January 18, 2007
On my way back home from dropping my daughter off at school in the mornings, there are usually a fair amount of birds taking their early morning stroll and feeding in the community pond. Greater Sandhill Cranes, besides being some very noisy birds, are having their nesting areas overrun with people in our area. That of course, leads to these beautiful feathered friends intermingling with the locals. The ones we see in and around the Tampa area (predominantly Brandon and Riverview that I have seen) are the non-migratory type. This means that they rely on this area for their living, feeding and nesting habits. With that being the case, all of the new development is promoting danger to the population in our area. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a family of 4 whittle down to 2 due to being hit by vehicles. If you see a pair walking, it is likely a mated couple. If they are with 2 other, slightly tanned cranes, then they are their offspring. Greater Sandhill Cranes only lay two eggs at a time and are incubated for a period of about 1 month. Many of these wonderful birds are becoming less hesitant about approaching people and will eat right out of your hand sometimes. This can be a great danger to these birds, I myself having to have held up traffic numerous times as they slowly cross streets and highways as if cars do not exist. So please folks, do not feed the birds – but you can look and help one across the street sometime.
This was one that I happened across – mate was close by.
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January 13, 2007
I have been hard at work all week getting the new shopping cart customized and transferring client galleries over to my server. The old galleries will still be accessible for awhile, but eventually I will be purging everything out of them. If you have book marked the old galleries, please be advised that as of March 1st, 2007, you will need to re-bookmark to the new gallery. All of my client gallery or recent event links will be linking directly to the new shopping cart as of today.
The new shopping cart has some of the same wonderful options as the old, and then some. This was a fantastic opportunity for me to be able to have complete control over all of my client’s galleries and be hosted on my own server. There will be fewer delays in getting client galleries posted and new features that I could not offer before. You can actually order your albums directly on-line! I hope to even have sample images of albums added in the near future. Thank you for viewing my site!
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January 9, 2007
I am currently underway with a new shopping cart being added. It should be installed by January 10th and it will become active no later than January 20th. Please watch out for dust! I am not sure how long the construction will take, but I do appreciate your patience when visiting the galleries.
This will be replacing the old shopping cart where visitors could review or purchase images. I hope to make it a seamless transfer, but you will be aware by the new look when it goes live.
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January 8, 2007
If you are a potential or current client, rates will be increasing in 2007. I work hard to bring my clients the best product and service available and rate increases seem to be inevitable with my resource vendors. I had put off those increases in 2006 but now it seems its that time.
What does that mean to you? Well, for any potential bridal clients, please send in your contracts ASAP to take advantage of the current rates. Potential portrait clients, get your sittings booked ASAP.
New rates will become effective February 1, 2007. I will not be increasing album or print costs yet, but one of my vendors is discontinuing the Flush Mount albums and I have reflected that in the Album price list. Though the initial album cost has not increased, the per page cost for albums will be increasing. I have also added two new options for prints. This is an exclusive option and cannot be purchased through anyone or anywhere else. I produce in-studio, beautiful 13×19 watercolor prints mounted flush on black foamcore or frame mounted on gator board, client’s choice. Pricing for the 13×19 is $125 and for the 11X14 is $75.
Many variables have led me to the increases, but what you can expect is the same outstanding service such as in-town personal delivery, quicker turnaround times, more luxurious products such as linen textured prints and custom art prints, more in-depth involvement from my assistants at weddings, more post-production art touches, in house viewing of your images projected on a 4×6 canvas screen and of course, I have always included minor retouching and artistic embellishment on all of my images produced. I will also be replacing my on-line shopping cart this year.
Thank you for being a part of our growing family of business and your continuing patronage.
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January 7, 2007
Even though I was working client sittings and weddings by the truck load at the end of the year, I found some time between work and work to fix up the joint. If you are a new client or returning client, you will be welcomed into my more updated, intimate space and here is a peek:
Myself and my assistant, Dave, spent a lot of time laying wood floors. My hubby did the painful work by pulling up old carpet, padding and tack strips (yuck!). We re-painted with some warm and tasty “Crunchy Granola” brown Valspar, layered the couches with micro-suede throws, replaced hardware with brushed-nickel plates, threw down a shag area rug and installed new curtain rods and micro-suede curtains (not showing). You will also notice a VERY large canvas on the wall. This is a 6′x4′ stretched canvas that is used for viewing proofs and slideshows from our projector. When you visit, the projection of your images will be bigger than life and with a canvas hanging over the couch, it will give you a great idea of what your portrait will look like on your wall at home. So whether you are coming for your proofing party, you are a new client who will see a demonstration or a portrait client viewing your images for purchase you will feel as comfortable and warm as in your local coffee house!
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