We Are Here.

We made it to Vegas safe and sound, the drive was great. Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery and great company. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures, I know its crazy we are at a photography convention and haven't taken any pictures. We have been soaking in all kinds of information, new albums, new products, and new and different methods to get great pictures. Above all, though, we are focusing on things that will create a better experience for you. We only want to use new products if they will make your life easier, and make your pictures more amazing. So when we get back we will have all kinds of great ideas. We hope that everyone is doing well, and remember we are always just a phone call away.

Finally!

Well as promised our new website is up, and I am absolutely blown away. It is really incredible, everything flows so well, the music is great, the colors are amazing. I am really impressed with it, and I hope that everyone feels the same way. There is a flash version for faster Internet connections, and an HTML version for dial-up Internet connections. There is also a link to my blog on the splash page, so you will always know where it is. Please look through it and give me some feedback, I hope you like it. Well I am off to pack for Vegas, I will update the blog a few times while I am gone, so please check it. And I will always have my phone with me, so call with any questions or comments that you may have. 303-503-7543. Oh and here is a link to the new website. www.schaeferphotography.net

WOW!

No it's not my website, but it is going to be awesome. It is a day or two away yet, but it will definitely be worth it. What I am talking about is a new album I got today, from a new company that I am trying out. It is really incredible, and is very hard to explain in words. I am very excited to add it to my packages, and begin offering to whoever wants one. Please check back soon for the new website, it will be up soon, I promise.

Even these pictures really don't do them justice, but you can get a general idea.

A Sunny Weekend In Colorado

This weekend was another amazing one here in Colorado, 70+ degree temperature both days. In fact Jess got a little sunburned while eating lunch outside on Sunday. Guess it's time to get the sunscreen out. We went to City Park on Saturday afternoon to take some pictures of each other. This has been a great way for us to practice posing, and trying out some cool angles and things like that. Jess is getting better and better with a camera every time she uses one. City Park is undergoing some major renovations, hopefully everything will be completed soon.

We purchased our new website and we will begin editing it and uploading content this week. Thanks to Bludomain for creating the template and setting it up for us. They are an amazing company and I am really excited to see my finished website. Check back here this week, because I hope to have it up and running by weeks end. Because at the end of the week we are off to Las Vegas for the WPPI convention. We are going to learn so much about the wedding photography industry, and we will have the opportunity to see all of the amazing new products available. It is definitely going to make us even better photographers, we can't wait.

We also are using some new software to create slideshows, our first practice one should start at the bottom of this post. It is only about 60 seconds long, and it is definitely goofy. But hey, that's us.
If it doesn't start you can watch it by clicking here...www.schaeferphotography.net/citypark1

And as always pictures...


This is a high saturation photo, it really makes the colors pop. Let me know what you think about it.

Finally some warm weather.

This week has brought us a few days of 70+ degree weather, after all of the cold and snow we have had I don't mind a little global warming. I had promised Jess that on the first 70 degree day I would buy her a new pair of flip-flops, so I had to live up to that promise and after somehow she ended up with two pairs. She works very hard, 50 hours a week at school, a few more hours at home, all day classes in Greeley every other Saturday for her masters, and being an integral part of our photography business. She deserves everything she gets and more, she has been such an inspiration to me.

Since the weather was so nice I decided to go for a run yesterday. Everything was fine, although I wouldn't recommend running near a middle school when the kids are getting out...because I got a few heckles. The first one "Run Forrest Run" is pretty predictable and not very original. The second one "Hey man your legs are really white," is really just stating the obvious. Anyone who knows me knows that I have white legs, get over it. I will probably go running again today, but I will try and miss the middle school.

Here are some pictures of our walk this weekend along the South Platte in Littleton.

So here are the new flip-flops.


I have always loved reflection pictures.


And random pictures of signs.


Jessica is really getting some great shots.


It is only a matter of time before she is a better photographer than me.


Changing your angle and perspective is a great way to get some cool looking pictures.

Two Amazing Weddings

In the past week Jessica and I have booked two weddings.

The first one is Michele and Lee and their wedding will be taking place August 31st at the Evergreen Conference Center. It is going to be a beautiful wedding, about 60-70 people, a carriage ride, and one of the most beautiful times of year in Colorado. They are a great couple and Jessica and I really enjoyed meeting them, we are going to be scheduling an engagement photo session in the future...so stay tuned.

