfect —- the top of a stairwell in NYC’s Museum of Modern Art. This man’s white hair caught some soft window light, and the light on the back of his head came from an overhead ceiling light — giving the illusion of complicated studio lighting. If I lived in NY I’d use that location for portraits quite often.

Christopher Beebe is an aspiring model with great talent who posed at Shutterfest in 2017. I was lucky to get to work with him one-on-one for a short shoot.

Sage is a photographer and aspiring videographer who (no surprise) is also an amazing model with a natural instinct for looks and poses. Loved working with him.

Sage in another shot, taken at the same photo shoot as in his other image. You can see what a talented model he is — all I had to do was get the settings right in this soft natural sunset light and then click the shutter.

Korben is an aspiring actor who I had the good fortune to work with a few years ago. Love the way he looks in sepia.

Ketty is an eye doctor who is not only gorgeous but highly skilled and respected in the field of ophthalmology.

Jordan is a natural beauty whom I got to work with a few years back. She was a good sport - agreeing to put fairy lights in her hair, and posing in the same parking garage with amazing blue light.

Nora is another naturally gorgeous young woman with whom we did a group photo shoot a few years back. An alleyway in the city in the late afternoon gave us this lovely peach light that complemented her gorgeous features.

Nora and Korben posed together during our street shoot. Such wonderful people and it was great fun getting to work with them.

Rachel is one of those naturally photogenic women who looks good in photos no matter what — and it made my job easy. This is bounced light in a soft shady area in an alleyway in downtown Boulder, lighting up her gorgeous complexion without off camera flash. That kind of light always has my vote.

Here’s Rachel in that wonderful underground parking lot with the good blue light. To me she looks like an ancient divine goddess in her jewelry and fairy light halo.

I met Libby through Summit Dog Rescue, where she’s been a foster of many rescue dogs through the years. Not only that, but she looks terrific on camera. Caught her being extra gorgeous during a dog photo shoot one day. Love those sunglasses!

Here’s Sage again in a dramatic shot, taken at the top of a ridge near sunset.

Here’s Nya again, posing so beautifully and naturally using just one simple scarf. She’s got an instinct for modeling and I hope she pursues a pro career.

The talented Maddie — who knows how to look terrifically sophisticated and cinematic. She has an instinct for modeling and made this faux sheepskin piece look quite royal, like an expensive fur wrap.