2011 {A Year in Review}

Dear 2011, 

You have been one hell of a ride. You've been nothing short of exciting, a little on the wild side, and perhaps slightly unexpected. You really shaped me into the person that I believe, I was meant to be. Above all - you've been so so incredibly good to me. 

PORTRAITS
In August, I feel as though I hit a milestone in my business. In 2010 I photographed 15 Sessions and this year - I TRIPLED THAT - photographing 45 Sessions that month. Tripled. I can't even begin to explain what that means to me... I feel like I've really made it... I'm really living my dream! As always, I have YOU to thank - thank you for your support, thank you for spreading the word, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to capture the the moments that are special in your lives.

Some of my favorites from 2011. I especially enjoyed watching all of the little ones grow - I've had the pleasure of photographing several children since birth!
The big personalities of these kiddos make my heart smile.


WEDDINGS
2011 also brought lots of WEDDINGS! 18 of them, to be exact. One Wedding in particular sticks out in my mind and that's because I was both the Wedding Photographer AND the Maid of Honor {and engagement portrait photographer, and trash the dress photographer, and invitation and album designer, and makeup artist, and big sister}. My baby sister, Jenny, married her High School {eerr... Middle School} Sweetheart, Colton Raab. The entire whole day was picture perfect {minus the 90 degree heat!} and I will be forever touched that I was able to play such an important role during such an important time in her life.

Engagement Photos - The "bed" concept was one that had been in my head for months. Months before they were even Engaged! Waiting for the perfect couple to bring this idea to life - I knew just the two when Jenny said YES! Images taken in my parent's field {where Jenny + I used to build forts and climb trees} in Massbach, Illinois

The Wedding - Photos taken at Massbach Ridge Winery and at my Parent's Farm in Massbach, Illinois

Trash the Dress Session - Again, another concept that I had been wanting to do for YEARS.  After much begging and persuading, Jenny finally agreed to do her Trash the Dress Session at a Carnival in Milledgeville, Illinois.  She was on the fence about the idea since it was so public, but once we started - her nerves faded away and left me with some beautiful shots.


PUBLISHED
My work was also published again this year! My Photographs were featured in Carroll County Mapping Directory, AND! the May, June, August, and December editions of HER MAGAZINE based out of Dubuque Iowa! Partnering with the beautifully talented Britni Farber of (i.enhance studio), a beauty salon, located on Main Street Dubuque - we worked together to create some stunning visuals for the magazine.  With Britni rocking a makeup brush and a way with words + me being there to capture it = one dynamic duo!  Looking forward to future projects with her :) I was also published on the web this year. My work was featured on Style Cabana {again, working with Farber}, the Organic Bloom Website + Facebook Page,  and I was also selected as December's Featured Photographer for the "International Association on Boudoir Photographers!"

To read my Q+A on the AIBP website and to take a peek at the photos, visit here ::: http://www.aibphotog.com/nicole-nkoester-photography-design-christmas-2011/ 

This particular price for HER MAGAZINE was a recreation of "Starry Night" {Model, Sarah Germain - Makeup and Article by Britni Farber + Photography by yours truly.} Lots of laughs were had at this late night Session and it left me with two lifelong friends. 



FEATURED
In addition to my printed publications, my work was showcased at a local Coffee Shop in Dubuque over the Summer. For the entire month of June - I was in the local artist spotlight, where my work {hung in Organic Bloom Frames} was featured in Aroma Coffee Bar for all to enjoy :)




RELOCATE
I also re-located {again}. After being with my man for well over a year, we decided that it just wasn't ideal to have separate places any longer - seeing that we spend every day together anyways.  I said my heartfelt goodbyes to my Main Street Location {to be honest, I miss that place almost every day - it was so ME.} and moved into Blaine's Townhouse located just a tad outside of Dubuque. My office is... cozy {aka, SMALL} but it works.  Here, like Main Street, I hold client meetings and consultations, and am able to do Smaller Portrait Sessions indoors during those cold, snowy {not sure I even know what snow is anymore! This winter has been absurd!} Winter Months.  This year, I put together a couple Holiday Mini-Session Marathons that were a total hit! Around Easter, my home was filled with babies, bunnies, and chicks + just a few short weeks ago, the office was full again - but with twinkling lights, Santa hats, and little ones dressed in Red and Green.  Now I'm looking forward to my annual Boudoir Minis in February!

