Celebrate!

Welp! Today is my birthday! Yeah for birthdays! Every year, I do a post on my birthday and it's totally a time where I reflect back on what I've accomplished and where I want to go! (I know, I know - of course, Eliesa. You would set goals on your birthday...) Really though, I think it is the perfect time to measure my hopes and dreams, because that is what this life is about right? I just looked back on my post from last year and I must say, I am pretty darn proud of myself, because I can check a lot of those things off my list! I have to say though, for this post, I decided to go back through facebook, my phone, twitter and my blog to gather pictures from my favorite moments this year and my mind is blown a bit! I can not believe the amount of new things I have experiences, the amazing new relationships and friendships that I have made and just how much I have actually DONE this year!

I do want to give a BIG thank you to all of you who continue to check into our blog, and truly support everything that Team Photogen Inc is up to! It really means the world to me that there is so much love out there for us and I hope we continue to give that back!

So, onto my goals. This next year, I want to...

Pound the Pavement: I'm always talking about 'taking things to the next level' and everything is perfectly in place! Every time you move up in the world, you start from ground zero again! I'm excited to continue building new relationships and branching out on a national level!

10 &10 Plan: I have this goal that I think will be amazing! It's going to take me a while to get there, but I want to shoot 10 amazing, jaw dropping, destination weddings per year, along with 10 kick-ass-cool editorial gigs. Stay in Touch: This is a returning goal from last year. My friends do mean the world to me and I life is always busy, but I need to keep trying to make these relationships a priority! And I just want to hang out more!

Travel: I still want to take that 3-4 week trip.

Boss Lady: As our team grows (10 of us now!), my roll in leading our companies becomes even more important! I'm trying to build a culture and I want to be the absolute best I can for my crew and my clients!

Workshop: Yep, it's happening. January 2011, some greatness is about to happen. I've been putting this off for about a year and it's finally going to become a reality!

Remember That I am Only One Person: Everything I do is for you. Everything I do is for my team, clients and industry. Everything I do is to inspire. Sometimes I need to remember that I am only one person, but that I am fabulous.

Continue to Inspire: This is what keeps me going. This is the beauty of what I do. Each and every day, I have the opportunity to inspire others. How amazing is that?

So, please, Join me in celebrating one incredible year and an even more fabulous one to come!

Cheers!

LOVEe

Off to Engage!

So, I've been saying for a while now that I have some pretty lofty goals and big dreams! This doesn't only apply to the push on the commercial side, but also the wedding world! This past year, I had the opportunity to photograph a wedding in Spain and I learned quite a bit about myself. The number one lesson I walked away with was that I thrive in new locations. I am most inspired when I am in a setting that I have never been, when the space oozes a certain atmosphere that you can't get anywhere else in the world, and where the light and culture are so yummy, you just want to eat it up. At my core, I create my best work at locations that I have never been to before. All of these feelings were re-affirmed when I shot in Aspen a couple weeks ago and I know I need to make a shift to shoot at more destination locations.

Now, I know that many of you might be rolling your eyes and saying," Well, duh Eliesa, everyone wants to shoot in sweet locations." But this is different for me. This is not just a hope, this is a need and a desire that has been building in my for some time now and I just KNOW that when it comes to weddings, I need to go big or go home!

Hence, I will be attending Engage 10 next week! Engage is a business summit (aka..fancy word for a workshop) that is taking place at The Breakers resort in Florida. What appeals to me most about this is the fact that it is not JUST photographers or geared towards photography! Everyone from magazine editors to invitation designers will be attending the event, which is kept at an intimate number. I will be building relationships with others who strive for the same vision as I do, along with learning from those who have already done so!

I'm very excited to learn from these people and see if this is a part of the industry where I feel at home. I've been incredibly lucky to have booked clients around the world and I'm ready for more!

And I also have a feeling I might just be the bad ass one of the group...:0)

Here's to big goals and big dreams!

LOVEe

Ode to Melissa O!!

Dear Melissa, We love you from the bottom of our hearts! You have been such a lovely assistant to the Photogen Inc. crew!! We will miss seeing you decked out in your fabulous J.Crew ensembles that you somehow graciously shoot in, we will miss your fiery red hair and smart-ass-comments-when-we-least-expect-it. Most of all we will miss your smile, energy and camaraderie that you bring to our team!  We are SO proud of how much you have grown and all of the amazing things that are in your future!

