The Martinsburg High School Band Boosters contacted us earlier this year about taking photos for their band competition.
While there, we took a group photo of each band as they came off the field from their performance. We also offered individual photos of band members, and took action photos of band members while they were on the field during their performance.
All of the bands were fabulous. I’m glad I wasn’t a judge, because I never would have been able to pick. And each of the bands were very cooperative and helpful during photos, as well. I wanted to give special thanks to the band director from Martinsburg who was instrumental (no pun intended) in helping set his band up for the group photo, which I used as a model for the remaining 15 bands.
It was wonderful working with the band boosters, and apparently we’ve already been asked to return for next year. If you like band music, you’d love this competition!
Sandi came to visit today.
Sandi worked with us some years ago as our production manager. She was production manager before Brandy, and after Andrea. Just so you know who’s who and what’s what.
She came to visit for two reasons: a) she’s getting married!!!!! b) she wants to do some work for us to fill the gap we have since Jessica left.
We sat and talked for a couple of hours. A lot of it was catching up on what she’s been doing, how we’ve been doing and filling us in on her life. So we took down some wedding information (she’s getting married on October 20 of 2007), talked about the things we needed done and then talked some more about all the other stuff.
If you were with us in 2001, then you remember Sandi. She grew up here, graduated from Jefferson, and has been working locally ever since.
We’ll be seeing her again soon, since she’ll be helping us in the studio for awhile.
Call this a teaser if you will.
Last year we offered some classes in better photography. They went quite well, and the people who took the classes ended up with a better understanding of how to make better photos.
We have revised the concept somewhat and will soon be offering workshops. Each will cover two sessions, with the first of each session a kind of hands-on classroom environment and the second session an opportunity to apply what you have learned. We are still working on the details, but here is a tentative list of the workshops we are now planning:
– How to use your digital camera: An in-depth look at things that are common to ALL digital cameras, and some specifics on setting your camera up for quality images all the time.
– Outdoor photography: Most people do an adequate job of photos outdoors. But there are so many things to remember that it can often get confusing. We’ll give you some basic rules to follow that will make a great photo every time.
– Studio lighting, without the studio: You don’t need to buy some big studio lights to get a good picture of your family, the items you’re trying to sell or your favorite pet. There are lots of tips in this one for anyone to use, even if you only take it to understand more about how cameras see light.
– Photographing children: We have created a program in our own studio that has complex edges and requires many years of experience to master. But we can give you some pointers on taking some good photos of your youngsters at home.
While we haven’t set pricing for the workshops, we do know that taking more than one of the workshops will result in multi-class discount. We will email our existing clients when we have everything ready.
If you aren’t on our client list, please drop me a line and let me know you want to be included. Plus, add your comments to this blog about what other workshops you would like to see.
Just a reminder: Tony has taught studio photography and sports photography at Shepherd University. In a continuing effort toward excellence in imagery, you will receive materials and a certificate upon completion of each workshop.
Today was rather special. As a member of an online wedding community, we sometimes have the opportunity to meet other photographers that we have previously only known from the online forums.
Today I had coffee and chat with John and Joe, and their respective wives. It was a good opportunity to share stories, talk about the business of wedding photography, and understand more about the future of photography in general.
One common thread we all seemed to find is that in the wedding industry there are many different kinds of photographers. At the same time, there are many different kinds of needs from our potential clients. Only when the two fit each other is there a good relationship.
I’ve found that we have bonded with many of our clients, both wedding and portrait. We have been so blessed by wonderful couples and amazing families who have come to us not only for photography, but for an experience that benefits both of us. It’s wonderful how many people we have made friends with in the last several years. It has been a pleasure that so many of our clients have trusted us to continue to be their photographer.
If I took anything away from a get-together with other photographers today, it is that we are doing so much better because we have established great relationships with our clients.
Today I was the victim of a crime.
While travelling back from errands in Shepherdstown, I was being tailgated by a woman in a gray (with blue trim) Bronco (or similar vehicle). I slowed down to allow her to pass. At the appropriate time, she did so. But before completing the pass, she pulled over into my lane, striking the front left side with the right rear of her vehicle. I was run off the road and beyond the shoulder. Fortunately, that area does not have much of a drop off and I maintained control of the car.
I was injured in this accident. My shoulder and neck were slightly traumatized. I seem to be okay at the moment, but will be consulting a physician.
The saddest part of this is that the woman who hit the car, caused considerable damage to it, and who caused me pain and injury LEFT THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT. I was stunned. I guess I’m too trusting. I assumed that while I was getting out of my vehicle, getting ready to call the police if needed, that she too would be parking and getting her information ready to exchange. Instead, she sped away.
Ordinarily I wouldn’t post a traffic accident in my blog. But because it is no longer a traffic accident, and instead a serious crime, I have to speak out. Folks, if you are in an accident, DON’T RUN AWAY. It will be worse if you are caught!
How can you help? Here’s a description of the driver and the vehicle. I was not close enough to her to see the license tag before she pulled away.