A little tour of my little office :)  


BLAINE
Now, while we are on topic about that man of mine... MUCH has happened between us over the past year! The start of the year brought us to our 1 Year Anniversary of being together and we celebrated in style with a Caribbean Cruise! While vacationing in the {warm, sunny, breathtakingly-beautiful} Caribbean the opportunity for a impromptu photoshoot came about. Blaine and I met Sarah + Lucas outside of the airport and instantly hit it off... chatting about the Bears vs. Packers game that we were missing while traveling {which, by the way - I'm STILL a bit salty about the Bears loss!!} and the weather back home {they live in Wisconsin - yep, you guessed it - Packers fans.} After mentioning that I was a photographer - I couldn't resist but ask if they were interested in doing a Session on the Beach - after-all, how often are well all in PARADISE?!





Some of my favorite personal shots of the vacation :) Blaine and I plan to go back to St. Kitts {where Sarah + Lucas's Session was Photographed} sometime in the near future!

Also in 2011 NEWS - BLAINE POPPED THE QUESTION!!! Nearing our 2 Year Anniversary - Blaine asked me to marry him at 11:11 {and if you know me, you know that I'm really superstitious about the time 11:11} by stating some of the things he loves about me, including our interest in SciFi Flicks, and we are both really looking forward to the Wedding :) Right now, we are looking at a Winter Wedding in either January 2013 or February 2013.  Excitement ensues!



FAMILY
Like 2011, this year, I too decided to block off ALL Sundays from doing photoshoots to spend time with my wonderful family. When Wedding Season rolls around - I work around the clock {meetings, shoots, editing, social networking, editing, blogging, editing, designing, editing, packing, shipping, editing, editing, editing, editing, editing, etc.} and have little "ME" time, so the Sunday rule will continue to be in effect for years to come. 


Our Family Photoshoot with Erin Lenore Photography out of Stockton, Illinois
  


THE "C" WORD
As many of you know {by following my story on Facebook} I decided to go public with my current health issue.  Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, I was diagnosed with Melanoma.  I wondered – will people look, think, act differently towards me if they know that I have cancer?  Will my past, present, and future cliental think that I’m inadequate, incapable of doing my job? Then I found myself laughing at that thought, because NOTHING is going to get in my way of my hopes and dreams. NOTHING is going to change my drive, my passion, and my ethics. NOTHING is going to stop me from being the person God intended me to be – so, if anyone is going to look at me differently, it should be positively – because I AM STRONG. Rawr.  I also have hope, that someone reading this will take a stand against skin cancer and will vow to protect themselves from now on – whether it be wearing sunscreen more often or opting for a Spray Tan instead of using a UV bed. Hoping + Praying. 
Last week I underwent surgery in Iowa City to remove the Melanoma and several lymph nodes from both armpits and am currently taking a little time off to recover. Waiting for the results for the tests from the lymph nodes to see if I will need chemo or radiation therapy is seeming like a decade. 

Big thank you goes out to everyone for their love + support {emails, calls, cards, etc.} during this time in my life.  Positive energy + PRAYER is getting me through this!! A special thanks to my parents for all of their love, and to my finance for all of his help through this process.



CHANGES + THANKS
As always - you guys ROCK. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Thanks again for choosing NKoester Photography! As for you 2012, BRING IT!!  Now... with that said - I won't be known as "NKoester Photography" for much longer - due to the fact that I will soon be Nicole Bichsel :) If you follow me on Facebook, you already know that the business has some impending change headed your way --- now, I wasn't able to get EVERYTHING I wanted finished up before the big release of the new business name {I wanted to have all marketing materials designed and printed, the website and all new blog up and running, and the new Facebook page ready for action... but alas - life happened and I'm a bit behind} BUT I am ready to release my new logo!!  So, without further ado - {sometime} in January 2012 NKoester Photography will be known as........................

until next time... x's + o's to you all