Are You Thinking Christmas Yet?

It’s November, HS football season is over, the leaves have fallen and the clocks have been turned back. That can only mean one thing – The Holiday Season is coming at us full speed ahead!

Are you ready for it? I’ve started Christmas shopping and have started to see Christmas commercials on TV. The Christmas movies are being advertised with yet another version of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, this time in 3D with Jim Carrey. I still like the Mr Magoo version best. My kids might not agree with me on that though.

If you’ve been trying to think of what to do for Christmas Cards this year we can help.  This is the first Christmas with our new Studio space so Mindy and I are working on a couple of set ideas for really cool, themed Holiday photos.

And of course we’ll have some special deals on cards and prints as gifts this Holiday Season.

Up first this year is our 5th Annual Holiday Pet Portraits.  In the past we’ve run this event at The Grooming Depot in Hopewell but this year we’re moving it to our Studio!  There is no session fee and a portion of the proceeds benefits the Beaver County Humane Society . Just bring your pet and your smile – and no, you don’t have to be in the picture unless you want to.

The dates are Saturday November 14 and Tuesday November 17. Call NOW (724-234-2893) to schedule your time! It takes about 20 minutes and you’ll get to see your poses right then. Fast, simple and it helps the animals too!

Here’s some shots from years past

For more info visit our website.

Rubbing elbows with the creative and famous

Mindy and I went to an international photography seminar last week and had a great, if tiring, time leaning about new products, ideas, and picking up some new techniques from many photographers from around the world.

While I don’t want to slight anyone, I do have to mention two folks I got to meet that have been my idols.  I hope one day to be as good as Bambi Cantrell.   And the other is possibly the best wedding photographer there is, Denis Reggie, or at least Oprah claims him to be.  He  was instrumental in changing wedding photography from a very formal pose oriented art form to a more photojournalistic story telling style.

It’s great to participate in events such as this, to come back with new ideas and lots of enthusiasm, it’s just fantastic!

it’s snowing!

I just sent my daughter out to the bus stop and noticed it’s snowing! I thnk too many people are driving hybrids and Prius’ and they’ve gone and reversed global warming too much! LOL    The picture is from last winter, but State College has 7 inches of snow this morning so it won’t be long and this image will be more than just a memory!

There be color in them hills

If you want fall color in your pictures now’s the time to book your session!

Here’s a couple from well over a week ago and you can see some beautiful colors in the background!

relationship potraiture

When you think of a family portrait what do you think of? Probably the traditional shot of the whole family gathered ’round and looking at the camera. It’s  great for a Christmas card or a large portrait over the sofa. Every family should have one in their living room, or the hall or dining room maybe.

When you think of family you think of relationships, right? Mother-daughter, husband-wife, brother-sister, etc. Think back to your own childhood, your family as seen from your perspective.  What do you feel? A closeness with your mother when you were little, or the times you spent with your brother (no, I won’t tell your mother what you were doing if you don’t tell mine!).

If you’re a parent you have a different perspective especially if you have smaller children.  You feel a closeness that the traditional family portrait just doesn’t capture. It doesn’t do your memories justice, does it?

There’s a way to capture your true feelings forever. We call it Relationship Portraiture.  We set the mood and you just be you, show your love, be caring, be close.  The result is a series of images printed as fine art black and white prints in simply framed to let your feelings show in a way that a traditional family portrait can’t quite do.

We offer a lot of options for your family to do a family portrait.  October is Family Portrait Month and we’re running many specials this month so give us a call.

goodbye summer, hello fall

Summer is over, boo hoo. Fall is here – Hooray!

That means tis the time for the leaves to change and time for Fall Pictures!  That means we’ve started booking for our Fall Family Portraits in the Park and for those seniors that want some really colorful fall pictures there’s no time left to procrastinate! Book now! Our schedule is filling up FAST!

