Minneapolis Wedding Photographer - John Sharpe Photography Blog

Austin – North St Paul High School Senior

John Sharpe — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:11:50 +0000

I have known Austin since we first moved to Minnesota back in 2006. I worked with him in Boy Scouts and at church. At that time, he was a pesky 13 year old. He was always goofing off and seemed to enjoy pestering me : ) It’s amazing to see how much he has grown up! Austin is graduating in just a few short weeks and has a very bright future ahead of him. I really enjoyed working with him on this session an am very pleased with the photos!

You can see the entire event and order prints HERE.

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Newborn Photo Session – Lincoln

John Sharpe — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:25:53 +0000

I was simply thrilled when Chris contacted me about doing a newborn photo session for their son Lincoln last week. I photographed Katie and Chris’ wedding a couple years ago and was excited to see them again. From the moment I arrived at their home, it was apparent how excited they are about Lincoln. It really wasn’t too difficult to photograph. Lincoln was nearly a perfect angel I could not be more excited for these two and their upcoming parenting adventures! Welcome Baby Lincoln!!!

You can see the entire event and order prints HERE.

Lincoln love to yawn!

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Maho Beach–St. Maarten

John Sharpe — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:55:40 +0000

Last month, Emily and I had to get out of Minnesota. After enduring months and months of cold, we hopped on an airplane to Fort Lauderdale and went on a cruise. We visited a bunch of fun islands and had a great time. For me, however, visiting Maho Beach in St. Maarten might have been the big highlight. I have long wanted to visit this place and photograph this beach. For those of you who are not familiar, Maho Beach Airport sits right (I mean literally) next to the beach. We had planned to just spend an hour or so at Maho Beach, but we are completely entertained by the continual airplanes arriving. We spent several hours watching. Part of the fun was watching people’s reactions to the incoming planes. We saw planes of all sizes land, but unfortunately, we were unable to stick around for one of the Jumbo 747 planes to land. Nonetheless, I would love to go back and visit!

In other news…we are also expecting a baby boy on 8/23/2013!!!

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Easter Weekend

John Sharpe — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:03:00 +0000

Whoever thought dipping eggs in dye was a good idea obviously didn’t have a two year old This past weekend, we introduced Eliza to the Easter Bunny, Easter Eggs, and all that goes with it. On Saturday, she enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt (in the snow) and dipped eggs. Hard to believe last year’s Easter Egg Hunt included lush green grass and warm temperatures. Sunday we enjoyed church and Eliza got more than her fair share of candy. I put together a little video of Eliza’s first attempt at dipping Easter eggs. Worth a look

Easter2013 Vimeo from John Sharpe on Vimeo.

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White Bear Lake Engagement Session–Amanda and Matt

John Sharpe — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:00:37 +0000

Winter engagement photos have kept me busy over the past couple of weeks. These session present obvious obstacles in Minnesota. To add to the complexity of the situation, Amanda and Matt were flying in from Taiwan for the session. We were limited to just two day to choose from. We carefully watched the weather predictions (which seems near useless in MN). We had two day options for shooting winter engagement photos. First day, weather was predicted to be almost 30F with 15-30 mph winds. Second day, sub zero temperatures with a high in the single digits. We elected to shoot on the blustery but less cold day. Amanda and Matt wanted a setting defined as charming and American so we headed over to White Bear Lake for the winter photos. Amanda and Matt were actually already married in Taiwan but they have had to rearrange some of the normal wedding timeline. Since Matt’s family resides here, this trip to Minnesota was for Amanda and Matt’s engagement party. Next year, they are planning a real wedding celebration with family and friends here in Minnesota.

As for the session, it was quite chilly, but Amanda and Matt (especially Amanda) stayed so happy and positive for their winter engagement photos. I was bundled up and I found myself getting chilled, but somehow these two, albeit under-dressed, seemed warmer than myself. Amanda and Matt…Thanks for hanging out with me and spending some time in the Minnesota cold! Congrats to you two!

You can see the entire event and order prints HERE.

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Quarry Hill Park Winter Engagement Session–Sarah + Roberto

John Sharpe — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:02:50 +0000

Winter engagement photos can be the perfect time of year for a fun and unique session. However, as I look out the window, there is snow falling and I’m contemplating shoveling the sidewalks of the several inches of new snow from last night. For me, February in Minnesota is a difficult time. The temperatures are too often in the single digits and below, cars drive around caked with salt, and talk of the bitter-cold weather is the topic of nearly every conversation. It is at this point that the Minnesota winter has lost it’s luster and I’m chomping at the bit for warm temperatures and green grass. I’ve lived in Minnesota for over 6 years now and never seem adjust to the winter season.