We love you SO much and you will always be a part of our family!

Love,

eliesa, liz, brandon, jonny, judd, ryan, tom, jacob, louisa, and chelsey

HayTour!!

Let me take a moment to talk about my friends, Sara and Scott! Together, many of us refer to them as Haytour and they are two of my all-time-favorite-people, hands down! Sara is a photographer who hails from Minnesota and this past year, she followed her dream to move to the pacific northwest! It's funny, because when Sara lived RIGHT in town, we knew each other and were friends, but we REALLY have grown a million times closer since she moved away! It's funny how that works... About a week before Sara moved, she met Scott, who lives in Tacoma and he flew out to help her move! Every one was like, "Who is this guy?"...Why am I telling you all of this? Well, Sara and Scott have become two of the most important people in my life very quickly and they've been back in MPLS visiting this last week! I've spent time with them out in Seattle / Tacoma, and between that time and this week, I just simply adore them. My job is consumed by couples who are in love, and sometimes, I will admit, I analyze the topic quite a bit!  I think their relationship, perspective in life and outlook on the world is SO refreshing! These are two people who truly live life to the fullest...and make me laugh CONSTANTLY when I am around them! They are people who pick me up, people who support me and completely understand me.

I suppose there is not really a point to this blog post except to express my extreme love for Sara and Scott! (I know that might sounds weird, but shit, you get it, right?!) Friends like this are so rare in life, yet so necessary! I feel super lucky to have such incredible friends in my life and I hope that everyone can experience this kind of friendship in their lives!

Happy Friday Everyone!

LOVEe

The Photogen Inc. Culture!

Words can not express how proud I am right now! 6 years ago, I started Photogen Inc. Many people wondered why I didn't just use my name or why I chose to be a corporation from the get-go and it was for one simple reason: I wanted this to be bigger than myself! I remember the day that I went to get books from Barnes & Noble on 'Business for Dummies' and 'How to start a Business in Minnesota'...I literally knew nothing about business. I also used this super crappy software to help me 'write a business plan' (which for the record, I have never, ever used or shown anyone). However, I can't discount any of these experiences. Every single one of those baby steps at the beginning of all of this helped me shape my vision for what I wanted Photogen Inc. to become.

I started the company based on commercial and editorial work, not weddings at all! The wedding industry has obviously evolved into a huge part of our business and we are thrilled to be a part of it! For the 2011 season, we are taking things up 10 notches an I am SO excited about the clients that we have already booked...and all of the opportunities to come! This year, we made the decision to separate out the commercial work from the wedding world and we launched ELIESA. I have BIG plans and strong intentions for this brand to carry on my editorial work that I also care so much about! Lastly, this past year has been Brandon's first official year as a Lead Photographer for our sister company, Rivets and Roses! He has done an AMAZING job bringing his creative vision into the wedding world and it's only getting stronger and stronger! We are super excited to also announce a new photographer for Rivets and Roses....Louisa! I met Louisa years ago through friends and have always admired her! She attended this past MINNeSHOP and I simply had this feeling that she would be a perfect fit for the Rivets and Roses team! I'm so excited to see where Louisa and Brandon take things for this brand!!

Notice how in the beginning of this e-mail, it started with little-ole-me and has now evolved into 10 PEOPLE?!?!?!?! Some days, I come into work and my mind is blown by how things are shaping into the EXACT vision that I wrote down on that silly business plan years ago! Other days I come in and think of all the possibility and how far we still have to go! Regardless, we are now much bigger than myself! My goal with having a crew and with ALL of our companies is to create a CULTURE. I want to create a place where people are passionate. Where people come to work and create. Where people support each other, push each other and make each other the best artists and people we can possibly be. It's a place where we all come, day in and day out to be truly remarkable and settle for nothing less. It's a culture that is BIGGER than one person, and bigger than one photographer. It's a culture that our clients are a part of and in return, have the best experience of their lives!

Our crew is bigger and better than ever! Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you, my crew:

In the words of the man himself, Jay z:

"Baby i'm a boss, i dunno what they do, I don't get dropped, I dropped the label, World can't hold me, too much ambition, always knew it'd be like this when I was in the kitchen..."

Here's to living the dream!

LOVEe

Update from MOAB!

