Someone forgot to tell my body that I’m 30, not 90! I’m taking a few days off while my body adjusts to some new medications that are basically knocking me on my butt 24/7 and I’m recovering from a couple of small but very painful injuries at the same time. Rest assured, I’m still here but sitting at my desk is pure agony right now and it’s all I can do to just keep my eyes open. I hope to be back at my desk by the weekend.
We just returned home from a great vacation in Ludlow, VT and while we certainly didn’t escape the heat it was a nice little getaway. Of course, now that I’m home in my heavenly central air, my to-do list has given me that vaguely familiar gut punch and I remember now why I rarely take time off! I split my first day back between running errands and putting a dent in the inbox but I still have a lot more to catch up on. If you’re expecting a response from me I apologize for the delay but I’ll be getting to you very soon!
So, Vermont… Vermont is lovely just about any time of the year but I have learned my lesson and will not be returning during a record breaking heat wave. We stayed at my in-laws’ ski cabin which is small, has no air conditioning and only a few small windows that don’t open all the way. The real kicker was having only one fan. I wanted to bring another one up as I anticipated my internal organs cooking under that roof but with 3 adults, a child, a 50+ pound dog and a kayak there was just no room in or on top of the car! Ugh. Never again. We spent a lot of time at Echo Lake swimming, kayaking and barbecuing and then went up the hill to a private pond owned by friends of the family before heading back to broil in the cabin. It was so scorching hot outside that my Floridian butt actually went into the lake. The last time I attempted that (at the same lake on a not so hot day) I ran in at full speed, dove under the water, jumped straight up into the air screaming a blood curdling scream and made an exit so fast that I think I may have walked on water. Of course, when I looked up every single beach goer at this quiet, peaceful lake was staring at me with their eyes bugged out, probably wondering what drugs I was on or what my mental disability was. I simply raised my hand and said “Sorry - Floridian!” and I swear it seemed like every one of them shook their heads and laughed at my idiocy. I honestly wonder how often that happens. Even with the disgusting heat this week and inability to get a good night’s sleep, we had a great time. We even got my Dad out in the kayak! Getting him in and out presented a small challenge considering his prosthetic legs can’t get wet, but we love a challenge! Sean brought the kayak to the end of the dock and my Dad sat down, took his legs off and scooted in. He had a great time and loved having another new experience.
Some snaps from the last week:
Jaedyn’s birthday cake that I spent 3 days making (and my first attempt at fondant)
My nephew Nolan cuddling with Jaedyn on the Fourth of July
Jaedyn singing to Nolan
Love that smile!
The chubbiest feet I ever did see (and FAST too!)
Jaedyn and her sparklers - she’s concentrating so hard!
Her attempt at making a heart for the camera… and a few distractions along the way!
Of course I had to include some fireworks. We didn’t get the best spot this year as far as photos go but we enjoyed our view anyway!
And my Dad kayaking legless in VT… way to go Dad!!!
Hello haze. Can’t you just SEE the heat?!
I have been lusting over the gorgeous fringe baby hammocks, blankets, second skin cocoons, hair accessories, maternity props and baby slings over at CUSTOM PHOTO PROPS ever since I came across them on facebook. I have searched exhaustively for a fringe hammock like this one and let me just tell you that I have not found a single person who makes them this beautifully. These make such stunning props for photographing babies - especially newborns - and I could totally see parents buying these as a room accent. They would even make awesome stuffed animal hammocks that have SO much more style than the typical ones! Ooh - and little girls and their dolls - oh the possibilities! My only problem is that I would go broke buying up every color combo offered and I’m having trouble making a decision so that doesn’t happen. Help? =) I’m most drawn to the fringe hammocks in Creamy Delight, Save Our Planet, Woodland with Sky fringe and Coming up Roses. I plan to eventually have them all (along with some cocoons, maternity wraps and hair accessories at the very least!), but for the time being I need to choose ONE out of these amazing choices and I can’t do it all by myself! Please take a look at the site and help me decide!
Don’t forget to check out her blog too - new images, give-aways and lots of fun stuff!
…wisdom teeth, that is! After a very long wait and a lot of pain, I’m finally getting my wisdom teeth pulled. I will be taking the weekend off to recover - hopefully I’ll be feeling MUCH better by Monday. Thanks for your patience!
