Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Tagged! Part 1

Have you ever wondered about what random facts you didn't know about Jeremy and I? Well wonder no more! Yesterday a blog comment appeared that said we had been "tagged". I was like, "Tagged? Tagged! All right! Jeremy we're tagged!" Let me explain. There is this phenomenon going around the photography worlds' blogs where photographers tag each other. When you're tagged, you have to give 8 facts about yourself that your blog readers probably wouldn't know about you - anything at all. It could be like, I lost my first tooth on the crazy wet and wild slide in my backyard while whistling La Bamba. (You can see I've thought this out before.) I saw some great people get tagged over the last month and so I thought it'd be awesome to be tagged. But I wasn't sure how the chain would get over to our side of the web. (I watch a lot of Californian photographers blogs). I guess they've decided to make the continental journey because low and behold, a Tag! hehe Thanks Jen. ^_^ Check out her fun blog at www.jlowephotos.com/blog.

So first, we are supposed to display the rules…

1. Post these rules before you give the facts.
2. List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
3. At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 peoples, list their name and link to their page
4. Leave them a comment on their blog letting them know they’ve been tagged!

Since Jeremy and I were both named in the "tagging", I thought it would only be fair if we each gave 8 random facts about us. We'll try not to make this a marathon blog. :)

Heather's (8) Fun Facts:
(1). When I was very young, I got to meet Ms. Kathleen Turner on the movie set of "Peggy Sue Got Married". My family's 1956 Studebaker President was going to be used in the movie (whose seen was later taken out). But it still allowed me to talk to Ms. Turner in her trailer and sit on her lap. I don't actually remember much of it but I do remember her lap. lol... Oh I also remember almost falling out of the car as it was pulling out of the parking lot. The door swung open and my body dipped out, but my seatbelt (lap-style only) caught me and my dad pulled me back in.

(2). Growing up as a big Disney fan in a Disney family, my dad taught me to speak in a Mickey Mouse voice. But I can only say three words, " Look fellas - Beans!" This is a quote from the Mickey short, "Mickey and the Beanstalk" which I watched forever trying to get the voice down. I'm actually quite proud of it. Just give me a few tries before the real Mickey comes out. :D

(3). I am a Coloratura Soprano with a high and low range. From my late teen years through college, I trained to become an opera singer. I was actually double-majoring in vocal performance and photography in college, but it was during that time that photography really won me over.

(4.) When I was 4, I got the brilliant notion that instead of walking around a bookcase I should instead climb over it! I figured it would be faster. I think I got up to the third shelf before my weight unbalanced the bookcase and I along with it both fell backwards. I remember falling and then an adult holding back the bookcase from my leg. I didn't break any bones but my leg sure did ache for a while. I haven't climbed in bookcases since, but I do sometimes get the urge the break out of the rut and do things differently.

(5.) I love baking and creating sweets! But I rarely eat them. I'm known for my chocolate chip cookies and peppermint fudge crunch brownies. I'm also known for some terribly awful attempts at unusual concoctions that will not be named here. Poor Jeremy :) But that doesn't stop me from dreaming up new and yummy recipes to try out and give to everyone I know.

(6.) In eighth grade, I was both class president and leader of our school's cheer squad. We wore big white t-shirts that covered our thighs and bold blue leggings than went down to our ankles (school rules). We couldn't perform any type of hip action in our routines, only arm movements and marching-like leg action. But we were pioneering the first ever cheer squad at school. So we marched and arm-rotated like crazy to Wilson Phillips!

(7.) I am a gamer. I am also married to a gamer. My very first game that I ever beat was Disney's Ducktales on the NES. Since then, I have been known to play everything from Pokemon to Final Fantasy 8-12 to World of Warcraft and many others in between. I currently love Nintendo's Wii (super fun) and am getting a bit of a "Wii arm" :)

(8.) I'm a California girl. I was born and raised in the north right across the mountains from Napa Valley. I left there to live on the east coast when I was 7 but returned every summer there after. It rejuvenates me and keeps me grounded in a feeling you can only get when you know you've come home. I attribute much of my creativity in my photography to the people and places who inspired me as a little girl growing up in the tall golden grasses of the Napa Valley hillside. (Did I mention that Jeremy's a Northern California baby too? Good things come from California! :)

Wow this got a little long. We're going to have to make this a two-part entry! Sweet! While we wait for Jeremy to get his blog facts up, go enjoy our 8 top picks for cool photography blogs.


Our Super 8 Picks:
Jose Villa - Jose is an amazing photographer. We chose him to shoot our wedding and the images we got from that day are absolutely gorgeous. He's based in Southern California and he's built a reputation with the entertainment and Hollywood insiders there for his exclusive use of film in a digital world. If you haven't seen his work, please check him out.

