John is an amazing young man who loves horticulture, karate and art. He is a 2010 graduate of Newburgh’s NFA (Newburgh Free Academy) and despite the tough climate of this school has managed to stay out of trouble and do something inspirational! John, along with other teens (including his twin sisters) started an Urban Farmers League in Newburgh - check them out at the links below and show your support! An excerpt from their blog:

“Urban Farmers League is a youth led organization designed to combat environmental and social injustice, by creating a platform for the youth to have equal participation in the future of our community. With the creation of urban farms we not only provide a space for youth to express but we are also able to provide the community with high quality of life, mitigate environmental degradation and provide a space for organic food to flourish.

Goals:

1. Create a community of youth leaders

2. Reduce ,Reuse ,Recycle

3. Beautify our community

4.Provide organically grown nutritious food to low income families and individuals

5. Provide a venue for youth culture to thrive”
How awesome is that?!

John was nominated for my project (”Newburgh: Focus on the Positive”) to recognize and reward Juniors and Seniors at NFA that aren’t falling into gang life or getting into trouble and are doing something positive. It was a difficult decision to make, but John was chosen as May’s winner and received a complimentary Senior Photo Session with me, along with 40 wallet sized photos (that he gets to choose!) and some images for use on facebook and myspace. I am accepting nominations through the end of November and will be choosing one teen per month from now through the end of November. Please nominate an awesome teen at NFA (class of 2010 or 2011) that is staying out of trouble and doing something positive so that they can be recognized and rewarded for their efforts! So much emphasis is placed upon those who are getting into trouble and the “good kids” aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. I think it’s extremely important to focus on the positive and tell these young adults that we’re proud of them! If you know an awesome teen at Newburgh Free Academy please nominate them and spread the word! You can nominate by sending me an e-mail at info@autumn-photography.com - just tell me their name (first and last), their graduation year and why you think they should be rewarded (ANYONE can nominate - you can even nominate yourself!)! I’ll need some way to contact them if they’re chosen too so please don’t forget to leave me some form of contact information so I can get in touch with them!

John chose Algonquin for his session because it’s a place he visits often and he loves horticulture. Being new to the Hudson Valley, I actually had not been there before - I loved it!

http://urbanfarmersleague.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Urban-Farmers-League/290247189855?v=wall

http://newburghcircle.com/2010/06/09/teens-find-hope-in-planting-seeds/

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.

Headshots

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.

Maternity and Newborn

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.

Children, families and couples

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.

High School Juniors and Seniors

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.

Boudoir

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.

As soon as I saw Marissa’s style I was dying to photograph her senior session! We had a great time exploring Poughkeepsie’s riverfront and I almost cried when I saw this awesome rusted door… and then around the corner was an even better one! YEA! Riss is such a sweet and fun girl - a little shy at first but I have a feeling that she’s not so shy once you really get to know her! Thanks again, Riss - I had an awesome time!

It’s FINALLY ready! I have worked on designing a new website for a couple of months now and it’s finally at the point where I am ready to show it off! It’s new, it’s colorful, it’s fun and it’s totally ME! Thanks to the awesome Showit Sites software, I built this baby from scratch! More tweaks to come when I have some time but check it out! =)

www.autumn-photography.com

(same web address)

It is such an honor being voted “The Knot Best of Weddings 2008/2009″ by my brides! Thank you so much to those that voted and had such wonderful things to say! For those that don’t know, it’s a huge magazine with all of the wedding vendors nationwide that were voted “Best of Weddings” by their couples - it’s a fantastic resource for finding the best wedding vendors! Congratulations to all of those who were also voted “Best”! I grabbed my copy at my local Barnes & Noble - don’t forget to grab your copy of this comprehensive list of the best wedding vendors as voted by real brides! Now they just need a vote on “Best Wedding Clients” because I know mine would make that list! ; )

My daughter Jaedyn and I went out and enjoyed the gorgeous day today and while we were out I took some photos of her (of course!). She started putting on the full model act almost immediately… she pulled out 2 different sweaters, a jacket and two hats (one of which she forgot about until the camera was put away!) and put on her favorite boots. We got outside and she was workin’ that camera and being OH SO SILLY too! I was totally cracking up at all of her poses and expressions! We took some photos in our yard and then we explored our neighborhood a bit. Found a cool spot with a bright aqua wall, took some photos and then headed off in search of a playground that we’d heard was a few blocks away to have some fun.

I love her laugh!

I asked her to be a little bit more serious for a second and this is what I got! Ironically, I have a photo of her doing almost the same thing when she was only a few days old...

I had NOTHING to do with this pose... this is all her!

