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Monthly Archives: September 2008

SOMEWHAT OF A WRAP

Okay kids, the new logo is a done deal. You can check it out for yourself in the header of the blog! And in some further updates: the new website is up! YEA! It presently has two domains that direct to it: www.aesarts.com AND www.ameliastrauss.com. At some point the domain to the blog will become www.ameliastrauss.net, but give it some time. This whole changing of the business name fiasco is an interesting undertaking, but hopefully will diffuse some of the confusion of the past. Anyway, with all that said, here is a shot that sums up almost how happy I am to have gotten this far and to be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel…
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Thank you all so much for your amazing support - you have each blessed me more than you could know. My business has just taken off over the last four years and it has grown so much faster than I could have ever imagined was possible. What an awesome and faithful God I serve! My hopes are that each of you are blessed in such amazing ways. Truly, He can make the desires of your heart come to full fruition, and your wildest dreams come true!

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NEW LOGO

So, I have a couple options for a new logo to go along with my new business name. Here are the choices at this point:

Option Number 1:

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Option Number 2:

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There are a couple of more options and concepts being thrown around right now. For example: new pink or old pink; new fonts or old fonts; dots or no dots; you see where I’m going with all this. Any thoughts or preferences? I would love to have some feedback from everyone. The ideal situation for me would be to change this thing once - and then not again for a really really long time. Feel free to post or email me directly. Thanks!

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A WHOLE NEW WORLD

Okay, so the business is under MAJOR revamping. Some highlights include: the introduction of a whole new website, a new business name (yep, that’s right), and my new client consultation space at the studio! As we make the transition into Amelia Strauss Photography, these next few weeks should be pretty dang interesting. I’m about to overload everyone with some intense blogging over the next few days so get ready. The new website goes live later TODAY! Yea!

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GUEST BLOG…IN THE SPIRIT OF BILL SIMMONS

On a trip down to the beach, Amelia woke up to the sound of the BS report, a podcast by Bill Simmons, a writer for ESPN. He happened to be talking about the upcoming release of the new 90210 series, so of course Amelia fell immediately in love. That singular incident was the catalyst for Amelia listening to Bill’s podcasts and reading his articles on espn.com, which has lead to this. In Simmons’ weekly articles during football season he gives his wife space to write about whatever she chooses, as well as make pro football picks against the spread, which she has beat him in every year and is running about 60% accuracy by choosing teams based on the mascot or the team color or whether she likes the city the team is based in or not. Based on reading these articles, Amelia thought it would be a great idea for me to have a “weekly” article on her blog, that could be for the husbands or husbands-to-be that are having to act like they are interested in reading the blog of their photographer that their wives or fiancees are showing them. I more-than-likely won’t have pictures to go with mine, so I will have to create mental images with my words. In keeping with Amelia’s themes, the topic of my first blog is inspired by the photo shoot I went on two weeks ago with Heather and Myles. It was during this shoot that I explained to Myles that when you get married, there is an unspoken understanding or maybe it is somewhere in the fine print of the marriage license that says that after the words “I Do” are spoken, the man goes from groom to mule, pack mule that is. I don’t mind carrying the bags on trips or all the photography gear from lights, to flashes, to lenses, to reflectors, to other gadgets that have never even been taken out of the box, but might be needed, but when it comes to going to formal events, that it gets uncomfortable for me, literally. Tuxedo pants in and of themselves are not the most comfortable pants due to their material and the fit, but if you throw in a compact, a phone, lipstick, chap stick, a brush, a license, and eyeliner then the tiny pockets with holes in them basically burst at the seam. So my advice to you husbands and husbands to be, buy a nice leather murse (man purse) to carry all the acoutrements of your wife to formal events. You may take some heat from other males, or then again, they will understand.

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WEBSITE WORKAHOLIC

I just wanted to quickly tell everyone that all is well and fine…I’m just stuck in the internet. The new website has sort of taken over my life. But no worries - it is all coming along very nicely. Soon enough I will be able to send the new site live and get back to my normal life, with plenty of blogging of course! I hope you are all well and don’t mind hanging on a few more days to hear from me. Here’s hoping that you love the new site! :)

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THE INFAMOUS HAT (PART 3)

Yes, THE HAT is back. Check out this shot of Trina working it! There is a great chance that this post should actually be titled “The Infamous Hat (Part 3) - Part 1”. The whole hat thing is sort of taking on a life of its own, and I’m pretty sure that I will be blogging more shots of Trina doing her thing. I guess we can just throw the Five Part Series idea out the window. Until then, this is JUST “(Part 3)”. In Part 2 of Part 3 (I’ve confused MYSELF at this point), I plan on telling you all about Trina Knudsen. For now, just know that she is a really great photographer in Salt Lake City, and that you should definitely check out her new blog!

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PAINTING THE TOWN WITH HEATHER AND MYLES

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If you are ever in need of some amazing models, give these two a call. I’m pretty sure that Heather and Myles are totally holding out on me and have actually worked professionally. In all seriousness, I had such a great time shooting their engagement session this weekend. They completely rocked our entire shoot as we ran around ALL OVER Birmingham! The enthusiasm they brought to everything we did was simply contagious, and we walked away with some truly beautiful shots. Heather and Myles have a great relationship, and the connection between the two of them really shines through in the images from their session. We wanted to capture their emotion above all else - and I absolutely love how it was reflected. It was such a fun experience to work with them, and it made for the perfect Saturday afternoon. Congratulations to an awesome couple!

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NEW WEBSITE UNDERWAY

As you know, this is still the week of the website. I have some great news…the transformation has begun! There is a new format in place, and hopefully I’ll have some time this weekend to sit down and actually start on working on the thing. SO…next week will probably be “the week of launching the website”. We’ll see. This is very exciting - I hope everyone loves it and finds it much more functional and helpful than the one presently sitting on my domain. I’m sure that FINISHING a website makes it by default much more invaluable than one that lacks any redeeming qualities at all! So I’ll have at least that going for me when I finish the new one. I’ll post on all of this again soon with an update on my time-line for this project, and to ask for feedback on a few ideas I’m kicking around. Thank you for all of the responses and input!

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GINGER AND CHRIS TIE THE KNOT

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What a truly wonderful couple! Ginger and Chris became Mr. and Mrs. Fielding this past Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama. It was such a special day, and I especially appreciated how intimate they managed to make their ceremony and reception. The wedding ceremony took place at the beautiful Faith Presbyterian Church, and the exceptionally detailed and gorgeous reception was held at Eagle Point Country Club. Both of these two are blessed with such amazing parents, families, and friends. It was such an honor to be a part of their special day and I am so pleased with how nicely all the shots turned out! I will definitely be posting more from this wedding later on, so check back to catch all the fun. For now, here is a peek into the wedding day…
A sweet detail from preparation…
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The Groom and Groomsmen giving me their GQ looks…
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A sweet shot of Ginger…
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Candid fun with the girls…
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The Bride and her lovely Bridesmaids showing me a little spunk…
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MORE THAN A PICTURE

I ran across this quote reading today, and just had to share it. This sums up a lot of why I love photography and how it speaks to the heart: “If we were to ask you about a certain picture and why you have displayed it in such a prominent place in your home or office or why you carry it in your purse or wallet everywhere you go, you’d probably respond by talking about the people in the picture, where it was taken, when it was taken. But that would only be the start. Those relationships and that place and that time are all about something else, something more. If we kept exploring, you’d probably end up using words like trust and love and belonging and commitment and celebration. So it’s a picture, but it’s more than a picture.” - Rob Bell

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