Our Spring Open House party was a success!

What an event!! If you attended, thank you for coming and we hope you had a great time! If you missed it, you REALLY missed a fun evening! (Don't worry, we'll do it again!)

We have posted over 100 photos from the event, so click here to take a look at all the fun!

There was a party going on...and it was a great success!

Wow - what an event! We had over 500 people attend the grand open house celebration of the Aperture Academy.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and we have over 200 photos from the event to share. FYI, in the gallery, we are offering 10% off prints and 15% off classes through the end of 2009...and we now have gift certificates! (Call 408-369-8585 to learn more.)

Take a look through the party photos (taken by our official event photographer, Steven Davis).

[To see the Old Crystal Mill larger, click here]
[Read about the party and see all the photos here]

The party was a great way for us to show the public what we're all about. Our in-field instructors, Brian Rueb and Jim Patterson, were available to talk to the public, answer questions about workshops, and share stories from their photographic experiences. Classroom instructors, Jeanette Smith and Scott Donschikowski, were there as well, offering some tips and tutorials on Photoshop and Lightroom. Stephen Oachs, the gallery founder and the gala's host, answered questions regarding his photographs and gave away over $5000 worth of prints and certificates as prizes in the raffle.

We sincerely wish to thank everyone who was able to attend; for those of you far away, thank you for all your kind wishes. Have a safe holiday and a new year!

Twitter Giveaway Winners Announced!

Our grand opening celebration has been wonderful, and part of the fun included announcing our two prize winners!

We chose a winner from everyone who used the hashtag #ApertureAcademy in their tweets/retweets. The prize was a choice of one of four 8x10 matted, signed wildlife prints by our featured photographer (and Aperture Academy founder) Stephen Oachs. [See the prizes/selections here]

Our second winner was chosen from among all our Twitter followers as of midnight on the day of our celebration (Dec. 5th).

Oh...haven't we said who the winners are? Guess we'd better do that!

WINNER #1 Congratulations to vtully


WINNER #2 Congratulations to MartinaPowell


Winners, please send an e-mail to Kelly [at] ApertureAcademy.com with "Twitter Winner" in the subject line. Please give her your name, mailing address and your prize choice! She's waiting to hear from you!

P.S. We hope you will post a comment about which prizes you choose! (And Twitter about it, too!) We'd all love to know!
[See the prizes/selections here]

Press Release: Aperture Academy Gallery and Photography School Grand Opening; Guest Speaker from Snow Leopard Trust

You are invited to the Aperture Academy grand opening celebration from 6-10pm, Saturday, December 5th, 2009. Hosted by nature photographer Stephen Oachs, there will be food, drink and live music. Come meet the Aperture Academy instructors, get a free lesson, tour the gallery and sign up for some of the $5,000 worth of prizes...and bring a friend.
 
Campbell, CA--November 19, 2009--Stephen Oachs is extending a personal invitation to join him and his guests at the gala Grand Opening celebration of Aperture Academy on December 5th, from 6pm-10pm. Located at the Pruneyard Shopping Center in Campbell, California, the Aperture Academy is a beautiful 4,000 square foot gallery, studio and workshop for all things digital photography. The grand opening will be attended by local dignitaries, esteemed guests from across the U.S., from various organizations such as the Snow Leopard Trust, and award-winning photographers. "It's going to be a memorable evening," said Oachs.

Appetizers and refreshments will be catered by Sara Bromberg and Talula Bay Catering, who will be catering all of Aperture Academy's events and available to those who rent out the gallery space.  Live music will be provided by renowned guitarist, Jerry Snyder. There will be special guest speaker from the Snow Leopard Trust, in recognition of Stephen Oachs' philanthropic efforts through his award-winning photograph, "Endangered Beauty." Photography instructors Brian Rueb, Scott Davis, Jim Patterson, Scott Donschikowski and creative software instructor Jeanette Smith will all be attending and contributing to the festivities.

This celebration not only officially launches the Aperture Academy, but it marks the first event of many to be held there. "We are booking up quickly for the holiday season, and we're very excited to see the interest in Aperture Academy. The gallery was designed to be a multi-purpose venue with an atmosphere of class, comfort, taste and distinction," said Oachs. "We look forward to the many events, celebrations and memories to come."

To learn more about Aperture Academy's grand opening, or to inquire about reserving the gallery for your function, visit http://www.ApertureAcademy.com or call 408-369-8585.
 


About Aperture Academy

Founded by award-winning photographer and entrepreneur, Stephen W. Oachs, the Aperture Academy is a unique combination of fine art photography gallery and state-of-the-art teaching facility featuring classroom and in-field workshop instruction. Established in 2009 by Stephen Oachs, the Academy is located in Campbell, California, in the Pruneyard Shopping Center. The Academy offers a fun, interactive environment for learning everything related to digital photography, providing the best hands-on instruction in the industry. The state-of-the-art facility has individual student workstations outfitted with the latest software and hardware for Mac and PC platforms. Professional, award-winning instructors guide students of any skill level from learning to shoot in the field to techniques for digital post-processing, in a relaxed, personalized environment. Also an event venue, the 4,000 square foot facility's open floor plan makes it perfectly suited for social receptions, business and fund-raising events, camera club meetings and much more. Visit http://www.ApertureAcademy.com or call (408) 369-8585 to learn more about the school, reserve the gallery, or to register for classes. 

 
About Stephen W. Oachs

Stephen Oachs is an award-winning photographer, successful entrepreneur and technology veteran who began his journey in photography the moment he picked up his first camera.
Stephen's unique and distinctive style has earned him recognition as one of today's finest nature photographers. He was recognized in 2007 as wildlife photographer of the year by the National Wildlife Federation and was awarded best nature photographer in 2008 by National Geographic for his work photographing the endangered snow leopard. In 2009, Stephen founded The Aperture Academy, a unique combination of fine art photography gallery and classroom.

His work has graced the pages of many notable worldwide publications, including National Geographic, Popular Photography, Outdoor Photographer, National Wildlife Magazine, among others. Stephen and his work have been profiled locally in Gentry Magazine, and The Mercury News, and he has made numerous appearances as a guest lecturer.

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