Author: jeaninethurston

Family Portraits 2014

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Three of many reasons to get family portraits done this year.

1. You love your family and want them to have memories of you all together, and/or of the kids as they grow – for yourself, for your kids, and for your grandkids.

2. You have just realized they are pumping Christmas music at EVERY store you walk into already – because of course it is not Halloween anymore.  You suddenly realize you haven’t started Christmas shopping yet… well – photos are a great gift for family and grandparents.

3. You are looking through photo albums… and your 6 year old asks why you have 5 albums of you and your dogs, cats, lizards & fish…etc… but there is only 2 pages of them.  Whoops… time for more photos of your kids!lol

Of course I would love to see you for portraits any time of year!!!  Contact us to schedule your session at
jennyb@fototails.com or call 720-566-9770

We still have a few openings through November and the first week in December 2014!

Jeanine-Thurston-Photography_Family-Portraits-2014

Plan beyond your wedding day for that dress.

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As a photographer we value your wedding day and getting beautiful images of you, your families and friends.  We narrow down images that make up the best story of your personality, your relationship with your new spouse, and your interactions with your family and friends.   We also know that you have put so much time into all the details… including time picking out your wedding gown.  Don’t set aside the option to have a bridal session after your wedding!  After the wedding or after your honeymoon… before you get your dress even cleaned, it’s time to play!  How often would you ever wear your wedding dress again?  Don’t make your wedding day the last day you wear it… let’s have some fun.

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Día de los Muertos

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jeaninethurston's avatarJeanine Thurston

I had such a great time photographing with an amazing group ladies on my team!  In celebration of Día de los Muertos we had a photo shoot that was absolutely amazing!   You can get more information about the differences between Halloween vs Día de los Muertos by going to Muy Bueno BLOG along with some amazing recipes to help celebrate the holiday… like yummy Persimmons Margaritas and Pumpkin Empanadas!  It is nice to give everyone a little look into other cultures and traditions.  I was  lucky to be able to show this through the eyes of Yvette in memory of her grandmother.  It really is a beautiful and meaningful holiday. View a video of all of the images from this celebratory photo shoot on You Tube: Dia de los Muertos

A huge thank you to everyone that came together to make this shoot happen on very short notice:

Brandy Rich…

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Crisp Hoi An Pancakes

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INGREDIENTS

BATTER

  • 1 cup rice flour
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

ASSEMBLY

  • 5 tablespoons (or more) vegetable oil, divided
  • 4 oz. small shrimp, peeled, deveined
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 4 oz. mung bean sprouts (about 1 cup)
  • Large green-leaf or Bibb lettuce leaves and mixed tender herbs (such as mint, cilantro, and Thai basil; for serving)
  • Nuoc Cham (click for recipe)

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories (kcal) 330 Fat (g) 19 Saturated Fat (g) 3 Cholesterol (mg) 45 Carbohydrates (g) 32 Dietary Fiber (g) 2 Total Sugars (g) 2 Protein (g) 9 Sodium (mg) 410

PREPARATION

View Step-by-Step Directions

BATTER

  • Whisk flour, turmeric, salt, and 1½ cups water in a large bowl until smooth. Cover and let sit at room temperature 1 hour (this allows the rice flour to hydrate; the batter will get creamier as it sits).

ASSEMBLY

  • Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook, tossing often, until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
  • Wipe out skillet and return to medium-high heat. Add remaining 4 Tbsp. oil. Mix batter to reincorporate rice flour, pour ½-cupful into skillet, and swirl pan to evenly spread out batter. (Be careful: Batter will splatter.) Cook pancake, shaking pan occasionally, until almost cooked and edges begin to curl, about 4 minutes. Top with one-fourth of scallions, one-fourth of bean sprouts, and one-fourth of shrimp and cook until pancake is golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute. Using a spatula, fold pancake in half, forming a half-moon. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining batter (mixing before adding to pan), scallions, bean sprouts, and shrimp to make 3 more pancakes, adding more oil to skillet as needed.
  • Cut pancakes into wedges. To eat, tuck each wedge inside a lettuce leaf along with some herbs and dip in Nuoc Cham.

