There were so many people at the Grand Opening on Sunday that at times, dare I say it was crowded. It was so great to see all of my friends come to support me in my endeavors. There were people there that I had not seen in months and some, even close to a four years. Much thanks goes out to the people that traveled any distance to get there; from one block like Eric and Rebecca to across the country like Summer and her darling one year old Kate.
The room was full of activity, just like I like it. There were kids playing in the corner, people drinking Sangria and much merriness was had by all. I was so honored to have all of these people there to support me. Some came bearing gifts…completely unnecessary but what girl does not LOVE flowers? I had to take photos of them right away. Some even get to stay with me in my gardens, and the colors of the flowers were so fantastic. See for yourself!
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago at 6:55 am. Add a comment
Well today is the big day; the one I have been working towards for the last few weeks, months and truth be told-years. When I graduated school and was officially a professional photographer I really had no idea what I wanted to do; open my own business, work for someone else, who knew. After spending much time thinking about it everything just sort of fell into place. I then started getting really excited about it and today; THRILLED!!!
The grand opening is today; a time where friends and family can come down and visit and see the results of the work I have put in. I am so excited to share this day with everyone!
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago at 6:47 am. Add a comment
This endeavor has been a particularly interesting one with so many ups and downs. When I left my over a year ago I had NO idea what I wanted to do and my husband, the fantastic man that he is, said don’t worry about it. “Wait until it hurts more to not do something than it does to do nothing”. And that is precisely what I did. I waited, and I waited…and I waited. Then one day I told him what I wanted to do and he has been so supportive it has been amazing. I never knew someone could be so supportive of me and deal with all the crazy that goes along with it.
So I started looking for a space and found one that needed a lot of work. Because I have a family that loves to clean that was not a worry. Then, completely unexpectedly the owner of that building passed away. Tim “Fitz” Fitzgerald was a great man and a great photographer in his own right and he is missed by all. That however, brought on another search for a space.
The next space was in the basement of an old photography studio, perfect right? Wrong. That was a whole separate fiasco that is not worth repeating. What it did do was put me on another search. A very wise man once told me to “follow the path of least resistance” and once I did, things fell perfectly into place.
One morning in my Art Appreciation class when I should have been taking notes (sorry Prof. Wenzel) I was writing down on a piece of paper what I wanted in a studio
- high ceilings
- easy access
- safe neighborhood
- windows
- nice landlord
- great art area
- access 24/7
- low rent
- 1000+ square feet
- art crawl area
That day it ALL came true. Every single piece.
I will be in suite 496 until August first when I move to a 1300+ sq. feet space on the first floor. Both studios have windows, access 24/7 and the landlords are great. The space is also in the heart of the St Paul Art Crawl…YAHOO!!! It all came true.
So now for the open house info: Free snax, drawings for gift certificates and one lucky bride will win the wedding package of her choice. I am so excited for this endeavor I can hardly stand it; but there is much work to be done between now and then.
So, tell your friends, tell your family members, tell everyone!
I can’t wait to see you all next weekend!
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago at 10:51 am. Add a comment
A few weeks ago I had the luxury of taking a very scenic tour to middle Minnesota to my hometown of Hutchinson to photograph band photos for a great band called PYPE. The guys in the band; Brad, Bram, James and Mark were rockstars! It was cold out that day and they did not let it bother them at all. Not even when I had them running into the middle of the street to take photos. They were up for anything and the band photos turned out great. They were ready and willing to do anything from standing in a dumpster to all of them piling into a phone booth. You are going to have to see those photos when they get their promotional material printed.
I am really excited to see the promotional materials that LeAnn comes up with. LeAnn is the person behind the scenes that does things like create websites, arrange for a photographer to come take promotional photos and the creator of said materials. I am really looking forward to seeing her design work with my images; when the CD drops you will be the first to know.
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago at 9:42 pm. Add a comment
Well, here it is. My very first post as a blogger. I hope this goes well.
I am starting this blog with my very first professional business portrait session. I realized I needed some photographs of me on my website so I asked my friend Amy of Amy Elaine Photography to take them. We had a blast. We found some little nooks and crannies at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis that were fantastic for photos. I have to remember this spot! It is perfect; it is indoors, Stone Arch Bridge in the back ground and great window light. It was perfect. Best of all, we had a blast! As a photographer it is not often that I find myself in front of the lens, and when you do I am typically goofing around so this was a challenge for me. I had to plan what I was going to wear, make sure my hair was good and I had shoes that matched on and smile on cue. Now I know what my clients feel like. I think it would be a good thing for me to do this every now and again, just to refresh my mind as to the level of work my clients go through to see me. It’s not as easy as I sometimes think it is, especially if they have kids or dogs. They have so much invested in coming to visit me; time and patience being the two biggies. I have learned a lot from this experience and will think back on it every time a client comes to visit me.
Posted 6 months, 1 week ago at 9:42 pm. Add a comment
