Posts Tagged ‘Stillwater Minnesota’

A couple weeks ago, I photographed the ribbon cutting at St. Croix Music, a music store located on the North end of Main Street in downtown Stillwater. Since the store is new (only been open since March), owner Gary Brown needed some good photography of the store’s interior for use in some upcoming print ads as well as for use on his website. So this past Monday, I gathered up my gear and headed to St. Croix Music for a small commercial shoot. Not only did I capture some of the front retail part of the store, but also of the practice rooms where music lessons are taught. If you’re in the market for a new instrument, some sheet music or a lesson or two, stop on down to St. Croix Music and check them out!

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We all know that Christmas is right around the corner (45 days to be exact!)…have you thought about your holiday cards yet?….NO?!…well that’s where Kristina Lynn Photography & Design comes in!

Announcing our Limited Edition Holiday sessions! For $84 you get a half hour session (either in studio or outdoors) AND a set of 25 5×7 flat holiday cards! And the cards are really simple – either choose one of our designs from our holiday design collection or you can upgrade and get a custom one done just for you.

And like with all good things, these session time slots won’t last! So make sure to call the studio today to book your Limited Edition Holiday Session and scratch one more thing off your long list of things to do!

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The Husby family braved the cool, October weather and came out to Axdahl’s Garden Farm for a Limited Edition Session. As soon as the van pulled up into Axdahl’s drive way and all the kids piled out I knew it was going to be a great session. Everyone had a smile on and were polite as can be. I had a couple places scoped out ahead of time that would work with the large family and we got started right away. We did some of the whole family, some of each child, a pose with just the girls, and another with just the guys. Then at the very end of the session, I was able to sneak mom and dad away to do a couple by themselves while all the kids piled back in the van. Here are some of my favorite shots from the session.

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I love fall weather, when it’s nice :-) I love the crisp, cool air and the bright colored leaves against the green grass. It really is my favorite season, especially since it’s the time when people usually get their family portraits taken!

A couple weeks ago, the Watson family came to the studio for their family session. I was so excited for this session. I had photographed Marisa’s senior session earlier this summer and knew that this would be a very fun session. We had talked about possibly locations and looks they wanted when they booked their session about a month prior so I knew we wanted to go outdoors. That morning, I drove around Stillwater, checking out a couple of my tried and true spots but they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. So it just so happened that on my way to the UPS Store I took a new route and came across this perfect little park. I was first drawn to the area by the brightly colored leaves and the brown walking bridge. All the sudden my creativity kicked in, I could picture different poses and locations to use – I knew this was where the session had to be! And to top it all off, they wore the perfect clothing for the session as well! I love it when things just fall into place (with the help of a little planning of course!).

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A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of photographing Amie and Jacob’s wedding in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Being back in my old stomping grounds and driving down Main Street again was very nostaligic. It was fun being back in the area and I was so excited to get started photographing the happy couple especially since it was a great day outside – slightly cloudy but no rain (which was almost unheard of for October this year!) The ceremony was held at the United Methodist Church in downtown Cedar Falls, a beautiful church with a lot of character. After capturing a couple images of the girls getting ready, I swept the happy couple off to one of my favorite places in the church – a landing off the sanctuary that had an old organ and great natural light. I always love placing something contemporary and modern with something antique.

Since it was so nice out we decided to do the group shots outdoors in front of the wooden door to the church, which created a perfect background. The wedding party was great to photograph – always laughing and pretty sure there was never a dull moment (as you can tell by the apperance of the “Captains”!) After the ceremony, we headed off to the reception at the new Sky Events Center in downtown Waterloo. The reception was a nice, relaxing time with friends and family – the perfect ending to the perfect wedding day. Congratulations Amie & Jacob. Thank you for letting me be a part of your day!

Were you a guest at the wedding? Check out all the images in the online proofing!