Find the recipe here: Crisp Hoi An Pancakes.

No more buckets of ice water?

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Here ya go – a heads up for OCTOBER 2014. SO… because everyone has their own favorite charity for their own special reason, here is the deal for OCTOBER 2014.  I have decided for the entire month of October… you make a $150 donation to the charity of your choice(or more)… and let us know which charity it is (with all their contact info to post about on our blog) and I will photograph your 90 minute studio session (Denver studio only) for FREE. Yep… that’s it – simple… and it doesn’t require dumping any ice water on your head. Contact jennyb@fototails.com to book your date/time or call us at 720-566-9770.
Or…
Because I happen to love one specific charity in particular. For any $150 donation (OR MORE) you make to the Chordoma Foundation in memory of Tiffany Otto-Cragin in Sept or October 2014. I will photograph your 90 minute session for FREE and give you a $100 print credit.

WISCONSIN/MINNESOTA PEEPS: For any of you in the Wisconsin, Minnesota area – that would like to participate – I’m extending this in the form of a gift card that you can use in the summer or fall of 2015 when I am in your area.

Pass this along to anyone in and around Denver area, Boulder, Ft.Collins, Colorado Springs… etc.

or for gift certificate that can be used in MN, WI area after July 2015.

The BEST Refried Beans

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Yes – I love Mexican Food!  But I’m so picky about refried beans… it can make or break a restaurant for me.  Canned refried beans are NOT good… I have tried every kind and never liked any of them.  After I made these yesterday, I will never be buying canned beans again and now I don’t even have to run out to my favorite restaurant to get ones I love.  These are easy and fantastically yummy.

1 package (3 cups) of dried pinto beans

6 chicken bullion cubes

1/2 of a white onion

Garlic salt

3 tbs butter

In a crock pot, put in 3 cups of dried pinto beans, and fill the crock pot almost to the top with water.  Add in bullion cubes, and cut an onion in half (peel the skin off of course) and put it in the middle.  Sprinkle garlic salt across the top and then cover and slow-cook overnight or for about 8 hours.

Drain the beans (but keep the liquid), into a large bowl and add in 3 tbs of butter.  Using a hand blender blend the beans to desired consistency… I like leaving them a little lumpy, but smoothing tastes great too.  Use the remaining liquid to add in about 1/8 cup and then add more to get them to the consistency that you like them best.

They are AMAZING, hope you love them too!

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Styled kids for the best portrait sessions.

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Timeless children’s clothing can make a huge difference in how their portrait sessions turn out.  The best part about styling your child’s outfits with a timeless look, is you will be able to hang the images on your wall indefinitely and they won’t ever seem dated.  You will focus on your child and it will give the images a more artistic feel.

Here are just a very few of my favorites for timeless children’s clothing – only to be used as a guideline for when you are planning your child’s wardrobe for their photo-shoot:

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I’m a traveler, not a tourist.

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A-travelerThere is a separation between a tourist and a traveler. A tourist is someone who travels for pleasure… and while I derive pleasure from traveling, the purpose is quite different for me. I am a traveler because I CRAVE the unknown, so I claim either traveler or globetrotter to be a better definition. I like the butterflies I get from going somewhere that I know little or nothing about – places where don’t speak the language. I like walking the back streets and areas of town where you don’t see a Starbucks. And I am a people watcher… finding a restaurant off the beaten path or a little boutique hotel is where my fun is. Taking in a culture makes me happy – and staying at home makes me antsy and uncomfortable if I am there too long.

Now I do talk some about having a vacation on a beach and not doing anything -But I don’t think it would last long, unless it was on an island that I could walk the shores without many people around.

I am a photographer of people – so much happier photographing in new and unusual places on our planet, meeting new people, smelling new smells (good or bad), and breathing air in as many places as I can in my lifetime.

I enjoy creating travel lists of places I want to go and explore… How about you? If you are a traveler… what’s on your short list?