I am currently in Moab, Utah with some of the most amazing women I know! Every year, we plan a 1 week retreat in a remote location to spend time with each other, catch up, take some photos, relax....and have a TON of adventure! Words can not express how much I love these ladies! The more time we all spend together, the more our relationships and friendships grow. It's incredibly encouraging to be surrounded with such amazing women who are not only talented and live-in-the-photography-world-with-me, but all of these ladies are simply rockin' in life as well. These girls challenge me on both professional and personal levels and I am so thankful for this week.

This week is all about community, bonding, and friendship!

So far, we've gone rock climbing in hummers on Hell's Revenge (which I must say was pretty intense at times, but I just CRAVE that in my life!), hiking at The Arches and even a little rafting excursion! There will be SO many more photos to come, but here are a couple for now!

Make sure to check out our official blog for the MOAB [trip] and see images from all of the MARFA [girls]!!

There are 8 other kick-ass women on the MOAB [trip], make sure to check out all of their amazing work:

Melanie Mauer Brooke Schwab Sarah Rhoads Shannon Sewell Laura Kay Millie Holloman Jessie Chamberlin Lyndzee Ellsworth

So much more to come!

LOVEe

Summer Vacation!!

I feel like it's been SO long since I've blogged!! Well, probably because it HAS been! For the first time in YEARS, I finally took the time to go on a summer vacation! I know, I know, I travel all of the time for work and I am very, very lucky to do so! However, there is something SO different about shutting your phone off, not having the internet, spending time in the sun, watching the stars and catching up with family and friends!

It. Was. Amazing!

I feel SUPER refreshed and we are off to Lake Michigan this weekend for a wedding and then I'll be immediately flying out on Monday for the annual MARFA GIRLS TRIP!!! This year, our adventures take us to Moab, Utah!!!

Make sure to check out the our SUPER cool blog next week to see what shenanigans we're bound to get ourselves into...oh yeah...and some kick ass photos as well! 

LOTS to come!

LOVEe

A Cup of Joe.

"Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new." ~ Henry David Thoraeu

LOVEe

Santiago de Compostela // Personal Photos!

I'm currently in the super hot, uber sticky JFK airport...for another few hours before my flight back to MPLS, and I just thought that something had to get better about this place! It did! I found a little organic cafe + free internet....perfecto! With my mind still 'speaking en Espanol', I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to blog to you all about our time in Santiago! Santiago de Compostela is the most magical and enchanting place I have ever been to. It is full of history and is most famous for the final destination of the pilgrimage of St. James. Pilgrims come from all over the world to make the great trek and see this place, which is absolutely worth the journey! It's a place of leisure and where Jesus, just might literally pass you in the street! The scenery is breath-taking and I couldn't believe we were getting the opportunity to photograph in such a gorgeous location!

Matt and Faith of Capture Studios met up with us on this portion of the trip, since Matt offered his services as well for this year's wedding giveaway! It was fantastic to spend time with them and also experience this new place together! We also met our new friend, Leslie, who use to live in Santiago and ended up being our personal tour guide / translator / life-saver! We spent much of our free time exploring the city and scouting out sweet locations for Tara and Jorge's wedding!!

Here are some personal photos I took along the way!

I promise, the next blog post will be of this amazing wedding!! I've already gone through my initial edit and I'm absolutely in love with them...they do deserve a big-screen-edit, instead of my little laptop, so it will be a couple days!

Until then, enjoy Santiago!

LOVEe

Barcelona!!

At the current moment, I'm blogging to you all from my hotel in Madrid! I've been in Spain for a week now and I must say, this has been a hands-down-incredible experience! Yesterday was absolutely the most beautiful and picturesque wedding I have ever photographed...so get ready for an ENORMOUS blog post about it within the next week! The first stop along this trip was to Barcelona! I loved this city! It's a place where bicycles, mopeds and long-boarding are a way of life. The atmosphere is quite chill and it's actually really hard to tell who the locals are vs tourists. Barcelona is almost a mix of many cultures, but most of all I noticed how romantic it was. Not really in the lovey-romantic-sense, but there is a sexiness about the people and culture that is so free that it is liberating. The people here live their lives for their family and friends - they don't live to work, which is a major malfunction in our society.

It's refreshing to see people enjoying the beach during a Siesta...just sayin'...I could get use to that!

Where there is history, there is culture. Where there is culture, there is art. Where there is art, there is passion. Where there is passion, there is romance. Where there is romance...

