Spotlight on my assistant (mom)

Not too much to say today - just crazy busy with end of season portrait sessions and Christmas coming up. BUT, I have to share this little behind the scenes peek at how blessed I am to have my mom as an assistant. SHE WILL NOT BE STOPPED. She might not be able to get down once she has climbed too high, but SHE WILL NOT BE STOPPED! I laughed until I peed a little, but I managed to get a few shots off. Thanks, Drew, for being our hero!!!

Emily & Nick are FINALLY married!

Found out during the ceremony that Emily & Nick have been together for EIGHT years. What!? It was great to be part of their day. We met lovely Nashville photographer Misti and were just taken aback by the Bauerhaus. Wow - the setting, the staff, the food, the atmosphere. I can't wait to get to the movie so I can post the highlight for everyone to see!!! Horse-drawn carriage, falling leaves, smiles and laughter throughout the day, and even Storm Troopers. Yup. Ferreals. :)

Kim & Dan are marrrrrrried! 10.9.10

Oh, the day did not start out so great with a CRAZY shut-down-highway traffic jam that we had to get around once we got into the St. Louis metro area on Saturday. BUT, Kim was so understanding and we were all just so happy to see each other when we got there. We were just in time for final touches and getting into the gown. It was a love-fest getting to see Kim after so many conversations and notes back and forth and to see photog fatale, Sara McDermott. The ceremony and reception were so gorgeous. The setting? The dazzling Missouri Athletic Club. The entertainment? The dashing, the incomparable, the ROCKIN' Jimmy Hussey! A party can never go wrong under Jimmy's care. Pretty sure Kim had the day of her dreams - she sure had the dream team of vendors together!!! :) All that AND she wanted a wedding party photo in front of Ted Drewe's, so I got to have Ted Drewe's in celebration of Brian's and my anniversary. On October 15, 2002, Brian and I visited that same Ted Drewe's location after our dinner date. The day after Kim's wedding was our 7th wedding anniversary. Aaaawwwwww. Old memories and new memories. Beautiful!

Senior Portraits with Josh

I think maybe Josh wasn't too sure about doing a portrait session with some chic his mom knew, but he warmed up to me pretty quickly. Few snide remarks, few compliments, few jokes about the girls and he was putty in my hands. HA! Maybe not quite putty, but he relaxed and we started having a lot of fun. I love teenagers! You're probably making that face most people make when I say that, but I really do! I feel for their struggles, and I get jazzed up by their energy and all the possibilities ahead of them. I know quite a few photographers who will NOT do senior portraits. They make excuses, but I think the pre-adults just make them uncomfortable. Those are the people that take some of the hormones, attitude, and bad decisions that can characterize the teen years and lump it all together and assign all that to anyone who happens to be 13 - 19 years old. Those characteristics are not set apart for just teenagers, friends. I know plenty of 30-somethings who have the same issues, but on the one hand, maybe they hide it better. On the other hand, the consequences now effect their families and not just them. Give me a teenager with all of their angst and trying to figure out this whole life THING, letting their attitudes hang out for all to see, ANY DAY. It's a tough phase to get through, and they need all the support, prayer, honesty, and unconditional love we can give them.

Wow. That got way deep.

Uh...back to the fun I had with Josh. Enjoy!

Tracy & Sarah

It was so lovely to spend time with this tiny little blonde family of TWO. These girls are a TEAM! They are so special to me - Sarah is Ellie's BFF, and I've been getting to know and love Tracy through our girls' friendship. It's a beautiful thing!

Loving Corporate portraiture!

Thanks to Kristina Rhodes, with F.C. Tucker Emge realtors, I had the opportunity to show how natural Corporate portraiture can be! Kristina has actually had people comment on how her portraits on her marketing materials need to be re-done...how they don't look like "her." I see so many business cards that make me cringe. It was great to help Kristina update her materials with an image that looks relaxed and fun - like her! Now prospective clients can get an idea of who she really is because she spent a little time with me and my camera. :)

"Everyday Moments"

The Bussey family had already booked me for some family portraits, but they graciously allowed me to spend some extra time with them, photographing some "everyday moments" and definitely some love and fun between them. Here's a little sampling, but I've got more on my fb page!