The driver was female, about 55-65, with long dark hair and hints of grey. She was wearing eyeglasses and appeared to be tanned. At the time she was wearing a dark shirt. I saw her fairly well because she was tailgating very close before she tried to pass me.
The vehicle was a dark grey (possibly with blue trim) Ford Bronco or similar vehicle. We were travelling on Potomac Farms Drive at about 1:45pm on Friday afternoon. The damage to her car should be swirl and scrape marks on the right rear panel of the vehicle (passenger’s side), and possible wheel or wheel-cover and tire damage. The car I was driving is a midnight blue color, so there may be some paint transfer onto her vehicle.
If you know this person, or if you see this vehicle, please contact the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office at 304-728-3205 or 304-725-8484. The report was filed by Office B.S. Williams.
Thank you all for your concern and assistance in locating this person. Please do not send the information to me, as I cannot do anything to or about this person.
To the other driver: Please call the police. I feel we can work this out without involving charges or threats.
What a great little family!
Amy called us a week or so ago and said they needed photos of the family and were in kind of a hurry. See, she’s due to deliver her second child in just a couple of weeks and wanted to get some photos of the family as it is now before then. Plus, she really wanted pictures of her daughter posing with her belly. 🙂
Steve and Amy met in Ohio, and fell in love and got married. Shortly thereafter, Kayleen (I’m probably spelling this wrong) came along and they were a little family. Now, over three years later they are expecting another bundle. They don’t know the gender of the baby, and want to be surprised on delivery day.
Below are a couple of images from their sitting…
We hope to be taking pictures of the baby after its born… stay tuned. 🙂
So, I’ve had this little throat issue for the last week or so… hard swallowing, little bit raspy. So I went to the doctor. He looks in my throat, tells me it looks a little red, but not anything to be concerned with.
See, previously Diana looked at it and saw some white spots. Being the cautious ones that we are, we considered the possibility it coule be something viral, which is why I called the doctor.
So, he did a throat culture just to be safe. Involves swabbing the back of my throat (let me tell you how much fun THAT was), and placing the swab into a little single-use device which tells him in about 5-10 minutes whether there is a strep virus present.
He goes out, comes back about five minutes later and is showing me this little gizmo. He says that if the little marker in the window is pink, then it is likely that there is a strep virus present. But mine showed all blue, no pink.
I looked at my good doctor, gave him my best dejected face and asked “does this mean I’m not pregnant?” He and Diana just shook their heads.
The conclusion was that I’m fine and am probably having a reaction to ragweed, very common this time of year.
As many of you know, I am the PA announcer for Jefferson High School’s Varsity football and all softball games, and Diana is the spotter for me at football games(she also reminds me of what to say and keeps my paperwork in order). Well, since the game was rained out on Friday and Saturday, they played it on Monday afternoon.
A dry, cool day with lots of sunshine made for a nice afternoon of football. I was pleasantly surprised at how many people came out to the game. Probably not as many as would if it were a Friday night, but plenty either way.
Unfortunately, the team lost their home opener. Things seemed sluggish and there just wasn’t much going for them. But at least they’ve gotten this loss out of the way and can move on to brighter things.
Please feel free to visit the Jefferson football games. The next home game is September 29, at 7pm. It will be homecoming, so there will be lots of additional festivities.
One of my joys is to meet people who’ve been married a long time. As a wedding junkie, I always like to see the success stories in weddings, because you always hear so much about the failures.
The Carrs came to us to take an anniversary picture. We print these little mintbooks (they look like matchbooks) that have a picture on the outside, a saying on the back and a little Life Savers mint on the inside. It’s cute, and they wanted several for their upcoming anniversary celebration. In talking with them, they have been married for 40 years upcoming and just seemed like the nicest couple to want to get to know.
Below is their anniversary photo.
I practically thrive on weather hype. I’m a big fan of watching the weather report. I have the websites for NOAA, Doppler East, Weather Channel, Weatherbug, and Storm Chasers all in my browser favorites. So suffice it to say that I am aware of the weather forecasts.
When forecasters started talking about the rain we would get from the Ernesto leftovers, most were very generous about the hype of being prepared for the worst. My being prepared included making sure I had enough dog food and a case of drinking water (we’re on a well, so when we lose power we also lose water service).
As the rains started, I kept thinking that it was just the beginning. Oddly, I was right. It rained… and it kept raining all through Friday. And it rained some more on Friday night, and the football game was cancelled. It rained some more on Saturday. More like a light mist of a rain.
When I left for Zach’s wedding, it was still raining. When we got there (Gettysburg), it was still raining… but again the mist sort of thing. After the wedding, it was still raining. When we got to the reception – guess what? Yep, it was still raining.
But when we got out of the reception, it wasn’t raining anymore.
All in all, we got a lot of rain. There was no major flooding here as the rain was steady but not heavy. The river looks more like a river now, instead of a wading pond, and the green junk that was growing on it is washed away.
Further east, nearer the bay, they got a lot more rain and wind,though. I hope everyone there is okay. We’re doing fine here.
