Paul and Liz - Slideshow

I realized that I never posted a link to Paul and Liz's slideshow! I think I figured that most people that read my blog probably read Matt and Garrett's too, but then I thought maybe not eveyrone does!

I have to say that the team effort of Garrett and Jason photographing this wedding (with a few shots from Matt and I) and Matt putting the slideshow together was a winning combination. All around.

So, for those of you who haven't seen the slideshow...here it is...

http://www.gbphotographers.com/Reoch

YHWH and My Birthday

I turned 39 on Tuesday. Yes, 39. One last year to remain in the thirties which have been the best decade ever.

Over these last nine years I've met and married the man of my dreams, had two of the most wonderful children, started a business that I love and much much more. Not bad for an almost decade of life. It's amazing how full life is the older I become. I didn't do much to celebrate this year which was difficult for Mason to understand. When he knew it was my birthday he got really excited thinking about what we would do. Have a party, go somewhere, and when I told him no, nothing like that was happening, he couldn't understand. He said, "don't you want to have a party for your birthday or go bowling or something?".

The teacher at Miles "Mommy and Me" class was so sweet and lit a candle in the center of a pretzel for me to make my one birthday wish for the day, thanks Susan, and one of my close friends was in cahoots with Matt and surprised me by coming over with her family, bringing dinner which was incredibly thoughtful and sweet. Thanks Christine! But, aside from that, not too much out of the ordinary occurred.

I did have a few presents to open from the boys and Matt which was the highlight of not only my day but for Mason and Miles as well. Sharing my gift from Matt may alter the way you perceive me but I hope it only helps you understand me. I'm sure some people, Diana this refers to you, will have no idea why I would ever love something like this so much. Then, there are the friends who will not only understand my appreciation for this gift but may in fact love it as much as I do.

I should begin by explaining that one of my favorite modern artists is Mark Ryden. I absolutely love his work. Some of it could be a bit disturbing for children to see so I would suggest checking it out when the kids aren't around first. He's a painter but so much more. One of the things I love most about his expression of art is the intricate details that not only are a part of his paintings but are part of his presentation. When displaying his paintings they are usually framed in ornate, beautiful frames that are art themselves. He has themes that run through his paintings that are odd to say the least. These themes are bumble bees, Abraham Lincoln, Jesus, figures with faces that are reminiscent of Christina Ricci and I can't forget, raw meat. Here are some of my favorites:

Princess Sputnik

The Debutante

The Magic Circus

I have a couple of his books and for Christmas a couple of years ago Matt gave me a his "Blood" cd and mini book as well as a set of 8x10 prints of some of his paintings. I have the prints framed, hanging in the office and love looking at them while working. One of the paintings is called YHWH. It's better to see it than try to explain it. I will say that every time Miles is in the office with me he points at it and is totally fascinated by it.

Well, a few months ago a release was sent out that he was selling a 16" figure of YHWH. I immediately wanted one but Matt promptly shot the idea down. Little did I know what he had planned.

When I ripped off the wrapping paper of Matt's gift, I knew exactly what it was. I couldn't believe it and was so excited. The box alone is an incredible piece of art. Funny and beautiful all wrapped up in one. Ryden has such a funny personality that shines through in every detail. My dining table isn't the best for product photography but I think it does the trick. I took photo's of all sides of the box, be sure to read the text, it's pretty funny.

I just love the uniqueness of this piece. I imagine it on it's very own pedestal someday with a light shining just for it. The instructions say to set it on a coffee table and observe for .25 hours. Mason keeps asking when we're going to do that. I think he thinks something magical may happen. I think I should set the time aside this weekend. Who knows, maybe he's right!

Here is YHWH. Thanks Matt for this awesome gift. I absolutely LOVE it.

P.S. My sister told me she's done buying me presents. She's going to stick to cards from now on. If THIS is what I love, she thinks she's safer not even trying to figure me out. We're different, what can I say?!

Giving Back - Images For A Cure

For me, there are times when certain things show up again and again. Maybe it's a theme or a word or even a person's name. When this happens I have to stop and see what may be there to be explored. Do I need to call that person, am I being a certain way that I should be looking at, or, perhaps like today, maybe I just need to jump into something with both feet and see what happens.

The theme of giving back has been circling the perimeter of my life for longer than I would like to admit. It's pretty much always there. Then the thoughts of do I have the time or do I really want to walk/run that long of a distance etc. start stepping in front of my desire to do good. I hate to admit that I've let those excuses get in the way for so long but today, that's changed.

