I taught myself how to snowboard (after years of skiing) when I was 23 years old. I was out of college and living in the Adirondack’s (of Upstate NY) so I learned on the steepest in the East, Whiteface aka Iceface Mtn.  It is hands down the most courageous thing I have done besides bowing out of Corporate America. Learning how to snowboard took many seasons of getting the $h!t kicked out of me…and learning.

In My First Season:

All I could do was fall… if you’re not falling you’re not learning…fall fall fall…. Fall 15 times get up 16 times was my motto for life at that point. I really didn’t mind because I was determined and focused to achieve my goal.

Before I sent myself plummeting down the mountain I wore thick volleyball kneepads on my knees (under my snow pants), wrist guards (def. still wear those) and tons of padding on my butt.  Helmets were too expensive so I did without (bad idea). One night I had one of those funky dreams where you actually feel what you’re going through physically. I had a dream about snowboarding and felt what it was like in my dream, which was really odd. Anyway, it worked and after that point I could link my turns and stay up for almost the entire run. Every little achievement was all I needed to keep me going (and to suck it up when I got the wind knocked out of me for the 5th time). Ouch!

I smartened up and got a helmet after a severe concussion that put me in the hospital not once, but twice.

In My Second Season:

*Bonus Season* – I was pretty good by now, I kept up with seasoned skiers and killed it in the Glades. *I upgraded my equipment and that made a huge difference because I was finally on a woman’s board and it was *almost my size, bonus!

*This season was when I shot my very first solo wedding, which happened to be a snowboarding wedding (coincidence? I think not) at Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville, NY. The bride and groom got married in the lodge and afterwards, still dressed in wedding gear, took it to the mountain! Thus plummeting me into booking my own weddings (and not just working as a second shooter).

In My Third Season:

I was introduced to the man of my dreams on the slopes at Jay Peak Vermont! Because of learning how to snowboard and having 2 seasons under my belt, I was in a position where I could impress the boys, haha. But seriously, if I wasn’t comfortable snowboarding and loving it, I definitely wouldn’t have paid all that money to drive from Albany, NY to Jay, VT and thus wouldn’t have had the pleasure of getting to know Justin.

Naturally, an aggressive progression took place while I was trying to show off and I signed up for as many ski trips as I could. I also got promoted at work and was moved to Boston, booya!

Last Season Quattro:

My first time shredding out West and holy cats batman!!! They were right, if you can ski the East you can pretty much ski anything. I learned that all of my hard work on the icy slopes of the East Coast paid off. I was flying past most of the other riders on the mountains, which naturally felt incredible! I had never experienced powder that weightless and deep. The feeling was really that of surfing across air.

This Season (5):

Here we are! I have 2 beautiful new/used v-rocker decks that are funky and fresh. Although I haven’t skiid fresh powder all season, I did get to ski out west on the ice (during pre-season). It’s probably a good thing because before my wedding all I could think about was me walking down the aisle in an upper body cast (think rookie of the year).

Now a MARRIED (!!!) full time photographer, I find great similarities in building and running a successful brand on my own & my experience of learning how to shred. Like any new business owner I know I’m going to fall, but there is no doubt I’m going to get right back up… I’m comfortable knowing that it’s ok to make mistakes because I’ve discovered that making mistakes leads me to new ideas which sets me apart from most of the world… and your traditional wedding photographer!

It was so icy and I didn’t want to break any bones before my honeymoon, so I started my Apres Ski early!  Justin happened to have his camera so naturally a photoshoot broke out in the tiki hut.

Since this has turned out to be a “Who is AprilK” post, here is a little home video I made on my waterproof point and shoot. (Sidenote: don’t purchase the Olympus waterproof camera… it’s horrible and takes awful dark photos and video).

Peace, Love & Shreddin’,

April K

My Humble Beginnings – A Biography

Straight out of college I was on my own (in every way possible) and in a new city. I landed a job at an advertising agency which seemed amazing, until I realized it’s true meaning… I was trapped behind a desk all day, not being creative.

Now, I’ve always been a wild woman, a free spirit, a creative soul, so sitting behind a desk in Corporate America was not how I wanted to spend my life. As an Art major in college I knew I wanted to do something creative but I couldn’t put my finger on which medium I wanted to persue. I remember a specific moment, sitting at my desk, next to the window thinking to myself, “I cannot live the rest of my life like this”. I thought, “what is the one thing that I could eat, breathe, live?”

Aha! Photography

So (living near Albany, NY at the time) I googled “Albany Wedding Photographers” and emailed the first person who appealed to me on the long list of photogs. After some correspondence I went and met with my first mentor, Tom, and the next thing I knew I was booked for several weddings… carrying his bags around! (Hey, ya gotta start somewhere!). Tom was generous enough to lend me his old digital camera so that I could practice at home. He also was caring enough to take the time to sit and teach me the basics of owning a photography business.

I then met another local photographer, Niki, who hired me for several weddings as a second shooter. This was an amazing opportunity, allowing me to actually take control of some photographic situations at weddings. I still had to carry bags around but this time I was shooting too! (bonus)

Working full time during the week and second shooting on the weekends was my life for about 3 years. I loved every minute of being a second shooter. Very rarely did I ever think to myself “I just worked all week, I don’t feel like working all weekend”. Shooting weddings became my passion and I looked forward to it every week. On my own and hardly paying rent, I put aside every penny I earned from photography so that I could someday buy a better camera. About a year later that someday came and I bought a brand new Nikon D300 with a Nikorr 17-55 prime lens. Woo Wee!

Life was great. I landed a new full time job at an Online Media company and was rocking (more info here). I even started booking my own weddings, booya. About a year into this role and a few promotions later, to my dismay (or was it?), I received word that my full time job was promoting me (Yes!), shutting down the Albany office (No!!!) and moving us to the headquarters in Boston (Boston?).

In my first year and a half in my new city of Boston I was doing really well, blowing my quota out of the water month after month and building a new portion of the business like woah. It felt as though all my dreams were coming true, I was masterfully executing the “corporate ladder”. After a while this extremely demanding role and the whole Corporate America feel was wearing away at my soul. In the words of Jonathan Fields “I was becoming more and more successful on a path that was making me less and less happy.”I knew it was time to throw in the towel the day I started referring to myself as a “caged song bird”.

In June of 2011 I took the leap of faith and brought April K Photography full time…and never looked back!

Why Wedding Photography?

Love…

…and the fact that love has no words great enough, and no explanations or descriptions that truly encompass this emotion.

I believe that we, as a society, have been raised to believe that words are the most powerful form of communication. Sadly, this is not the case when it comes to love. Love is an un-spoken emotion that is globally understood and no words are needed. It’s a language understood by all of mankind.

Chances are, no author can capture the essence of love… but if my clients, no, strike that, if YOU are truly in love, there is no doubt I can capture and turn it into a work of art.

I look forward to hearing your story over a beer or cup of tea!

Love Sparkles,

April K

I often get asked the question “what are you like at a wedding?” Besides the fact that you can’t wipe the smile off my face and that I LOVE my job, I’m vivacious, jubilant and love to capture your energy and spirit.

My theory is, you can never look bad when you’re having fun and I can pretty much always make you look good!

Here is a little home video Justin took while I was shooting Aaron & Alycia’s wedding.