Wow, it has been awhile!

Hey guys! It has been a while since I have posted anything new! Sorry for not updating more often. The fall was very busy with seniors and families. As I look at the new year, I wonder what I will do with my free time! Then I remember my projects that are not yet finished!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you will have a blessed New Year! 2010 is going to be awesome!

New Work

Wow, it has been a while since my last blog! It has been crazy busy around here! Seniors are in full swing and family shoots are getting started for Christmas portraits!

Here are a couple new shots.

Seniors

Another senior shoot has come and gone. Man I love shooting the seniors! They are so fun to work with! What a fun time to celebrate life with portraits that say something about you! I still have openings in August if you want to capture something unique for your senior images!

Grandma T

Last week I posted on "Why Get Family Portraits?" Sadly this weekend my husbands' grandma passed away. Grandma Taylor was a wonderful lady. She always had a child on her lap or at the table playing cards or Scrabble. My kiddos were blessed when we moved here because two of them got to go spend special time with Great Grandma Taylor. They would have a treat after school and then get down to the business of Kings in The Corner or Scrabble.

When Chad & I were first married, she would send all sorts of beautiful cards and letters to us to keep in touch. She never forgot a birthday and always enjoyed being together with family. And she prayed for us all on a regular basis.

I have been tasked with scanning old photos and putting together a video for her service. We have lots of great shots over the years of her with all of her loved ones. Sadly, in the past year, we don't have very many. This is for two reasons, #1) We did not take very many. Oh, there were opportunities, but we just did not take the time. #2) We all have digital cameras and rarely print our images anymore.

I am saddened that I did not get a good picture of Grandma T this last year. Even more saddened that we as a large extended family did not take a formal or informal picture of all of us together. Shame on me as a photographer.

You never know what will happen tomorrow. Take a picture of your loved ones today, so you can remember this moment. And then make sure you print it!

And as for Grandma T. . . she loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart. I know she will be waiting at the gates of heaven when we all get there!

Why Get Family Portraits?

This is credited to Bruce Hudson, a great photographer and teacher.

1. We aren't getting any younger!

2. The kids are growing so fast!

3. We don't know how long ______ will be with us.

4. We don't know what tomorrow may bring.

5. The kids are leaving the next — when will the family be together again?

6. Even though the kids are gone, they are still with us in our family portrait hanging on the wall!

7. I'm going to decorate my home with art. Why not make it art that features my own family.

Whatever your reason or motivation, this summer is the perfect time to get family the family together and create some life-long memories through portrait art!

Whether you're updating or creating a family portrait for the first time, I am here to help you through the process. Let me know if I can help you create a family portrait this summer! Harvest is coming up and what a better time to have portaits done in the wheat and barley or down by the river or lake.

Summer Lovin'

Wow! July is flying by. It has been a busy month for me and fun. My brides and seniors have been so much fun to work with!

I really love summer. I hate that it is half over and school is around the corner! But I won't dwell on that and I will continue to enjoy the beautiful colors and warmth of summer! Seniors are trickling in for senior portraits! I think they are my most favorite to shoot!

Our family is starting to conceptualize our next family portrait! I need to find an old brick building with some nice window light! We are going to shoot the family portrait and then have a very large wall art made out of it to hang in the living room! I am so excited!

I got my first acrylic done, so if you are curious about what an acrylic is, call me so you can check it out for yourself! Soon I should have a metal print done so you can see those too.

Summer is a great time to kick back and relax and have fun with the family. Even with the business of this month we have had some good family fun, including a great camping trip to the Big Horns.

New Work

Summertime! Summer Fun!

What a fun summer it is turning out to be!  I am in full swing with weddings and seniors are starting up!  For seniors this year we are adding special portrait sessions and some photo safaris so you get the ultimate in beautiful creative images!  If you want to book a photo safari or a Big Horn Basin Senior Session call soon!  Appointments are starting to fill!  Our Fall Color sessions are already booking up, these sessions are offered from Sept 15-Oct. 1 and the weekend appointments are almost gone! We still have some weekday spots to fill, so call soon to schedule yours!

I am currently seeking Senior Reps from Thermopolis, Greybull, Basin, Ten Sleep, Burlington and Cody.  If you are a senior at one of these schools, please fill out the contact form to find out how to get a great deal on your senior portraits!

For children this summer we will be offering Portraits in the Park!  This a great way to get an affordable session for your child and still get exquisite images.  Portrait in the Park days are on July 2nd @ Sanders Park in Worland, Tues. July 14th @ Sanders Park in Worland and one TBA at Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis.  These are short discounted sessions for one child at a time, by appt. only!  Summer is also a great time to get family portraits done!  What piece of artwork on your wall could be more unique and precious than a large wall art creation of your family?  Family portraits turn into family heirlooms, don't waste another minute to book your session!

Erin & Scott

Getting Started!!!

Well here it is at long last! I have a life again! This was my first full week not being a student, and man was it busy!!! How did my family survive without me around so much???

I am gearing up for a great summer. My wedding schedule is starting to fill up and I have quite a few seniors that I need to get booked. I am thinking of taking a Senior Safari trip to Helena MT, for seniors that want something really different for their senior portraits! If you are interested in the Senior Safari, give me a call and I can give you more details.

I am also in need of senior ambassadors at the area high schools. If you or someone you know would like a great deal on portraits, and are willing to help promote me to all your friends, we need to talk, SOOOOOOON! Give me a call @ 307-431-4686!

