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Giving back. HELP MAKE JENNY GO PINK!

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2011 was quite the busy business year, but also a kind of awakening for me with family, clients & friends struggles with the battle against cancer.  It was especially sad to see a few close clients & friends that lost their battles.  I think the older I get the more it hurts to see cancer take so many lives and disrupt so many lives.  I also see the survivors and their families and am continually amazed at how many get through it with such a positive attitude and will to live.

I’ll be following up with a few posts – so keep posted, but we will be doing a couple fundraising events during the 2012 year.  This first one hits very close to home, as my amazing co-worker/office manager & generally keep me together mom of 2 beautiful boys happens to work very hard every year to walk the “AVON- breast-cancer walk.”

_______________________________________

I want to introduce you to Jenny Bonfiglio.

The first time I learned about the word Cancer was when my 19 year old friend Christine Godsey found a lump in her breast.  She survived but it was still terrifying to think someone so young and healthy could potentially have this disease.  It was what they call “a scare” & by the Grace of God or fate would have it after 12 years of losing touch with each other through moves and marriage; we literally bumped into each other last March in a crowded Park Hill restaurant.  The Cherry Tomato, a place where I had the first date with my husband, my rehearsal dinner for my wedding, my first Mother’s Day Brunch and now I could add this reunion to the list of great memories that seem to take place at this little Italian restaurant.
Now there are many friends & parents of friends that I’ve lost over the past 15 years that I won’t bump into while waiting for a table.
In February 2003 I had lost my grandmother, who was a lung cancer survivor.  I was driving and heard an ad on the radio for St Baldricks; something hit me in my heart that I should do this.  I pledged that I would shave my head for children’s cancer and my friends, family and kind strangers backed me like couldn’t believe!  All the time I kept hearing my grandmother saying; “If you want to run hands through my hair you better do it now!” to my grandfather.  At this event one of the kind strangers that I met was a couple named, Paul Stroud and Annette Chunko, who had seen my profile on the St Baldricks website and wanted to meet for some reason.  This couple couldn’t believe I was doing this and waited out the event until I took the stage to be shaved.  A new friendship was made that night.  Annette was on her second battle with breast cancer and was determined to be a bigger bitch to cancer than it could be to her!
Thanksgiving 2010, Annette passed away in the night during her fourth round with breast cancer.  I didn’t attend her non-funeral-funeral due to being very ill; I said goodbye to her on trail instead.  In March of 2011 I signed up to do my first Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  In April I began training; spending every Saturday going on hikes that were anywhere from 10 to 22 miles long.  In June I hit the trail in Keystone Colorado and walked 39 miles in 2 days.
While I got to say by goodbye in a peaceful place Annette; many others ended up visiting me on that trail. There were friends that had “scares” that I was thankful were still here today and there were the many other friends that I had comforted through their battles and had lost who visited in tears and memories.  In the time it took me to walk 39 miles, 360 people both male and female were diagnosed with breast cancer and that’s why I’ll be walking again this year.
There’s no way to nicely explain some of my driving force.  I’ve awakened to the sound of a dear friend moaning in pain as cancer took her body.  I’ve seen small children suffer and only want to play outside just one day.  I’ve seen mothers, fathers, spouses, sons, daughters, and grandchildren suffer as they watched their loved ones suffer.  If the blisters on my feet, the lose of 2 toenails, a sunburned head where my hair parted and a pulled ligament in my knee can bring funding to help early detection, transportation to treatment, research for new forms of treatment and counseling for the families…I’ll be there with walking shoes!Jenny Bonfiglio
Client Relations
(720)454-7608
jennyb@fototails.com
www.fototails.com
_____________________________________________________
This being said.   We will be doing two days of “photography” coming up to raise funds towards Jenny’s goal that she wants to reach of $2300 this year (last year she raised $1900).  If she meets this goal by JUNE 1ST, 2012 – then she has agreed to die her entire head of hair PINK!  So we need all your help… every dollar counts.  If you would just like to donate that is AWESOME too…. but if you want to take advantage of some photo time with me here are the details:
SUNDAY – MARCH 25TH AND SUNDAY – MAY 20TH, 2012 is JENNY’S WALK FOR BREAST CANCER EVENT!
Location: Fototails Studio in Denver, Colorado
Sessions: $30 for a 30 minute portrait session that day – BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.
100% OF THE $30 SESSION FEE WILL GO TOWARDS JENNY’S GOAL!
To book your session contact Jenny directly at jennyb@fototails.com or give her a call at (720)454-7608
when you visit this page, there’s a purple donate now button on the right!

