Auto Show

I had the joy of going to the Auto Show with my family and parents yesterday. I always have fun seeing a 3 year old drive a car.

I had a couple of interesting experiences there... I had the Mercedes Dealer come up to me and talk to me intently. I have been going to the auto show for years and never really gotten the time of day from the luxury dealers. I found it interesting that maybe I have gotten older and more in the target market for these cars. I find it interesting to see who the dealers talk to, in that they are there to sell cars and they know that most people are window shopping. How they select who is a worth while prospect is interesting. Do they judge the clothes and see if they are?
Well I am not buying a Mercedes. I am happy with my Honda.

Have a great weekend and I hope to see you on Sunday.


Cheryl (my lovely wife) has found her dream car/truck.
And of course, I have taught Daisy to look when changing lanes.
Dad found out the price and told her that we cannot get one for her...

Sunday thoughts

Today maybe Thursday, but I am feeling mellow and wanted to just talk today...

I had a great commercial shoot on Monday for Hotel Metro. This is a great spot for a smaller reception, but more so a beautiful place to spend the night. If you are looking for a fun place for guests to stay or even yourself, I highly recommend them. The hotel is small with really cute rooms.

We have had some great bookings lately. Our schedule is filling up fast. Please talk to us about 2008 soon.

I recently just met and booked a wedding with Angela from Top Shelf Weddings in Madison. I look forward to posting some photos from working with her.

Not to bring you down this morning, but I wanted to talk about NILMDTS
There was an article in the paper on Sunday talking about this. In case you might have missed the article or are unsure of what this is: Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep is an organization based on helping parents find a photographer to capture those special moments for a terminally ill child.

After being a part of this and offering this to people, these photos help to grieve and understand the beauty of their child that was taken away from them before his or her time.

I can only emotionally handle a couple of them a year, but I want to offer to all of those that might need my help. This is not just for newborns. I received a call for a one year old that has cancer. (My lept out to them and I am honored to be involved at any time.)

I offer, completely free of any charges, portrait on location, hi-res files, prints, and hi-res of the retouched files.

I love what I do. I am so lucky to make a living doing this, so if I can give back to you or anyone you know, please contact me. I am the proud parent of twin girls that spent some time in the NICU when they were born. I was given a gift of their lives and I want to keep returning the favor.

I am not an overly religious person, but have a faith in people, life, and our world. After being invited to photograph so many weddings, I have heard: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:8. (Love is patient...)
I like the last part the most:
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.

I think that is why I feel so strongly about photography and capturing moments. The love that I witness is so special, that when I can compliment the love with an amazing image; I feel that I have been able to outwardly show the love that was felt.

Smiles

Smith Family

Kari & Blake

Premiere Couture

I just dropped off a new photo at Premiere Couture. They have a great gallery of our work there. We will be updating it with a lot of new work soon. Please come in take a look of our work and to see some amazing dresses.

Ella

Front Room Update

We have two great shows coming up.

We will be at the Milwaukees Magnificent Bride show on March 2nd, at the Pfister Hotel. This is going to be a really amazing event; nothing what you would expect from a wedding show.

We still have a couple of free tickets left. If you are interested, please email us info@frphoto.com, and I can send them out to you.

I recently got this from one of our brides, just to tell you a little about this show:

Neil,
Thank you, Risha and Kate for your corroboration to get us tickets to the Bridal Show. I am so excited... I really like this "bride" thing! They are simply the most beautiful tickets I have ever received..

Thank you ALL again!

Cheers,
See you soon.
Stephanie

Also, we are helping to start a great group in Madison. We will have a great group of professionals that will meet every other month for brides to come see us. This is not a normal show that is full of people and vendors trying to sell you everything. Instead we will be there to answer all of your weddig questions and talk. More of a social cocktail hour.

Our fist show will be Wednesday March 12, from 5:30-8:30pm at the Madison Sheraton Hotel. Please feel free to call with any questions.

I hope to see you soon at one of these shows.

Kim's Experience Print

I wanted to show a great experience print that was done recently. We are really proud of the work that we produce, so we we get to opportunity to take the image to its full extent, I like to share it.

