Weekends are booking up

I was going through some old wedding images I shot from last year. This was one of my favorites. I reworked it just a bit and really love the final outcome of it. The frame and my logo are on it only for blog purposes. I'm going to redo some more of Jena's photos and send them to her as a surprise. She was such a calm bride and you can tell by this lovely smile that she was having FUN!

I've sent out the information to those of you that requested wedding info, if I had your e-mail addresses. There was one I still don't have an e-mail for. "E" if you read this, know I haven't forgotten you. I'm still waiting to hear back from the other bride that has the same date as you.

Yes, brides-to-be and mom's of...those June and July dates are filling fast! Don't wait - many photographers are already booked up. I'm doing only a limited number of weddings this year. Once those slots are filled, I won't accept anymore. I must have time for editing and designing. If I'm shooting a wedding every weekend, I would never get any of the images completed. And that also means albums.

Something else I want to mention: You spend hundreds to thousands of $$ on food and other items that only last for that day. Please remember that a photographer's services offer you a lifelong investment of your day.

Behind a bit

I know I've promised some of you that I would get information posted here on upcoming happenings - like weddings, Valentine's Day and spring specials. I'm just a tad behind this week and just keep checking back. I hope to have all information posted no later than Sunday night. I am starting to book up for the Valentine's Limited Edition specials. Don't hesitate. Once those sessions are filled, there are no more. I also will be holding a one-day special for Valentine's LE at Junk Divas in Duncan. Date to be announced.

Trail Dance Film Festival

Just a few quick pics from the first Trail Dance Film Festival in Duncan. It begins today and ends Sunday night with an awards gala and reception .....
One of the awards will be for best poster, voted on by the people who attend the festival. By the way, the festival is approved as an Oklahoma Centennial '07 event. Click on the title above for a direct link to the festival and information on films ... keep reading....
Can't wait to see this one! It will be shown at 11 p.m. Saturday night at the Simmons Center theatre. There is a link from the festival site to the film's trailer. And, actress Tamela Turtle will be at the festival.

The memory experience and a newborn special

This is of Miss K. back in November when she was still just a teeny little thing. Look at those little feet. Aren't they precious?! They only stay this way for a brief moment - before you know, they are toddling around and then grown. I met someone today who is due in two weeks. We're already talking about getting those first week newborn photos and I'm so excited. It's rare that moms plan ahead, and so many times they tell me a month or two after the baby is born that they wished they hadn't waited. Well, don't wait! Call me now if you are scheduled to have a baby.

I'm going to be offering newborn specials of $99. It includes my time up to three hours, either at my studio or in your home where baby is comfortable and a complimentary 11x14 black and white image of the baby and an 8x10 of the baby with parents. I always throw in freebies and you might be surprised.

I love taking photos of little ones and small children in their own environments - your home! It gives me a chance to really capture your child just being THEM! Sure, the studio portraits are nice, but if you really want an image that shows your child's personality, they need to be able to relax. My favorite photos of my boys when they were young are the ones where they are wearing their favorite T's, in their environment - whether it was outdoors or at the park, somewhere they are comfortable. Those are the images I have enlarged and on my walls at home. Most of the phony smile studio portraits are stuck in the albums! Even if you bring your kids to my studio, I let them have fun. They get to explore, play dress up if they want and just be silly. Sure, we'll get those posed moments, but most moms end up buying the non-posed photos. It's a memory experience!

Laughter on a rainy day

These are from little Miss K's session Saturday with her dad and mom, Jason and Misty. It rained like crazy, but did we care?! Nope! Look how little miss is looking lovingly at her daddy! That is so sweet. It was about the only time she seemed happy. Poor baby, I hope she is feeling better today. This is her third trip to my studio since she was born in November. I must say, I've taken quite a liking to her. I hope you two like your photos! I enjoyed taking them and can't wait to get some outdoor photos of the three of you later this year.
At one point, I said, heck with the studio lights, and just went for natural lighting on these. Misty and Jason are always so flexible and ready for me to try different things.

Here's one from the beginning of the session when little miss was still cheerful!
She is going to be a ballerina for sure. She's always got that little leg extended!
I love the backlighting on this one. To me, it really does have that rainy day feeling. Look at that cute little smirk on her face!
Ah, it's almost nap time again. A second bottle and the sound of the rain will do that to you.

OK, these two definitely started hamming it up. Course, they didn't get any instigating on my part, right? Hah! We just won't share what got them laughing!

