Alison and Brent

Jessica and I got to photograph Alison and Brent for their engagement photos today and it was so much fun. He lives in Colorado Springs, she lives in Las Vegas and they are getting married in Mexico. Their wedding photographer, Eric, lives in Utah and there was no way to get all three of them in the same place at the same time. So Eric contacted us about shooting their engagement pictures, kind of a roundabout way, but everything worked out.

Christmas

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas. That you spent time with family and friends, had time to relax, and reflect on what is truly important in your life, and tell people how lucky you are to have them in your life.

Jessica and I love Christmas time, we decorate our house, put up a tree, bake Christmas cookies and really get into the spirit of the season. So these past five days were absolutely perfect. We went to Canon City and spent time with Jessica's family for a few days. Then we came home on Christmas Eve for our traditional dinner with my family. We woke up Christmas morning and opened some presents, then went to my parents house to open some more presents. We had a big breakfast and then spent the evening at my Grandparent's house for more presents and time with family. Spending the time with our family was so much fun and we wouldn't have traded it for anything.

So here is a glimpse into how we spent the Christmas season. I hope you enjoy it...

Happy Holidays!

Jess and I are heading to Canon City to spend time with her side of the family; we will be down there until Christmas Eve and then back to Denver to spend time with my family. I probably won't be blogging for a few days so I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. I hope that everyone has a chance to spend time with loved ones, reflect on how lucky you are and relax. I know that's what I'll be doing.

Christmas Tradition

One of my favorite things about this time of year are the different traditions that my family has. We have always had the same seafood dinner on Christmas Eve, Christmas morning has been the same for as long as I can remember; and I love it. One of our little traditions is to watch the movie, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. It is one of the funniest movies, and certainly one of the funniest Christmas movies ever. I have seen that movie dozens of times, and it's always funny; and it will always be funny. If you haven't seen it, you probably should. What are some of your holiday traditions, and why do you like them?

Second Shooting

I got to second shoot a wedding with Katie from Jenna Walker Photography on Friday night and it was such a great time. I really respect Jenna and Katie and everything they have done, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to photograph with Katie. I really enjoyed second shooting because I was able to just hang back and get some very candid shots and some shots from different angles. It snowed all day, and it was pretty cold but that didn't stop us from getting some great shots. Here is my favorite picture from the day. Kelsey spent about 5 minutes with her dad before he walked her down the aisle and it was such an emotional moment.

I will post some more pictures in the next few days; and I apologize for getting behind on my blogging. I hope everyone is getting their Christmas shopping done, and that you will all have the chance for some time off and relaxation around the holidays.

Christmas Cards

Jess and I are getting ready to send out our Christmas cards and we have some extras. So if you would like one of our Christmas cards, and you don't think we have your address, please just e-mail me your address. Our e-mail is
andrew @ schaeferphotography .net. Just put Christmas card in the subject line, then give me your name and address and tell me who you are if I don't know you. We don't have a bunch of extras so if you send me your address and you don't get one I apologize.

Colfax Cruise

I spent Saturday photographing Colfax Avenue with some great photographers. Taj put the event together and he calls it a "Photo Safari." The goal is to try and photograph as much of the uniqueness of Colfax as possible. There is so much variety in the architecture and personality of the different sections of Colfax; that it is impossible to photograph it all in one day. We are going to do this again in the spring and I am really looking forward to it.

The weather was cold and snowy which always makes for interesting lighting and pictures. These are just some of the spots that I stopped to photograph along the way.





This might be one of my favorite pictures from the day; our group eating lunch and warming up.


An interesting self portrait.





If you have ever been to Casa Bonita then you know why I stopped there. If you have never been to Casa Bonita I would recommend it. The food is some of the worst around, but the atmosphere more than makes up for it.





From left to right: Rachel, Kevin, Me, Taj and Jessica. Rachel is a photographer as well as Kevin and Jessica. Thanks for setting this up Taj, I look forward to next time.


I am going to be posting my pictures larger from now on. Let me know what you think.

Our new logo.