It’s been a whirl wind couple of weeks here! Some good days and some bad days but on the bad days I try to remember that without rain there would be no rainbows. And Jaedyn LOVES rainbows. I’ve been crazy busy with teaching private photo lessons, LOTS of album designing, newborn photos, birth announcement designs, engagement photos, spreading the word about the Newburgh teen project I’m working on and of course being a mom, wife and daughter and the “rain” of dealing with my intracranial hypertension and the terrible never ending head-crushing-ache and other fabulous side effects it brings. Wow. Was that really all one sentence? Oh well. This is what happens when I write blog entries at almost 3 AM. Feel free to laugh at me… I already am.
This weekend’s wind storm brought down some large branches in our yard and onto our roof. We were without power for an excruciating 11 hours. Just as I started to move from bored and irritated that I couldn’t do any work, I thought about those who have gone through (and continue to go through) so much worse and realized that just the simple fact that I have a home and a bed to sleep in makes me a lucky person. Of course, I slept on the couch last night because my head hurt, but that’s totally beside the point. The power came back on this morning and we surveyed the branch damage outside. As I stared at my roof wondering how we were going to get the big branch down without tearing down the gutters, ripping the power lines down and damaging our property, a neighbor I had not yet met stopped and offered to bring over his extension ladder and help us out. Rainbow.
I’ve had too many “rainbow” moments in the last 2 weeks to mention but suffice it to say that I have the most amazing family, friends and clients a girl could ask for. If you want to give someone the hope of more rainbows than rain, please consider donating to The American Cancer Society - Relay for Life. One of my dearest clients, Laurie, has started a team called Strides for Hope in honor of her Dad who is currently fighting brain cancer. It would mean a lot to her family and to me if you would join the cause in whatever capacity you are able.
I hope all of the Moms had a wonderful Mother’s Day… I got to spend the day with my girl so I’d say mine was fabulous! 
Finishing up editing 3 sessions and hopping between 5 different album designs at the moment… working on getting them all out soon. One of these days I’ll catch my breath and get this blog caught up with the good stuff you come here for - photos!
Nominate an NFA (Newburgh Free Academy) high school junior or senior who is staying out of trouble and doing something positive and/or inspirational and one will be chosen each month (May - Nov) for a FREE senior style session, free facebook photos and some wallets to hand out! I’ll also feature them and their story on my blog and facebook (as long as it’s okay with them and their parents!). Just leave a comment here about why they should be chosen (you can even nominate yourself!). If you feel more comfortable nominating in private, you can e-mail me at info@autumn-photography.com. Just tell me their name, age, grade and why you think they deserve this! They don’t have to have the cure for cancer or anything, but let’s face it, if they live in the city of Newburgh and go to NFA, just staying out of trouble is reason enough to tell them they’re doing a great job and encourage them to continue doing the right thing. Let’s reward the kids who really deserve it - please spread the word!
Updates to come soon so stay tuned!
I try to be green every day but seeing as today is Earth Day, I want to hear how you are (or are planning to be!) working to save our resources. We all know the slogan - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - but how many of us are actually practicing these things? These things really aren’t that difficult (and most times they save you money too!) so let’s share ideas to help the earth conscious and no-so earth conscious save our planet!
We recycle more than anyone I’ve seen in our neighborhood. When we bought our house we purchased three full sized recycling bins (the tall garbage can size) and every recycling pick-up day ours are overflowing while my neighbors mostly have one small sized bin that you can’t even tell has anything in it. Even when I’m out and about, I don’t throw away my soda cans - I bring them home to be recycled if there are no recycling bins while I’m out. We don’t use bottled water - we have a Brita and we fill our Nalgene bottles when we go out. Even when we were under a “boil order” recently, we just boiled our water rather than buying bottled. I only use recycled paper on my printer and I only print what is really necessary. I have my pricing online and I e-mail it to clients so that I don’t need to print anything. I haven’t even updated my album samples since 2005 (and they desperately need it!) because my clients can see the album styles and my work all online and I don’t want to be wasteful. I don’t use pretty packaging for prints or products - what it comes to me in is how you receive it and when possible I have products shipped directly to my clients so as not to waste the fuel in shipping the order to two places. I’ve been using these companies long enough to know that the quality is great and they are reliable so I feel comfortable doing this. We randomly pick up litter where ever we are - my 6 year old daughter included. We have energy efficient appliances and windows, we did our best to make our home as energy efficient as we could afford to. I bundle up with fleece, slippers and blankets in the winter so that we don’t need to keep the heat so high. We use the air conditioner sparingly. We use recycled paper towels (which are not all that absorbent, by the way) for the things we can’t get away with using cloth towels for. We only wash full loads of clothing and dishes. We use fabric bags for shopping. In a house of 4 people we only own two televisions and the two are very rarely on at the same time. We try to turn off lights every time we leave a room or don’t NEED them (I say try because it’s tough with a 6 year old!). We are planning to do some xeriscaping in our yard which uses native drought proof plants to reduce watering. We use our old school charcoal grill instead of the stove or oven most nights during warmer months and we reuse paper (junk mail, etc) to light that grill. I gave up my beloved Jeep Grand Cherokee for something much more fuel efficient. There are many other things that I’m sure I’m forgetting right now, but these are some things that we do (or are planning to do) to help our earth.