 

 

 

Mandy & Noah were just having a moment, and I asked Todd to hand back for a sec with Micah. OH, MY!!! Brings tears to my eyes. Do you see??? In the 3rd, both boys are kissing their girls. WOW! It just doesn't get much better than this - the fact that it is so authentic sends it over the top. I did not instruct ANY of this except to have Todd hang back.




I don't know if you can tell 'cause of my watermark, but the "wheeee" got so energetic that Noah's shoe came off!

 


Everbody needs to take some time to throw some leaves up in the air and giggle.



Fun at the park!

Ellie and I had a playdate with her bestie, Sarah, and Sarah's mom, Tracy. The girls had so much fun - wow, that Sarah is fearless!! She helps motivate Ellie to be more adventurous. If that girl can stay this confident, she'll conquer the world!

A plea to pastors and officiants...

Just one small thing that can make a big difference for the couple...

Please, while making some wonderfully sentimental closing statement to the congregation, step to the side of the groomsmen (they're boring anyway - no boy cares if you block them) before you introduce the new couple and instruct them to kiss. Then you won't end up immortalized like this poor pastor! I have 2 wonderful shots of the couple's first kiss, and his face and eyes are all over both of them.

Welcoming Carol to the JuneBug team!

JBP welcomes Carol as Executive Assistant to owner Angee Ferris. (And she's my mom!) Carol brings a wealth of experience and skills to the table as she is an expert in client relations and communications and is highly self-motivated and dedicated to excellence in every detail. (She is completely and totally awesome and I learned all that stuff from HER!) She is able to think creatively and project vision but also to devise an organized plan of action and execute every detail with precision along the way. (She gets it DONE.) With Carol on board, we are ready to pick up speed.

WOW, what an exciting announcement! Not only is Carol the best employee any business could be blessed to have, but she has agreed to forego payroll and will work for Ellie kisses!! She works on Tuesdays and Thursdays for JuneBug, and on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday's, she's retired. :) I hope I can keep her challenged enough she stays interested and happy with her JuneBug days!

That picture is mom with Ashley, her granddaughter (my niece) in August. Foxy lady!

Hirt family photos - slideshow!

Ooooo, this is fun!

Hirt family photos

So much fun with the Hirt family yesterday! :)

i smell chicken

Got into the van and I smelled chicken. Found myself actually looking around like, what?, someone snuck into my van while it was parked in the driveway and left us a bucket of chicken as a gift??? Still can't explain it. Really made me hungry for chicken, too.

Back to blogging!

Now that I'm back to doing what I love full-time, I'm going to give blogging another go. I don't know what the problem is - maybe I feel under pressure to have something deep or monumentally interesting to say, and so I just don't! Fear of failure, perhaps? Sounds about right. :) Ah, well...it's what gets things done, so I can't hate it.

I just made the leap about a month ago to quit my "day" job and invest myself fully in JuneBug full time again. Those of you who know us from Archway Media Services...yes, we're still offering the Archway product, and that's how we got our start, but the name "Archway" just doesn't translate the same way over here in Evansville. :) We're also STILL WORKING IN STL! We limit our Archway bookings because of the HEAPS of hours it takes to edit such a highly artistic product. Sooo...we're making the switch to focus on the JuneBug product and have even added PHOTOGRAPHY to our services.

ADDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Well, Brian has been trying to get me to do this for a couple years, and I kicked and whined and just didn't think I could do it. I have a bit of a confidence issue here, but the more I shoot and see my work grow, the more confidence I gain. HE WAS RIGHT. I love it, and I have to admit I've got skills. Ha!

We're not offering photography in STL, though. There's no reason for me to even try to swim in that pond. We know and love so many wonderful and skilled wedding photographers in the STL area who we can refer! I'll keep my still cameras right here in Evansville, thank you very much. :)

BREAKIN' IT DOWN
I'm BACK to doing what I love full time!! Loving every minute of it.
VIDEO - STL and Evansville areas
PHOTO - only Evansville area

Now the pressure is on again to find something to blog about next time.

- Ang