And in case you need a little enticing, here’s a quick screen shot of all its glory!

I remember the days that followed. The confusion and anger at God. I remember she was supposed to come see me twirl baton at the high school football game that weekend. I remember the funeral. Sitting in the room with all of the family while Pastor Douglass prayed before the service. Hearing my aunt sob. I remember crying through the whole service.

To this day, I can’t watch Rascal Flatts’ video for What Hurts the Most. It’s too much for me. When Kenny Chesney sings Who You’d Be Today, I think of her smiling face. But through the sorrow, we have hope. Her mama has hope. Susan was such a great witness for God to her friends. Through her death, students were able to see faith lived out. Through her life, through her death, and through her family’s trust that God was in control. Because he has a plan. I may not fully understand it, but he does.

Miss you, Suzy. (That’s us in the middle of the back row!)

In celebration of my own wedding in January and the move from Lincoln, Nebraska to Cedar Falls, Iowa following my wedding, I want to offer some pretty sweet special wedding pricing.

Here’s the scoop. All day wedding coverage currently begins at $1500, and complete collections (with digital images) begin at $2000. However, the FIRST FIVE Iowa weddings booked will receive the following collection (valued at $2000) for ONLY $1500:

- All day wedding coverage (generally a few hours before the ceremony to an hour or so after the formal dances at the reception)
- Online gallery for purchasing professional prints and products
- Complimentary 1.5 hr Engagement Session with online gallery
- Disk of images with print release and usage rights
- 10% off collection upgrades (albums, etc)

In case you’re like me and need a calculator to do even simple math (5+8 is what??), I calculated it out. That’s a $500 savings! That could get you an extra night on your honeymoon. Well, unless you’re going to Bora Bora or the Maldives where it’s like $2000/night. Tangent…

Obviously, this offer doesn’t just apply to Cedar Falls and Waterloo. This applies to Hudson, La Porte City, Vinton, Cedar Rapids, Waverly, Independence – all of the surrounding area and then some. Des Moines wants in on this deal? I’m game. (Travel fees may apply to areas outside Cedar Falls and Waterloo.)

Here are the details, though. Your wedding must be on or after January 21, 2012. The offer is good for only the first five weddings booked. Your wedding is officially booked when I’ve received your signed contract and retainer payment. This is strictly first come, first served. So hurry!

And since I so rudely didn’t introduce myself above, my name is Rachel. Scroll down for a picture of me. I love people. And photographs. And photographing people. A lot. Mostly because I love bringing out the beauty that I believe everyone has. (Sappy, I know.) If you’ve got some time, take a look at what my life behind the lens is like, read a bit about me, check out my wedding portfolio (which is in the process of getting a total makeover!!), and of course contact me if you have any questions or would like to book your wedding! Also, I love to get to know new people (and not just ramble to them…), so feel free to stop by Facebook and say hi. I swear it won’t be awkward. Everyone needs new friends when they move somewhere new, right?

See you soon, Cedar Falls!

It’s official. I’m marrying the love of my life in January. So that means the business will be moving to Iowa!

Starting in January 2012, Rachel Ruffer Photography will officially be serving the Cedar Falls and Waterloo area, providing contemporary wedding photography and modern, fashion-inspired senior portraits. I’m so incredibly excited for this opportunity, and I really think Cedar Falls is a great community and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. In the next few days I’ll be implementing new wording here on the blog, on Facebook, and over on the website to reflect the new business location to help get my name out in Iowa.

If you are from Cedar Falls, Waterloo or any of the surrounding area and stumbled upon this post, head on over and like my page on Facebook. You’ll want to be the first to hear about the SECOND big announcement later this week, as it may or may not be a ridiculously awesome wedding photography special, just for YOU – my new friends in Iowa.

Also, if you’d be so kind, if you know someone in the Cedar Falls Waterloo area, feel free to click on the “Share” buttons below :)

I can’t wait for January! Happy Tuesday!

In other randomness:

- I finally got my wedding announcements mailed yesterday. They should have been sent out, oh, a month ago, but whatever. i had to buy a new printer to print the addresses on the envelopes (which look bomb, if I do say so myself), but that was a huge ordeal in itself because we fought all day. It took FOUR HOURS to print 113 envelopes. Out of control? Yes, I believe it is. But don’t worry, they had pretty purple “LOVE” stamps on them :)

- You might have seen me post on Facebook yesterday about a big announcement coming next week. Well, I lied. There’s going to be a THREE PART ANNOUNCEMENT coming to the blog next week. There’s a lot of changes going on around here, and I’m SO excited for them. Seriously, I get more pumped by the minute.