Liana Lehman - We got to meet Liana at this year's WPPI convention. She's devoted herself to helping photographers be the best they can be in their businesses and in their photography. Her blog always has fun stories and tips to read plus she has great slide shows to keep you inspired. And who wouldn't love to read a blog with 'Bananas' in the title?

Jesh De Rox - Jesh is a philosopher, photographer, song writer and a really cool guy. He's far up north in Canada so I'm not sure how many people know about him. His real and genuine approach towards his couples inspired us to do the same. We definitely recommend checking him out! His work speaks for itself.

Anna Kuperberg - I stumbled upon Anna's work early this year. She is awesome! Another artist who is also a photographer, her work is gentle, fun and sincerely from her heart. Hers is definitely a style I can identify with. I'd love to be able to meet with her someday. She's also a dog fan and likes to include them in her weddings and portraits. If you're a pet lover and getting married, look her up!

Gene Higa - Destination Wedding Photographer Extraordinare! Another great guy we met at the WPPI. He's full of crazy energy that is infectious to everyone he meets. This is the guy you'd want to have around when you're spending 6 days in Thailand before your wedding. He's right there with you, doing all kinds of crazy things to get the shot. And he gets gorgeous shots! He's also gives back to the photography community and that makes him one awesome guy in our book!

Anne Ruthmann - This girl is a Midwest photographer based in Indiana. Her blog is full of awesome pics, great tidbits to read, and everything that makes Anne - Anne. Plus she has a scrolling chat box that she always replies to. ^_^ Another inspiring artist to keep an eye on.

Don't Box Me In! - OK this isn't exactly one person's blog. But I have found it to be so motivating to read. It showcases lots of super-talented photographers from all over the web and asks them tons of questions we're all dying to know. All photographers should read this blog. Plus brides-to-be can get some great advice for choosing a wedding photographer and what questions they should ask when they go to an interview. I believe a knowledgeable bride is a happy bride.

Jen and a few others have already tagged The Image is Found (i.e. Nate and Jaclyn Kaiser) but they are just too cool not to be mentioned! AMAZING photography from this husband + wife team and an AMAZING little girl named Gracie livens this blog up. It's a daily read as all kinds of things pop up on here: book recommendations, movies, the iphone, weddings, portraits, road trips, Gracie's newest TV show fav or best costume idea. This is one awesome family that just also happens to be one of the best photography teams anywhere! We can't wait to attend their next workshop. Please come out the east coast!

~Cheers!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Best Belated Birthday Blog (b)-Ever!

Yesterday was the birthday of someone I love, respect and admire. And someone who can be quite trying at times but is still willing to take out the trash in the rain. Yuckie! Yep, its my hubby Jeremy! Love yas! We got to take some time off yesterday to enjoy it. And despite his not being one to really celebrate birthdays, we still managed to have some fun!

Early that morning, I decided that he should have a birthday candle in everything he ate! So I started off the day with my super yummy cinnamon streusel birthday muffins.


But he woke up before I got them on a plate. I quickly stuck a candle into one and presented it to him. Well, the morel of the story is don't let a candle sit too long in a fresh-from-the-oven muffin or all the wax melts off of the candle and into the yummy muffin. (end of morel) (begin punchline) ...And that's how his birthday muffin became a holey one! :) (wakka~wakka~wakka) At least we got a pretty picture before the demolition.


The rest of the days' meals didn't really afford the use of candles, thus dashing my wonderful candle-filled birthday scheme: traditional birthday hash browns - too flat, chili - too soupy, and a super-frozen snickers ice cream cake - too hard! (He's not one for dry cake or gobs of frosting hence the genius idea of an ice cream cake was born) Now if only it wasn't such a terror to cut into. Maybe the candle could have been hammered into it's thick, chocolaty shell... but it probably wouldn't have been too good for the candle. At least he got one candle for the day. May he just wants to pretend he's turning one. lol

So, here's to my Jeremy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May you have many more filled with dancing squirrels and guitar-rocking! :)

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Great Bridal Expo Wrap-Up

We had such a great time at this weekend's Great Bridal Expo in DC. It was so much fun meeting with so many couples and getting to talk with them. I get so inspired when I get to hang out with cool, fun people and there were a bunch of them there. I was surprised at how many grooms-to-be made it out there. But they were all great sports! :)

We also got to show our new canvas gallery wrap and some really hot albums. I tell ya, metal is so cool for an album cover! I'll be posting pics of them in a later post because you've really got to see these. But for now, I wanted to put up a little collage I made of our day there.

Note: these were shot with our mini point-and-shoot. It's super-cute but not exactly picture-perfect quality.