What’s next on the calendar for photography? April-June 2012

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Upcoming “Special Days” to consider for a photo occasion!

Jeanine Thurston_Duffy

Fairy Tales....

Easter (Sunday – April 8th, 2012) – perfect time for frilly dresses or your little guy dressed in his best “duds.”  We will have the Little Ms Muffet set available for the entire month of March & April – and will be putting up samples of the shoot/set before the end of this month.

DONT FORGET MOTHER’S DAY!(Sunday – May 13th, 2012)!!  Yes I had to put this in capital letters because I’m a mom.  I don’t get in front of the camera often enough – and mother & child(ren) portraits are really the BEST!  We moms love our little ones and love photos to show how amazing our children are to us.

FATHER’S DAY(Sunday – June 17th, 2012).  I see father’s come into the studio all the time – and a portrait of the kids to give him on father’s day is extra special…. and make it fun maybe with some of dad’s favorite things in the photo session too!  Does’t have to be boring… let us help you customize your session to fit your personality!

The happy jumping dance.

/ jeaninethurston / 1 Comment
fototails

Happy Jumping Dance

Family & children portrait sessions can be super fun.  But… of course there are always the little bumps in the road, trying to get children to smile… or even sit in a decent location to get some good images.  Years ago… (MANY YEARS AGO) as I watched the TV show ELLEN of course I couldn’t help buy smile at her dancing before every show.  So… I decided that instead that we should do a happy jumping dance “after” each children/family session to celebrate.  One of these days I’ll have to go through and make a little video of shots of this from each session… the kids adore doing it and I always have to snap one or two of the happy jumping dance.

Happy Jumping Dance

Happy Jumping Dance

Children.

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Jeanine Thurston PHotography

My little man Jace

Children are exhausting little beings…. it’s true.  But the amount of love and laughter they bring to life is more than I could have ever imagined.  I had a fun day at the studio with my little guys yesterday.  Eric is quite the budding photographer now days…. makes me so proud! Jace always has a smile for me and says the silliest things to make me laugh.  Just wanted to share their smiles with all of you.

Eric Thurston

My little guy Eric

Random thoughts by a people photographer. JOURNAL ENTRY 1

/ jeaninethurston / 12 Comments

February 3rd, 2012

Love photographing – hate bill collecting

Want to please everyone

When we have a few days of happy clients we are elated, but defending that we need to support ourselves financially is self defeating.

RECENT TRUE STORY: A man who comes into the studio with his family is appalled that his wife has spent money on photography (mind you he actually didn’t take it out on me – but rather on her his wife in front of me), and verbally reprimands her that she “can not” spend money on this again.  He was shocked that there was a session fee and that did not include ALL of the digital images or prints of everything – and continued to grunt, moan, and groan through the first 20 minutes of the session.  After he calms a bit and is loosening up we get some family portraits done and then I start photographing just their beautiful child.  The entire time, she has a smile on her face, is playful, silly and I have such a great time with her.  Nearing the end of the session I hear the dad giggling and commenting on how cute she is being for me.  We are done with the shoot and dad quietly says with a pause.. “well, I can already see you’ve got some amazing shots of our daughter; so….. I’m SURE we will be ordering a lot of photos.”  with a big huff and drops his shoulders like I have physically defeated him in the ring.

I walk them to the front door to see them out of the studio and mom takes the beautiful daughter to the car ahead of dad.  My response to dad after mom & child are out of ear-shot… “Thank you so much for bringing your family in for me to photograph today.  I can see that you are a proud man, as well you should be with a beautiful family like yours.  I know this was not your choice to come in today, but I commend your wife for getting you all in here for a family portrait – and as a daughter myself, I can tell you that these will mean more to your daughter in her life than you could ever know.”   The dad turns to me sharply (mind you I was a little worried that I had overstepped my bounds at this point) and he very kindly says – “I am sorry I was rude in the beginning – I am a CEO and make plenty of money… and that is the last time I will question paying for portraits, thank you – you made my daughter and wife smile which I see all the time – but today – you made me smile by seeing you make them happy.”

As photographers – we can’t please everyone, and we will never be able to make everyone believe there is value of photography.  But sometimes, when we break through to  a client – all of those “other people” that don’t understand just melt away from our minds.  We are photographers of love, of family, of life and we are historians more than most will ever understand right away… but some day when they look back at images we have taken as photographers… they will have one moment when they understand the importance that they have that image sitting in their hand or hanging on their wall.

