So I had extreme “not taking pictures”cabin fever today. We went to a seminar this week by Ed Pierce. One of the speakers, Parker Pfister, really inspired me – he got out on a regular basis just to shoot for himself and keep his creativity going.

I headed out the door late tonight to walk through downtown Roseville. I left a little later than I wanted to and the sun was going down. But downtown Roseville is pretty at night.  I didn’t take a whole lot of pics, and here are some of them:

I think I serously lost a pound from laughing so hard. I was reading it out loud to my family and you know when you are laughing so hard that you cant breathe and your laughter hits the extreme decibel levels and sounds like some strange animal well that was me about 10 min ago so now I have to post this and let you guys have some good belly laughing…

I have had so many cats in my life and this could be taken from anyone of their brains!

DOG DIARY

8:00 am – Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am – A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am – A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am – Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm – Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm – Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm – Milk bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm – Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm – Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm – Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

CAT DIARY

Day 983 of my captivity.

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.

They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed
hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the
rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to
keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of
escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.
Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their
feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it
clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made
condescending comments about what a “Good little hunter” I am. Bastards!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was
placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However,
I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my
confinement was due to the power of ‘allergies.’ I must learn what this
means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my
tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try
this again tomorrow – but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches.
The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released – and
seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The
bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the
guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My
captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he
is safe.

For now . . .

Can you believe it’s been a year already? On his birthday we had a small intimate celebration. 

But of course we took some pics, so here is a sampling:

  
Hey, what’s happening here? And what’s with this big puffy thing?

 
Cake, now that’s more like it!

  
What no silverware? The waiter is feeding me? What kind of establishment is this?

 
That’s more like it!
(This is the first time he’s fed himself - He picked up the spoon and dove right in!)

   
I (gulp) like (slurp, drool) chocolate. How come this isn’t in those little jars when you feed me?

 
Can I have more?

How old am I?

 
Sugar coma setting in…

 
on the ground…

In the air, and

 
on my feet!!  

 
Sugar coma, part II….

The End

Thanks for visiting!

Today Jayden is one year old and he has started walking!! Of course, we’ll be back with birthday pics later! 

I get these daily emails and so many times I want to post them but I always have something else in the que. But today I want post this before I put up our next one. There are days that I can get pretty down with the fibromyalgia but there is alot I can do to make it better. I hope if you need to lift to your day that you will read this and take it with you…

Kerri

********** 

Change your landscape by planting some seeds!

“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13:23

There was a mailman, John Hand, who rode his mail truck through Los Altos Hills of California on his 50 mile route each day.  The route was plain, all brown and virtually no color.  One day he began to throw wild flower seeds out of the window as he drove.  Today, if you travel his route in the Los Altos Hills you’ll find beautiful patches of flowers throughout, blossoming in many colors.

We all travel different roads.  Sadly, many of us miss wonderful opportunities to change and bring added beauty to our landscapes. In our families, at our jobs, in the world around us, God has given us opportunies to color those landscapes!   It’s far easier for us to complain and resign ourselves to settling for those landscapes, than it is to be the catalysts of change. From this point on, let’s resolve to stop complaining about the lifelessness around us and do something about it!  God has given us the power and anointing to change those landscapes!  Let’s start sowing the seeds of the Gospel, the seeds of salvation and new life.  Let’s sow the seeds of love, joy, righteousness and all the tasty fruits of the Spirit.  As we sow them throughout our daily lives, those dull, dry landscapes will begin blossom into something beautiful and we, like that mailman, John Hand, will be remembered as the ones who sowed those seeds.

Be a sower of seed producing fruit of a 100-fold! There’s so much work to be done!

Written by George Whitten
Worthy Ministries

“Why does a wedding photography cost so much?”

This is a question that we know is asked all the time by those planning a wedding, and we know that Mom and Dad wonder why the cost today is much different than what they paid when they were married.

In my opinion there are several factors. 

First the business is drastically different. Digital vs. Film has changed much.

When you shot a wedding with film, you would usually shoot 200-300 pictures MAX.  Also, because you could only take a limited amount of images you had to watch what you took, which means that there were a lot more posed images than candid as you couldn’t afford to waste film!