Thanks again to everyone who visited us at our booth and best wishes for your upcoming weddings! If you'd like more information about us, collection details or have any questions we didn't get to answer, please feel free to email us on our website's contact form or call us at 410.818.6748. ~Cheers!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The Great Bridal Expo

I wanted to be sure to give everyone a heads up about a cool event happening this weekend. This Sunday - August 19th - Jeremy and I will be attending The Great Bridal Expo in Washington D.C. If you're in the area, come on down to the Renaissance hotel and say hello. And while you're there, check out our new sample albums. We'll also be giving away a really cool product that is new for our clients this year. Click on the pretty star below to visit the show's main website and learn more. See you there!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Jo + Justynn's Wedding

"As soon as I saw her come out of the room with the dress on, I screamed, 'Jo'!" Her mother laughed as she told the story to those standing in the room. Jo's eyes sparkled brightly as she giggled. "When I saw her cry, I knew this was the dress for me." Jo sat down on the bed beside her mother, admiring the beautiful gown. They held each others hand tightly. You could see by the smiles on their faces just how happy and excited they were for the day ahead. It was time for Joanna - her daughter, the youngest and last child in the Prouty family, to become a bride.












Jo and Justynn's afternoon wedding took place in their neighbor's garden. A gorgeous blue sky stretched out over the guests heads as Justynn's grandfather offered a prayer of thanks and blessing for the young couple's union.









We love being able to shoot creative portraits with our couples. It's so nice to be able to take time in the middle of the wedding day and just have the couple be alone together (with their photographers that is ^_~). It's usually the first time they've been alone since becoming husband and wife and its a real treat to document that moment. We also get to have some fun!






Justynn was a real gentleman. He carried his new bride down the sidewalk from their ceremony site to Jo's parent's house, two doors away.






To Jo + Justynn, we wish we were with you now in Puerto Rico! lol Seriously, we were so glad that we ended up photographing your wedding. I can't say that I've ever met such a calm bride as you Jo! You were cool-headed and stress-free all day long, even when we marched you through the alfalfa field. May that calm and carefree spirit carry you through your lives together. And Justynn... you keep an eye out for all the bugs! :)

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Jo + Justynn's Rehearsal

Monday night, we received a call about a wedding this Friday. Through the love and support of their wonderful family, we got the go ahead for plane tickets and a quick romp back up to Ithaca, MI. We had the privilege to shoot Becca & Brendan's wedding here in June. Now it is her sister Joanna's turn to marry her man Justynn. It's so awesome to be welcomed back into the family! ^_^

Since everything happened so fast and in a rather sneaky fashion, we weren't quite sure if we'd be a surprise gift to the couple. Just in case, we were very hush-hush about it and didn't even disclose it here, just in case Jo was reading. :)

Well, this afternoon we attended their rehearsal dinner - pizza a la poolside - followed by the ever delightful rehearsal. We can't wait for their wedding tomorrow. Looking at what we've already seen today, only good things will follow. Enjoy!


Wednesday, August 8, 2007

warning: color splash!

I've really been liking the new blog look! It's so bright and lite and cheery! Me thinks the delightfulness has begun to spread into our website. ^_^ It's a great thing, except when your browser doesn't register the changes right away. If you are noticing some strangeness occurring when loading our site, don't worry! It's not gremlins. Please forgive the mess while we re-construct the site... live. It should be up and running and sparkley by tommorow. Thanks for being patient with us. And stay tuned for the upcoming post, "Where are they now?" Cheers!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Deja Vu?

We will be out of the office beginning today, August 7 through Monday August 13. You can still reach us by phone and through our website's contact form. We just might take a little longer to get back to you. More will be explained about our sudden disappearance in a later post. :) Oh, the suspense!

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Summer Makeover

Ah yes, the weekend has arrived! It's a nice break from a long work week. Jeremy and I have been busy gearing up for the DC bridal show happening this month - August 19th. I'm really excited about the new album designs I've created for the show and I can't wait to share them! I might even be tempted to post one or two pages up on here... hehe ^_^ I've also been contemplating a new look for the blog. With such a beautiful and sunny summer, our dark black was feeling rather ...well, dark. So I decided to give it a little summer makeover! What do you think? Jeremy is always teasing me that I love bright colors and why don't I use more of them. Well, here they are - on a calming, clean white palette. Perfect balance, eh?

Today on our day of rest, we decided to go see the new Simpson's movie. I wasn't too sure about it. A Simpson's episode for 1 1/2 hours? Well... I was wrong. Actually, pleasantly surprised. I was already a fan of the show, just not as of these last episodes. The movie, which I thought would feel drawn out, actually flowed very well. It was a Simpson's episode but done... really well! (Have I mentioned it was a really well-done movie? lol) The Simpson humor was there - Homer strangling Bart jokes, physical comedy performed by Mr. Simpson himself in very painful ways, inside jokes about past episodes - event a decent story to pull it all together. Oh and tons of parodies! They were hilarious! I'm so glad I went out and saw it. Just what I needed. Thanks Jeremy! It's so nice to find unexpected joys in your day. Even if you have to be nudged into them. :)

Jeremy was kind enough to "simpsonize" us to mark the movie debut. And he even placed us on our favorite walking path. awe!