FOTOTAILS PHOTOGRAPHY 2011

MY TWO BOYS

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Little Miss Muffet is just the beginning!

/ jeaninethurston / 2 Comments

Getting ready for our spin on a fairytale classic in a couple weeks.  It’s the first in our series for our 2013 calendar coming out FALL this year(2012).  Our day is packed for this first photo-shoot but, if you are interested in being on our e-news list for future shoots planned for this calendar e-mail me at info@fototails.com and put in the subject line “2013 Calendar Shot-list”  and we will keep you posted on all the upcoming shoots for this fundraiser!!!   All photography will be done in and around the Denver area.

Little Miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider, who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

Muy Bueno Photographer

/ jeaninethurston / 1 Comment

Muy Bueno Photographer.

via Muy Bueno Photographer.

Muy Bueno Photographer

January 24, 2012

Who is our photographer? Have you noticed the majority of our photographs are pretty darn beautiful? I honestly wish I could take credit for them, but I can’t. In the beginning when I had this crazy cookbook/blog idea my talented photographer friend, Jeanine suggested she photograph our dishes. Sheesh! Talk about an amazing offer. I jumped on that offer so fast and Muy Bueno emerged. The photography on our site is what thankfully has caught the eye of many and for that we are eternally grateful to Jeanine.

Jeanine has taken pictures of my family for years, and even traveled with us to Mexico to photograph our destination wedding in Playa del Carmen.


My sister Veronica fell in love with her work too.

Here is one of my favorite pictures of mom, Veronica, and I last year during one of our holiday photo shoots.

She is an amazing photographer, friend, and now is more like familia. We truly love her and her family.

We love that she has a passion for Mexico just as much as we do. Throughout this post you’ll see photos from her recent family vacation to Todos Santos, Mexico. Her photography never ceases to amaze us.

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Jeanine Thurston, our amazingly beautiful photographer in every sense of the word. She has a wicked sense of humor, loves Mexican food as much as we do, and has the ability to capture the essence of her photographic subjects, whether it is a wedding, portrait, fashion, or food. We love everything she captures. Who is Jeanine Thurston? Now let’s get to know the women behind the camera shall we.

How long have you been a photographer?

I’ve been photographing since I was a kid…with my first camera I purchased by selling greeting cards, of all things. Professionally I photographed my first wedding when I was 17 years old while still in high school. I then went off to college where I pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts & Photography, simultaneously working for a photography studio while attending college. I started my own business in 1992. So, it is hard to count ~ but professionally I’ve been photographing for 24+ years. Still love it.

What inspired you to become a photographer?

I’ve always been interested in the arts and was an oil painter first. Photography was something I could do and combine it with my love of being around people. While I always admired works from people like Ansel Adams, I really did it more for the pleasure I got out of photographing (and still do). But what pushed me was when I was taking photography into a local pro-lab and the owner came out one day and said “have you ever thought about doing this for a living?” It was really the first time it crossed my mind that I could actually do what I loved most and support myself with it. It was a huge trigger, that I immediately joined the local professional photography groups and Professional Photographers of America and started making more contacts in the professional community. I have to give a huge credit to Lenny Dixon who was one of the top wedding pros at the time for taking me under his wing and teaching me everything ~ and giving me the confidence that I needed to make it all happen.

How did you begin working with the Muy Bueno trio?

I photographed Yvette’s daughter Maya when she was only a year old, and Yvette’s wedding and well ~ you tend to just fall in love with her whole family. But I actually saw a post where Yvette mentioned something about a cookbook and I immediately said ~ “Let’s do it!” I love Mexican food enough as it is…and well ~ their food is amazing. Besides…they feel like family to me now, it is all too exciting to see this cookbook all come together.

Do you have a favorite Muy Bueno recipe you photographed?

This is a trick question I’m sure. There are way too many to narrow down…let’s see:guacamole, tacos, and well ~ every single drink they ever make. This is from someone that really hardly ever drinks. Seriously though…I couldn’t pick just one.

If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be?

I have been a photographer for so long; it is really hard to imagine what I would be without it. Of course I love working with children and a child psychologist is what I also went to school for. But, I love traveling and spending time with my kids the most.

When not photographing how do you spend your time?

