Colorado Wedding Photographers New Studio Space

I have to say photography is one of the most difficult and passionate journeys I have ever embarked on, besides my marriage.  Part of it, is because of the unique challenges of the business, but many are just the everyday struggles of owning your own business.  I have read many books, both in college and as a business owner through the process.  That’s right I read a book, believe it and most of them didn’t have pictures.

With a business you have an idea.  It usually starts right there.  If you don’t know our story I will give you a short rundown.  Angie and I both graduated from CSU in Fort Collins.  I graduated with a Computer Informations Systems degree and Angie a PR/Marketing Degree.  It’s a story of doing what you think everyone wants you to do.  I was an IT consultant for 5 years and was the youngest Senior Consultant in the firm.  I was good at it.  I traveled every week.  The concierge and people at the front of whatever Hilton and Marriott I was staying at knew me by first name.  Making lots of money, but I felt empty, see I had a need and desire to help people.  I did what I could every day to help those around me.  I had not yet found my calling.  I applied for the FBI it had been a dream of mine to help others.  I applied for a Special Agent job.  Six months later, I was asked to sit for the test.  It was a long shot.  There were six positions in Colorado from what I could tell about 300 people taking the test.  I did not pass the test or wasn’t one of the six.  I was devastated, to be honest.  I really wanted to help people and I thought that was going to be the outlet.  I was also very driven had usually always gotten whatever I had put my mind to doing.  During this time I had been taking pictures for people in town on the weekends, mostly for friends or friends of friends.  What I didn’t know would happen was they showed others my images.  Within a year I was turning away business.  I didn’t have the time to do both consulting during the week and photography on the weekends.  I didn’t know just how powerful the images were to the people and their families that I was taking.

I was younger and didn’t know people are not around forever.  Call me naive, if you must.  Angie and I have run into many situations where  we took images of people who just a few weeks later was no longer with us, to those families, those images were the most valuable thing they had now.  It’s why when a house is burning down it’s the first thing people grab.  In other instances our images have shown people just how much someone else matters to them.  A true and honest picture doesn’t lie.  At weddings we are not just photographers we are advisors, sometimes we counselors.  A good photographer is there to capture your moments and to help out in any way we can.

We started our business in our home, meeting with clients anywhere we could.  We had humble beginnings.  We started eight years ago and after a few years our business grew so much we rented a place.   We were located their for 4 years.  It helped our business greatly and helped us grow our business.  The problem with renting it was, it was never ours.  We did our best to show clients who we were and it was a great place to start.  But eight years later, we have finally purchased a place that is ours.

Getting the place wasn’t smooth sailing either.  We moved out of studio we were renting and the deal on the first place we were going to buy went south.  So we were without a studio and the place we had our heart set on was not an option.  It’s devastating at the time, but when you get to look back at times like these they happen for a reason.  We ended up with a better place at a better price.  At the time it was not fun.  When things are meant to be they work out.

Here is the part were I am so appreciative.  We didn’t just get here by ourselves.  Our families have always been supportive.  Well maybe after they got over the you quit your six figure job and your going to be a photographer phase.  I want to thank everyone who helped us move our things in, gave us advice, were supportive and helped make this dream of ours come true.

My father is a successful business man he always has been building a few small businesses to million dollar companies.  Thank you for all the time you have spent over the years letting me kick new and exciting ideas by you and even the ones that we can laugh about now.

Mom and Virgil,  thank you for always believing in me and Angie and helping us grow our business.  Virgil thank you for all the little things that were big for us.  You know all the projects I am way to unhandy to do.  The fact you always believe we can do what we put our minds to has inspired us.

Don-  Thank you for all of the help dragging things out of storage and bringing it all over, and the help with our child the dog.

Debbie-  Thank you for being there when we needed the support and help moving out of the studio not knowing what would come next.

So without  getting more mushy, here is the new office that we worked so hard on.  It’s been a journey from electrical work to painting.

Here are a few of the pictures from the Renovation.  If you are doing one on your commercial property or house both were excellent and we couldn’t have done it without them.

Heritage Electric I found were the best denver electricians in town.  Great service cleaned up after adding lights and additional power outlets.

Tony at Taylor Made Construction did all of the beautiful work on the place.  He added the flooring, base and crown molding. It was a lot of work and Tony and his crew got it done. We can’t thank you enough Tony. You can call Tony at 720-338-7597.

Now and Then

My first camera was a 35mm pentax pz70.  I loved taking pictures with it in Highschool.  I took this picture of angie back then and I have taken it with me  a lot of places.  When I was an IT consultant traveling in early 2000  I would take this picture just about everywhere.  You can see it has a little wear.  I still have the camera and the girl.  Not bad.  I thought it was pretty funny that although the camera has changed I don’t think that she has changed that much.  What do you think?

Wedding Photographs in Alaska

The day after Carl and Bonnie’s wedding we had the chance to travel around and do more pictures  with the two of them!  If we have the chance at a destination wedding to do another session we always will!  It’s so much fun to explore other parts of the area we are in and take our time creating the images!  Carl and Bonnie were good sports standing on ledges overlooking the ocean, walking through the woods and even playing with some fire.  Alaska is so pretty, Andy and I could  of taken pictures there for days and still not have scratched the surface.  We found hidden waterfalls with rocks covered in moss and flowers, rocky ledges overlooking the ocean with mountains behind and old mining towns with rustic little buildings and natural streams.  We had so much fun that day playing around for hours trying to get in as much as we could!

After 2 days of wedding photography we were ready to explore more of Alaska and hit the road in an RV!  We had a blast and are so thankful to Carl and Bonnie for including us on their wedding day and showing us their beautiful state!

Destination Wedding Alaska

Andy & I love to travel for weddings! This particular wedding we were extra excited for because it was in Anchorage, Alaska! Neither of us had been there before and we couldn’t wait to see it! As with most of our destination weddings we started with the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. We don’t often get to see that part of the wedding and it’s fun to get to know the family and to hear the stories they tell about the couple!

Carl and Bonnie met up in Alaska where Carl had been living most of his life; she quickly adapted to the outdoor way of life, learning to hunt, fish and sleep even with the sun out 20 hours a day. When they got engaged they had the tough decision of where to have the ceremony and finally settled on the zoo! We were excited about this new venue because it was nestled amongst the trees with cute little pathways leading you to the different exhibits. The section where they were married was a large open grass area surrounded by tall trees.

The bridesmaids wore cute little strapless black dresses and carried pretty bouquets full of pink, purple and white flowers. After the ceremony they had a cocktail hour and a fun reception in one of the large wooden Alaska buildings in the middle of the zoo. We had fun taking pictures after the ceremony all over the zoo with the different animals and big blue water tanks! Because we were there in the summer we had around 20 hours of daylight so we even got in a few family photos at the end of the night! Here are some of our favorite images from their wedding!