Well….yes, the blog is still alive ~ even though I haven’t posted in over a month I was plagued with a little H1N1, not a great time to be slowed down…but I think I may have recovered!

I new I was going to like Tracy before I met her… from all of our emails and phone conversations. It was so great to shoot Tracy and her family, look at them…aren’t they fabulous! *and her puppy is cute too! I can’t wait to meet their little one Here are a few of my favorites….

There are still mini sessions at my studio available…it can be family, your kids, anniversary session, belly session….

here is what I have

Friday ~ November 13th
10:45
2:45
3:15

***and a few Saturday the 14th***

10am
10:30am

*You get a 30 minute session, 1 digital negative for christmas cards with full reproduction rights and a discount on all my normal portrait prices.

If you just have to have more time than that…please let me know so we can get your session scheduled ASAP. Any session scheduled after Thanksgiving will not be able to get any prints or digital negative before Christmas….

I had so much fun with little *eli*…..He was so cooperative! Then at the end I told him – he could cry all he wanted too! This session was a gift from a previous bride of mine and her mother…what a great gift!

Photography is a gift that lasts a lifetime and will be enjoyed for years to come. If you are interested in gifting a studio session and entire session cd negatives, to someone you know for the holidays, please email me! I will be offering a special on this only until November 6th, for $300 total! That is a steal ~ (normally this would retail around $700). The gift sessions can be used any time after January 1st, 2010!

here are just a few….

Meet Johanna ~ sexy hot mamma ~ her hubby Jay and their two yr old son….who’s newborn pic is on my website! He has grown so much! I met them when they booked me 2yrs ago, for their last belly & baby. They had also booked me to photograph their son’s birth as well- but it ended up landing in the middle of a wedding day I had booked So my fabulous (life-saving) photog friend Marybeth went for me! So, I was super excited to hear from them again and get a second chance at that part! Low & behold I actually made it to the birth the second time around…but that’s for another post. Enjoy these photos that were taken at the studio…and yes, that’s my yummy bench – I got for a steal!

So there is a book, I have been meaning to read, many of my friends have read it and loved it. They say it’s real. inspiring. and a fabulous read. I don’t read books. My parents had to force me to read when I was little….I just couldn’t sit still that long. I’m a magazine reader….I hardly give myself time to read books anymore, and it’s a shame…. So after seeing Shauna’s blog, I knew it was time to read it. In celebration of this milestone for myself….I am giving away 5 free autographed books to the first five comments on this post! I wish I could grab the intro and paste it here….but instead I’ll leave a link to her site where you can read a chapter.

Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist….http://www.shaunaniequist.com/

So…like I said a lot of my friends are pregnant!!! Here are andy & marcy…you can find us at their house at least two nights out of the week for dinner…and we love them dearly. Our children play and we drink homemade sangria or arbor mist (whichever is accessible that week) and talk… They are moving to Seattle in the summer, and that makes us so excited for them and sad for us all at the same time..and seriously thinking about moving to seattle with them! Hey ~ the cloudy weather does make for great pictures…ok not serious, just like to pretend I could live in a big city. Here are a few of my faves….**slideshow**

Betsy ~ one of my dearest friends…along with most of my friends, was pregnant and had her little boy a few weeks ago now. Here are a few of my favorites! …and yes, I know, her daughter should totally be a GAP model ~ everyone agrees! oh yes, and…betsy…**loves** squirrels…so I had my friend Heather (who is a knitting genius) knit him an acorn hat…and little acorn mittens….perfect for him!

I have soooo many ideas circulating with newborns!!! I need your help finding babies 10 days old or younger. I am looking for dark skinned babies too! (with lots of hair hopefully!) Please let me know if you know ANYONE who has a new baby and is patient! I am looking to shoot these anytime in the next two weeks, during the day at my studio or in their home if they have enough light. I can’t wait to try out some new things!

forgot to add **there is no session fee! …and prints will be available at my normal portrait pricing!

Tattooed Brides….I want a woman with a ton of tattoos and / or sleeves…..and I will find her a wedding dress! Please let me know if you know anybody! Thanks!

….and I leave you with a few new marketing pieces that have developed from the new logo and tagline~ it’s been kind of fun! The first one is the front of the card….and then all the different variations are below. Fun Fun! I am loving it!

Well, I have had a lot of inquiries for my next workshop…and other inquiries to find out if I’m covering anything new, can we come again? Because I have so many of you at different levels, I want to gear my workshops for exactly what you’re wanting to learn, instead of cramming it all in. Sooo…here’s what I have come up with! You can reserve your spot by paying on my blog I will send you a confirmation email with more details!  I will have an additional website link with all of this info and  a calendar for the pro sessions, it should be up by the end of the week!

Basic ~ May 8th 2-8pm $175 *dinner inlcuded

For those of you who just got our camera, don’t even know what ISO means..yep that’s you, or the hobbiest who wants to step it up a notch!

Advanced ~ May 9th 10am-6pm $175

This is for the portfolio building photographer ready to start a business and needing to refine your camera and PS knowledge **professional editing software is a requirement**   lunch included.

Pro ~ “shoot & shadow” ~ $250 *up to 4 hours

This is for the photographer who has complete knowledge of all previous and wants to shadow & shoot a complete session on location with me and then return to my studio for a complete edit of the entire session. These will be scheduled within 30 days of registration, and will take place at the discretion of the registars and the client. Each session will be limited to two attendees max. bellies, newborns, kids, brides, engaged couples are all available!  Please call me to sign up for this class.

And one pick from earlier this fall….

I know….all the calls and emails about where in the world I went for the month of August…..thank you everyone….this pretty much sums it up…

….9 weddings (2 saturday’s up north, 2 weekends in a row, with GR friday weddings before)
…10 portrait sessions!
….2 commercial shoots (Camp Henry & Club Libby Lou)
….2 vet appointments for 2 different pets!
….2 kids starting school (Aug 13th)…with doctor visits!
….1 husband with a schedule just as crazy as mine!
….and trying to open and furnish a brand new studio!

Here is a belly session from a month ago. I love when I hear “We’re not photogenic” …I hear this from half of clients….I know it’s not true. Look how amazing they all look. Thanks so much for having me and congrats on the birth of Jax…( I love this name by the way – but I’m not having anymore!)