I recently became a contributer to OneWed.com as an expert in the field of wedding albums, more on that later, and I saw on their blog the announcement about Images For A Cure. Photographers nationwide are contributing all session fees on October 11th to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. I immediately wanted to be a part of this day and contacted Kristen Weaver to offer my design services.

You know how when something is right it's the easiest thing in the world? Well, in a matter of 30 minutes we not only figured out how I could contribute to the cause but she's posted the Forget Me Not Design giveaway on the blog!

I've donated my album design services to three lucky photographers who are contributing on the 11th. They can either win the album design and I'll supply them with final files ready for upload to the album company of their choice, or they can purchase one of the albums I offer and the design portion will be gifted by FMN.

Breast cancer is real for me. It's a part of our family. I am happy to be doing something, finally, that can help move us toward a cure. It is my hope and the hope of everyone who is taking a stand against breast cancer that through awareness and research other families will not have to experience pain and suffering.

Life is challenging and difficult at times but I truly feel it is something to celebrate. I'm excited to join this incredible group of photographers who are contributing their time and money. I am grateful to Images For A Cure to have welcomed my donation so open heartedly.

I can't wait to find out who the three lucky winners will be. I'm excited to design these albums and to bring joy to the families photographed. October 11th is right around the corner! If you're a photographer and want to give back, contact them today!!
You can check out their blog HERE , read what I had to say about my contribution and see what's new as we get closer to the day.

Friday Inspiration - Tokyo Milk

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm terribly sensitive to smell. I used to suffer from allergies where I was locked inside with the windows closed for three days, barely able to get out of bed. Seriously, they were that bad. Thankfully I think my body went through enough metabolic changes between both of my pregnancies that I don't suffer the way I used to. At all! Even though the sneezing has subsided to what I think could be considered normal, I still have a sensitivity to smell.

I'm one of those people that can't walk through a department store perfume section. If I do happen to walk through due to some unforeseen circumstance, you can't miss me. I'm the one who looks like she's coughing up a hairball in public. A disgusted look uncontrollably takes over my face and a "ehhhth" comes out of my mouth as I walk along coughing with my tongue sticking out of my mouth. It's got to be embarrassing for anyone with me but I swear it's totally uncontrollable. I swear!

That being said, I never buy perfume. I think the last time I did was back in 1994 or some crazy year like that. I honestly think I've purchased one single bottle of perfume in my entire life. Well, the other day, I was at the outdoor mall in Corte Madera, the Container Store side, and happened in to a store that was filled with hand made china, italian glassware and more delicate inventory than I've seen in 4 years when I could still carry Mason around in a sling. I took my time strolling through the store and found the perfect book for a friends baby shower. I continued to look around while I was waiting for her to gift wrap the book and came upon a display of little jarred solid perfume. I decided to see what each one smelled like. "No thank you. Ewwwww. Hmmm. Not so bad. Cough!. Hmmmm. I kind of like that one. Yuck. Way too floral." That was my rundown of the scents on display. The one that I kind of liked, I smelled again and even put some on my wrists. It had a sweet, refreshing smell that made me think of a big juicy plum that's so sweet you can hardly believe it or a candied apple just begging you to take a bite.

As I walked out of the store and down the courtyard I realized that I just kept smelling my wrists. That I liked the smell. There was something about it that made me feel good and smile on the inside. I think I got three stores down and turned right around and went back to buy that perfume. ME! buying perfume. The woman asked me which one I chose. I looked and it's called "Sugar Plum". Perfect. The company name is Tokyo Milk and although I wish their website had more than a splash page, it's worth the visit for the image.

When I looked at the packaging I fell more in love. It's beautiful in a chic french sort of way and included in the box were five mini note cards. They're so tiny I just love them. I couldn't help but laugh because the reason I was at the mall was to have my eyes checked and purchase my first real pair of glasses. I'm trying to ignore the fact that my eyes may be starting a decline in sharpness and to kick the point home, one of the note cards just happened to be an eye chart! Can you believe that?? I think it was meant to be. (I didn't photograph the little card of the eye chart because I think I'm still in denial about the fact that I may need glasses).

Here are some photographs of the packaging. I just had to share. Here's to smelling sweet with visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in your head.