I love movies, traveling (Mexico in particular), spending time in the mountains, and above all spending time with my two sons.

Any fun up and coming projects you’d like to mention?

2011 was filled with so many projects, including another cookbook I photographed called The Feed Zone Cookbook, and I also had the pleasure of working on a couple of bridal inspiration shoots. It has been so much fun.

2012 projects will be dedicating my time to Muy Bueno of course in addition to my portrait and wedding photography business, and preparing and photographing for a book I’m working on that is two years down the road. I’m not passing out too many details yet ~ but excited about getting things in the works.

Thanks Jeanine and be sure to check out Jeanine’s blog.


A letter on my door step: Picture the results

/ jeaninethurston / 1 Comment

Well – after a much needed break from blogging this past week, I wanted to get on with post #4 of the series.  The waters have calmed a bit – but I am so grateful for all the people that have seen the positive light that came from the original post/letter.

This was a candid shot sent in by one of the people that read my blog. Thank you so much for sharing!!!!

At first I was just going to post photos that people did – as a result of reading the letter; but, I found it was actually used in many different ways other than just taking more images.  One way that really stuck out in my mind was a photography instructor that used the letter to present to students – to get their opinion.  I have asked to share the link to their blog and Bruce was kind enough to respond – allowing me to link back.  I just really think the perspectives that are coming from these students are fresh, direct and honest above all else.  Keeping an open mind & using what we see/find to learn is an amazing way to grow and become better people.  What I liked best is the question Bruce posed by stating “After reading it, what are your thoughts and feelings? Should this photographer have published this, or kept it to herself? Why?” – To me personally – the most important question was the last he posed… WHY?  When we feel something – it is so important to be able to explain “why” you are feeling a certain way – no matter what your reaction may be.

You can link directly to their post by clicking this link:
Coeur d’Alene High School

For today’s post– We are going to tae a short break from looking at the work of the advanced photography students work. Every once in a while I come across a true gem on the interwebs about photography and the importance of it. THIS is one of them. Photography is more than paper. Read through this letter that this photographer received. After reading it, what are your thoughts and feelings? Should this photographer have published this, or kept it to herself? Why?

Here are the first 25 responses – and of course you can view their entire blog post with all of the 75 comments by clicking on the link as well.

75 Responses to “Finish copyright, Test Friday on it”

  1. m!cHae7 $chMidT says:

    This is extremely deep. I do believe photography is a lot more than just a piece of paper. The memories and the feelings people feel are extraordinary behind every picture. It is a very sad letter but I glad I had a chance to read it. I am also glad it was published so people will think twice about getting their picture taken. Photography captures a moment in history where it can never be repeated. Its a once in a lifetime opportunity.

  2. ;0hn (0nr*y says:

    It is probably a good idea for her not to publish this letter. It is kind of private and if she decides that is is, then it shouldn’t be shown. This made me feel sad and touched about what an influence this photographer has been.

  3. 2@cH 05m@n5ki says:

    I think that it was the right choice for the photographer to publish this and share it with public. Pictures do last a life time and one thing that I hope to leave behind to my children and rest of my family is a lot of great memories. I think that by posting this letter she has made people realize what they should value in their life and to not take anything for granted because it could end at any second.

  4. aLy_N*a3gl3 says:

    I believe that the choice of the photographer to publish and post this letter was a good decision. The women that wrote it even said to pass it along to anyone who cancelled their session so she obviously didn’t want to keep it only between her and the photographer. Now the words that she has written can be a valuable lesson to everyone, even her kids one day when they are old enough to understand large concepts, can look at this letter as a reminder to not value materialistic things and rather enjoy what truly matters. This was a very inspiring and touching story and I am really glad that it was chosen to be shared with everyone.

  5. S@_@nth@ Sh@f3r says:

    This letter is very touching. I felt very sorry for the lady who gave her the letter and I couldn’t help but think about how many times I have spent money on pointless, unnecessary things. I think it was good that she shared this letter because it gives people an example of how being selfish can really take its toll. It also shows how fast things can change and how your life could be over in the blink of an eye.

  6. C@!+1!n Mu11@1y says:

    I think this was a very sad story. The fact that this lady is dying and leaving behind two little kids is really sad. It also makes me realize that I need to cherish every moment and picture now because you never know what will happen. It’s good to have things to remember your loved ones because they won’t be around for ever. I think it’s okay that she shared this, because it will touch other people like it touched her. I don’t think there is anything in this story that that lady wouldn’t want other people to read, so I think it was harmless.

