NEW BLOG!

I have a new blog!! I decided to start a new blog to go with my new website and logo. I am really happy with it and I think you will be too. I will be leaving this blog up for the memories.

For new postings, go to dawngioia.blogspot.com

Casual Friday

This week on Casual Friday I am going to share a story with you. This story started last week at a wedding I was shooting. During the reception a very nice guest at the wedding came up to us and started thanking us for all our hard work. Lindsey had already put up the slideshow so she also was complementing the picture. Now, this was a little into the night and everyone had been drinking for a while at this point. She started to tell us the story of her daughters wedding and their photographer. I could not even believe everything she was telling us. I kind of thought she was mistaken about a few things because she had been drinking. She told us about how mean she was and how horrible the pictures were. She even said she got the wrong size album and there were words misspelled in it. We couldn't believe some of the things she was saying. Then all of a sudden she says " I started a blog called, don't hire this women for your wedding photographer". It doesn't say "this women", it has her name. Both of our mouths dropped open. I could not believe these people were so unhappy with her, they started a blog. So, Lindsey Google the photographers name and there it was. They really did. I read there story and was shocked. I work so hard to give my brides everything they expect of me. I also get everything in writing. There is no room for any miscommunication. I explain everything up front and everything is in there contract. Times, albums ,cancellation polices. EVERYTHING! I decided not to give the photographers name because this is only one side of the story. I just wanted all the brides to know that the contract you sign with protects you as much as us. Make sure you get a copy of your contract and that everything is 100% before you sign. This also is a example of why you should not pick your photographer on price alone. You can find great photographers in most price rangers. Plus, if you find someone you like and they are out of your price range, call them anyways. Most photographers will work with you on your budget. Sometimes they have specials or are willing to cut back on there packages to make it cheaper. There is so much trust that comes with this job. Please make sure you pick the right person for you. I wonder if this women has lost bookings beacuse of this. Its only 2 spots down from the top when you google her name.

Benefits

A really great benefit to being a photographer is all your friends are photographers. So, when I need a few updated head shots for my new website;I asked Lindsey. We are both working on new websites so, we did a trade. Went went down to the Marietta square in Georgia for about 30 min before the wedding on Saturday. We got some great shots of each other and had a great time doing it. Thanks Lind's.

Sneak Peak

I just had an awesome wedding in Georgia. The best part was that I got to shoot with a really great friend of mine, Lindsey Turner. I will blog the rest when I get home, but here's a little sneak peak.

Casual Friday

I am adding a weekly posting to my blog. I am calling it Causal Friday. I will basically talk about everyday things. I will discuss my family, photography, t.v. shows, food, anything I can think of. My first Casual Friday post will be about Gas prices.

I went to the gas station yesterday with my husband. We were on our way to look at house, again... When he got out of the car, I said " Here, I have cash. How much do you think it will be"? He said " I don't know, give me $40." With those words, the price of gas really hit me. It had been hitting my bank account for a while, but it reminded me of how high it has become. I think it was because I had not paid with cash it years. I just put my card in and fill up. It made me think of the first time I got gas. I always paid with cash back then. Do you guys remember that. You had to walk into the gas station to pay, good times! I know it has been 11 years, but I remember it because I had no idea how much gas cost. When I pulled into the gas station,I was lost. I never gotten gas before and I really had no idea how much it would be. The gas station sign read .80 a gallon. That's right, .80 a gallon. I could fill up my gas tank for less than $15.

Yesterday when we started to pull away, I looked back at how much $40 got us. Not even a full tank. In 11 years, I went from being able to fill up my tank form $13-$15to not having a full tank with $40.

The last time I remember being so mad about gas prices was when it went up to $1.99 a gallon. When I passed that gas station and read $1.99, I was angry. Really angry. I would give anything to have gas be $1.99 a gallon. It would be life changing to us all. Maybe we should all go to bed tonight and pray for that.

Good Message!

I stole this poem form [b]eckers blog. I was so moved by it, I wanted to share it with my blog readers. I think we could all live by this message.


People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful you will win some false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, some could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

-Kent Keith

September 11th

Today is the 7th anniversary of that horrible day in this country. It made me think this morning about what I would tell my daughter when she asked about it. I remember being a kid and asking my parents about where they were when JFK was shot and what it was like to watch Martin Luther King on t.v. I wonder what she would ask me and if I will be able to give her the answers she want.

