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Fuchs said. “Everybody cares about providing the right experience that’s
needed for the clients. That’s what makes Okoboji unique. It has everything
but it’s also small enough of a community that everyone actually
cares and it’s cool to build relationships with the different venues.”
LASTING MEMORIES
“What I enjoy so much about weddings is taking something someone
has had in their head about their dream wedding and making it a reality,”
Fuchs said. “We had a bride that ever since she was a little girl wanted
wedding photos on the Legend roller coaster and we were able to make
that happen, so creating those heirloom memories is a big part of it —
taking their dream and making it happen through photo and video.”
Making dreams become reality has also taken Fuchs and his team all
over the country and even beyond its borders to capture that magic in
other countries. They’ve done photo and video at weddings in Colorado,
Florida and even livestreamed weddings in other countries so friends
and family could watch it live back home.
Wherever the wedding happens to be located, Fuchs also makes it
a priority to develop friendships and connections at every event. That
approach has led to a large pool of former clients, now longtime friends,
that continues to grow with each passing season.
“That’s always my goal. I want my clients to become more friends
and family than just a client,” Fuchs said. “It’s really crazy that this far in
I have senior photography clients that are now getting married and I’m
doing their weddings. I had a wedding where I gathered everyone I had
photographed previously for a group photo and had this mass of people
around me — you don’t always think about the difference you are making
capturing these memories for all these people to pass on to their
kids and grandkids. It’s a pretty humbling feeling that all these people
have invited you in to be part of their lives and that’s really cool." •
A PHOTOGRAPHER’S
FREE TIME
It’s every photographer’s dilemma
and a question they all inevitably hear:
What do you like to photograph for
fun?
For Tim Fuchs it’s a variety of things
and the answer could change from
month to month or even day to day.
But for the past few years underwater
photography has been at the top of
that list, at least partly because of the
unique challenges it presents.
“Any time I get to be underwater
blowing bubbles I’m happy,” Fuchs
said. “Fish photos, sunken boat
pictures in Okoboji. It’s not perfectly
clear Caribbean ocean water so it’s
a bit of a challenge, but oh so much
fun.”
He’s also done some photography
underwater in the Florida Keys
including while diving with sharks.
So it makes sense that wildlife
photography is another one of his
favorite photo pastimes.
“It’s so immensely difficult,” Fuchs
said. “To be in the right place at the
right time takes a lot of preparation but
a lot of luck plays into it as well.”
And on Friday nights in the fall he
enjoys roaming the sidelines of high
school football games.
“I love doing sports photos,
especially in this area,” Fuchs said.
“I like the challenge and really like
football and basketball. Football was
something I played and the kids get
these pictures where they look like
superstars and the parents love it, so I
thoroughly enjoy doing that too.”
FEBRUARY 2024 OKOBOJI MAGAZINE 43