  7. M@rk N(tte1m@n says:

    This made me sad that the lady was dying from cancer. I am glad the photographer shared it because it makes me think of what I am doing with my life and what we take for granted. I am glad she did not just save it for people who cancel photo sessions with her.

  8. Z@ch Bai13y says:

    I think that the woman should’ve gone with the pictures instead of buying all those things. All the things she bought would only last for so long, but the pictures last for a lifetime. I think that the photographer should’ve posted this, because if there’s anyone who feels like canceling a photo shoot so they can spend money on other things, then this could change their mind. It could show them that the pictures would last longer, and would be worth all the money they would pay for it.

  9. k@ss!dy C@rls0n says:

    Im glad she decided to share this letter, it will also get more customers, and respect. It also shows on how important her photos were, it could mean just as much to somebody else. It was very sad but touching. It makes me feel bad for wasting money on unneeded things without appreciation. That letter proves that a photograph isn’t just a simple piece of paper, its more then that, its a memory.

  10. K!o*urt^ney McF.a11 says:

    That letter was very inspiring. You may not realize what you have or what how little of things can mean to you until it comes down to never having them again. A picture can mean a thousand words. She realizes that passing a family photo down to her family after leaving them will mean so much to not just her but her family as well. Certain things in life a lot of people take for granted. This showed me that photos are priceless and are a memory to have forever. I think it was right for her to post this rather than keeping it to herself to share with others the meaning of photos.

  11. K311en H@nN0n says:

    Wow that letter was brutal, it’s amazing the things we can take for granted when there’s stuff like this going on around the world. She’s going to be leaving her family and friends with regrets and no pictures for the memories. That would be terrible. I think that he was right to release this to the public because she gave him permission to send it out to people anyway and I’m sure she would be fine with it.

  12. $@r@ W@1k3r says:

    That is such a touching and amazing story. I think this is such a sad story, it just makes you think of all the stuff we take for granted on a everyday life. I think it was a for the photographer to published this. It sure touched my heart. If that photographer didn’t publish this, nobody would actually know what happened to her. But it is not about the money, it is about the family, shelter, and friends, and about the memories you make!

  13. k@telyn_j0hns0n says:

    This was pretty sad. I think it was a good idea that you published this. I was touch by this letter as well as other people. It makes you think of things we take for granted. It was very touching.

  14. J@C0B_B3HM says:

    It was so sad that this women has cancer. It really makes you think about how life can be so unpredictable and changes at an instant. We just take life for granted when we should be enjoying and capturing every moment of it. It also makes me realize that people spend a lot of money on things that they could get for a lot cheaper such as haircuts and expensive dinners and not on the things that people actually treasure such as photographs. I think it is good that the photographer published it because it is good that people read this and it really makes people think.

  15. R8chl_jston6 says:

    After reading it, what are your thoughts and feelings? Should this photographer have published this, or kept it to herself? Why?
    After reading this, I am sad. I don’t think the photographer should have published this, because what that lady wrote was very personal and you can tell it was hard for her to write. I think family photographs can be nice to save and show your children and grandchildren, but memories are more important than pictures. I think you should cherish memories and pictures are nice too but memories are something that belong only to you, and they are free. Pictures let you remember the way someone looks, but memories let you remember their personality.

  16. BARRI B0CKMAN says:

    that is extremely sad and reminds me of my grandmother. I loved my grandmother a lot yet i only met her a couple times a year. she was a heart felt women who care for everyone but her slef no matter what they had done. i made a lot of memories with my grnad mother all though we didnt take many photos some people dont understand the pain and sorrow that comes from losing a friend or family member but i do. i have lost many of them. i wish i had the opprotunity to take photos with them for that one more memory. this is a tear jerker for me and i hope every one else. death is hard for evveryone even if you do not know the person who died very well or even at all for that matter. i think its great that you send this to the people that cancel on you because life goes fast and you need to make memories. you need to live life to the fullest no matter how crappy it is.

  17. Dy!!@n B@rn3s says:

    This is a really sad story to hear about… It is kinda hard what to think about to comment on something like this. I think that it shows like a lot of courage out of her to send this letter to the photographer and express what is going on in her life. Especially because from my point of view she does not barely even know the photographer very well so it must have been hard for her to open up so much to her. I think that this just really shows the “butterfly effect” in action. Because now she is regretting the fact that she did not get the pictures done and instead she went and got some girl stuff done. I do not think that she should really regret it because she did not know any better or that she had cancer at the time. And i think she should just look at it in a pocitive way that she got all that done and just enjoy what little time she has left.