Today with digital we can take MANY more images. We often will shoot over 3,000 images at a wedding. Granted, not all of them will be used. But because of that we can deliver photojournalistic shots that capture the candid side of a wedding. Because you are shooting candid shots and not posed shots not every one will come out as one you will want to use because of facial expressions, movement, etc. – things you can’t control.

The cost of the tools of the trade are vast and expensive. There is sooo much more digital equipment as well as software these days! We have 4 shooters so we have to have alot of equipment. Don’t forget that there is also all the exterior lighting equipment to give you beautiful images without the “deer in the headlight” looking images that you see with on camera flash.

Bride and Grooms are expecting alot more today then they did when Mom and Dad got married. They are spending more on rings, dresses, cakes,  catering, venues,  flowers, decorations, gifts and  they  want them all documented. As well, they want the photojournalistic look and feel  to their  day, (which means more activity on the photographer’s part) as well as some portraits. They are expecting slideshows as well as engagement sessions and some are even wanting specific types of shots.  So the more you are able to shoot many different types of photography, the better. You will want to be able to offer some fashion, glamour, portraiture, photojournalistic (candid), sport ( fast action catching those kiddos and the bouquet and garter toss!) sometimes landscape and art but all definitely wth an “eye” to get them beautiful shots. 

Then there is the cost of keeping up with the cutting edge with conferences, seminars, classes and cost of memberships, insurance, and back up equipment as well as ongoing maintenance and/or replacement on our equipment. Weddings are hard on equipment. Its not like keeping things pristine like you can in a studio. Things get lost or damaged and in some cases stolen! We have not had this happen so far but have heard stories!

Secondly, the process AFTER the wedding is much different.

With film, after the wedding you bundled up your film and took it to someone else to develop. You got the negatives back, had proofs printed and delivered them to your client who made decisions on what prints to order and which ones to print and put into an album.

With digital we are not only the photographer but the lab as well. After a wedding we will typically spend anywhere between 40-60 hours on your images when you take into consideration all the time to:

• “Develop” the images (color correct them and add any necessary adjustments in Photoshop/Lightroom),
• Add artistic effects to some of those images
• Put the wedding slideshow together, which requires selecting, editing and adding a music track
• Prepare all the images for the online gallery, upload and notify client
• Respond to all print orders by uploading the images to the lab for printing
• Album design, once the images are chosen it can take a week to sort, organize and design the album then send a preview. The album is not just a slip in and we’re done. It is a big production that finalizes all the beauty of the wedding, all the hard work of the editing and post processing, as well telling a story of the bride and groom at their wedding.
• Once approved, upload all files to our lab for printing and binding of album. The Italian albums can take 6-8 weeks at their end and then we receive it, inspect it and make that call that everyone has been waiting for.
  

Brides and grooms are looking for an expect a look and feel to their images through digital post processing that just didn’t exist back in film or was very expensive.

In addition, there are a multitude of administrative positions we take care of.  I recently found a list that another photographer put together, and I think it’s a pretty good description of what we do as studio owners:

Weddings CEO – makes decisions regarding the direction of wedding business. Oversees all work regarding weddings.

Studio Manager – oversees the studio’s day-to-day operations including shooting, editing & album design, order fulfillment and customer service. Also responsible for managing the studio’s employees and equipment.

Financial Director – oversees the financial aspects of the company including accounting, taxes, bank statements, income & expenses, cash flow and overall studio value.
Marketing Director – oversees the marketing, advertising, sales and branding of the studio. Also responsible for employees in charge of the website, graphic design and other name-recognition efforts.

Guess what!!! I got some pics from Znarf ‘s people! Here he is at home….

And here is his GORGEOUS brother Alfie!

Okay Alfie I hope you are eating now that your best friend is back…

It’s all good!

We met up with Joe in Sacramento on Hwy 5 and delivered our little friend to his owners and saw him off to his home in Oregon. I guess I will never now how he got all the way down to Fresno from Corning. Well it will always be his secret.