As you have probably noticed our blog has a completely new look. We changed away from the black background to a "cleaner" and simpler white background. We also have a new logo, which you can see at the top of the page. We are very excited about the new logo and the new look and I have to give a big thank you to Taylor Dollarhide who did the design for us. It was a great experience and we are glad that we decided to hire a professional. If you need a new logo, or some design work please don't hesitate to give Taylor a call.

An apology and some pictures.

I realized it's been a week since my last post, and I wanted to apologize. I usually don't get that far behind on blogging, but I have some interesting things to talk about the next few days. My dad and I spent a few days deer hunting last week in eastern Colorado. I always enjoy our trips together because I get to spend some quality time with my dad; it is one of my favorite activities every year. There is a lot of old machinery and all kinds of cool textures on some of the farms out there, so it is always fun to take pictures. We also came across a huge flock of red winged black birds, and we had fun watching and photographing all of them. So here are a few random pictures from last week.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"

Especially at our house. Jessica and I put our Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving (we couldn't wait) and we decorated our house inside and out. I told Jessica that someday we will have the tackiest most overdecorated house on the block; luckily she is more sensible when it comes to things like that. We both love the holiday and Christmas season, Jessica gets some time off from school, and we get to spend a lot of time with our family and friends. We don't get overwhelmed with "shopping" and we try hard to find gifts for people that have true meaning. We always try hard to remember the true significance of this time of year. It is also a great time to reflect on the last year and be excited for the upcoming year.

And yes we did put some decorations outside the house, last year we had the reindeer, and this year we have Santa to keep him company.



These last few weeks have been really incredible for me and Jessica. One thing I have learned is the importance of building relationships with other photographers. There are so many great photographers, and I can learn something from all of them; so I am very thankful that I have had the opportunity to meet and spend time with many of them. Shannon from Center Avenue Imaging hosted a get together at her house a few weeks ago and it was such an awesome time, thanks Shannon. I am also very thankful to Jenna Walker who has helped me and Jessica so much the last year. And Chris and Katie Humphreys were gracious enough to spend some time with me while they were in Colorado for vacation. I am so excited about the friendships and relationships that we are making, and I want to be able to return the generosity that so many people have given to us.

Happy Thanksgiving To Everyone

I have always enjoyed Thanksgiving because I get to spend the day with family, and really reflect on what I am thankful for. I have such a blessed and wonderful life and I am thankful for so many things. Jessica, my family, my friends, everyone who let us into their lives to photograph their wedding this year. I am thankful that I have the opportunity and ability to take pictures as my profession and I am thankful for everyone who takes the time to read my blog. I am also thankful for all of the great photographers I have met this year who have shared their knowledge and helped me grow. There are so many other things that I am thankful for, but these are the most important to me. So please remember to tell someone why you are thankful for them today.

And remember to eat as much food as you want, I know I will.

Don't worry, you're at the right blog.

As you probably noticed, our blog has a slightly different look to it. We recently got a new logo (thanks Taylor) which I will talk more about soon; and we are going to be changing some of our colors as well. We may try a few different things over the next month, so please let us know what you think. At the beginning of the year we are going to "unveil" some of our new changes; which we are very excited about. But in the mean time keep your eyes open for a few of the changes.

Happy (Early) Thanksgiving.

Jessica's family came to our house yesterday to celebrate an early Thanksgiving together. It was so much fun and we always enjoy spending time with everyone. I think we could write an article about how to have a 9 person dinner in a 900 square foot house. We had all of the traditional fare for a turkey dinner and it was all delicious. Here are a few pictures of our nephews from the day.

Sunrise can be awesome.

This picture was taken at sunrise last week while I was out hunting with my dad. Sunrise can be one of the most incredible times of day for pictures, you do however have to get up pretty early. I shot this with my new point and shoot camera, I just bought it a few weeks ago, and so far I really like it. I'll talk more about that in another post.

I think what really makes this picture is the composition. I put the rising sun in the lower left corner, and I zoomed in tight so all you see are the tree limbs. It gives the picture a mysterious look.