I love this wall... and it is walking distance from my house! =)

off to the park....

No, this is not photoshopped... that sky is straight out of the camera. Gorgeous day!

fun on the jungle gym

So silly... I just love this one!

She tells me that this is her "attitude... like a model"

She is going to kill me for this one when she's older! She was already in shock that I took it in the first place!

When we got inside she begged to take a picture of me so I took the opportunity to try teaching her about the rule of thirds. =) I am told that this is my signature smirk.

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that Autumn Photography has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™!

“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”

From the e-mail I received:

“Congratulations! You have been chosen to receive a 2009 Bride’s Choice Award! This award recognizes vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility.

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews. That means your past clients have spoken on your behalf and chosen you for this honor!”

I would like to thank my past clients for speaking on my behalf and helping me win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award! You’re awesome!

…and I am so happy to have a new place to call home! We closed on our house Monday (after many delays) and we are still in the process of moving our stuff in. I’ve been busy painting ours and Jaedyn’s bedrooms so we don’t have to deal with sleeping in rooms that smell like paint and Sean has been busy moving all of our stuff. Of course the weather last night and this morning is not making it any easier but we’re getting settled in slowly. My Dad arrives this afternoon from Florida and I’m so excited! I booked his flight well over a month ago, when I thought we would be closing before Christmas and certainly settled in by now! It’s making things a little more hectic but it’s worth it in the end. It’s going to take me a little longer than anticipated to get set back up as my desktop’s harddrive decided to revolt against me… it turned off and will not even pretend to turn back on and this happened Sunday night, the night before our closing! My best friend and computer genius was trying to diagnose it over the phone and by photos I was e-mailing and thinks that it’s the power supply (which is easy) but since we’re in the middle of moving an hour and a half away I haven’t had a chance to take it in yet. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get that taken care of. Thank goodness for back-up discs and external harddrives! UGH… it’s just a pain! I really hate my laptop and I don’t have all of my programs loaded on to it so it’s going to take some time to get the desktop fixed and/or load all of my programs onto the laptop. Fun times. Of course with all of this going on my phone and e-mail start blowing up like crazy and I’m tryng to keep up with everything from my Blackberry in the midst of moving! I am technically off through this weekend but I will try to get back to everyone as soon as possible!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of shooting with fellow photographer and all around awesome chick, Val McCormick at a Quinceanera… my very first Quinceanera (Sweet 15)! Thank goodness that this was Val’s gig and she speaks Spanish because I was a bit lost! I love experiencing new things and learning about other cultures so it was a lot of fun but I really wish that I could understand Spanish better so I could get a better grasp of what was going on before it happened. Val was so awesome explaining things to me and translating… of course it was quite entertaining when she would translate English just because she was getting used to translating the Spanish! =) I had so much fun and the family was so warm, welcoming and friendly! The Birthday Girl, Ashley, is amazingly gorgeous and she certainly knows how to work the camera! She was so brave and willing to do anything for “the shot”! We were outside of the church, so cold that our fingers went numb… it was windy and about 19 degrees with some flurries and Ashley sucked it up and ran outside for some photos with a strapless dress and no coat on! Of course, we weren’t totally cruel… we did send her back inside several times to warm up but she just kept coming back for more! She definitely has what it takes to be a model!

Getting ready candid with a little vintage look and some Autumn Textures love!

I love these two shots with Ashley’s Puerto Rico flag in the background and the delicious window light!

This little girl bawled her eyes out the whole way down the aisle…

Below is my favorite from the day! I started out taking this with natural light and it didn’t live up to the potential I saw in it… so I tried a little bounced on camera flash… nah…. we sent Ashley back inside to warm up while Val and I got set up to rock the one light! I am SO glad that we took the time to set this up because it is worlds better than my original shots in the same spot and it truly captured what I saw in my mind!

Look at that snow! Brrrrrrr…

At the altar with a little Autumn Textures lovin’!

Loving the Converse! Ashley was all about making sure we had like a thousand pictures of her shoes! =)

The Fabulous Val:

All images captured by Autumn for Val McCormick Photography

Happy Birthday Ashley and thanks again to Val!

After a couple of days of searching while Jaedyn got more and more impatient (who could blame her?!), we finally found her Christmas ornaments! She came home from school today and started in with her usual routine and then suddenly remembered that she could put her ornaments on the Christmas Tree! She was so excited to adorn the tree with her special ornaments so of course I had to document it!

Putting the ornaments on the tree (gave the first two some Autumn Textures love!)

Loving the singing Hannah Montana ornament

Thank you all so much for the thoughts, prayers and good wishes - Jaedyn is finally feeling much better after coming down with pneumonia over the weekend!