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Happy Halloween!

This year's carving artistry courtesy of my sister.

If you’ll be in the east St. Paul area tonight with costumed little ones, drop me a note and stop over for photos!

A few months ago, I got a call to shoot something I’d never done before…a Bat Mitzvah. I originally thought I was booked for the date requested (which is why I shouldn’t try to arrange bookings while I’m in the car) but it turned out I wasn’t and Mrs K. sounded so nice on the phone that I was totally excited that I was available. I warned her that I knew nothing about Bat Mitzvahs and she promised me that she would clue me in along the way.

Cameras aren’t allowed at the actual Bat Mitzvah ceremony so I met the K Family at Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul on Friday morning for the rehearsal. We did a few family portraits beforehand and then went inside to the Sanctuary where I got to witness some lengthy reading in Hebrew from the Torah done by the lovely Miss N. Of course, I couldn’t understand any of it but it was very impressive to hear and I’m glad I got to experience something new!

Really, how cute are these girls?

Langdon is one of the creators of DPChallenge.com, a digital photography site where, over the past few years, I’ve spent waaay too much of my time. That’s how we originally connected. This past weekend, I flew in to Norfolk to photograph his wedding to his lovely fiance, Sharon. They’re in Aruba now and I know they are anxious to see a few of their photos. Having had multiple cups of hot chocolate and sitting near a space heater for the past two days in an attempt to get warm, I’m not entirely sympathetic to their Caribbean desires but they’re good people so I’ll post up a few anyway.

1. I’ll be having one more day of mini-sessions on Sunday, November 9th. This will be the last day of sessions with guaranteed holiday delivery (I extended this deadline). For more information on how mini-sessions work, see this post. Please contact me if you’re interested.

2. Holiday sale time! The economy is sad, have you heard? Rather than get all political, I’m just going to cut you a holiday break. Here’s the deal:

- all canvases are $50 off
- all museum mounts 16×20 and larger are $25 off (museum mounts now offered in sizes 8×10 and up)

And a little something we’ll call the Grandparent Special. For any product that you purchase (that’s albums, canvases or museum mounts) between now and Nov 15, you’ll get 25% off any additional identical purchases. For example, order a Gift Album and get your second Gift Album (same images) for 25% off. That way, both sets of Grandparents can have a lovely photo gift. (Okay, I don’t really care who you’re giving them to.)

Offers good through November 15, 2008.

And lest we end without a photo, here’s a sunset view from the Norfolk Yacht Club that I took while photographing a wedding in Virginia this past weekend. Photos from that event soon!

Last weekend, I met with another family that I was lucky enough to meet at Woodbury Days. The weather didn’t look very nice - overcast, spitting rain and kind of cold - but Miss I and her family trekked from Cottage Grove to a park in St. Paul and braved a shoot anyway. Good thing because how cute are these?

Two blog entries today because I had two sessions today! Gotta keep up with the editing as we head into busy times…

I first met this Woodbury family when Mom and Miss A stopped by my booth at Woodbury Days. I hadn’t even finished setting up and was a bit disheveled so I was flattered that they ending up contacting me anyway. I headed out to their home today to create some images for their Christmas cards. (Yes people, it’s Christmas card time, really! I know, I know…it’s hard to believe when it’s still topping 80 degrees out and I’m right along with you in the “oh my gosh, can you believe Target already has their Christmas display out?!!” but the fall goes quickly so start thinkin’!) Annnyway, we checked out her room for a bit, read some books, blew some bubbles and looked for frogs in the yard (Miss A confirms that yes, I do in fact have a frog on my head. I may need to discuss with my hair dresser) and then went to a nearby lake to check out the water.

Check out those blue, blue eyes!

I have to admit, when Miss A asked me to pick her up, I threatened to take her home with me. I’m not sure the cats would have liked that much, though.

Or her parents, either.

I’m editing like crazy today, finishing up a few sessions. I’m mostly caught up on emails and phone calls and at the end of today, I’m closing up shop for the holiday weekend.

Don’t worry. I’ll be back at it Tuesday morning and will follow up with any questions, inquiries, etc., that you have then! Have a fantastic weekend.

A sneak peek for Miss A’s mom who is waiting patiently!

Miss A turned one a week ago Sunday and I was lucky enough to attend her birthday bash. It was the perfect day for a pool party, very warm and sunny, and the party was packed with people of all ages. After swimming, there was food from the grill, cake, presents to open and a trip to the Stillwater Marina to check out the boat. I suspect Miss A slept well that night.

I took the lid off my little box stuffed full of entry drawings tonight, swished everything around and pulled out a slip to discover that the winner of the free photo session with Glimpses of Soul Photography is…

Sue Bartel!

Are you checking in to see if you’ve won, Sue? Let’s be in touch and set up your session!

Thanks to everyone else who entered! Sorry I couldn’t pick you all but hopefully I’ll end up working with you sometime!

Hey, check this out - it’s not even 9pm yet and I’ve already had a dinner not consisting of Culver’s and mini-donuts and I’ve washed at least the first layer of grime from my rather dirty and fair-weary body. Ah yes, Woodbury Days is now over, my little booth is packed up and I am back at home. Luckily, today was just as good as yesterday. The weather was equally gorgeous, there was a rather entertaining parade that traveled right down the street in front of my booth and there were more fun people to meet. Five month old babies definitely won the prize for most frequent visitors at the booth.

I’m so excited to come home to emails from folks who are already interested in booking a session!

Just a bit of an info recap for new visitors to the site:

• Regular session info, rates and other details are available on my main site.
• Information about holiday mini-sessions and fall schedule.
• Feel free to contact me using the form on the main site or the form linked in the righthand column over there. I’d be happy to discuss over the phone as well but if you’d shoot me an email and a number, I can get back to you and have the information you need ready. (I have a little bit of a phone backlog thanks to several days away and this will help me manage it quickly!)

And a few answers to the questions I was most frequently asked over the weekend in case you didn’t get a chance to speak with me…

Q: Where are you located?

A:I work primarily on-location in the Twin Cities area. That means I will come to your home if you’d like (and it has sufficient natural light) or meet you in a local park or other favorite location. I can also travel outside of the Twin Cities area for additional travel fees. I do have a studio in St. Paul but use that only for maternity, newborn and headshot sessions. Trust me, it’s more fun this way.

Q: Are you independently owned?

A: As independently as it gets, baby. Glimpses of Soul Photography is just me - the photographer, editor, bookkeeper, secretary, etc., etc.! I’m lucky to have a volunteering family to help me when I decide to do crazy things like spend 24 hours at the fair but I don’t currently work with associate shooters or outsource any of the work.

Q: Do you do maternity/newborn/children/family/engagement/pet/wedding photography?

A: Yes. Contact me, we’ll talk.

Now that the weekend fun is over, I’m back to work tomorrow so if you’re waiting for email/a phone call/proofs from me, you should be getting it/them pretty soon!