Insanely SEXY Messenger Bags

OK, the SEXY part is what the creator of these bags calls her store at eBAy. Ya gotta love these! They are so fun looking. If I was brave enough, I'd probably get one, like the bottom one. It reminds me of the Day of the Dead dolls I used to have when I was a kid and my mom traveled to Mexico and brought them back for me. The other one I like is the skulls with roses headwrap. Too funny.
If you click on the title of this post, it'll take you to the ebay store where you can purchase these or other bags. These bags rock! I got permission from the creator of the bags to post the photos. Turns out her daughter wanted something unusual and cool to carry her laptop in. This is what inspired her to make these! And a business was born. Anytime I can give KUDOS to helping some small home-based business get noticed, I'll do it. But it's gotta be something I really, really like. I'm probably going to get one to carry my camera gear in.
You've gotta click on the link to see her auctions. I love these bags!

Cute kids and so many choices!

Isn't little Miss D. a doll? I took these photos before Christmas, and decided to use one of them to show the different crops and final color processes that can be used. It's the same image above, just different crops. The top right hand image is a 4x8 size, while the bottom left image is a 5x5 sample. You can see it closer in the next image below. Notice that there is less color in the image, making her eyes really stand out.

Here are some more images from the Christmas LE special I did at Junk Divas. These two girls are sisters and were so tickled to have their photos made. They are gorgeous kids. Here, I wanted to show you the original colors in the top photo of the big sister, while in the bottom two images you can see the different black and white versions. The bottom one is one of my chocolate espresso versions. I am offering a Black and White (Chocolate Espresso for those who prefer it) special through the end of January. It's $75 for a one hour session at my studio by exclusive appointment only. Contact me for details.

My favorite, the Chocolate Espresso - what I like to call the new B/W!

Storyboards and birthday parties

The beach storyboard will soon be on display at The Junk Divas in Duncan. It's a 10x20 storyboard. I can make these from any event or session and they make wonderful wall art.

Little girls love to dress up and have parties. Junk Divas in Duncan, OK has a FABULOUS party room, complete with boas, beads, hats and tiaras. The link to Laura's store in on the right of my blog here. This card I created was from Catie's party in December. I had so much fun photographing those girls as they giggled and laughed. I am available to photograph your girl's party, whether it's at Junk Divas or somewhere else. Contact me for information.

Carousel colors!

My nephew's kids on the carousel at St. Augustine. Hamming it up of course for Auntie Toni!
I did several of these last night. What else to do when stuck indoors?! I will post more later. I'm going to make them into notecards for my sister.

Just having fun creating digi paper blends and cross processing extremely! No tutorial, just winging it.

I'm also wondering if anyone even visits here anymore? My globe trackr isn't working I think, so I don't know if you are stopping by or not. Post a comment!

Photos by LindaGayle

Hey, let's play!
Where's the squirrels Mom!

I got some great images from a friend, LindaGayle, who lives in Choctaw. These were shot on their ranch. I first introduced LindaGayle in an Oct. 6 post (see my archives). LindaGayle has got to be one of the most enthusiastic photographers I know! I just love the photos of her dog, but that wheel photo is awesome fine art, true Oklahoma western style. It really is a photo that describes the great outdoors in the winter. The composition is great LindaGayle! Thanks for sharing your photos! She said her dog was thinking the sleet was really snow and was chasing squirrels. "It is a real picturesque day," she said. But the horses are in the barn so no photos there. I can't wait to visit her and see her ranch. Just from the images, it looks like there's plenty of opportunity for photos. Who knows LindaGayle, maybe we can get a small group together for a day at your place?!

EMERGENCY!

Just thought I'd add that the good state's Gov. Brad Henry did declare Oklahoma as a statewide emergency. Geez, imagine that! Actually, at least it was declared now and not two or three days after the fact. I think it has to do with getting it declared so the federal funding is in place. I'm just thinking now if the cities are going to cooperate to help pick up downed tree limbs and such. It'll be interesting to see what happens when this passes.

Laugh, I've got Starbucks!

Go ahead, laugh ... all of you who aren't in Oklahoma. You're probably watching CNN thinking, awww poor saps! LOL I've got Starbucks and I'm also stocked up on Starbucks Frapps! So, with that, some Christmas candles clearanced at the Dollar Store and reading material to last a decade, I'm alright if the power goes out. Well, I might be cold! That's the only drawback to 'city living' no woodstove to speak of. I do miss that aspect of living in the mountains.
We did have some power flickers earlier this evening. I have a feeling it'll go out in the middle of the night. The tree limbs are hanging dangerously low around town. That's why I went ahead and posted this tonight. OK, someone posted a comment, so I'm looking into it. I've purchased other photographers Starbucks images before, so I really didn't give it much thought. I know with Disney images, you can't sell them without a release. But I never thought about the Starbucks as a problem. As soon as I know, I'll post here.

IceStorm'07 Oklahoma.2

Aggressive little bird, don't know what kind. He's funny looking with the spots. He kept chasing the other birds away so he could forage for food.
The cold bitter winter.
Above: Looking out my front room window earlier today.
The beginning of a long weekend.
And of course, weather reports!

