Nottingham Council House and Old Market Square with people walking and gathering.

 From Nottingham to Aspen — via a ski season that never quite ended.

Landscape of a mountainous area with autumn foliage, showing colorful trees, hills, and distant snow-capped peaks under a dramatic cloudy sky.

 I'm Darren. I came to Aspen from England in 2004. Originally for one ski season, then another, then for good. I spent the first few years just photographing the place: the way the light moves across the Bells in October, how a snowstorm changes the valley overnight, the particular quiet of Ashcroft in February. In 2014 I started turning the camera toward the people who come here too. The couples who get engaged at 11,000 feet. The families who travel every year and want proof that it happened. The small weddings that feel exactly right because they're exactly the right size. My approach is unhurried. I plan the logistics, location, timing, light, backup plan so you don't have to. Then I get out of the way and let the session find its own shape. The best moments aren't posed. They happen when people forget I'm there.


Bronze statue of an archer with a bow, set against a stone wall background, located outdoors on a paved area with grass.
A close-up of a man with blond hair and blue eyes, gazing thoughtfully, with his hand near his chin, wearing a black shirt and a silver ring, standing outdoors with blurred wooden structures and greenery in the background.

“A GOOD PORTRAIT IS INCREDIBLY HARD TO CREATE. IT’S ABOUT THE CONNECTION AND THE EMOTION, NOT JUST THE PERSON.”


— PETER HURLEY

A wedding couple standing on a balcony with a scenic mountain and red brick building backdrop. The bride wears a white lace gown, and the groom is in a black suit with a kippah.
Couple dancing at a wedding reception in a ballroom, featuring elegant decor and guests in the background.
A couple embracing outdoors, woman appears pregnant, both smiling.