Now, I want to hear from you! Leave a comment, send me an e-mail or post on facebook or twitter to me. If you aren’t currently trying to help our planet, maybe you’ll see some ideas here that will encourage you to do so.
Flowers are blooming and the weather is warming up here in the Hudson Valley - it’s time to get back outside and play! For a very limited time I am running portrait specials to entice those of you who have been holding off on getting your photos taken and give me a great excuse to get outside, take some photos and meet new people! Specials are being offered for a very limited time and my availability will fill up fast so don’t hesitate! These special promotions are for portrait sessions - modeling, Facebook and/or business headshots, maternity, newborn, children, families, couples, boudoir and high school juniors & seniors! See below for specials on each. All specials apply to sessions taking place within an hour of New Windsor, NY unless otherwise noted (which includes areas such as Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park, Newburgh, Wallkill, Middletown NY, New Paltz, Brewster, Danbury CT, Ridgefield CT, Nanuet, Kingston, Westbrook, Central Valley, Goshen, Mahwah NJ, Rhinebeck, Bedford, Spring Valley, etc.). If you would like to take advantage of one of these deals but live further away, let me know and we can either come up with a location in the middle or I will give you a quote for further travel.
Get a mini session (approximately 30-45 minutes), online proofing and ordering and 2 edited high resolution images for your personal and promotional use for just $100 through April 3rd! Whether you need new photos to represent your business identity, starting or adding to a modeling portfolio, a facebook profile photo or you just want to treat yourself, headshot sessions are relaxed and can take place almost anywhere. Limit one person per headshot session.
I don’t think there is anything that I love more than photographing maternity and newborn sessions - now through May 1st, book a maternity or newborn session and get 50% off your session fee! If you book BOTH a maternity and a newborn session, not only do you get 50% off each session (that’s like getting one free!), but you will also receive a complimentary 20 page brag book filled with your favorite photos! Since these are my absolute favorite sessions and they almost exclusively take place in my clients’ homes, I am extending this offer a little further than the rest - this offer is for anyone within 90 minutes of New Windsor, NY (zip code 12553 if you’re searching the radius!) - this extends into parts of NJ, PA and even the southwest corner of MA, all the way down to Fairfield, CT where I first started my business.
When you book a session at regular session rates and place your order within 1 week of your online gallery activation, half of your session fee will transfer over to a print credit! That’s a savings of $50, $125 or even $187.50, depending on the session! Sessions must be completed by May 1st and must take place within 1 hour of New Windsor, NY.
FREE sessions! That’s right, I said it - FREE! Pre-pay for a minimum $200 purchase and receive a 1 hour session absolutely free! Want to spend even less? Like NOTHING?! Apply to be a Senior Rep and if you’re accepted, you could get a free session AND earn free products just for referring your friends! You want more? You also get Rep cards with your photo on one side and a special offer for your friends when they book too! Senior Rep program is only open to Class of 2011. Send me a message via e-mail (info@autumn-photography.com), facebook or twitter if you’re interested in becoming a Rep! This offer is through June 1st - Rep program is available until further notice.
Sexy and tasteful boudoir photographed in your home (or a hotel at your expense if you wish) - book a 3 hour session at $350 and receive a 5×5 20 page photo book free! Sessions include full retouching and a password protected online gallery. Do you have 3-5 friends that would like a session as well? Let me know and I can provide you with a special rate when they are all photographed at the same location on the same day! Offer ends June 1st.
