One of my favorite pieces to create for my clients is the Legacy Series Fine Art Portrait.  Much more than a traditional print,it is truly a work of art.  Starting from a single image from your session or a personal image you already own (and have the rights to reproduce), I'll add digitally hand-painted colors, texture elements and words to craft an image that tells a personal story about you. All Legacy Series Portraits are printed on canvas or premium fine art water-color paper for an heirloom-quality finish. Recently, my friend Rachel came to me wanting to surprise her husband Jordan with an awesome birthday/1st anniversary gift.  I talked with her about doing a Legacy Series Fine Art Portrait from one of the images her photographer took at their wedding, and it was exactly the kind of unique, timeless gift she had in mind.  We discussed a couple different images and ideas and a few weeks later, I was really excited to present to her this 40" canvas gallery wrap.  For this particular piece, Rachel and Jordan had written their own vows to each other, so those vows are interwoven as a texture element in the final product.  I also chose to remove several elements from the original image and crop it in tighter so the eye is quickly drawn to where it should be, on Rachel & Jordan. The Final Image:

The Original Image:

Usually I don't start thinking about Christmas until about the 2nd week in December, but Kylie let me know the other day she's already got her gift list started.  What? It's October 3rd??  There's still 91 days before Christmas!  I knew what was coming next... "What do you want for Christmas?"  It's October 3rd.  I don't even know what I want for dinner tonight, let alone something that's over 2 and a half months away. I seriously do admire Kylie's planning skills.  Lord knows if she had the same planning aptitude I do, it might be December 27th before we remembered it was Christmas.   Thanks to my wife mentioning the holidays, I was reminded it's that time. Time to get the holiday card juices flowing to have some shiny new models ready for my clients this season.  I thought I'd post of one the newbies I've created.  FYI, the website URL in the lower corners of these images does not appear on printed cards. Front:

Inside:

Back:

My friends Leanne & John are putting are putting on a Go Green Gratefulness Tour event at the SMU campus here in Dallas on October 3rd.  John will be speaking on living with more passion & energy, health & wellness... basically priorotizing your life.  There will also be live music, giveaways, and some fantastic free food.  Leanne makes amazing cakes (she made ours for our engagement party/shower), so the dessert will be off the hook, no doubt.  Best of all, the money raised from this event is benefitting Education Is Freedom, a non-profit organization here in town helping kids in Dallas Public Schools to 1) stay in school, 2) graduate high school and 3) get their college education paid for  The EIF website is still being finished, but you can go there now and find out more information about this organization. A little more info from Leanne: "Just 36% of Dallas Public School kids graduate high school and then go on to college!  Very scary if you think about it.  The kids that participate in the Education is Freedom program are graduating and going on to college at an 87% rate!  It doesn't cost the kids or schools anything; the kids just have to maintain a B average, and they get tons of support to do that.  The program teaches life skills, offers mentoring, essay writing jam sessions, college and scholarship counseling, and much more.  It helps the kids believe that even if no one in their family graduated high school or attended college, they can.  Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert is a big supporter; he donated all 4 years of salary to the internship program that is part of Education Is Freedom." If you live in or near Dallas, this is an opportunity for you benefit a fantastic organization while also learning how to prioritize what's most important to you to experience a deeper sense of fulfillment.  A win-win for sure! Here's the 411: Date:  Saturday, October 3rd 2009 Time:  1pm, 2pm or 3pm What:  Motivational talk benefitting Education is Freedom Cost:  Tickets just $25 You can order tickets online at www.gogreengratefulness.com or you can call Leanne at 214-491-9064

There's only a few open dates left on our calendar for 2009.  If you've been thinking about custom photography, there's no better time than now with the beautiful fall weather setting in and the holidays right around the corner.  Book an available date by September 8th and receive a little free love in the form of a $75 credit to use towards your order.   Know someone else that would love to create a few new memoirs?  Refer them and get an additional $75 credit when they book a session.  There's no limit, so more referrals = more love for you.

Micro$oft users -  Listen up.  Here's your chance to retaliate for all the times you've been made fun of for using an "uncool/unfriendly/inferior/[insert other derogatory term of choice here]" machine.  My beloved Mac has apparently checked out... I woke up this morning, but my Mac hasn't, and nothing I can do seems to be able to bring it out of the technological coma it's fallen into. The doctors at Apple were not encouraging when I spoke with them on the phone this morning.  They hinted at things like hard drive failures and motherboard replacements.  If you're in to kicking people (and by people I mean Mac users, and by Mac users I mean in this case me) while they're down, let the assault begin.  I probably deserve it for all the sarcasm I've sent your way over the years, so lemme have it.  You have my permission.  Be gentle.