Holidays & a little relaxation...

I never had had a chance to blog about Turkey Day, so this is my belated wish that you had a wonderful holiday with your loved ones!

I dont think I have ever been so busy in my life, I spent forever getting my house in tip top shape for Thanksgiving, and all the cleaning & cooking was exhausting! Next year I am seriously thinking about going out of town or something, so if anyone has any suggestions or ideas for holiday get-aways please leave me a comment! But even though it was a ton of work, it is always fun to spend the day with the family! The kids had a great time playing bingo, pin the hat on the turkey and they had a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt! And of course we had WAY too much, like always, but everyone brought some yummy dishes & wines!

Anyway, come Sunday Dec. 7. 2008 this is where I will be for the next 8 days...
Well, on a diffrent ship, but you get the idea! This is from our last cruise on the Carnival Inspiration in Cozumel, Mexico. This year we are sailing on the Carnival Miracle to St Maarten, St Kitts and St Lucia with about 30 family members. My cousin is also getting married onboard, so this will be my first time shooting wedding pictures on a cruise ship, I'm a bit nervous about that, so wish me luck! I'll take TONS of pics and can't wait to share them!

Pretty Princess!

This is my neice, Miss R (aka Pretty Princess)! I had the chance to take some shots of her and my daughter this summer when she came to spend the day with us! Isn't she just the cutest little thing ever?!













A fun 11x14 collage (click on it to see it larger)...

Beautiful Girl, Beautiful Dress!

You may recognize her from previous posts, this is my cousin and my muse! She's always willing to pose for me even when she thinks my ideas are a little crazy! We've taken so many pics together, we can tell what the other is thinking by just the look on their face:)! And best of all we always have fun!

These were just a couple of extremely rushed shots, we both LOVE this dress and I had so many ideas I wanted to try. But things didn't go according to plan and we just didn't have the time...but we will, eventually, get another chance to shoot some amazing pics of her in this dress!

I actually won something!!!

Today I logged into one of my favorite photography forums and they had just announced a photo scavenger hunt! The prizes for the winners were awesome, but you had to be quick, first 3 posts win, so I quickly got to work on finding all the items (along with my ever-so-willing helper, my daughter Jaden)! A while later, and exhausted from the manic search, I uploaded pictures in a frenzy and later was happy to learn that the work paid off, I was lucky winner #3!!

Here are a few of the items we had to find (and please keep in mind these are just quick snapshots:))...

A tea cup


A flower


A candle


Something that spelled the name of the forum


And a picture of ourself in the mirror w/camera!

Halloween!!

Hope everyone had a great time celebrating!! Here are a couple of my favorite shots of my little girl!! My son didn't dress up this year, so none of him!! LOL!

Last pics from pumpkin patch...

Ok, this is my last set of pics from the pumpkin patch...I saved some of the best for last!! LOL! Arent these two the cutest ever??

My own kids @ the Patch!!

Of course I had to get a few shots of my own kids:)!!

More cuties from the pumpkin patch...

This brother & sister are always a pleasure to shoot!! Miss D has the prettiest big blue eyes and her brother is the perfect model!!

Holiday sessions....

It's never too early to start planning!! If you are interested in having your portraits taken for the holidays, please try to get with me soon as you can to set up a time!:) I will only be shooting pictures until Nov. 23, after that I wont be shooting anymore until after the New Year (except for my own personal ones;))! Also only on location shoots this are available year, so please keep that in mind!

I will be on vacation from Dec. 5-16, 2008 so I would like to get every ones photos to them before I leave. I want to have plenty of time to spend with my kids for the holidays!

Pumpkin Patch fun...

I love, love, love shooting pics at the pumpkin patch!! Here is a peek of one of the recent shoots I did out there! Little Miss A is adorable and festive in her little Halloween outfit!! Hope you loved your pics!

Been so busy...

Well I have really been slacking in the blogging department, just been so busy with family stuff!! I've been shooting pics the last few months here and there, I'll add a few shots so you can see what I've been up to!!

My own little Rainbow Brite!


Tristan turned 11 this summer, he's really growing up quick!


My pretty neice Ashley turned 16 this summer, we shot lots of photos, will share more later!


Birthday shoot for a special little girl!




And the awesome bday invite, I designed for her:



And a close friend of mine had a baby, isn't he sweet?

Halloween Mini Sessions...

Got prints?

A friend just refered me to this site, if you need to print a ton of digital pics (and who doesnt) this company is offereing 400 prints and an 8x8 photo book for free for a limited time (I think you just have to pay shipping)!!

http://www.artscow.com/default.aspx?Ref=402496

I can't say how the quality or customer service is, but I figure for the price of shipping it's worth it to print out a bunch of snapshots that are just sitting on my hardrive, thought one of you might benefit from it as well!

New forum for photographers...

I was just introduced to this new photography forum, One Photo Source. It looks like it is going to be a fabulous new place to learn, share & grow in all areas of photography!

One Photo Source

Right now they are offering FREE lifetime membership to the first 1000 members (there are already over 500 now) so hurry on over and sign up! And after you sign up, please go to the home page and on the right hand side you will find a form to submit a referral, I would be ever so grateful if you used my screen name: jalmeda22

Hope to see you over there!!

My kids & summer fun...

A new logo!!

I just wanted to share my beautiful new logo that my talented friend Timi created for me!! I've spent months trying to decide exactly what I wanted in terms of a logo and when I finally knew what I wanted, I went straight to Timi! She turned my idea into reality, and I love it! Thanks so much Timi!

If you are interested in working with Timi, you can find her HERE. She creates amazing websites, graphics, logos, and can make your blog look like a piece of art!

For anyone considering Custom Portraiture...

This website has a ton of great info for consumers looking into custom photography. It covers everything from choosing the right photographer to the costs of custom photography.

Please take a minute to visit the site and share it with others!

Professional Child Photographer

YAY YAY YAY!!

I'm finally upgrading and bought my new Canon 40D!! Now is the time to buy if you are looking, Canons annual rebates are going on now!! I'm so excited and can't wait to play...unfortunately I'll have to wait though...it's back ordered until mid June!!

http://www.usa.canon.com/app/images/promotions/InstReb_camera_may08.pdf