I love getting email from all of you! In fact, it’s one of the first things I “process” when sitting down to work. Unfortunately, as mentioned in the previous post, my laptop is a little under the weather, so I may be slow in processing your emails from this week.

What’s up? Well, I’m not sure, but the LCD display is not working (or if it turns on, it does so intermittently). Tech support has been called, and I appreciate your patience as I reply to emails “the old fashioned” way… via web-browser.

Ok, so we didn’t travel the world. But we did take a trip out to Montana for almost a week. I was expecting to have internet access while there, but had some issues getting my laptop connected. So, my apologies for the lack of posts! (Plus, we were quite busy).

Over the next few days, plan on seeing a few posts about what we were doing in Montana (hint, it was for a wedding!), and how much fun we had!

Normally when I take vacations to places, it’s planned to coincide with warmer weather… but for this trip, that was not the case. When we first arrived in Montana, it wasn’t very warm. In fact, it was icy and snowing. Luckily, though, it did warm up and we were able to have a wonderful weekend for the wedding festivities.

Here’s an image from our trip, it was taken at Canyon Ferry, a great place to visit, and especially beautiful in the early morning. We even were able to see bald eagles in their nest (not in this image).

Anyone remember the cartoon character Captain Planet from a while back? Oddly enough, that’s what comes to mind when I think about any of the various connotations associated with conservation: “save the planet”, “think green”, “reduce, reuse, recycle”, “take only pictures, leave only footprints”, etc. Someone reminded me that today is Earth Day, so I decided to do my part by making a blog post.

I’m not the most radical environmentalist by any means, but I do feel we need to do our part to to conserve the environment we live in. It probably goes back to being a Girl Scout and getting to enjoy the outdoors; or maybe it just has to do with the fact that I enjoy being able to step outside and see the beauty of nature around me.

Whatever the reason, I feel responsible for reducing/reusing/recycling when possible. It’s interesting to note that we generate a very small amount of trash weekly, compared to how much we recycle. I wish our trash-pickup also collected recyclables every week (right now it’s every-other-pickup). So, how are we doing our part to positively impact the environment around us?

1. We’ve switched out of the lightbulbs in our house for the more energy efficient ones (at least where possible). It’s interesting to note that while they take a little longer to “warm up,” once they get going, it seems much brighter than the standard lightbulbs we used to use.
2. We reuse plastic shopping bags for what garbage we do generate, rather than getting trash bags from the store (not always possible, but we do try).
3. We want to start a compost pile, and are thinking about starting to grow our own herbs and maybe even small vegetables.
4. While driving is a necessity for us, we are seriously considering an electric or hybrid for our next car.

I’m sure there are more ways we are being conscientious of the world we live in, but let’s leave it at that for now. What are you doing to reduce the impact we leave on a daily basis — or what might you be doing to help save the planet?

One of our favorite channels on TV to watch is the DIY Network. Being homeowners, we have all sorts of fun projects that can be completed (both inside and outside) around the house. As you know, one such project is our landscaping.

Even though we moved into our house about a year ago, last summer wasn’t very productive for us: Steven ruptured his patellar tendon during a softball game, requiring surgery. So, we are looking forward to this summer, and finally being able to start our landscaping project!

So, when we saw that DIY Network was holding a contest to be on Desperate Landscapes, Steven decided that we should give it a shot! Now, I’m sure there are worse yards than ours, and yeah, the chances aren’t that great of our entry being selected, but Steven did put together a very funny and amusing video about our front yard.

Go here to vote for us!! (ratings of one shovel are needed )

It’s that time of the week… to share something fun! Steven and I have really been enjoying the warmer weather, especially since we now have an amazing grill to cook with. It’s now a little less perfectly shiny than these images, but still impressive.

We can’t wait to use this for summer parties and also for those “just because” occasions. Plus, it will be great to be able to cook up some nice hamburgers, steaks, kabobs, …. mmm the possibilities are endless! May you enjoy being outside as the weather gets warmer; I know Steven and I are looking forward to being able to do so!

With everything going on, I think I neglected to share this family portrait! A while back I spent some time in the studio with this wonderful family (well, photographing the kids together, at least!). Yes, the session included some fun and casual poses to keep the younger ones entertained, and all-in-all, things went very well.

This image below is one of the more “traditional” groupings that I created for the family. We also took the time to create some individual portraits of each, for this very adorable framed wall grouping.