Here are a few of our last photos of him….I am glad that Alfie is getting his brother back and can start eating again!

Gathering him up for his car ride ….

.  

His car ride…he is so good!

Ahhh there is my owner!

Lets get him in the truck…ahhh this seems more like it!

He looks very much like he remembers this life now!

I am glad he loked back at us to say good bye!

 Have a great life Znarf!

So moving on we spent a couple of hours today getting to know a local vendor! She owns and operates
FlowerWorks in Rocklin, Ca. If you recall our loveable couple Audra and Evan well she did those gorgeous flowers for them! We did a quick headshot session with her in our very tight quarters so called “studio” downstairs! We really need a bigger place or rent a studio space somewhere!!!

Anyway how could you not spend a couple of hours with this gal. She is a fun, friendly and very talented young lady! These are straight out of the camera I dont have all the great stuff on my computer that Mark doe so my photos dont sparkle as much as when he posts up but if I waited for him to post we would all be sleeping! lol

Say hello to Lisa!

Here we are just setting up…I love it when people relax and just have fun.

I love her smile she is just a radiant person. So we experimented with which side was best for her…and trying to smile without squinting! lol!

A little less goofy and a little more businessy!

And here’s the final shot for her website:

If you want to visit Lisa here is her website

www.flowerworks.biz

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

A Sweet Ending…

On our way home from visiting our LA Phrangas we stopped along the way at a truck stop right at the Merced Fresno county border. I spotted a cat over by the garbage bin. Feeling sorry for it I found some food we had in the car and walked it over. Thinking it was feral I didnt think it would let me get too close. But in fact it was pretty laid back about me so I picked it up. I looked it over and saw that it did not have a collar. I then noticed how beautiful it was and that it was definitely someones pet. Either lost or God forbid dumped. I couldnt leave it there so I put it in my car over the protestation of everyone else. But I am pretty much a diehard animal lover so they lost right away. I drove it home and noticed all the way that this cat was used to traveling. It slept quite a bit of the way but it did visit with us too. It made the trip with no problem. When we got home I gave it a bath and for a few days while looking on line for a reported lost cat in that area, I thought it was a she. Not until I found a rescue that agreed to meet me at their vet to see if she had a microchip did I find that she was actually a he and that he indeed was microchipped! Ecstatic that he was going home I waited to hear from the rescue but nothing for days. So I emailed them and still no answer. So I then decided to find another way to get him scanned and get ahold of his owners. I ended up going to our local shelter and within 15 min. I was speaking to his owner in Oregon! Turns out her husband is a truck driver and takes this guy and his brother on these long trips. At a gas station in Corning someone snatched this cat from his cab and from there it is specualtion what happened to him inbetween. How he got from Corning Ca. to the Fresno/Merced County rest stop is a complete mystery. When he was snatched he had a collar but when I found him 4 days later he had no collar. I sure wish I could ask him what happened to you in those days.

I am sad knowing he is leaving because he fit right in here our dogs and cats got along with him because he is such a laid back cat and that breed actually does enjoy friendships with both cats and dogs! I am glad that he gets to go back to what he has known for the last 7 1/2 months of his life. His brother misses him and has been moping around with out him. Now I now why Znarf (yes, that is his name!) His owner’s name is Franz so that is his name backwards. lol. But he goes by Joe. I kinda like Joe better and would have called him that. But hey that’s just me.

So now that we have found the owner and exchanged numbers we have made arrangements to meet up with Joe on his way back from LA tomorrow in Sacramento. I am glad it all worked out for them. They had done alot to find this cat in the town they thought he was lost in which was Corning but here he was down in the Fresno area! Then later on in our cozy little abode in Roseville. This is one blessed cat!

So without further ado here is Znarf….we threw a blanket on a table downstairs and put up a backdrop but it really isnt his color! But oh well! Isnt he just beautiful?! Sniff sniff….

Oops here he is saying I’m done! lol

I wish we had more time to get some great Pet Portraiture done on him in a proper studio! Awww I am gonna miss him! He actually follows you around like a dog! What a great breed!