Ben & Sheila - January 2010

My first wedding of 2010 (usually I have to wait till May to say that)! Ben and Sheila were married at Woodbury Lutheran Church, followed by a reception at the Dakota Lodge in West St. Paul. They are a fantastic couple, and a pleasure to work with!


Here is my favorite shot of the year so far. The couple had this pergola decorated with lights with the hopes of using it for some pictures at the reception. Even though the rain / freezing rain tried to stop us, Sheila still wanted to give it a go. Here the couple is back lit by my remote flash, which really helps them POP!

Technology Hates Me.... Part II

After a few "brainstorming" beers late last night, I figured out the problem.... MONEY! Since I host all of my pictures now through my web domain, and my website exceeded it's monthly quota. My hosting provider (doteasy), shut it all down until February, unless I upgrade my account. So I did, but they tell me it can take up to 24 hours to process :-(

A Full Set

I get asked quite often what a typical wedding set looks like. When I shoot a wedding, I am trying to capture an entire day, little glances, laughter, tears, details, events.... you know, memories! Afterwords I go through all of the shots and pick out the best of the best. Those are the shots I'll edit and pay extra special attention to. I call these the "proofs". I still present all of the other shots (minus the ones that don't work, eyes closed, etc) on the final disc as well.
Here is a sample of an entire proof set (minus the formal shots, because lets face it, you've seen one, you've seen them all). This was shot in May of 2010 with the help of my second shooter (Glenda Conner).

Please, only try to watch this if you have a high speed connection and at least 7 minutes to burn.

Technology HATES ME!

I consider myself a pretty techo-savvy guy (but not nerdy)... however I am totally dumbfounded as to what is going on with my blog! I don't see any pictures (and you probably don't either) and I have NO CLUE what is causing it. I can't even a create a new post with any pictures (and I have some fresh wedding pics to post)! To make matters worse, my main site is down with a case of Traffic Overload. Which is directing you here to look a pretty white boxes where awesome pictures are supposed to be (I can say awesome because you can't see them anyway).
If you have any incite as to what is causing, or how to fix this mess, PLEASE feel free to email me at picsbydan@hotmail.com
Of course, if you want want to ask any photography related questions you can do that there as well.

Winter Wonder Land

I spent a good chunk of December freezing my butt off in Canada... and visiting family over Christmas. The shot below is the "blue moon", also the last full moon of 2009. It happened on a VERY cold night, -34 C not including the windchill. Cold enough that my tripod leg almost broke when I was trying to fold it up to get back on the dog sled... er heated car. But kudos to my camera to keep on trucken' the way it did.
The shots below that are of the wilderness I drove through trying to find a good spot where the moon would peak out.



There was something a little surreal about this forest.

Although this was close to sunset, the sun doesn't really get much higher than this throughout the day.

Here is the road I was on, note the deep tracks on the right where I almost decided to spend the night, Bear Grills style.

Testimonials

These are simply copy and pasted from client emails or thank you cards. They are completely unsolicited emails! Of course I can also give direct references if needed.

Hi Dan,

"We" just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for the wonderful work you and your assistant did at our wedding! The pictures look absolutely amazing and we are getting so many compliments on them! We will be recommending your photography services to anyone who is having an upcoming wedding, engagement, family pictures, etc! Looking forward to getting together to put together our album!

Thank you again!

D.K.

The wedding pictures are GREAT!! Both of our families and all of our friends are absolutely blown away by the quality of the pictures. We have received nothing but compliments regarding the photographer!! Thanks again for doing such a wonderful job. The wedding day goes by so fast and you did such a wonderful job, we can go back and relive the day through the pictures that you managed to capture! R.L.

Thank you so much! They look great. I never would have expected pictures to look so good, especially when she was not in the best of moods that day. We can’t wait to come back for more this fall/winter. –S.M.

We are so glad we chose you as our photographer! Our pictures are fabulous! The “old style” ones by the fireplace at the mansion are a favorite. We have heard from many guests that our photographer was so good! I’d also like to thank you for your easy going demeanor, you were so nice to work with and didn’t stress me out at all! C.B.

Oh my gosh! Wow!!! They turned out amazing! Thank you for getting those up so quick! You did a wonderful job! We are speechless :) We look forward to our wedding and the wonderful pictures you'll take then! Thank you again! D.S.