I am off to another baseball practice and then a 4-H meeting! Thanks for stopping by and check my website soon for new images and more info about the Senior Safari!

Life!!!

What a fun and exciting time it is in our lives right now. BUSY as all get out, but man it is good! I will be graduating from college on May 16th! What a crazy two and a half years it has been for our family. I think we are all ready for me to be home in Worland full time again. Summer is shaping up to look pretty good for my second year in business. Hard to believe it has been a year already. The studio, while not perfect, has worked out well and kept me busy this winter. Senior and Wedding season are just beginning and I am hoping we will have time to still camp!!

In the meantime I am headed off to Helena, Montana tomorrow for the Montana Professional Photographers convention. I am going with other students and faculty from Northwest College. It should be a great time of learning and getting some fresh ideas for my summer shoots!

The kids lives are just as busy. Abby is in track right now and doing pretty well for a girl that inherited her mom's short little legs! She does hurdles, high jump, sprinting and now she is attempting discus. I am proud of her. She also has 4-H stuff starting up and is doing archery, horses and 22 starts next week. Plus baseball is right around the corner along with a couple of summer camps. Busy young lady!

Rae and Aaron started Cloverbuds this week. They are both looking forward to summer swimming lessons and baseball! Aaron will turn 6 tomorrow! Hard to believe my little man is growing up so fast! I need to get a 6 year old picture of him to hang on my wall! I just recently ordered 20X30 canvas gallery wraps of the two girls from their birthday pictures. They look awesome but need their little brother to hang with them on the wall! I will post a pic when all three are hung.

Chad is also keeping busy. His boxing class is really growing the last couple months. He will be traveling to St. Louis for training right after my graduation. I guess we will celebrate when he gets back. I am going to plan a little trip for us.

Well, I hope your lives are just as full and hopefully not as insanely busy as ours. This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! I will post pics when I return from Helena.

Spring Break

Yeaaaa! I am off school for a week. Nothing big planned but still looking forward to a whole week without school. Only two months to go! I will be so glad when it is done.

This week I got to see Abby perform in Stars of Tomorrow. She did so awesome! She got second place with her solo "Old Carrion Crow" What a beautiful and talented young lady she is growing into.

God is so good. I have been thinking about how great He is! As I go through times of uncertainty in my life, He is there. He is my strength and my provider, and it is He I need to please and not worry about everyone else. May God give you a wonderful week, and if you don't know His Son personally, may He whisper to your heart this week.

Wow, Where did February go?????

Gee, this month has flown by! I am so excited about what I learned at WPPI in Las Vegas! I am looking forward to all of my summer weddings even more than before.

I have some fun new pics to post. I got to shoot Jessica (Kraft) Hill's baby this week, and man is he a little cutie. Plus I have new stuff from Vegas, got to take a IR camera and had lots of fun with it!

March is right around the corner and I am going to be so busy. I am working on that final portfolio for school, I have to shoot a chocolate and perfume ad this week, hopefully will get to shoot a renaissance couple. Plus, Abby is turning twelve! How did that happen so fast? Tonight we get to go see her school musical. While I was out of town she competed in Showalter and got a 1+ on her solo! I am so proud of the young lady she is becoming! Then at the end of March is the Worland Home and Garden Expo. I am excited about being there, but have lots of samples to order!

If I can hold on, May will be here before I know it and life will go back to some stage of normal! ( I HOPE)

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to all of you, and espescially to my family!

Off to Wedding and Portrait Photographers International

Vegas, here I come! I have never been to Las Vegas before, and really never had any desire to go. But . . . I do have a desire to go to the WPPI conference. It is the largest conference and trade show for wedding and portrait pros. I will be learning all sorts of new techniques, and seeing all kinds of products for photography. Needless to say, I am excited. Hopefully I will return with awesome new ideas and a better educated direction for my business!

Plus I am taking a few cameras, so hopefully I will get some great shots for my portfolio! I will share with you all when I return, so check back for images and details!

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2009!  As of today I have 131 days before I graduate from Northwest College!  Yippeeee!  

I figured that up because I had to figure up how many days before Aaron's Birthday, not just because I am desperate to be done with school!

Well, the Carver family had a great Christmas and New Year.  We went to Plattsmouth for Christmas, it is the first time in nine years since I have been with my family on Christmas!  I had fun but really missed Christmas Eve service at our church in Worland.  

We had a good trip, almost had to leave a child behind to make room for all the presents we (I mean the children) received.  Aaron is right, who needs Santa when you have Grandma Lea!

We made it safely home and had a fun new years eve at the Compton's with games and food!  That's the best way to celebrate a new year, good friends, good food, and great competition!

Now tomorrow the kids go back to school and Chad and I will both be working.  I am looking forward to two weeks of no school.  I hope to get caught up on all my studio work and have some free time to spend at the kids schools and maybe go shoot some new stuff!

As I focus on a new year, I think about what I hope to accomplish this year.  I really hope and pray this semester is easier on my family and I can be more available to them.  I am setting new goals to grow my business and hopefully will be working full time by summer.  I hope to get away on a vacation with just Chad and I this year.  Last year was supposed to be our year to go, but with the expenses of school and starting a new business, we put it off indefinitely.  But I am getting beach fever, so am researching already!

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful and prosperous new year!  Check back soon for some new photos!