I’ve worked as a professional photographer for more than a decade. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in photojournalism and started out in the newspaper industry. During that time, I shot everything from criminal court trials to Detroit Pistons games (I’m originally from Michigan); structure fires to beauty pageants; congressional debates to high school football games on Friday nights. Every day was a new challenge; every assignment a new learning opportunity. My time as a photojournalist taught me to be resourceful and to think on my feet, which has proven invaluable for wedding photography. In the summer of 2008, I started shooting weddings on the side and absolutely loved it. I was able to visit new places, meet new people, and was granted a very important and personal role in what was arguably the most joyful day of their lives. Plus, I started getting a ton of compliments on my work and how it was different from typical wedding photography. People would tell me that they could spot one of my photos from a mile away without having to be told who the photographer was – that I was beginning to cultivate a very specific style. So when my wife, Moira, and I moved to Colorado that fall, I decided to make wedding photography my full-time career; we started J. La Plante Photo and never looked back. When I’m not behind the lens, you can probably find me on the slopes. Skiing is one of the main reasons I moved west. I’m also obsessed with the music scene out here. Red Rocks is by far the coolest venue I’ve ever been to. I’m a craft beer nerd, a movie buff, an amateur screenwriter and an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction alike. And I love to travel. I’ve been to 18 foreign countries and all 50 United States. I drove all over the American West before deciding to settle in Colorado, where I immediately fell in love with the state’s blend of urban and outdoor lifestyles. The proximity of Denver to the mountains felt too good to be true and now, eight years later, it still feels that way. I can’t imagine a more perfect setting for a wedding photographer. [Boulder Wedding Photographer]

I'm Joe Pyle and I'm a wedding photographer living in Estes Park, CO where the air is thin and the views are stunning. I've been photographing weddings and engagements since 2013 full time, and can't think of anything else I'd rather do. While that may sound cliche, I've done it all. Past work includes: electrician, plumber, factory line worker, HVAC tech, window cleaner, bike mechanic, auto bodywork, basic construction, web design, hardware store clerk, gas station attendant, and probably several more that I don't really care to conjure. The point is, I've done a lot of things and wedding photography is by far the most rewarding, fun, and adventurous "job" I've ever been a part of. I come from a long line of hard-working individuals from the midwest United States, Iowa to be exact, and was taught the value of hard work and getting your hands dirty. My brother, sister, and I grew up in an earth home that my dad built. It was about 20 miles out in the country and we heated it with wood that we cut down, hauled home, and split- all by hand. In order to have enough heat for the harsh Iowa winters we needed between 15-20 truckloads of wood and I remember chores being a big part of our day. The hard work gene has been passed from my grandad to my own boys who now love to split wood for our wood-burning stove here in Estes Park. My grandad and my dad both were U.S. Navy men who served our country. I remember both of them telling stories of traveling to places like Borneo, Thailand, Japan, and China. When you're a young boy, these places seem so amazingly beautiful and I promised myself that when I married we'd travel. My wife Kari and I just took a trip to Paris and Venice to celebrate our anniversary (I won't say which one, YIKES!) for our first time to Europe and we've both caught the travel bug. Speaking of Kari, she works with me at every wedding. Her eye compliments mine and we work together very well. We've been married for several years now and have two boys together. We shoot around 20-30 weddings per year and that includes an engagement session with almost everyone. We're very busy with our work, but we always make time for each other. We get outside a lot and we rock climb, hike, trail run, cycle, and mountain bike. Our love for the outdoors has formed our lives together and we homeschool our boys so that we can create a schedule that works with our lifestyle. Moving to the heart of the Rocky Mountains was the best decision we've made and we can't imagine living anywhere else. It is beautiful here and it just feels like home. When someone asks what our "style" of photography is, we don't have a direct answer. What we do is what you want us to do. If you like our style on our site, then awesome. If not, that's awesome too. If you're here looking at this page, chances are you're engaged or almost engaged. Congratulations, we wish you the very best! If you want photography that is bold, vibrant, and full of emotion in a fantastic setting, get in touch with us. We'd love to start the conversation. Cheers, -joe [Estes Park Wedding Photographer]