HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I will be shooting a wedding tonight, so I will be posting all about that in the next couple of days, but for now, I wanted to wish everyone a great New Year and I hope that next year is even better than this one.
I'll be posting about my RESOLUTIONS in the next couple of days as well, but I'd love to hear what yours are!
Ami & Scott's *sort of* engagement photos! Thu. December 27, 2007 will you
Remember how a week or two ago I posted about my schedule for the upcoming year? Well I have another great city to add to that list--ATLANTA! Yes, I will be shooting Ami & Scott in Atlanta next New Years' Eve and after meeting them yesterday, we are going to have an absolute blast.
Fun fact about Ami and Scott--what I'm shooting for them isn't exactly a wedding--it's their 10th anniversary vow renewal! When I first received a contact from their wonderful coordinator Kim Casey of Eventologie, I got a little prematurely excited, and when I didn't hear back for awhile, I got prematurely bummed, but then they decided to book me and I got happy in a very timely manner! Ami and Scott have quite an extravaganza planned for their 50 or so guests, and I'm super excited to be a part of it. I can't tell you all the details yet, but I can mention that one day we will have Turner Field all to ourselves, there will be one event with a very bright fun color, and Ami has two dresses. For the rest...you will need to wait and watch right about this time next year.
Ami & Scott came out to California for a little visit, and shooting with me was one of the stops on their list. We headed down to Laguna Beach to shoot some fun beachy photos. Since this couple is living in Chicago, it was a nice change of weather for them.
You might notice that they are very young for this to be a vow renewal--that's because those crazy kids eloped the first time around, so now that they are a little older, a little wiser, and a little better funded, they are having the time of their lives with the planning process. Check it out:
Amy's blue eyes are sure going to stand out when she wears her wedding dress(es):
A typical Laguna Beach day:
We had great light yesterday. It's been awhile since I've shot down at the beach--I kind of missed it!
We had to encourage Scott a little bit, but didn't he do an awesome job?
And the sun cooperated quite nicelly too!
We had to wander out on these rocks to avoid the other beach visitors, but it was worth it:
So many sweet moments!
Amy mentioned that she loves textured photos, so I worked on a few for her:
Look how clear it was yesterday:
Two of my favorites:
Flare!
Last one
By the way, Ami is a blogger herself! Check her out, Ami's Blog
Thanks so much for shooting with me, and can't wait till the wedding!
Christmas in California Wed. December 26, 2007 my life
For the second year in a row, I've been fortunate enough to spend Christmas with the Becker family. Although I was sad not to go home, they have become a second family to me here, which I am so thankful for.
Becker and I do gifts on Christmas morning, but this shot was taken early on Christmas Eve. Here he is with a surprised reaction as he opens up a gift from me--custom poker chips! Look at how excited he is!
The reaction is completely fake. He was over at my house a few weeks ago and was snooping around in a room he didn't belong in, and saw the set. He pretended he didn't see it, but I know he did. Anyway, he was very happy with his gift, even if he wasn't surprised. We will be giving them a workout tomorrow night, hopefully they will be extra good luck for him since they have his name on them!
Probably the best Becker family tradition--these cinnamon rolls. They are delicious and the recipe is kept under lock and key:
Becker gave Caden a bouncy ball on Christmas Eve, which he loved:
He bounced it everywhere!
Look at how good at blocks Becker is! He is no match for demolition man Caden though...
Stinker! (I am referring to Caden)
He is getting so big--I think he looks much older than 2.5 in this shot:
He gets cuter all the time:
So does Becker--he is such a good Uncle! Not the most polite Uncle, I shudder to think of the things he will teach Caden, but nobody has more fun with his little nephew. Check out uber cute parents April & Matt who hosted Christmas for the first time:
They get a huge shout out for making a huge, killer, special meal just for me. All my whining paid off!
I got lots of great gifts this year--check out a couple of personalized ones I received:
From Janey
And from Jesh De Rox 18 Clairetastic songs! How great is that!?
I'm totally spoiled. I got one thing in particular (actually two) I really wanted from Becker (more on that in about a week or so), lots of goodies from Mom, Bose headsets to replace the ones i lost from dad, and an assortment of other great items. So fun!
Here's how all my gifts that I gave were wrapped this year....a little more foreshadowing...
Second Annual Free Wedding Photography Contest Announcement! Tue. December 25, 2007 gossip
**ALL NEW POSTS WILL GO UNDERNEATH THIS ONE FOR THE NEXT WEEK**
**if you click on the link below to last year's contest, do NOT send email to that old address, it will not work. send your entries in to info@jcsphoto.com with the subject: 2008 Free Wedding
Last year, I ran a contest to give away free wedding photography to a lucky couple. I ended up shooting all three of the finalists weddings for free, which was a wonderful experience and I was able to meet so many awesome people because of it. You can read about the contest HERE
So I've decided to do it again this year (but this year I will only be doing ONE wedding for free, no matter what).
So here's the deal:
Email in the story of a couple who really deserves free photography for their wedding. You can even send in your own story! You MUST attach a photo that is about 900px on the longest side to the email. Send the email to: INFO@JCSPHOTO.COM
What I am looking for:
-A couple who has a wonderful story or who has overcome great odds
-The couple must be getting married somewhere in the US in 2008 (if I am already booked for the date, I'm sorry!)
-The couple must be willing to appear on this blog and have their story on this blog
-The couple must not be able to afford a lavish wedding
What I am NOT looking for:
-A couple who is having an expensive wedding and who just wants to win something for free
-A false story
-Couples planning destination weddings in exotic places (if you can afford that, you can afford a photographer of some kind). It is also too expensive for me to include travel fees to exotic destinations. I realize some people will not agree that destination weddings=money as costs can be less, but generally when people can afford to have a wedding, however small on a beautiful island, they could have had a very small simple wedding at home for less. That isn't about need, it's about choice. However, if you are an exception to the rule, send your story--I'll consider it!
The winner will receive:
-7-8 hours wedding day coverage
-online posting of all images
-30 photo 9X12 album
-DVD of images when album is received
-all travel fees for myself, if applicable
The specifics:
-SEND IN ENTRIES TO info@jcsphoto.com NO LATER THAN JANUARY 12, 2008
-The top three entries will be posted on this blog on January 14th, 2008
-The winner will be chosen by myself and my team of judges and announced on January 21, 2008
SO email this link out, nominate a deserving friend, and spread the word--I want a really wonderful, deserving couple to do this for this year.
GOOD LUCK! I can't wait to read all the entries!
I'm still here, but I've been taking a little blog hiatus for the past few days! I decided not to go back to North Carolina for Christmas this year, and instead will be spending it in the next best place--here! I'm going to work harder in the New Year to blog MORE than I have this year--but I still don't think I can keep up the every day blogging permanently. I have some big plans and ideas of stuff that's coming very soon though!
I've been trying for the past few days to stay away from the computer a bit to focus on some other things, like wrapping gifts, shopping, and recovering from the icky sickness I've had hanging around for the past couple of weeks--I think it's pretty much gone now, thank goodness.
I did a good job with my gift buying this year for the most part, but does anyone else feel like it was harder this year for some reason? I defaulted to gift certificates for way more people than usual, which isn't like me at all. I was brought up to believe that a gift certificate was not an acceptable gift to give and that I needed to work harder to be creative. However, I realize now that this was the only mistake my parents made in raising me (I am otherwise perfect of course!), because gift certificates rock. I do still feel a nagging guilt when I give one though, as happy as I am to get them.
What is the one thing you are hoping to get tomorrow? What is the best gift you are GIVING?
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my life