  18. Jo3h says:

    This was a very touching letter. Its sad to talk about these things out in open to the public for everyone to see the pain that they had in the family. I’m glad that the photographer put this story up for everyone to see to show that little things in life matter.

  19. R@(h3l (h@ff33 says:

    THis is a really sad letter, there are things that i don’t see coming and it hits me like a semi-truck. I can relate to that story because thats just like how my Grandma left us. Its sad and heart breaking but life does happen and you need to look at life every way possible.

  20. R0m@n Kl@n9 says:

    This is a sad story but i personally thought the story about the dying father was sadder. The moral of the story is to not waist your money on things that do not last. Instead spend your money on things that your family will remember forever. Very sad story.

  21. Ja5on m0rris says:

    After i read this i must say i felt very sad. It made me think of all the people i have known that have died and i wish i had more photographs and memories of them. Although i do not think that the photos were needed. I think if she wanted to leave behind memories of herself then she could have just taken pictures with her family and had it be much more personal. But i feel bad she did not get to have it done even though she wanted to afterwords. I think the photographer should have published this just so others could read it and think about it.

  22. $@m !_EE says:

    I would be devastated to receive this letter. I would feel so empty to know the extreme regret that this lady felt for not having the photo shoot. I think the blogger was right in publishing this letter. It serves as a great lesson to everyone who reads it that we should think more on the long-term results of the decisions we make today. The temporary pleasures we enjoy now will be of no benefit to anyone but ourselves, so we need to focus on what will be of the greatest benefit to those we love in the future.

  23. L3V! M^RT3NS says:

    what are your thoughts and feelings? Should this photographer have published this, or kept it to herself? Why?

    I think you don’t need photos to make and keep memories. If you think you absolutely think you need photos then buy a camera because it is a lot cheaper. I think if she published it she would be seen as good but bad. The bad is that people might think that it is a form of advertisement . The good is that she is a nice person. If it was me I would publish it and show it to the world. My main goal would be to find the family some how.

  24. *@b !g@!1—$+e 3D* says:

    I think that it is fine for her to publish the letter if she doesn’t put the ladies name on it and makes sure it is anonymous. This shows that pictures are really meaningful and say a lot more than just what is in the photo. Something very big had to happen to this woman before she notice not to take things for granted. She can teach others a valuable lesson.

  25. 43!_1 p@_^ says:

    That is really sad. Especially when she has kids. I think it was good that she published it. Whenever you have a professional photo shoot or take any picture for that matter, if comes with a memory. Those memories would have been so much more easier to forget with the picture. Even though the pictures seem expensive at the time, they are worth the memories. They pay themselves off very quickly. I’m glad she shared this, because it showed many many people how much pictures are worth.

    _______________________________________

Making time for my family.

/ jeaninethurston / 7 Comments

This is one of the hardest balancing acts of all. The work/life balance. So many people work so hard (have to work so hard) – long hours, and are exhausted and yet still want to have time for their families. I’m the same. I have regular days that I photograph, and then always tend to add a few more days in. When I’m home, I’m still checking my e-mails and editing on my computer between cleaning the house, picking up after my kids, or making play dough snakes. A photographers life, like many other professions demands working on the weekends – which is when my husband is off work to watch the kids. I am thankful that I can and do work, and while having your own business is a freeing job, it also means long hours and late nights. So a couple months ago we planned a family week. I’m required to be unplugged for an entire week starting tomorrow. I have a feeling it will be challenging, and yet very necessary as it is the longest I’ve been unplugged in over 7 years. We will be spending some time with a couple of the grandparents and my kids are so excited.

I hope you all have a great week, and I’ll be sure to still have my camera on hand and will post some photos of our time off at Grandpa and Grandma’s house sometime soon after I return to my computer.

A letter on my door step: waves formation.

/ jeaninethurston / 1 Comment

I’ve decided to continue on with 3 more posts on “A letter on my door step.”  This will be post 3 of 5 total before the end of this blog heading. I feel like after the mass distribution and hundreds of thousands that have graced the pages, e-mailed me, and all of the amazing stories that I’ve had the chance to read, that I need to follow through for all that have started following my blog because of the post.  In case you’ve missed any up until now, here is the order or far and what to expect coming up.