In The News

I woke up today, nursing the back that decided to send shooting pains throughout my body for no good reason, and had a message on my phone from one of my friends.

The message was:

"Hey friend...What a cool way to start the day = seeing your friend on the list of hot photographers: YOU ROCK girlfriend!!"

Tell me that isn't the BEST way to start the day and a great remedy for an ailing back! Thanks Lisa!! Turns out that someone, thank you to whoever you were, recommended me for pregnancy and family photography on the San Rafael Mother's Club Photography listing. So awesome!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The other exciting thing to share, although I have to admit I'm a bit embarrassed at the same time for reasons I'll explain later, is that I was featured in the uber-cool Utterly Engaged E-Zine!! I had been contacted a while back by the mag when they were just starting up. They've put out three issues and it's full force ahead. They were running an issue on eco-friendly wedding ideas and loved my "Earth" line of albums. They asked if I would contribute some information to the magazine as well as something for their launch party as a giveaway. It didn't work out for the party but I did offer a $250 coupon that in the article was titled, "Enter The FMN Giveaway!". (I thought they ran the giveaway as a separate listing. I seriously had NO idea they ran the article)

Well, here's the embarrassing part. I looked at their table of contents to see what wound up running in their issue and didn't see anything about Forget Me Not Design. I was busy and didn't take the time to flip through the magazine. THAT WILL TEACH ME!" I thought they ran the giveaway and that was that.

I wound up having a moment to myself on Monday and imagine my surprise when I was flipping through the magazine, there was a four page article on FMN. I felt like a total loser. Not only didn't I see the article but I never thanked them. until yesterday of course, for running it!! Well, better late than never I always say. I promptly sent out a tweet via Twitter and an email letting them know my embarrassing faux pas and thanking them for such a wonderful piece. AND, there was a winner from the contest (that I did know about) who's getting married in March of 2010. Congratulations Tasha, I can't wait to design your beautiful album!

Thank you to both the anonymous recommendation for my photography through the San Rafael Mother's Club and to Utterly Engaged for such a beautiful feature article. Here is a snapshot of the article and some of my favorite shots of bellies and babes. You can visit the magazine from the link above to see more of their beautiful online publication at your leisure.

Guest Book - Michele and Vin

Michele contacted me after seeing the blog post on Forget Me Not Design on Green Wedding Shoes. She wanted to put a guest book together for her upcoming wedding in October. She had purchased her photographs from their photographer Max Wanger who has a great style which lent itself perfectly to a simple yet beautiful album design. After looking at the album selections FMN Design offers, she chose the Daisy with a faux-leather cover.

I'm often asked about the Daisy album but I think a lot of people have a difficult time with the cost. It's my least expensive album, starting at $275 for a 10x10, 20 page book but so many people are printing Blurb and Apple books these days that are 1/4 of that cost. It can be hard to make the leap to spend the extra money but let me explain why you should.

The books are produced by Asuka Books out of Bend Oregon and every book is assembled by hand with complete quality control. You won't be given a book with a faulty binding or lose pages, ever. They are printed with a digital on demand printing process using an HP Indigo Digital 6-color press with electronic inks, halftone dot and 175 lpi. What does all of that mean? That your book is being produced with the look and feel of an offset press. That means the book has the quality similar to a high-end photographic coffee table book that you would find at a large bookstore such as Barnes & Nobel.

One of the best things about these books is the paper that is used. It's approximately 100lb weight and if you know anything about paper, this means that it's nice and thick. It feels great between your fingers, sturdy, and you can tell that the pages will hold up over time. After printing, the pages are laminated with a gloss or matte finish or a varnish coating that can be applied for added protection.

Companies like Asuka work only with professional photographers or album companies such as FMN Design. It is the vision of Forget Me Not Design to touch and inspire peoples lives through imagery, words and design and I'm so excited to be able to offer such a beautiful product to the general public.

The best way to understand how beautiful these books are is to hold one in your hands but the next best think if that isn't possible is to see some photographs. In these photographs you will see the beautiful album with the faux leather cover, the names stamped on the cover of the album in silver ink and the beautiful wrap around photographic presentation box that it comes in. Another feature that you can't see in these photographs is the foam insert that you can remove from the inside back of the box which is a holder for your cd of images. Take a look and see for yourselves...

Congratulations Michele and Vin on your upcoming wedding. Thank you for allowing me to design your guest book. I wish you lifetimes of happiness!