I have both the raw image and the final retouched image here, so you can see the difference. The one thing you won't be able to see is that we are printing it on a watercolor velvet paper. The image picks up such a great feel on that paper.

I usually do the experience prints, but Kristin took it to such a great spot right away, I didn't want to mess with such beauty.

Smiles

WI Primaries

Today is election day. Please go out and vote. I don't care for whom, but I fell that voting is so important for the people to get their voice out. Maybe I am still a bit of a dreamer, but I do believe that through our vote our voice is heard.

I am going to vote soon and taking my girls with me to help teach them the importance of being politically active.

As an interesting side note, did you know that the we have elected 38 of 43 presidents that have blue eyes?

Michael Medved wrote an article about our history of electing blue eyed presidents that was pretty cool: Blue Eyes

Noon update:
after our voting



and a client of mine told me about this cool website to help you find which candidate most aligns with your beliefs: GlassBooth

Smiles,

Elijah

I had the pleasure of photographing Elijah 7 days after his birth. I love this time, when the child is so small and the parents are enjoying having this new beautiful child.

This shoot was also a lot of fun because I know mom from Groom. You might recognize Crystal from the photos.

Smiles

Sunday Thoughts

I am giving a presentation to other photographers today about "10 things I wish I knew." I was asked to speak By Troy Freund (one of the best street photographers I know and all around person). I realized that in 11 years, I have made a lot of mistakes and wanted to share them, but an hour is short to do so.

With that being said, I have found that I have had a lot of photographers read my Blog, and wanted to share one that is really important. Please be passionate about what we do. Feel the burn in your heart. Then share that with your client. When we are invited into these intimate moments in people’s lives, sharing your passion allows everyone to enjoy the moments and the photos that much more.

Also, we have another addition to the Family. Tamara will be joining us as a photographer. She is an amazing woman (with two great kids). She is moving from California to Madison in March. What intrigued me about her work is the style that she brings to the photos along with such sensitivity. She is added a great dramatic flare to our over all style. But she has such warmth to her that you cannot help but want to give her a hug.

We have her gallery up, but will be adding more soon.

So, in the cold winter that we are experiencing, go out and give someone a hug.

Stay warm and smiles

Snow fort

Well, with all the snow we have had, Daisy & Izzy thought a snow fort
was in order.

Rummage Sale

We are having a rummage sale Saturday and Sunday, INDOOR.  There is a mixture of stuff, from a 52" 720p HD tv to baby clothes, with camera equipment and desks.

We are also offering portrait gift certificates (125 value) for 25.

All of the money raised from this is going for photo education.

If you have any questions, please call 414.294.0080

or come see us at 2637 S Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207

iPhone 2

Wanted to send a photo as well

Iphone

Well we got our iphones today. I am trying to blog from it. Just a quick test.

Neil

Front Room
Sent from my iphone

Happy V-Day

So, this is a strange day for us. In that Valentine's is hard for us not to be cheesey. But we do have some great clients, so we love you all. Our dreams are coming true because of you...

I wanted to say thank you to everyone by offering a one day give away. I will offer one gift certificate for a portrait to anyone that emails me today. Just send me an email neil@frphoto.com. Tell me you name, phone, and address; and I will send out a gift certificate for a portrait.

Simple enough, please smile and tell someone that you love them.

Smiles

Kate, Jerzy & Family

I am getting caught up on posting, but we have been shooting so much that I have had a hard time dedicating one day to each shoot.

Well, I had the please of seeing Rebecca and Kate again. Last time I saw them, Kate was just a little puddin'.

Fast forward a couple of years and now she is the big sister to Jerzy. He has some of the most intense eyes. I cannot wait to photograph this little guy again.

I wish you all a lot of love and peace in this cold winter of ours.

Smiles

Groom

Ironically, I go to Groom to get my hair cut. (No, it is not for weddings, but they do offer a package for the groom and groomsmen to go and get shaves and a trim before the wedding.) Erica there rocks. She is absolutely amazing and a sweetheart. Cheryl and I went today to get the girls hair done also.

You can see the mascot of Groom, 'putter. And my lovely ladies get a lollipop afterwards for being so good.