Sorry, no photos to share here - due to the sensitive nature of boudoir photography, I value my clients’ privacy and never share them with anyone.
Okay, okay… I know I’ve been neglecting my blog (or at least posting business stuff on it)! I’m working on getting all caught up on blogging in the next couple of weeks - PROMISE! Some things just take precedence over blogging… like, oh, I don’t know, family, health and sanity! Things are looking up around here and Dad and I are both feeling better. Doctor’s appointments are slowing down considerably and other than the fact that it is FRIGID outside, I’m feeling good about life. =) Thank ya’ll so much for your patience, thoughts and prayers while I dealt with life’s curve balls over the last few months! Now - keep an eye out - blog posts are coming your way!
I have heard a lot of people recently saying how happy they are to put the past year or past decade behind them and I’d have to agree. While normally I am not one to think much of the New Year, this year is different for me. The past decade and year have brought both amazing times and incredibly trying times for me and I am hopeful that things will start to turn around for the better in 2010. Some of my best memories of the past decade:
-I started dating my husband in early 2000 after two really bad relationships back to back
-We moved to South Florida (it felt so good to be back at home in the Sunshine State!)
-When my husband asked me to marry him in September of 2001
-Moving to St. Louis, MO in the summer of 2002 (which did not seem like fun at first!)
-Making the decision to pursue my dream of one day being a photographer
-Marrying the love of my life in October of 2002
-The birth of my daughter in 2003
-Making the decision to pursue wedding photography and getting my first job as a second photographer
-Starting my own business in 2005 (exciting and terrifying at the same time!)
-Vacationing with my Mom and Step Dad in Sedona, AZ. I haven’t traveled a whole lot and going out west was an amazing experience!
-My first and only time snowboarding - something I never thought I would do or want to do after growing up in Florida! Of course, at the end of the day I was *sure* I had broken my butt and too embarrassed to go to the doctor and say “Hey, I think I broke my butt”!
-Finally getting answers about my constant excruciating headache in late 2007
-Finally feeling some relief after my third surgery in 2008
-Being awarded The Knot Best of Weddings for 2008/2009 and Wedding Wire’s Bride’s Choice
-Buying our first home in January 2009
-My Dad finally moving in with us so I can spend more time with him and do my best to keep him healthy
-Finally having a house that feels like a HOME
-Realizing what an amazing family I have and what an absolutely incredible little girl we are raising
-On the very last day of the decade I was more proud of my daughter than ever before - at only 6 years old she saved my Dad’s life. Her quick thinking, good memory, caring nature and quick action got him the help he needed before it was too late. And through it all she remained more calm that most adults would! I am so incredibly proud of her!
Just a sampling of things I would rather forget:
-Terrible work environments in the early 2000’s when I worked just to pay my bills (good riddance to that!!!)
-Too many loved ones dying
-An incredible amount of pain and misery while countless doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me or how to make me better
-Too many times to even count that my Dad was in the hospital and in really bad shape. Relatives on my Dad’s side showing up on my caller ID would immediately cause me to panic.
-Car accident the summer before our wedding which turned my life upside down, made my head a LOT worse and started the massive downward spiral of debts piling up
-Swallowing our pride and moving in with my in-laws in CT to avoid bankruptcy, pay off our debts and save to buy a house - thank goodness for family! Luckily this one, as hard as it was, turned out for the best.
-Being diagnosed with a “rare and incurable” condition - hopefully that will change and they will find a cure!
-Months of my life that I was in so much pain that I couldn’t function
-Surgeries that were supposed to make me feel a lot better and only made me feel worse
-Coming to the realization that my head will probably never feel good
I am looking forward with a positive outlook and I’m hopeful and excited for what this year will bring. This year, in fact, in 2 weeks, I will also leave my 20’s behind me and enter the world of the 30 and up crowd! Most people (women especially) freak out about getting older, particularly the milestone years, but I am actually excited about it. After all, turning older is a lot better than the alternative! Besides, at 29 I am still regularly carded for cigarettes, alcohol and EVEN LOTTERY TICKETS! Can’t feel bad about that!
Here’s to a happy and HEALTHY 2010!
