Share Your Gift

Hello Everyone,

Andy here, it’s been awhile since I’ve sat down and written an entry to the blog. I’m going to make an effort to make it a more regular thing.

Since I’m the one writing this entry and not Kippi I wanted to talk about my partner, my wife, my everything. Several years ago Kippi and I attended a program with a photographer named Sam Puc’. Sam (Sandy) is a Portrait Photographer from Colorado. Her program changed how we looked at everything as photographers and individuals. I feel no shame in saying I cried, everyone cried.

Sam talked about the organization she Co-founded “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” It’s grown to an international network of hospitals, photographers and other volunteers that work with families that have a child still born, or their baby passes soon after birth due to complications. The images help with the loss and healing process. It’s an opportunity for the family to have baby pictures, a family portrait something to remember their child that was taken too soon.

We received a call from the area coordinator a good friend and fellow photographer. A family had suffered the loss of their baby boy. He was born two weeks prior but never left the hospital due to complications. This was the second NILMDTS session Kip and I have had the honor of being a part of. The truth is I couldn’t imagine being able to even attempt this work if it weren’t for Kippi.

When we arrive at the hospital we are loaded down with lights, stands, cameras and so on. I have to be honest Kippi takes the lead of interacting with the grieving family with words of comfort a hug and ultimately posing the family for the images we are about to create. I look on with amazement. Here grace and gentle strength leave me speechless, inspired and thankful. I am proud of the images we create together. We both feel the importance of the work we do as photographers.

I guess the main point of this particular entry is remember to share your gift. If you are going to leave a footprint make sure it’s something other than a carbon footprint. I have friends that volunteer by cleaning the river bank and walking dogs at the SPCA. I hope we all make an effort and find someone/something who can benefit from your gift.

History in the making!

Wow! What an amazing day. Whether you voted for Obama or McCain, today was a momentous event! Isn’t it something to witness history in action? I wonder how many of you made the trek up to see it in person. I was a little bummed that Andy & I weren’t able to go, but I am a weather weenie (not to mention the crazy crowds to endure), so I think I am happy to have watched it on television. I may not be able to say I was there in person, but how many of you can say you watched it on a portable tv in your car? Yes…I’m a bit of a nerd, but I was going to be out & about for about 3 hours today & I wanted to make sure I saw it.

Well, on a different note, Andy & I just got back from Arizona. The Professional Photographers of America had its national convention last week & we had a blast! The big highlight of the convention was Anne Geddes speaking. Believe it or not, Andy & I skipped it! We were just so exhausted, we just couldn’t make ourselves go. We had been out there for 5 days on the night she spoke & with classes running from 7am until 6:30pm, we were ready to “hit the hay” by 8pm every night. But even though we skipped her event, we still saw a lot of really talented people. It was very inspiring! We are looking forward to putting some of the things we learned into action right away. Check Andy’s facebook…I think he put up a few pics. One of the pics is of a man holding a bible in the air. It was really interesting…it was lunch time & people were everywhere & this guy was out in the middle of the food court just proclaiming away to any & all. But what was really funny was to see how many photographers rushed over to take his picture!! I’m curious to know….out of the 7,700+ photographers that were there, how many took a picture of this man??? Yeah…can you imagine over 7,700 photographers all compiled in one little town? Well, Phoenix is not exactly small, but still, that many photogs in that one town was interesting.




Don’t forget…the bridal show is this weekend! Come visit us if you are going to be there.

Ta ta for now!

It's A New Year!

Happy New Year!!!

I can't believe it's 2009 already! This past year just flew by so quick. We had a great year & hope this one is better! We are starting off our year by going to Phoenix for a national photography convention. We leave this week & are so excited about all the great photographers we will get to see & learn from. I'll try to update the blog soon after our return & tell you all about all the fun!

We hope you all had a great holiday season. Ours was nice & spent with family. Well...my family...Andy's family all live out west in Oregon & Washington. My family usually gets together the weekend after Thanksgiving & the weekend after Christmas. It's so much fun getting together. It's such a huge crowd!...Mom, Dad, all the sisters, their husbands, and tons of nieces & nephews and great nieces & nephews. This year, two nephews are overseas in the military. Jason is in Italy & just sent pictures of his first trip to Milan. It was neat seeing all the beautiful places. Caleb is in Japan & during our Christmas party, he skyped in & we all got to talk to him & see him & his place. It was really nice & I'm sure it made him feel like he was home.