Smiles

Sam

One of our clients, Sam McGovern-Rowen is running for Alderman (or alderperson) as one might say. He is really a great guy that is working hard to help the community. I know that most people have a general distrust of politicians, but he is one of the few that actually cares more about the people, then getting his name is the papers.

He is having a rally Tuesday night at Turner Hall. His Grandfather, Senator George McGovern will be there to show his support. Please check out his website and a take a look at who he is. If you believe in him like I do, please go and show your support. You can see all the details about him on his website: votesam08.org

Smiles

New Galleries & more

With the help of Calfa and Kristin, we have been adding new images to the gallery. Please take a look at Neil and Eron's galleries and tell me what you think. We are adding new photos and I would love to hear what you love, what it might be missing, and anything you see that doesn't fit.

I should have Calfa's updated in the by Monday. With a lot more to come soon.

Also, we should be getting our iphones today. We kinda got them by accident. AT&T offered us a really good deal to switch and I couldn't say "no". So, I soon will be able to add to the blog via my iphone.

Also, we are getting prepared to do our grand opening at our new space. We are thinking April or early May, but I will keep you up to date as we get details together.

We are not sure if we should do it on a Thursday, Friday, or maybe a Saturday. Thoughts.

We will also be at Milwaukee's Magnificent Bride at the Pfister March 2, 2008. I have tickets available and if you would like to come for free, please email us.

Also, I will be presenting at a workshop for photographers February 17th. If you might be interested in attending, please send me an email. The cost is only $25 and should be a lot of fun.

I am going to leave you this weekend with two Experience prints that we recently did, enjoy:

Kristi & Chris

So after having this crazy snow, I figured I can get caught up on some old blogging and show off an engagement session that happened this last fall. Nice to see some green trees and warmth.

Calfa and Risha photographed Kristi & Chris, which happens to be an old friend of Calfa's from High School. Their wedding is next August, so stay tuned for some more warm photos of them this summer.

Snow Day

Well, with the snow storm coming in, most of us are staying home today. Eron and I will be in the office today. I will try to answer the phone.

Also, I upgraded Kate's computer and lost some of her emails. I apologize, but please resend any emails you may sent Kate in the last couple of days.

In light of this snow, I decided to blog about this last fall, when we went to the Zoo. These are some photos of Daisy, Izzy, and Eli.

Super Fat Tuesday

Today is Paczki day at Canfora, my local Bakery. So I brought in a dozen to help the office get all sugared up.

Also, we can celebrate the Ruby (Calfa's puppy) is one year old. Happy Birthday Ruby.

Smiles

Piper

I had the pleasure of photographing Sharla when she was pregnant and now I got to photograph the whole family. Piper is 14 months old and a joy to be around. I was lucky enough to have both Mom and Dad come with; which allowed me to capture a couple of the two of them together.

Smiles

Sunday thoughts

Today, Izzy has a 104 fever. We went to urgent care, only to be sent home with a Popsicle. She was super cudlely and she and I fell asleep on my lazy boy together. Having a sick child is so emotionally hard. I am so thankful that she is not sicker, but I wish I could make her and all kids better.

Last summer I photographed a baby tat was terminal for his parents. Really tough but these parents are amazing, they offered his organs to other parents with sick children. So even though they lost their son, so many other parents were given the gift of life to their children. I think this might be one of the greatest sacrifices a parent can go through.

There is a great organization called "Now I lay me do to sleep" They coordinate free photography for the parents with children that are sick and will not be with us for long. Please support this group or pass their name along to anyone that might need them.

I offer all of my help to any parent that may be faced with a tough choice. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can help. My services are free and I promise that your love for your child will not go unnoticed.

Please take some time to call, write or hug someone you love today. Be it a parent, sibling, or partner; they all need to know how much we appreciate the love we are given.

Smiles

Flowers

I love flowers. There is nothing like having fresh flowers around, especially this time of year. They bring such life to any room. Also, they make you smile. You might not even realize it but they help lift you day.

La Tulipe has been my winter spirits lifter. She often brings in some flowers to make the studio smile. I welcome you to come on by and take a look sometime.

She also has done great work for Bartolottas and weddings. Her work has has been inspirational.

Smiles