I remember where I was that day like it was yesterday. My husband ( who was just my boyfriend back then ) was living in Atlanta. I had flown out there on Friday September 7th for a visit. We caught a flight later that night to Maine to see his parents. This was the first time I would be meeting them. We flew into Portland and rented a car. We drove for hours to Guilford ( his home town). We stayed for the weekend and made a trip to the Bar Haber. I remember thinking how wonderful life is. I was in one of the most wonderful coastal towns with a wonder guy. When the weekend was over, we drove back to Portland and caught our flight back to Atlanta It was Sunday the 9th. I would not know until later how being in that airport at that time would be apart of this story. I had planned on flying back Denver on the 11th because I had a wedding to attend on Thursday. I changed my plans and decided to fly back on the 12th. September 11th Bill got up and went to work while I fell back to sleep. For some reason, the phone was ringing off the hook. As soon as I would fall back to sleep, it would wake me up again. Annoyed, I got up to answer it. It was my mother and she was hysterical. All she keep saying was "Thank God your still there, thank God your still there"( I forgot to tell her I changed my plans and they were not sure what plane it was). She told me to turn on the t.v. A plane crashed into the world trade center. Right after turning it on, the second plane crashed into the second tower. I sat there all day and watched it unfold. When Bill got home, we just sat there together and could not believe this was happening to our country.

I was not able to get back home for a week because DIA was one of the last airports to open back up. I later learned that the a few of the terrorist flew from Portland, ME to Boston on Sunday September 9th. There flight left right before ours. If you have every been to the Portland, ME airport, you can see why this is so disturbing. There airport only has 5 gates that are all right next to each other. Its weird to think back and know you were standing so close to evil.

I do have some picture that were taken at the airport that morning, but they are packed away due to our move. Maybe I will share them with you when I get them unpacked. It's funny to look back at those moments. The time seams so innocent.

Second Shooter

I had a opportunity to second shoot for Erin Cady last weekend. It's always a little weird for me to second shoot because I feel out of place. I am so used to being in charge and having a relationship with the bride and groom. OK, I can't think of anything else negative. The rest rocks! Making no decisions, leaving early and no photo editing. Maybe I am looking at a career change, haha.

I just had a great time. I have never shot with Erin before and I love learning new things. She is a great photographer and a really nice girl. She is in the process of moving her studio from Glennwood Spring to Evergreen. So, maybe we will work together again.

All I have to say about this photo is Erin is a rock star. I am not sure how high up we were, but I know it was the Penthouse. She really will do anything for a shot.




I will blog this wedding soon!

Dan & Jackie

DNC

This has a been a really crazy week here in Colorado. Putting politics aside, this is history and in the making. Our country just had accepted it's first black president nominee. I hope that regardless on who you plan on voting for, regardless of what you thought of his speech, you were moved last night. Moved by the fact that your children really can be whatever they want when they grow up. I was about 9 years old the first time I remember understanding there had never been a women president. I was riding in the car with my mom and older sister. My mother was explaining to me that no women had ever run for president and maybe I would be the first one ( mothers, haha ). I said "really"! Then my sister turned around and said " Don't be stupid! There will be a women president before you grow up ( sisters, haha)". Well, she was wrong about that. Right about the fact that we are capable of moving forward. I am really proud of our country today.

On a lighter note. My best friend Lyn was brave enough to head downtown last night. Her brother is a lawyer who was working with People's Law Protects in Denver. They were downtown for the protesters. Just to make sure that everything is done lawfully if arrest were made. By the way, there was and he was there. Check out the Rocky Mountain News to see him in action when they arrested those 100 people. Here is Lyn downtown wearing her brothers hat that will let the cops know he one of the lawyers and not to arrest him. Very cute Lyn!



UPDATE**** John McCain just announced his pick for vice president. Out of left field he picked Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin. That's right, a women. I think we can offically say the gloves are off, haha.

This opens up some interesting questions. Would you vote for McCain because he added a women on his ticket? Did you vote for Hillary only because she is women? Do you think a women would have done as well if she was a Republican? Do you think women who are on the Obama train now vote McCain? Are you voting for Obama only because he is black?