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It was a cool, windy October day (much like all the days have been this month) and I was out at Axdahl’s Garden Farm scoping out locations for my Limited Edition engagement shoot with Nicole and Doug. I had just briefly met Nicole one day when her and her mom had come into the studio to pick up her sister, Danielle’s, senior portrait order. I knew from the short meeting that I wanted to do some fun, casual shots with the couple and Axdahl’s was the perfect place. Even though it was a little cold and windy, it was a great day for a shoot because the overcast skies allowed for me to use some great spots that would normally have been in direct sunlight (which is not the greatest lighting for photos!). We first started the photo session by taking photos by the bright orange Beetle that was parked in the front of the farm. Ever since my first visit to the farm I’ve been wanting to take photos there and this was the perfect day and the perfect subjects! After that, we wandered around the farm taking photos at various places chatting about the upcoming wedding. Towards the end of the session, Doug had an idea to have Nicole hold a giant pumpkin while he held a little one. I love it when people feel comfortable enough with me to do crazy things during their sessions! :-) I had so much fun during this session and loved capturing the fun and sweet moments between Nicole and Doug! These are just a few of my favorites from the session, more will be posted on my website and Facebook page so make sure to check them out, too.

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I met Danielle through the wonderful world of Facebook. She’s a flower designer here in Stillwater and we have chatted about the world of weddings and photography. So when she contacted me for a Limited Edition session I was so excited! Not only was I getting a chance to photograph her cute little family of three that I had seen on her Facebook page, but I was actually going to meet Danielle! :-) As soon as I met them at Axdahl’s Garden Farm I knew it was going to be a fun session. We first started with capturing a couple images of the family before turning the little one loose and grabbing some action shots. The 18 month old kept me on my toes as he ran around the farm, inspecting all the pumpkins and exploring all the corners of the barn. Photographing children is always a challenge because you never know where they will go or how long they will be in a happy mood. But the challenge of capturing the different expressions and moments is a nice change from the world of seniors :-) Here are just a few of my favorite images from this session, more can be found on my Facebook page.

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The best part of my job, I think, is getting to meet and get to know a variety of people. Tom is a very creative senior who plays guitar and sings in his local band Say Goodnight Graciee. He has a very distinct personality, style and is a natural in front of the camera. So easy to photograph! Since this October has been super crazy weather wise, we split his session and did the indoors part on one day and then the outdoors on a different day (luckily it wasn’t raining then too!). Even though we captured some killer shots indoors, I think my favorite images came from the outdoor session. Not sure if it was because it was an overcast day so we could go ANYWHERE in downtown and have great lighting or if it was because Tom brought along his guitar and played a little during the session. Either way I’m so excited to post some of his images!!! If you’d like to see more, I’m posting some to my Facebook page and then to my website in the next couple days. So check them out! And if you’d like to hear some of Say Goodnight Graciee’s music, check out their Myspace page. They’re pretty awesome and will be playing locally here again soon.

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Last Saturday afternoon, after completing some much needed tasks at the studio, I ventured out in the cold to experience HarvestFest 2009 in downtown Stillwater. This is an annual event, filled with family fun events (such as the kiddie tractor pull), chili cook-off, beer tasting and the ever popular Pumpking Weigh-off. I’ve NEVER seen pumpkins this huge before! They were all over Lowell Park and some had come great distances to be there. I missed out on most of the activities of the day (darn responsibilities!) but was there for the great pumpkin drop. They hoisted a massive 1300 lb. pumpkin about 5 stories up in the air then dropped it to the ground. I’ve never seen a pumpkin smash like that before! I was quite a ways back, behind the safety fence they had set up, and STILL got nailed with some flying pumpkin goo. It was a pretty cool site to see! Here’s some of the photos from the day. If you’d like to see all of the images (including the ones from the great pumpkin drop!), check out my online proofing.

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When I first opened my studio, back in January of this year, I decided one of the first things I was going to do was join the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce. I figured this was a great way to not only get my name out in the community but also a great way to network with different businesses around the area. And just recently I’ve been asked to photograph the ribbon cuttings. What a fabulous way to meet newer businesses in the area!

Just this past weekend, I had the opportunity to photograph the ribbon cutting at St. Croix Music, a new business located on the north side of Main Street near the Staples Mill building. When I walked into the building I was greeted by smells of hot cider (perfect for the cold day!) and the sounds of a quartet of musicians jamming in the entry way. I couldn’t resist – I had to take some photos of the musicians! Then after the ribbon cutting, I got a grand tour of the music store by owner Gary Brown and took a few more photos of the store and him with his guitar.

I’m not sure if it was the fantastic music or the hospitality of the Browns but this event really warmed up a cold Saturday! If you’re in need of an instrument or lessons, definitely check out St. Croix Music in downtown Stillwater!

Want to see more? Check out the Facebook page!

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