Closing the Dream

I won't bore you with all the details, but everything that could have gone wrong - did! The SBA decided to deny me their portion of the loan. (Good news - I was able to change their mind).

The SBA decided that I needed to have an asbestos inspection. (Bad news - it cost over $1000. Good news - there is no asbestos)

We were supposed to close on this property by November 5th, 2009. Actual closing date was February 16th 2010.

Here are a few pictures from our signing day.

(An incredibly expensive pen)

Have Faith

So now it is summer of 2009. My dreams have been dashed, and it's time to move on. I decided to place all my faith in God. I decided to trust in whatever plan He has for me and my family.

That's when I called my realtor and asked how things were turning out for the other buyer. He said that things (as of very recent) didn't work out and that the church building was back on the market.

In September of 2009, I made my offer. We haggled on price a bit and ended up with the agreed upon price of $128,000. Offer accepted!!!

The Dream Dies

By the end of 2008, I was pretty sure that I wanted to try to buy the old church in HSB. We had been watching the price of that building fall steadily during the recession that we are in, and we felt that we were in a good position to make an offer.

Before making an offer, I felt it would be smart to apply for a loan, and work through all the hurdles and challenges that would be thrown at me. I began the loan application process with Zions Bank in January or February of 2009. I had to turn in all kinds of projections, business plans, profit & loss statements, etc.

In April, my family was up in the hills north of HSB for a drive. Coincidently, we saw my realtor and his family enjoying some family time together with their horses. We chit chatted a little, and then he informed me that someone else had made an offer on the church, and that the church had accepted his offer. I felt sick to my stomach. It literally felt as if someone had sucker punched me in the gut. I couldn't think about anything else (and was depressed) for about 2 months. My dreams had been dashed!

The Dream

In 2007, I had a "dream". I envisioned a portrait studio located off highway 55 (the gateway to Idaho's playland) for the purpose of creating "Lifestyle Portraits" of Idaho's families. Most of us live in the Treasure Valley, but when it comes time for recreation and relaxation, most of us head north toward McCall, Stanley, Cascade, etc. My dream is to capture families doing what they love most - to tell that family's story - and to create heirloom portraits that will become that family's legacy.

The town of Horseshoe Bend became the potential answer to my dream. In December 2007 my family went up to Garden Valley to go sledding. We stopped in front of the old LDS church building. (I am pictured here in front of the old LDS church). At this time, the Church was asking $300,000 for this property. Across the street was a restaurant for sale - they were asking $500,000. Each building was approximately 3400 square feet in size. The church that I am looking at has a full basement. I wasn't sure either was in my budget, so I renewed my lease in Meridian for another 2 years, and decided to wait!

The Gibbs Family

It was fun working with the Gibbs Family! The purpose of the portrait session was to create impressionistic portraits. This family is great. Jonathan is a loving father and is a professional golf instructor. RuthAnn is a wonderful, talented, devoted mother. I especially love the portrait of RuthAnn reading to her children in the bottom image. I think it is beautiful and depicts the nurturing relationship that she has with her children. The children are a ton of fun. I especially enjoyed working with their daughter. She reminded me just how quickly children can change their moods. I got a kick out of the second to the last image. I wanted her to look out the window for the portrait, and she resisted with that look of "I don't want to!" Classic!

Snowbikes

Talk about a fun time in McCall! During the winter carnival a local company 2Moto (that I have previously done a lot of work for) hosted, the first ever, snowbike race. Many professional motocross racers where there. I had the opportunity to do photo and video work of the race and some other rides. My photos and the articles have been published at these two links: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/394/2611/Motorcycle-Article/2Moto-Snow-Bike-Motorcycle-Review.aspx and http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/525/2538/Motorcycle-Article/Ground-Zero-Snow-Bike-Race-Report.aspx

If you want to see more go to www.cazierportraits.com and look at 2Moto in the featured gallery section.

Impressions

When I was in high school and college, I was totally into watercolor painting. After college, I totally got into photography. While I enjoy both mediums independently, I have found that combining the art of painting with photography is just awesome! During these slower winter months, I have taken advantage of the time to hone this incredible art form. My sister-in-law graciously agreed to be a model for me. The historic home, classic furnishings and style all came together for this timeless, elegant look. In the images that follow, you will be able to see photographs that have been transformed into works of art. Enjoy!

Travis & Brittney's Wedding

I had a wonderful time working with Travis and Brittney. On Thursday night we spent the afternoon and evening going around to beautiful locations in the area that Brittney picked out to shoot the "Sunset Formals" portion of their wedding package. Brittney and Travis were fun and spontaneous. Their ideas were great. I feel like any of their images could grace the cover of a magazine. You guys look amazing!

Here are a few images from Saturday, the day of their wedding. Again, I think these images look fantastic. If you want to see more. Go to http://www.cazierportraits.com/ and look for the Jacobs-Barney Wedding in my featured galleries section.

Tyler

The Richards Family

What great people the Richards are! Tyler drove up to their hometown of Baker City, OR to do their photo shoot and had a great time doing it! He said they were a very fun family to photograph and that it was great to photograph in some new locations. All of us here at the studio have loved getting to know the Richards as we have worked with them over the past couple of weeks.

Of their experience with Cazier Photography they said, "It was great to work with Tyler and everyone at Cazier Photography. Very personal and easy to work with. Thank you very much!"

Thank you so much for the opportunity to work with you! We have loved it too! We hope it was the first of many meetings!

The Newman Family

What a fun and cute family the Newman family is! We absolutely love the way their family portraits turned out. This portrait is especially neat as this location is particularly special to them because the property is owned by their family and has been for quite some time. It is a beautiful piece of land tucked up against the Boise river. We love it when families find somewhere with a special meaning to have their family portraits taken. Not only does it make getting your family portraits taken that much more fun, but it turns your family portrait into a real treasure!

Of their experience with Cazier Photography they said, "We really appreciate how easy Tyler is to work with. What a creative genious!"

Thank you so much for coming to see us, Newmans. We hope it was the first of many great experiences!