More photos from Spain to come!

LOVEe

Bikini.Spain.BOOM.

Having way too much fun in Barcelona!

Many, Many, Many more photos to come!

LOVEe

Immabe Livin' That Good Life!

Photogen Inc Music Video // Immabe from capture studios on Vimeo.

WE MADE A MUSIC VIDEO!!!!!

Jeffrey and I had an idea in our head for QUITE some time now about making a music video to Imma Be by the Black Eyed Peas! The lyrics to this song are SO perfect for the photo industry, and also our personal goals for the future!

We're the shit baby, check us out.

I must say, we've got some swagger!

An ENORMOUS THANK YOU to the brilliantly cool Matt and Ty of Capture Studios for filming & producing the video for us!

LOVEe

Bicycle

It's the weekend, rock it out!

LOVEe

Books

Lifeis either a daring adventure or nothing.

~Helen Keller

LOVEe

Concrete Jungle

Baby, I'm the BOSS  //  I don't know what they doI don't get dropped  //  I drop the label World can't hold me  //  TOO MUCH AMBITION Always knew it'd be like this when I was in the Kitchen

~My hero, Jay Z

Some Filmsies from NYC, baby.

LOVEe

New Updates to the BLOG!

Yeaaaah!! I'm super excited about some very little, but super sexy updates to the BLOG! First, you will note that I have some new photos of myself, courtesy of the oh-so-fabulous Angelica Glass! I'm absolutely in love with them and hope you are, too!

Second, the lovely folks over at Into the Darkroom, custom-built us this awesome new Web Banner! I realized a little while ago, that I wanted to have an easier way for blog readers to view our BIGGEST announcements, BIGGEST shoots and BIGGEST workshops we have available!

With this kick-ass feature, you can easily click to the coolest posts, without having to scroll back through our entire blog! This will be particularly good for any of you photographers wanting to sign up for our MINNeSHOPS or LOVEe Consults, because now, you can just click on our uber-cool banner and it will take you RIGHT to page...no more searching!

Enjoy the updates!! Hopefully it makes your experience, here at my little blog, better than you ever imagined...

...Keep coming back for more...there are many big things in our future!

LOVEe

Blur

"Going through the motions kills the emotions." ~Banksy

Challenge yourself today!

LOVEe

Seattle on Film!

Looking back at these images makes me SO happy! I just got a bunch of film back from my awesome-kick ass-coolest-lab-ever, Richard Photo Lab and it's like Christmas for me! The next few blog posts will be all from my film cameras, but this first post is especially lovely to me. I took a bit of a trip-o-inspiration a few weeks ago to Seattle and I only brought my film cameras. I needed some time along to reflect and re-energize for this coming season and it was exactly what the Dr. ordered! My friend, Jeffrey, has been in town visiting Minneapolis this week from California and we've had some really awesome conversations about just how important it is to take time for yourself and to recharge, as an artist. It's not only valuable to us, but a service to our clients as well!

Be fresh and Refreshed!

Happy Monday Everyone!

LOVEe

Our life through an Instax!

There has been SO much happening lately! Team Photogen Inc has been on the road a lot and all along the way, we've shot TONS of film! I'll share more of that with you when the film rolls come in, but for now, here are a bunch of fun images from our Instax camera! The instax camera is like crack for me! It's been a really awesome tool for me to document my life this past year.....I have a bit of a personal project going on with it, which will simply need some time to shape.

In this post, some awesome people make appearances:

Tara LaTour's amazing dresses The OH-SO-AWESOME Sara Montour Mr. Daniel Chin  Insta-Friend Dan Miles, who inspires me now on a daily basis B-Funk Melissa O! The Cornjadi's and their epic wedding - congratulations you two! The Traveling Photo Booth's awesome booth

Yeah for living the dream!

LOVEe

The Ole Ball Game!

Not sure if you heard or not, but the Minnesota Twins got a new stadium! No, I'm not into baseball, but I felt like I should go and experience this place and see what all of the hype is about.

After all, it's kind of a big deal around here! Outdoor baseball? In Minnesnowta?

My great friend, Daniel Chin, was in town this week...more on him to come...and let me tell you, this dude is downright serious about baseball! We had a ton of fun, and I must say, the vibe in this place is quite awesome! Of course... I took a few photos...

Happy Monday!

LOVEe