Today’s picture is of Kourtney of Monaca HS, Class of 2010, from out Preque Isle Signature Session in August.

now you can sign your own wallets

It’s an age old question: Do you want your name and/or year on your wallets? And today it’s tougher than ever because we can use any font in any color, and add special effects.

Well, the choice just got easier – maybe. How about we put YOUR signature on your wallets? Yep, you read that right. You can sign your name once, put your year or not -anything at all – and we’ll do the work of putting it on your wallets!

OK, so maybe it’s not easier after all – I mean, there is a choice of colors and effects, and of course, where on the wallet to put it.

Here’s a couple of examples:

And it costs the same as as it always has to put your name on your wallets – Absolutely Nothing! It’s just another one of the things we do for our clients.

Back to skool, for me too

It’s September and in case you didn’t notice, school is back in session across the land. My daughter Evie is now in Kindergarten and if you ask her the best part of the day she’ll tell you it’s riding the bus. She’s really excited about school and really wants to learn to read. See, video games are not all bad – if you can’t read they’re hard to play so they’re a great motivator.

William is entering third grade and has a male teacher, one that is very strict on homework. It was the third day of school and Jill had to work late so I was homework monitor and well, apparently I’m not gonna pass third grade. Seems there is a RED folder for homework this year, where as GREEN was last year’s color. So me, now knowing what’s what, put the homework in the GREEN folder…  See, when homework isn’t turned in there a form to fill out (by the student) that is signed by the parents. First one is green. Then yellow. Then red. Then a parent-teacher conference is called.  Oh, goody. Day 3 and we’ve got a green form. Crap.

I too went to school but school for adults is different. No tests and no grades! I spent a Day with Bill (Penberthy) an award winning photographer at his beautiful studio along with a dozen or so fellow Triangle Photographer’s Association members.  It’s a;lways great to get together and exchange ideas, see what’s new gear and product wise and learn new techniques. This class was a bit of everything but focused mostly on Seniors.  Bill’s been in his studio for 25 years and has a beautiful outdoor portrait area. I’m still working on mine but it got me really excited for what’s to come here over the next few years!

Few photographers like to be in front of the camera, but at all these events we concede to at least a class photo, presented here for your, um, enjoyment, or curiosity perhaps.

Come to the Fair!

The 2009 Hookstown Fair is open for FUN!  So come on over and make some memories for yourself, your friends, your kids!

Here are some of the new Memories being made this week at The Fair!

South Side band played during the Opening Ceremonies and were just great!

Shannon McDonald is the new Fair Queen! Congratulations Shannon!

Meagan Pettner is the new Fair Princess!

And all these people were there too!

The rides, the games, the food!

How’s that go, whisky for my men, beer for my horses? Well, how about some lemonade for your horse?

The Fair is fun for all ages! So come on out and see our booth in the “Metal Building”. We’ve got some smokin’ specials you can take advantage of, you can enter to win movie tickets, Friday and Saturday night meet our Senior Models and more! Come by and say Howdy!

More photos are available at our Gallery and more will be posted there as the week goes on!

Hookstown Fair – Are you Bloomin’ Excited!

The Fair starts tomorrow! I can hardly wait! To me the Fair is almost like a vacation – a time away from daily life.

What’s new for us this year, at the Fair? Well, Mindy will be on hand most every day so come on by the booth and meet her. Feel free to ask for some makeup tips too! She did most of the booth decoration – it’s all themed to do with the Fair theme too! We’ve got over 250 photos on our wall – Who do you know on the Wall of Fame? Or perhaps YOU are on our wall of fame?  Stop by and find out!

What’s up with you? We want to know – so when you come by our booth you can fill out a short survey and we’ve got a Thank You for your efforts. And you can enter our drawing for movie tickets! Hey, since we’re running a commercial at Cinemark in Monaca we want to make sure somebody sees it, even if we have to give you tickets to do so!
And we’ve got a few other surprises at our booth too, so be sure to come by and check it out!  Our reps will be on had Friday and Saturday and if you’re still needing your Senior Photos you should stop by and talk to them – it might even save you a few bucks!