Kirstin and Bill live in Castle Rock and their wedding is September 22nd at the Boettcher Mansion. The Boettcher Mansion will be such an incredible venue for their wedding. The ceremony will be at 11 in the morning, with a lunch to follow, an afternoon wedding that time of year is going to be truly amazing. The weather will be perfect, and the atmosphere will be very relaxed.

I want to say thank you to both Michele and Lee and Kirstin and Bill. Jessica and I are so excited to be a part of their wedding, and we can't wait for their respective days. Although I hope they are just a little more excited than we are, (but just a little, because we can't wait.)

A Great Compliment

I got this great compliment from the mother of a groom yesterday...

"Andrew,
I have been meaning to write to you since I saw the very first photos you sent right after the wedding. I really don’t know where to begin to tell you how incredibly amazing all the photos are, they just leave me speechless! You are extremely talented and I am just so impressed by your work. I have shared your website with every one I can think of and every one has had only praise for your work (although as the Mother I must say you had some attractive subjects to work with)! So I will happily do any PR for you that I can. And yes I did receive the photos I ordered, thank you so much for the 8x10 it is one of my very favorite. I can’t wait to receive the photo album. You can be sure I will be carrying it around the hospital (Littleton) with me and showing it off to as many people as I can! I hope our paths will cross again in the future and thank you so very much for preserving this most special day so beautifully."

I am so glad to hear these great praises from people, it means so much to me, and it is one of the reasons why I am doing this job.

Evergreen and Hiwan

Jessica and I are meeting with a client who will be having their wedding at the Evergreen Conference Center so we decided to take an afternoon drive up there this weekend. The weather was incredible and it felt great to get out of the house. I always start to get "cabin fever" this time of year. In fact I spent some time in REI today just looking at backpacks and all their other cool gear.

But anyway, Evergreen is a great little town only about 30 minutes west of Denver. The conference center is in a beautiful location and we are excited about the possibility of photographing a wedding there. We also made a stop at the Hiwan Homestead Museum a pretty cool place if you like history...and if you don't, well it is still a neat place. Definitely worth checking out if you have a free afternoon. There are also some great Open Space parks in and around Evergreen which have some great hiking, if you like that kind of thing.

Jessica makes a great model.


I guess I make a pretty good model.


I love pictures with both of us.


Jessica was unaware that it was a working bell. Until she rang it, then the loud sound let us know that it was in fact functional.


A very random, very cool picture.


Another random picture.


These are the actual tools that the architect used to build the home...a long time ago. It's amazing how advanced people were even 150 years ago.


These are the letters that were used in the printing press.


This is the actual printing press. Seriously, how much more difficult would your life be if that's how you had to type?


A wagon wheel.


How about traveling cross country in this?

World Affairs Challenge at DU

Jessica's sister, Heather, has been planning and organizing the World Affairs Challenge for months through her job at The University of Denver. It is a huge, 700+ people, event that brings in middle school and high school students from across the state. There were 59 groups of 5-10 students each, and every group had a presentation or skit based on a topic of their choice. The overarching theme of the event was "The Global Marketplace," so every groups topic had to fall into this category. It is an amazing event that allows kids to research and explore issues that they may otherwise never learn about. Things like the black market animal trade, outsourcing jobs, CD and DVD piracy just to name a few. Every presentation was unique, and the preparation and effort put in by the kids really showed. Every presentation was judged and int the end one high school and one middle school team were honored as the best. This is my second year participating and I hope to take pictures for years to come. Thanks to Heather and the Center for Teaching International Relations for allowing me to be a part of it. So, here are just a few of the pictures from the day...

Heather and Liz briefing the kids.


All the kids had to take a current events quiz..I'm not sure if I could have passed it.



One of the 59 groups of kids. This presentation was about outsourcing and insourcing of jobs. The skit was based on The Apprentice and was called "The Novice."


There were three different judges watching every presentation.


We couldn't make it through the day without a few funny pictures. This one was taken by my lovely and talented wife Jessica.


DU has an incredible campus.


Each group was also given a question which they had to answer, their answers then presented to a panel of judges.


The winning teams each presented their skits for everyone to see.



Congratulations to everyone involved for a truly amazing event. And Heather, you did a great job.