We’re back from another fantastic year at the DWF Convention and Imaging USA.  Learned alot of new things, relearned some things I should have utilized in the past, and made some very good friends in the process. What more could we ask for? Looking forward to an off the hook creative 2010. My heart is on fire!

HAPPY 2010 everyone!!

I’m working feverishly to check off items on my to do list including editing, album design, updating the web site, and working on implementing all of the new and exciting things in store for The Shooting Gallery Photography and its clients in the coming year. We have SO much in store and we’re eager to share. 2010 will to be an amazing year replete with possibility. Bring it on!!!!

I leave you with a few details from Jillian & Todd’s fabulous wedding.

These are my Grandparents, Edward and Delores. While my single mother worked 7 days a week, seemingly around the clock, to provide our two person family with life’s necessities, my Grandmother cared for me. I remember watching Bill Kennedy At the Movies with her and Sir Graves Ghastly on a small black and white television (though she did her laundry and cleaning while Sir Graves graced the screen). I remember how much she loved General Hospital (though I never really caught on to that whole soap thing) and late night snacks of frozen Snickers bars and Vernors floats. MMMM….and Lorna Doone cookies – oh, how I loved their crispy, buttery goodness. I also remember our walks together. Sometimes just around the block, but often to the park, and generally to the cadence, “left, left, I left my wife and 49 kids” (the only words I can recall). I remember her stories of the Great Depression; boiling chicken bones for broth, turning in found old rubber tires for money to buy food, and drawing lines on the back of her legs because she couldn’t afford seamed stockings. But most of all, I remember her undying love and her unselfish way of putting everyone else’s needs above her own.

She’s the one thing in my life that has remained constant. She went to church every Sunday, sent birthday cards every year then called to sing to you on the phone, and spent her days always giving of herself to those in need. She asks for so very little and deserves far more than she’s received. Even now, in a battle for her own life against an extremely rare form of cancer she, somehow at peace, prays not for herself but for her family instead. I will pray – enough for both of us. And I ask that anyone reading this to please, please, please take a moment and send up a prayer for my Grandmother that, whatever be God’s will, she receive all of the rewards in heaven she so rightfully earned here on earth. For if I have inherited just one tenth of this woman’s love, devotion, strength, patience, sheer will, and humanity I would have received a gift far greater than anything I could ever wish for.

I love you, Grandma…

It’s October. OCTOBER. The 10th month of the Gregorian calendar which is frighteningly close to the 11th month when the air begins to smell very different, Bing Crosby’s holiday classics hit the airwaves, and I attempt to get all of my Christmas shopping done before Christmas Eve (for once). And here it is the 22nd…someone light an aromatherapy candle and hand me a Xanax!

Yep, you guessed it. I’ve been busy. Busy as heck shooting weddings and sessions. Busy answering email, answering the phone…answering my husband. Busy giving kisses and hugs to my son and husband as I send them off to bed before settling down to edit and busy getting more kisses and hugs in the morning, dressed in the same clothes as the night before. Do I miss having a personal life? I sure do. And, what’s more, I feel guilty for missing out on the lives of those I love. Such is the life of a workaholic and I know I am not alone.

Big changes are coming for 2010 and in an attempt to find the proper work/life balance that eludes me, I am limiting the number of wedding and portrait commissions I take on. I was surprised to learn, quite recently, that 60 per year is not the average number of weddings a professional photographer accepts. Why didn’t someone tell me that years ago????? Perhaps they did and I just missed it. I tend to dance to the beat of my own drum so chances are I wouldn’t have listened anyway. I know I inherited my hard head from my Mother who inherited it from my grandfather; thus the beauty of the double helix. Well, that is changing and I look forward to spending more time honing my craft, connecting with my clients on a deeper level, and, last but not least, walking thru life with those who have so lovingly supported me and patiently waited for me to make time for them. Change IS good.

All of my clients are anxious to see their images and believe me, I dance and sing each time I wrap up a wedding or session and hit the upload button (and god willing it will never make YouTube). But, it all takes time and since I can’t seem to find someone to share in the wonderment that is editing, it takes alot of my time. To those who patiently await the first glimpse and to those who wait no so patiently, I appreciate your anxiety. It means that you care about your images, which is why you hired me in the first place, right? ::Wink-Wink::: I, too, care – I care allot, which is why I don’t just slam thru a thousand of your precious images slapping them with basic, universal adjustments or overused and outdated photoshop actions. These are your moments; snippets of your life as seen thru my eyes and that makes them just as special to me. I may not offer the fastest turnaround but when it comes to personal attention you can rest assured that I’m delivering my promises. And I hope that in the end that kind of care and attention is worth waiting just a bit longer for.

Here is my current edit roster which consist of weddings and sessions from AUG thru OCT – if you don’t see your name here please let me know. The hubby may have slipped decaf in the carafe to aid in getting some much needed R.E.M. (the sleep, not the band).

Walter Wedding
Boffi Wedding
Galli Engagement
Sanchez Wedding
Nickola Wedding
Fraley Wedding
King Wedding
Kelly Wedding
Kugler Wedding
Mavrellis Wedding
Leja Wedding
Fisk Engagement
Sumner Wedding
Bradley Wedding
Abdal Wedding
Long Wedding
Palin Engagement
Erhard Wedding
Caverly Wedding
Jelinski Portraits
Foust Wedding
Hanson Wedding
Kidwell Wedding
Abela Engagement
Owens Engagement
Garafalo Engagement
Alka Jain Portraits
Muench Portraits

Make that two Xanax and a bottle (read case) of organic red wine, please!!

We are blessed with so many wonderful couples and families this season; I am truly humbled. We realize that you fabulous people are awaiting your previews and we cannot wait to get them to you. Work is keeping me on the go and since I do all of the post processing, personally, I sincerely appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during this, our busiest time of year.

On the Burner:

Melissa + Chad’s Wedding
Jennifer + Paul’s Wedding
Jennifer + Robert’s Wedding
Kim + Phil’s Wedding
Cindy + Patrick’s Wedding
Alana + Pete’s Wedding
Lauren + Andrew’s Wedding
Cindy + Rick’s Wedding
Anne + Brian’s Wedding
Christie + Jeffrey’s Wedding
Jennifer + Laurence’s Wedding
Kelly + Larry’s Wedding
Andrea + Andy’s Wedding
Rachel + Daniel’s Wedding
Melissa + Alex’s Wedding
The Jelinski Family
Noor + Senan’s Engagement
The Beevers Family

Congratulations to all of our most recent newlyweds and hugs to our families and engaged couples. We LOVED every minute spent with you and that love will continue to pour into our work as I put my personal touches to your finished images.

Now, on to Andrea + Alejandro’s Wedding!