1. A letter on my door step: Portraits are more than paper

2. A letter on my door step: The follow-up

3. A letter on my door step: Waves formation (the post you are on right now)

4. A letter on my door step: Picture the results (coming soon)

5. A letter on my door step: Family (coming soon)

So obviously I’m sure to most that have been reading my recent posts and seeing the mass response – my personal view of what has happened is best described as a wave formation.  Lovely description of such a thing in nature can be found at Action Sports Maui.  I have personally had such extreme highs and lows the past 3 days – but I stand strong in the fact that I believe I did the right thing by posting the letter.  The stories/experiences/feelings that came pouring in to me are overwhelming, while giving me such renewed faith in human nature and the the value of family, love and the healing power a photograph can give to them.

Emotions that have been expressed mostly by communications to me from viewers: Belonging – Love – Sorrow – Pride – Calm – Gratitude/Thanks – Empathy – Will… and that is just to start.

Call to action was what amazed me the most.  I’ve had so many people telling me they picked up their cameras to photograph their loved ones immediately.

I guess from here, I would love to share a few images from my readers out there.  If you happen to have picked up your camera and have taken a shot of a family member because of reading this post – or if you had some images taken at a portrait session, please share.  Feel free to e-mail them to me at my gmail account: fototails@gmail.com.  I of course can’t post everything everyone sends, so don’t feel slighted if I don’t post yours – but would love to post a few on my next post.  I’ll just take the first 6 or 7 images I receive.  Please – if you send something that a professional photographer took, also send a release with it and if you are the photographer, please include a logo on your image so you get credit.  Only rated “G” photos please!  If you have a little paragraph to go with an image about you or how this impacted you – I would love to add a little about it too.

Jeanine Thurston Photography

waves

NEWBORN Casting Call – March 2012

/ jeaninethurston / 5 Comments

I’m planning a newborn baby inspiration photo-shoot in March 2012.  I’m looking for 5 or 6 tiny newborns that will be around 6-8lbs during the last week in March this year.   Ideally we will have actually about 8-10 newborns on site for the shoot, and then work with those that are cooperating the best for the final inspiration image.  During the shoot I always try to take a few individual images as well, and each newborn that participates will receive a $50 print credit for compensation.

If you are due soon, please message me as soon as you can to let me know if you may be available… I photograph a lot of newborns, and know that dates are only approximate… but if you are due anytime in the next few weeks, I would love to get you on the list of potential little models.

Details and exact date are coming soon! 🙂

Thank you!!!

Jeanine

Creativity control.

/ jeaninethurston / 5 Comments

There is nothing more exciting to most photographers than shooting something creative, out of the ordinary, unique.  As business people we know that we need to appeal to our clients, know what they would like best to be a profitable business – as well as put a smile on their face when they see images they are happy with.  But – what drives me as an artist are those people that walk through my door and say – “Do what you do best – I trust you.”

2012 is my year of creative control for me.

Each year, instead of making a new year resolution – I try to decide one point of my art/carrier/life that I will take focus on, and then make sure it will still strike a balance that includes my family.

Early in my career I made calendars and timelines that I stuck to strictly for marketing/mailing & never really faltered from the “plan.”  I have to say – it worked/works – and many of us creative minds really need the map to keep us on course.  Then I had children – and realized no matter what the calendar said, family was controlling my calendar and in the beginning I felt very restricted and even sad at how little control I had over my life.

In 2011, I finally got my “creativity” flowing again.  I made some new connections and lasting friendships with others in my industry and we had an amazing time creating and playing – doing what we do best.  It is refreshing working with other vendors where everyone is let loose to make their own creative decisions and in the end we all have smiles on our faces and feel so satisfied with what we created & photographed.

2012 I have decided is my creative control year.  As always, I shoot for my clients… what I know they want, what they think they want, and then toss in a few of what I want.  It is a great formula & I know it works for me.  I encourage any photographer to use this formula if they need to support themselves doing their craft. After a couple decades doing this, I’m just changing the order of priority.  Why change it?  For one, I’m finally finding that what I want is more and more what my clients actually want in the end.  So I’m popping a little more inspiration into my shoots, and asking more questions ahead of time so that I can be 100% prepared for getting EVERYTHING I can get from each shoot.

That being said – I’m so excited for some inspiration shoots we have coming up… and I don’t want to give anything away quite yet, but I’ll be keep you posted on what’s ahead coming in March-October this year.