Christmas Special
Is it time to update your family pictures? Has it been a few years since you had a professional portrait taken of your family? November is a great time to get a picture done before Christmas.
Last year at this time, I had bought 2 new Christmas backdrops but then I wasn't able to use them because I was shut down due to Covid. I'm excited to use them this year. This is a composite with one of the backdrops and 2 adorable dogs. My Zara is the one on the right who looks worried about the big man in the sky with all the reindeer!
I'm offering a special for November with a session fee of only $50, which will be donated to Spirit of Hope Dog Rescue. I am only opening my studio to people who are double vaccinated. So if you are vaccinated and need a new family picture, then give me a call or text or email me. Please note this $50 does not include any prints or digital images.
Growing Native Flowers
One of my new pursuits this past Spring and Summer has been growing native wild flowers in our yard. I dug up plants in the ditches around our property, as well as, at our cabin at Victoria Beach. I have wild roses and daises, as well as asters, goldenrod, yarrow, milkweed and anemones that I found around our property. The variety of plants available is amazing. Sadly, we didn't get any monarch butterflies and the bees were scarce but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next year.
I started this project by digging up tons of dandelions that had invaded the lawn. That was followed with spreading newspaper to block the dandelions from coming back up. Next, I seeded clover. The clover came up really well. Between bunches of clover I planted the various varieties of native plants that I found. I also threw in some wildflower seeds, most of which were not native. It looked really great by the end of the growing season and I'm excited about what will come up in the spring.
If anyone has plants that they are willing to divide and share, please let me know and we can do an exchange. It's always nice to connect with fellow gardeners and share plants!
These are some of the wild flowers that I grew.
A long view of our yard with some milkweed in the foreground.
I Don't Sell Paper!
A lot of photographers sell their digital images instead of selling prints. That's fine. But I don't. So if you want to just get some digital images you need to find someone else. I lose customers because of this and that's okay.
I spend a lot of time on every image that I sell. I include digital images with my orders but they always come with the matching prints. It is the image that I am selling and the print is the final product of that digital image. It is important to me that the final product looks good. I would imagine that clients will make more prints from that digital image and I can live with that, because those clients own a professionally printed image and they will see the difference.
But I am not in the paper business. It is the image that is printed on that paper that has value. It is the equipment (camera, lenses, lights, computer, website, programs etc, etc) that have gone into processing that image that costs money. It is my time that you are paying for. It is not the paper. The paper print is a like a artist's blank canvas. It is only when my work or the artist's work is put on that canvas that is has value. The canvas itself has very little value. And neither does the paper that a print is on.
And Finally
I found this a while back on a blog written by someone I truly admire; Missy Mwac (https://www.facebook.com/MissyMwac). It is worth the read and sums up what I believe.
My name is 30x40.
I realize it’s an odd name, but it’s what I go by.
I’m 21 years old.
I live in a home on a wall over a fireplace.
I’ve lived in a living room all my life. And well, it’s been nice.
I live with a family–if you look at me, you’ll see them smiling back at you.
They’re pretty great.
Actually, they look a bit different now.
That little boy is a man and that little girl is a woman.
But I remember when they weren’t.
And I help them remember, too.
When I think back to 21 years ago, a lot has happened.
I remember the day I was put in this frame and hung on the wall.
I became a part of the living room.
Through the years, the children would glance up at me
And see themselves surrounded by the people who love them most in the world
(That has got to be a great feeling)
I’m not sure their little minds could grasp it fully
But each time they looked at me, the idea that they were loved and part of a family and very important was embedded deeper into their subconscious.
Day after day, year after year, I reminded them of that fact
I slowly came to realize that was my purpose…to remind them of their importance.
As they played with their trucks and their dolls, and then, in later years, with their video games and their iPhones, I stood over them. A constant steady reminder that they are part of this thing called “Family.”
That they matter in the world.
Over the years, others have come to join me
16x20
40x60
Even our little buddy, 11x14
We all work together to remind these children, this family, of what they mean to each other.
The children are fully grown now and out, into the world.
But each time they come home, they see me again
And they marvel at how little they once were
And how loved they’ve always been.
Yours in Photography,
Christina
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