Luckily, it’s not all bad here in February in Minnesota A couple weeks ago, Sarah and Roberto joined me for a semi-warm Minnesota day (+30F) to photograph their winter engagement photos. We used Quarry Hill Park in Rochester as the backdrop for their shoot. The wind was a little bitter but luckily we were able to take a few minutes to warm up at the Nature Center.

I absolutely love how this session turned out. The bright snow, colorful sweaters, and a cute couple made for some beautiful winter engagement photos! Photographing these two made dealing with the Minnesota winter in February a bit more tolerable.

You can see the entire event and order prints HERE.

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Happy Birthday Daughter!!!!

John Sharpe — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:50:37 +0000

Happy Birthday Eliza!!!

It’s hard to believe my sweet baby girl is two years old today!!! Honestly, it feels just like yesterday we were celebrating her 1st Birthday Party!!! At this time last year, she was just beginning to become mobile. Now she walks, runs, jumps, and talks all the time. She has even started to develop a sense of humor. What a difference a year makes! Eliza has given me such a unique perspective on life. She teaches me daily through her laughter, happiness, and very positive personality. Some days are harder than others but I wouldn’t change a thing. She has been such a blessing in our family. The best part about running my own business is that it allows me the flexibility to spend A LOT of time with this cutie pie! She is definitely daddy’s girl!!!

Here are some favorite images from the past year…

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A New Website for the New Year

John Sharpe — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:30:09 +0000

When the business launched in 2008, I created my own logo quickly using photoshop. I assumed a logo needed to be in cursive because it looked “cool”. I have an Information Systems degree and reasonable web programming knowledge, so I built my first site completely from scratch. I thought my site just plain rocked My website blasted obnoxious music upon entry, was very basic, and included a hodge podge of images I had taken from buildings to flowers to autumn leaves to weddings to children…you get the idea. The website was a nightmare to maintain and was only updated a couple times.

In 2010, I noticed my site lacked cool looking animations and such so I invested in flash based site. At the time, I loved it, it seemed hip and cool with photos moving and fading. However, I quickly began noticing the drawbacks of a flash site…it was error-prone and crashed easily. It was difficult for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), so I was forced to put a landing page on my site. In 2010, I began to notice increased web traffic from mobile devices (about 3% of web traffic). At the start of 2012, I began seeing about 10% mobile device traffic to my site. This was a problem because my flash site did not play nice with mobile devices. I knew my new site had to accommodate for these devices.

Nearly two long years have passed since launching the old website and blog. At that time, I thought my site would be with me for a very long time, but the truth is that site hobbled along for the past two years. I wanted a clean slate…something fresh. In January 2012, I began my hunt again for a designer to help me develop a logo and branding that was clean, simple, and memorable. I worked with Natalie Christensen, a graphic designer, in Kansas City. We spent months drafting and drafting some more. The process wasn’t easy, but it was worth it! On Monday, I launched the new site and the initial branding. This new site is fully compatible with mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, Android, etc.) and looks great on a computer as well. Clocking more than 50+ hours on compiling (nearly all after-hour time of taking care of my 2 year old), updating, launching the new site left me sleep deprived and exhausted and I’m sooo glad I can breathe easier now. I was pleased to see nearly 800 unique visitors from all over the world visit the new site on Monday. I was amazed to see 41% of that traffic came from a mobile device. I’m thinking a mobile friendly site was a step in the right direction Please take a look around the new site and enjoy! Below is the evolution of www.johnsharpephotography.com

Launch January 2013

Launch May 2010 – Retired January 2013

Launch July 2008 – Retired May 2010

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New Year’s Eve Wedding–Dellwood Country Club–Kaitlin + Nick

John Sharpe — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 05:41:59 +0000

Kaitlin and Nick are two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Kaitlin has to be one of the sweetest, most appreciative brides I’ve ever worked with! I was excited to shoot another New Year’s Eve Wedding!!! The day flowed so nicely and I just loved being a part of the wedding day excitement. As expected, we had a very cold Minnesota New Year’s Eve but we were still able to get out for just a few outdoor photos. Obviously this was my last 2012 wedding…I’m sure glad to have ended with this one! Kaitlin and Nick congratulations and I wish you both many, many, many years of happiness!!!!

Be sure to Click the link for a slideshow story of Kaitlin & Nick’s Wedding

You can see the entire event and order prints HERE.

Be sure to Click the link for a slideshow story of Kaitlin & Nick’s Wedding

You can see the entire event and order prints HERE.

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Merry Christmas!!!

John Sharpe — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 05:30:01 +0000

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

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