Now, part of the reason I posted this image is to remind you about our Portrait Charity Event that we are doing this month — it is a great opportunity to give back to the local community, while having a great time getting your portrait created!

Concerned your kids won’t sit still long enough for me to photograph them? You’re not alone. But, even though I don’t have kids myself, I am well experienced at being around kids (6 nephews and 1 niece will do that). I like to keep things relaxed and fun, so everyone should be able to have a great time!

For our Portrait Charity Event, one of the organizations we are raising money for is Hearts of Hope. Hearts of Hope is a non-profit organization whose “providing comfort and hope to mothers and fathers who have lost a child through miscarriage, stillbirth, or early infant death.” Hearts of Hope provides bereavement gift baskets filled with items that acknowledge and honor the tiny lives that have been lost and provide help for parents grieving the loss of their baby.

One of the founders of Hearts of Hope, Kitty Golding (read her story), stopped by today to drop off a sample basket so that my clients could actually see what this organization does. This basket is the cutest little arrangement ever, and while I haven’t been in their situation, I can imagine a parent receiving one of these baskets would feel some sense of comfort and hope.

Hearts of Hope was featured in the Chelsea Standard a while back, so if you’d like to learn more that article is probably a great place to start. To learn more about Hearts of Hope, please visit their website, heartsofhope.us. Additionally, learn more about how you can participate in our Portrait Charity Event during the entire month of April.

The other day, my car was broken into (ok so it was a week or so ago, by now). Not really much was taken, but it did cost me a new window. I thought this abstracted image of the glass was pretty neat, and wanted to share.

I think whoever broke in was looking for my GPS unit — which I make sure never to leave in the car, of course! All the same, I still had to replace the window… thankfully that was the extent of the damage though. So, as a friendly reminder: don’t leave your GPS unit, its holder, or other accessories in plain sight. It’s a like a sign that says “look inside!”

I recently photographed Debbie, a professional flutist here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She needed a headshot for an upcoming performance in the area. When I get the details from her, I will add them to this post.

It’s always fun to do these sessions, because we keep things simple, and focus on personality traits. And I think her flute is gorgeous! You can’t tell it in this image since it’s blackand white, but it is a gold flute, rather than the traditional silver style.

Afterwards, to “change things up” — we did a short location session… out in the snow. Debbie showed me a fur wrap she had brought, and of course I said we had to so something with it.  She did a great job of looking natural (especially considering the cold + windy weather!).

UPDATE: Deborah Rebeck Ash (Debbie) will be performing Concertino by Chaminade with the Redford Symphony. The concert is on May 4th, 2008 at 3pm (St. Valentine’s Catholic Church in Redford, Michigan).

If you’ve been meaning to call us about having your family portrait created, now is a perfect time! During the month of April (2008), we will be raising money for charity. In lieu of our normal family portrait session fee, we will be requesting a donation of $75 (or more if you like!), to one of three designated non-profit organizations. We have selected three non-profit organizations as our “Designated Charities” — two of which are local.

• Hearts of Hope, Inc.
• Arbor Hospice & Home Care
• American Cancer Society

So please, contribute to a good cause AND have a wonderful family portrait created, all at the same time! When you are ready to schedule your session, please call the studio at 734-418-2089! We will set a session date and time, as well as discuss clothing and other options for your session. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon; we hope that you will spread the news to your friends and family so that we can raise money for these “Designated Charities.

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Hearts of Hope, Inc.
Hearts of Hope is a local non-profit organization whose purpose is to reach out to those who have just lost a child to late term miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death by providing a gift basket filled with items to care for parent’s emotional, mental and physical needs. Hearts of Hope was founded early in 2002 by Michelle Bazick (of Dexter) and Laurel “Kitty” Golding (of Gregory). Hearts of Hope was recently featured in the Dexter Leader/Chelsea Standard. To learn more about Hearts of Hope, visit heartsofhope.us.

Arbor Hospice & Home Care
Arbor Hospice is a local non-profit organization whose purpose is to give comfort, assurance and care to families and patients who have life-limiting illnesses and to educate and nurture others in this care. In addition to its Ann Arbor location, Arbor Hospice has two other locations: Northville and Trenton, Michigan. Learn more about Arbor Hospice & Home Care.

American Cancer Society
It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t been affected by cancer. The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service. Learn more about the American Cancer Society.