We wish you all blessings & happiness in the new year!

The New Site Really Is Coming!!

So Andy & I have been trying to get this new site done for quite some time now. We were very close to launching it back in September but at the last minute, decided to make some major changes. Now that it is completely revamped, we are hitting the launch button! So, this time is for real. In the next few days, our new site should be up. I'm not sure if the "launch department" works on the weekend, so it may Monday or Tuesday before it's live.

While we are waiting for that....take a look at some of the family portraits we've done this fall.

New website coming!!

Well...as is typical with me, it has been a while since my last blog. But, exciting news is hard to keep quiet! We are updating our website!! Hopefully sometime next week, you should be able to see it. I can't wait to switch over. The images will be larger & the site has a clean, classy look. The only downside is that we won't have 2 separate sites like we do now. We can add that at any time, but we are not doing it right now. Instead, we will have a gallery button, and in that section, we will have all of our different subjects...seniors, brides, engagement, families, ect. Hopefully, it won't disrupt our client's sites. We will be sure to get it straightened out if it does.

Check back soon!!

Full speed ahead!!

Well, as usual, the time just slips away before you even realize it!! We have been busy shooting lots of seniors, brides, and weddings! I'll tell you about some of our seniors for now. And by seniors, I mean high school seniors!!

Kristin is a go-cart racer, so when we did her shoot, we asked her to bring her racing gear. She was super nice & fun to work with. She even let us set her helmet on fire...even though it is flamable!! (her dad did the design work on her helmet, we just added the flame!!) I had the fire extinguisher handy...just in case... Check it out. It looks awesome.

Brittney is a surfer & a cheerleader, so we spent a ton of time with her. She brought so many outfits that it was hard for us to choose, so we did a little bit of almost everything! It was a blast! Thank you Brittney for letting us spend so much time with you. I know you were exhausted by the time we finished!!

We have been trying out some of our new props & backgrounds & there seems to be a few favorites. Of course, the red velvet couch has been a favorite for a while now, but we recently picked up an antique door & some stairs. We have yet to use the stairs, but everyone loves the door and the brick wall. We are going to a workshop Sunday & Monday & hope to come home with some new ideas! So check back later to see how we were inspired!!

Beau Beau Tang

Wow...I didn't realize it had been so long since our last blog entry. We will try to be better about that!!

Well, things have been a bit hectic lately. We've had weddings, engagement sessions, bridal sessions, senior sessions..... and so on. But we wanted to talk about something near and dear to our hearts. The picture of the dog that links you to this page is Beau (affectionately called Beau Beau Tang!) We adopted him in December of 2004 from friends that found a litter of pups on their property. He was the most adorable puppy we have ever seen & so full of energy!

Hence the name "Tang". He was sweet with a touch of tanginess!


Well, maybe a little too much tanginess....


This picture was titled "sorry mom"




He was no more than 6 weeks old when we brought him home. Our other dog, Sezwha (our deaf border collie, hence the name...says what??) was about 9 years old & not up for a pup with so much energy. Beau was so desperate to have Sezwha's attention, that he followed him everywhere. Sezwha, with his gentle nature, just endured Beau's constant pestering. A year later (almost to the day), Sezwha became sick with heart disease and we had to let him go to greener pastures. Beau was so sad. :(










Three months later, we found a golden retriever in the middle of the road. We found the owners, but they decided they didn't want him anymore, so we adopted him and named him...Luke. Get it...Beau & Luke. Anyway, it didn't take long for the two to become inseparable. Beau continued to be "tangy" and Luke was the polar opposite...lazy. But they loved each other! Unfortunately, they liked to escape out the front door whenever possible. They would go traipsing through the neighborhood & we would have to hop in our car & track them down. As soon as they saw our car, they would come running & hop right in...all smiles & panting.