I really enjoyed the pictures and having your as our photographer! You did a great job! When I saw the pictures of the ceremony I was so surprised! I told Zach that I didn't even see you at the end of the aisle...he said he didn't either. I think that is one of the signs of a Great wedding photographer! Thank you so much! –A.M.

We love your work. The proofs are absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much for your efforts. These are beautiful!! Thank you SO much. I am really happy how they turned out. You did a wonderful job. Thank you for spending the day with us and helping us capture all the special moments of the wedding. It is fun to look back at the pictures and relive the day. I'm looking forward to seeing the entire disc later... and all the ridiculous pictures of people mid-conversation. Haha - A.S.

Thank you for doing such a wonderful job with our wedding photos! Now that we are back from our wedding and honeymoon, it has been so fun to look through the pictures and remember what a special day it was. You captured a lot of great moments and memories on camera. The photos have been a nice way to share our wedding day with people who couldn’t be there also. Thank you for playing a part in our wedding day - A.K.

Oh my gosh Dan! I love you! (Don't tell ____.) These are amazing photos! You really know how to work with your surroundings. You made my day. Can't wait to see the rest! Thank you, thank you, thank you! – B J

We received the wedding disk in the mail on Friday. I just want to tell you that both Daryl and I appreciate you taking our pictures for our wedding and we enjoyed all of the pictures that you took. THANK YOU again for everything, you did a wonderful job and I will recommend you to anyone that I hear that is looking for a photographer! T.D.

Love them! Love them! Love them! Seriously, thank you so much! You were awesome to work. Pictures are great. I will be sure to recommend you to all my family and friends. – a.b.

Dan you are amazing and are truly blessed with this natural talent!!! I cannot thank you enough! I love them! B.D.

Hi Dan, We actually got the pictures while we were on our honeymoon. They are so amazing!! Thanks so much for your creativity. The pictures were exactly what we hoped they would be. I will continue to refer my co-workers and friends with family photo needs to you. Thanks again!!!
- S. M.

Dan, Thank you so much! The pictures are great! I can't wait to spread the word! I really had a great time and it was even better to have such a down to earth guy to photograph my special memories. I may be contacting you in the future for more special occasions. Thank you again, you Rock! - A.K.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You are so talented! I love the special effects and the variety of color & black & white. Some of those picture look like they are out of a magazine! Way fun & cool. That barn was neat to take photos in. I am glad you had fun :)
I am definitely going to refer you to all of my friends who are getting married, or need a photographer. - A. H.

Dan! thanks so much, we love them. we are going to be sending you a little something extra for the amazing job you've done...so be on the lookout for that ;). Thanks SOOOOOOOOOO much!!! we will recommend you to everyone we know!!! - J. C.

Just thought I'd let you know that you have already gotten some great reviews from my family and friends! :) And mentions of recommendations of referring you if anyone is in need in the future.
- K. W.

We LOVE the pictures! They are really, really good and exactly what we were hoping for. You were able to get great shots of the boys together, individually, the family together, us with the dog, etc. I know that's not an easy task either! Thank you very much. - K. B.

The pictures are all wonderful. We had a great time with you. I didn't realize how many pictures you took during the cocktail hour, it is great to have memories of this. I would be happy to talk to others about your services if you ever need a reference. - M. B.
Love the pictures! We've already had tons of compliments. Thanks again for the awesome work. - A.C.

I am so pleased with how the pictures turned out. As you may recall I was concerned because I hated the way I looked in pictures and having my picture taken...you really worked some magic at our wedding as it was not painful at all:) In addition, the photos you took of Jon and I turned out beautifully. We have received so many compliments and have been told that the ones that you made black and white with color look like something out of a fairy tale. - J. H.

Awesome work! I just know I will see you at all my friends weddings. One of my bridesmaids is getting married and she wants to make sure you are the one that does her wedding. You made quite an impression I guess. - M. T.

I just wanted to tell you that we loved the pictures. You really made an impression on my family, very professional and polite. - H. T.

Dani & Scott

Dani and Scott were fantastic to work with, they were really laid back and easy going. Their wedding was gorgeous. Dani wore her moms old wedding dress for the ceremony, which was very unique (and rare). After a quick stop at The Depot for some pictures, we carried on to the Profile Event Center for the reception.

Minutes before the formal pictures, Scott was still deciding which tie to wear :)





We stopped for some shots at the Depot. This set by the rink, attracted quite a bit of attention.



The Profile Event Center served as a very colorful backdrop for their reception.