Here's some pics. It's getting worse of course. You don't need me to tell you that! My husband got off work early and headed to Wal-Mart to get a few last minute snowed-in munchies, gloves and said the meat counter was wiped out. So, everyone basically should be indoors safe and warm, right?

Ice Storm'07 Oklahoma.1

Headed out again today to get a few more things. WThay! Do people think it's the end of the world? The traffic was crazy but even worse were the lines in Wal-Mart and Homeland. Made it home safe, saw gas has been dropped to $1.99 a gallon at Love's South in Marlow.
Looked like another another convenience store had problems with one of its gas pumps. Went to drive down Fourth St. and nearly ended up in someone's yard when my car decided to take its own course on a very slick street. Brake lines semi-froze and that freaked me out.
No sooner had I gotten home and the power went out. It sure didn't take long for the house to get cold and then the power came back on. But the house just isn't warming up.
Thanks to the new sign by Outlaw Stadium that I can see out my back window, I can see the temperature. At around noon it was 27 degrees. But I just went to check and can't see since all the trees between here and there are covered in ice so it blocks my line of vision.
The rain/ice just picked up again.
Then I start checking the TV reports. Maybe it is the end of the world. HAH!
A rocket has crashed into the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece.

I'll be adding some lame photos shot from inside my home out the back door. I'm going to wait til it gets worse before venturing out.

No de-icer!

I went to Wal-mart this afternoon. OHMIGOSH! It was madness I tell ya! I finally left. They're out of de-icer. Normally I wouldn't venture out if I didn't have to in such a severe situation, but I want to get PHOTOS! Course, I promised my boss at the paper I'd get some also. It'll be a doozy I think. Let's see, our provisions for the storm include the following menu: Peanut Butter, both kinds, tuna fish, and plenty of soup in cans! Oh yes, a huge can of the off brand mini raviolis. Tonight was frozen pizza and tomorrow my family gets to eat polish sausage and sauerkraut dogs.

I will be posting some info after a bit on the black and white special. I'll have two offerings. One is for those who want a bunch of photos from their session and the other would be for those who just want one FABULOUS art piece for their home! Both will be different prices.

Trying to catch up!

This little card is for Laura who owns Junk Diva in Duncan. Several of my images are on display there as well as at my studio in Marlow.

Just a quick note to everyone who has called and wondering about Valentine's Day portraits. I will have it posted FRIDAY! Not a day before! ;-) I am a bit behind and only just got my tree down at home this weekend. So, I'm playing catch up from the holidays and am working out some final details on the Limited Edition offering. For those who may have hesitated to call me because they think they can't afford portraits, the Valentine's LE is the time to get some fun images of your kids. It will not break your budget!

And for those who are wanting in on the annual January black and white special, those details will be posted late Thursday.

Meanwhile, enjoy the beginning of your new year! Don't make a resolution, just DO IT. Whatever IT may be!

My IT this weekend included cleaning out the paper clutter that has taken over in recent months.

Designing Valentine cards!

In my designing mode, I've been playing around with some photos that I plan to send my sister of the littlest ones in our family. These are my nephew's kids and I think they are just super! I shot the images when I visited them. While S. face doesn't show in the oh, sweet valentine card I designed, I love the playfulness that it conveys. It's a 5x7 card. The next two pieces are those I created using various brushes and alphas that I've purchased or collected. In Austin's valentine card, I created the background paper using a random blue off my color palette and then added various brushwork.

And don't forget, you can post nice comments! I love to hear from those who drop by!

I am booking now for the Valentine's Limited Edition. Spaces are "limited" so don't wait. Once they are filled, that's it. Call me for details!

The missing chocolate!

First, every year, we get a big box of chocolate for the holidays. Well, I waited and the Hershey's Pot o' Gold was GONE, in fact, the big W store didn't have any chocolate except for this brand. Well, fine, then, surely it should be good. After all, it's chocolate, right? Wrong! It was OK, just OK, not great. Then I get home, we open it and as you see, there is one missing from the box! Can you believe it? At first I was a bit offended that someone in the factory line would take a chocolate. But then again, who knows what happened. After awhile, I found great humor in it.
One other thing, we never did finish it. In fact, we never finished the top layer ...
I was actually going to post a different image, but didn't feel like resizing a copy right now. So, I'm sitting here watching a neat Rachel Ray show where she visits Chattanooga and several places, including a little chocolate shop. Reminded me that I had this photo already sized for the blog. Oh, and she visited a really neat place "Aretha Frankensteins" a little house converted into a great diner. Too cool! The guy bought all the furnishings off ebay and travels, so Rachel said. Looked like a perfect spot for a photo excursion!