About six weeks ago, they bolted again. This time, when they saw me, Beau headed across the street to meet me. There was no way to stop him. He had already seen me & was coming to get in the car. All I could do was watch as the van headed right toward Beau. Beau looked at the van & then back at me, tongue hanging out, all smiles from his quick jaunt, not realizing that the van wasn't stopping. It happened in seconds, but it seemed like slow motion. Before I could get across the street, he was trying to get up, but couldn't. Luke was hovering over him as if he knew something was wrong. The driver of the van, and a neighbor helped me get him in my car & I rushed him to the vets office. Andy met me there. We waited while the doctor checked him over & took xrays. When she came back in, I knew it was bad news. He wasn't going to make it. Andy & I were devastated. We went in to see him & stayed while the doctor gave him the drug that put him to sleep. For several minutes after he was gone, we stayed and talked to him & petted him. We just wanted to make sure he knew we were there & that we loved him so much. I know many of you understand the emotional ties we form with our pets. They are part of the family. And we had just lost a sweetheart.

Luke did not understand why Beau wasn't home. He kept looking out the window & when we went on walks, he had his head to the ground the entire time, trying to locate Beau. We mourned for several weeks before we started talking about whether we could handle getting another dog. We knew Luke (Pookie Bear) was lonely, but we were still mourning the loss, and just couldn't imagine bringing home another dog & watching him or her take over Beau's belongings. It was just too hard. But then we came across a picture of a little dog that had been dropped off at the spca with a broken leg. She looked so scared & we thought we would just go look. When we saw her, Andy looked up immediately & said, "she's the one. let's get her." So, a few weeks later, we brought home a playmate for Luke. She is quite a handful and we have decided that Tangy is channeling his spirit into her! Luke has become very jealous. She was getting a little extra attention because she had a cast and needed to be restricted in her activities. But things are starting to settle down now & they are falling into a routine & she is acting just like Beau did when he was trying to win Sezwha's attention.

We still miss Beau, but it helps to think that he is still here in spirit. Especially when Tauffie (sounds like sophie with a t) does things that are so much like Beau. It makes us smile...

So, here are a few pics our new addition, Tauffie. Our babies are all so precious!

And now featuring....Nora, soon to be famous!!

Andy's brother, Doug, or as we like to call him, Gar, (don't ask me...I don't know where it came from), is a videographer in Seattle, WA. But Gar is not your average videographer. He has won 7 (or is it 8 now?) Emmy's. Needless to say, his home movies are pretty cool. He and his wife, Peggy, have two children, Charlie & Nora. Charlie is your typical "wear you out in a hearbeat" son & Nora has a passion for singing. In this video, 3 year old Nora proudly sings an all time favorite, Take Me Out To The Ballgame!! Enjoy!! We sure did!!!

"My Space - Created at Our Place"

Kippi and I are very excited about our upcoming offerings for our H.S. Seniors. We are making available web rez. images created from your sessions to use on your My Space and Face Book pages. If you book a qualifying package you can share your Top Model look with friends and family. Give the studio a call. 804.687.2551

As Seen on TV

Kippi and I created this image outside St. John's Church. This was the location of Patrick Henry's famous speech. "Give me liberty or give me death." The image we created was used for print promotion, posters and the DVD cover for the "Liberty or Death" program.

This documentary was produced by The Community Ideas Stations Richmond, VA PBS/WCVE and the St. Johns Church Foundation.

"Liberty or Death" can be seen on PBS nationally as well as PBS/HD. Check your local listings. It was a real pleasure work with the actors on this project. You can see the famous speech performed inside church itself. Located in Richmond, VA.

High School Seniors

If you're an upcoming High School Senior have we got some great ideas for you. Sure we can create the image your parents like but, we can create the images your going to love. Give us a call at the studio 804.687.2551 to make an appointment.

VPPA State Convention

Kippi and I are members of several professional photography related organizations. The Virginia Professional Photographers Assoc. is an organization we are very proud to be a part of for many reasons. Education, Certification and the promotion of Ethics are just a few.

We attended a day long program presented by Vikki Taufer. Vikki is an amazing photographer. Vikki and her husband own a studio in Illinois called V Gallery. We left her program inspired and ready to bring some new and creative ideas to our clients.

Andrew and Mom

Happy Birthday Andrew