- 1AM and me have been having this love/hate affair thing going on. I swear, you stay up late once and you can’t get back to your regular schedule. I think I’m getting sleep deprived.

- I’ve started studying Search Engine Optimization to get better traffic to my website. I’m excited for the results, but kill me now. It’s a ton of work, quite confusing at times, and who knows how long it will take to start working.

- My dog is the cutest freaking dog ever. I’m not kidding. I go all googly-eyed about thirty times a day and use my most annoying baby voice to tell her how adorable she is. And then she just stares at me like she’s thinking, Duh, Mom.

Happy birthday, Corey. You’re my everything. I can’t wait to be your wife. To fall asleep in your arms and to wake up next to you. To do life together. You make me laugh, hold me when I cry, and always push me to be the best person I can be. Thank you. I hope you’re enjoying your birthday wherever you are in France.

All my love, Rachel

(One of our engagement photos by the ever awesome Rik Andes Photography.)

My story is about like everyone else’s story, aside from those who lost loved ones on that terrible day.

As I was skimming my news feed today, however, a Time article caught my eye. It featured “unpublished photos” by James Nachtwey. I can’t pretend that I knew who he was before this article, but his work is really something. James was in NYC that Tuesday, coming back from a trip to France. Once he realized what was happening, he grabbed his camera and headed towards the towers, while everyone else was running away from them.

That kind of courage stops me in my tracks. If something happened in Lincoln, would I have the courage to do what James did? He says he wasn’t really thinking anything except, “Do your job.” I wonder what my instinct would tell me? Would I risk my life to do my job? To photograph the unthinkable?

Just something to think about.

The Blue Angels were in town this weekend, and I was lucky enough to attend on Saturday. It was quite something to see them flying over the whole city. And a great way to honor those brave souls we lost ten years ago.

I wanted to take a bit of time to review my newest (and favorite!) lens. I bought the 28mm f/1.8 lens after realizing I needed a faster wide-angle lens. But if I’m being truly honest, I really just wanted a lens that produced results like my 50mm that I could use for every day life. NOTE: I shoot with the Canon 7D, so it’s not full-frame. If you are shooting full-frame, your results will be different (and wider) than mine, as the 7D has a crop sensor. That means the 28mm on a crop-sensor is *about* the equivalent of a 50mm on a full-frame sensor.

I found my 50mm was, although great for portraits, wasn’t so great for everyday life when I’m in cramped spaces inside or traveling. It was too tight. The only lens I had wider than the 50mm was my 18-55mm kit lens, which I only would ever use at 18mm if I HAD to, because the aperture is too small. Small aperture = no bokeh = not my fav. Plus it’s not as great in low light conditions. So I bought the beautiful 28mm.

What I love most about this lens is that f/1.8 is super fast, so I can get that incredible bokeh that I dream about at night. Also, because it has an ultrasonic motor (USM) it is SO quiet when it focuses. All of the lenses I own now are USM (finally!) and after coming from the nifty fifty (50mm 1.8) it is like I am in HEAVEN. No more clunking, whirling, or thrashing like the 50mm 1.8. Quiet. Unobtrusive.

This lens has become my walk-around lens of sorts. Anytime I take my camera with me for a trip or fun night out, I’ve got my 28mm on. I had it when we were moving my sister in to college, and was able to take this image standing relatively close to her. I would have had to be 10 feet away with my 50mm to get an image like this. It reminds me of images shot with a point-and-shoot, except with better bokeh, and I.LOVE.IT.

I even took it with me to the Nebraska State Fair. And if there’s one thing I love (almost) as much as bokeh, it’s sun flare. Gorgeous. (On a side note, I wanted to just scoop one of these little guys up and take him home with me!)

When I was considering buying this lens, I spent a lot of time looking on Flickr’s 28mm 1.8 group. Lots of inspiring images over there. I hope to do great things with this lens :)

Happy Saturday!

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I walked up. I mean, yes, I’ve seen the water before, but for some reason, being out in the country with nothing but nature, the awesome power of the river hit me. The road was completely under water. It actually didn’t even really look like a road.

I totally forgot to attempt a panoramic shot. This is the best I got that shows the expanse of the water. It was seriously all around me. The real kicker? The actual river bed is about TWO MILES from where I was standing (I was facing east). This is the first major flood I’ve experienced before, so that may or may not really be a crazy number, but to me, it is. To the northeast I could see buildings (houses?) that were totally flooded out.

You could see by all the driftwood and debris that the water has receded some. However, I was actually listening to the Blair radio station and they were discussing how no one should be letting their guard down, as levee breaches and more water could be possible. It’s unbelievable to me. My heart goes out to all of those seriously affected by this.