New carpet pad

Ever so slowly our downstairs is going back together. They are laying the new pad in the bedroom today. Once that's done and the carpet is re-cleaned, I can kick B out of my office. Still can't move back into my office, until it's cleaned again too, but it's a step closer.

We found a box of vintage race memorabilia that Bill has collected since he was a baby. Signed postcards form sprint car drivers who have died in their sport. And metal Nascar, sprint cars and midgets. Plus some one of a kind custom drawings done by Bill. The entire box was wet and starting to fall apart. It's really sad that 2 weeks ago this was worth something to a collector, and now is one step from the trash. I'm working my way through pricing each item. This just adds to the already depressing list of damaged items.

So, on that sad note, here's a few more of my dorky family and a self portrait. Just for laughs. Excuse the exposure, the family computer is just too do anything but open the file and post.






Find the self portrait?

The family vacation snapshot

Yep, even professional photographers take the family vacation snapshot. You know the one where you use a ledge, tripod or fellow vacationer. In our case it was a tripod, I think my camera would confuse most since I use custom settings and complete manual.

And here it is, probably looks like every other family vacation snapshot, which goes to show two thing. #1 you need a professional portrait of your family done by a professional photographer, and #2 you really should follow your photographers advice and let them pick the location (even the background in the studio), wear matching clothing and let them pose you. But, I was on vacation. ;) Bill picked the location (which really was beautiful, just some hotspots), sat the kids (who really were grumpin from lack of sleep on a flat air mattress) and the clothes were for the humidity and 98 deg weather. I'm pretty happy with it. Perfect for the memory book. :)

Vacation, laundry mats and famiy pics

Couldn't post for a few days since we were taking a break from it all with a mini famiily vacation. We spent 3 days in a cabin in the Hocking Hills area. Hiked Old Man's cave, Ash cave, Ceder falls, Cantwell cliffs and Conkel's Hollow. If you remember last years posts, Bill and I went in December for our 10 year anniversary. What a contrast. It was hot, humid, noisy and busy this time. You just couldn't see the cliffs and rocks like in December. I have to say, of the two, Winter is the more beautiful time to visit. Next year we'll go in the fall, that should be beautiful.

So, your probably wondering where the laundry mat comes in. My son spent the week at Canter's Cave for shooting camp (sports shooting, not camera). Instead of packing more clothes to take, we stopped at a laundry mat before going to the cabin. We were great entertainment to other people washing clothes. Who knew a laundry mat could be so much fun.






Well, maybe not...






It was a nice, but exhausting get away. Now it's back to putting together studio and B's bedroom.

More pics tomorrow

Cardboard Testimonies

s frustrating as my problems are, they are not my worries. I hope this effects you the same way it effected me and made me remember, these are not my worries.

Gotta laugh

As bad as it is, when things seem to just go wrong, you have to smile and go on. Laughing is even better.

The studio work is progressing. Dried out 8 muslin backdrops yesterday. They all have water damage so hopefully the insurance will cover those expenses. The wood floor for the camera room went out the door and into the trash. Lost two wicker baskets used for props and storage. A little water creates a lot of mess really fast. We're having the carpets dried out but that deductible sure put a dent in any near future purchases. My downstairs is now upstairs and the vacation coming up will be nice until we return. I one of those who likes to leave a clean home, and come home to a clean home. This time it just won't happen. To say I'm overwhelmed is putting it mildly. I'm just waiting to get things back to normal and back to creating studio portraits.

I also realized today that the Miami County Fair is less than a month away. Stop by my booth in the merchants building and say hi. Sign up and be entered for a national car give away (if your a senior) or gift cards to the studio (anyone). But just stop by and say "hi".

When it rains, it pours

I'm not even sure how to start this post. First, I can't totally retract my last entry, that's not me. When I say I'll do something, I do it. However, sometimes mother nature has other plans. And such is the case here. With the wicked storms and 4 inches of water that were dumped Sat night, out electric also went out. This is such a common occurrence, we're the last area to get it back on, and probably the first area to lose it. We went 4 days with out electric during the ice storm last winter. Life didn't stop and it won't this time either.

But, this time it messed with my business. When the electric went out, our sump pump backed up all that rain into our basement. As you know, my studio is a residential studio. Both my office and studio are located in our basement. With the water that came back in, every inch of the floor was covered. We lost furniture, carpets personal pictures. It's a good thing my son is at camp, because as of right now, he doesn't have anywhere to sleep in his own home.

So, while we're cleaning up and putting my business and our home back together, I will not be able to do studio sessions. I plan on taking appointments during this time with studio being scheduled for October. In the mean time, I will continue taking location portraits. I am postponing the Free Studio session until I am up and running again. The 25% off any collection will be honored with any appointment booked now.

And now for the plea and that I never do and the bragging that I never do. This is my passion, my career, this is all I've ever wanted to do as a way of making a living. Since I was in H.S. owning my own studio and being a portrait photographer has been my goal. Every business class in college, every photo class in college and after have been toward this goal. If you are considering portraits for your child, family, senior portraits, wedding, please seriously consider me. I'm not the cheapest, but I am the best in Conover Ohio. Take a look at my work, I am able to create styles that are a reflection of you. This isn't an overblown hobby, or a side job, this is my career choice. Remember that as you look into professional portraits and read the article on Custom Photography on my site.

And for my clients who aren't aware, my computer crashed last month. A big thank you to the creative person who created a virus (and I do have up to date anti virus software) that took out my entire drive and reset windows to factory. It not only cost me money, it cost me time and files that can not be replaced. Please remember to back up your files or use an external drive for your own pictures. I do back up and because of that, it could have been a lot worse. Use a jump drive, online storages or cd/dvd's but back up every week or month.

July Special

Hope everyone has been enjoying their summer. Ours has really flown by!

Through July, I am having a Business Building/Portfolio Building special. What that means is...

No sessions fees for Senior or Portrait sessions held in our studio

and

25% off the original price of a portrait Collection.

Nuts I know, but so much fun! Just call or email me to schedule or for more information on Collections.

P.S. One very small catch, I do require a signed model release for permission to use the beautiful, fun, funky, artsy, classy portraits I will take. They will be part of my 2008/2009 portfolio and advertising.
Without the release, you can still take advantage of the 25% off a portrait Collection.