Photoshop

I found this guy online who teaches photoshop. He calls his videos " You suck at photoshop" They are so funny. His has a little bit of a dirty mouth, so get your kids out of the room before you play it. Also, don't play if you are easly offened. I want to still be friends!

I am joking around, dont be scared. Its not that bad.


">

Most Peculair Day

I woke up the other morning in a really great mood. My daughter was so happy to just be alive when she woke up, so it was ok that it was 6:30am. My husband had the day off and he usually lets me sleep in when he is home, but I told him to stay in bed. He looked so tired and my daughter looked so cute, I had no desire to go back to sleep. I usually hate breakfast food, but I was really craving it. So, I made my fabulous family a big breakfast. The only plans I had for the day was to get my new Colorado drivers licence. I know what your thinking. I am just now getting my new licence? I am going to put all the blame on the state of Colorado. They don't give you your licence the same day. They give you a piece of paper and mail the new one. Considering how much flying I did this wedding session, I had to wait. My husband stayed home with our daughter while I ran to the DMV. I was happy to be in the car alone. It is one of my new favorite things after becoming a mother. To listen to my ipod without the sound of spongebob in the background is awesome. All you moms know what I am talking about. My fun car ride us ruined with some simple flashing lights. That's right, I got a ticket. I was speeding, so I have know one to blame but myself. When I got to the DMV I was mentally ready was what I was about to walk into. I know we all hate going there and I was ready to spend at least an hour in that place. I was in and out in 15min. I have to say that again. I was in and out of the DMV in 15min. Crazy! On my way home I ran by the bank. I was thinking, the bank during the week, dead. Wrong again. I waited in line at the bank for almost 25min. As I was driving home ( fallowing all the speed limit laws), I could not help but wonder what was going on. Everything was backwards today.

We deiced to drive up to Boulder to take some photos of my daughter. I don't like taking long drives on my days off. It gives me a headache, but I get to take pictures. Trade off! The drive was awesome and my daughter did not want to have her picture taken. I looked over at my husband and said "Lets go home, this day is freaking me out!"

Here are a few of the pictures where you can see our great parenting skills. She is smiling!








My sexy husband



Here are a few where she is telling me about not wanting her picture taken. Yes, she is pointing her finger at me. I would get mad if it was not so cute.

David Jay and Becker

This was by far a really crazy week for me. It all started with an email and ended with me sitting next to Becker and across from David Jay at 1am for dinner. I already knew that I was going to be lucky to get sleep and it was, so I really don't know what I was thinking. I had family coming into town, my sister-in-law was finding out the sex of her baby and we were all invited ( she lives more than an hour away ), I have two weddings that I am working on, I had a photography seminar and a wedding in Atlanta. That is on top of being a stay at home mom and normal schedule of running my business.

For those of you who live under a rock, David Jay and Becker are by far two of the best wedding photographers in the world. They have not only worked really hard to get where they are, but they devote there free time to teaching other photographer how to be better. I remember the first piece of advice another photographer gave to me when I first started out was " Never Keep Secrets". That is what I love about being a wedding a photographer. We don't treat each other like competition. We treat each other with respect and understand that we are stronger as together than alone. I know that I would not be as good of a photographer if it was not for other photographers pushing me to be better. When I found out David and Becker would be in town, I had to be there. I have learned so much form them over the years and to meet them was amazing. They are just two of the nicest guys and I really want to thank them for taking the time to talk to me and it was really life changing.

David Jay had this really great story that really hit a cord with me, so I am going to share it with you. I think you can apply this to almost anything in your life.

There was a painter sitting on a street corner in Paris and he was painting a picture of a women. Another women walked by and loved the picture. She asked the artist " Can you paint a picture like that of me, I will pay what ever it cost." The artist agreed and the women sat down. When he was done, he showed the women. she said " that is beautiful, how much to I owe you. " the artist said " $5000". The women got very mad and said " How can you charge that, it only took you five minutes. " the man replied " It took my whole life".

The artist was Picasso.

So, I have only slept 10 hours since Thursday night. It was totally worth it. I was also great full that two of my best girlfriends flew in from Atlanta to share this night me. Thanks Lindsey and Micki.


Here are a few of the pictures from that night. Thank you Vania for sending some these great shots.



They even let us on there tour bus. David even tried to show us hoe to play a Justin Timberalke game on his xbox.

Matt & Brittney