MIA Blogger

I know, I know. Four posts in one day. There might be a few of you who are now falling out of your seats. I have been totally MIA. I had a large number of "back before Christmas" orders, plus a ton of Christmas cards to design and print, so it has really been fun getting everything together. But so busy that I have neglected my poor blog.

I have more posts in the wings, so watch for a few more...

We've Moved!

I know, I know. I'm crazy. But it is true. We moved the studio... again! We are now located at 1505 Portland Rd. Suite 206 and we love it!!

Everyone asks why we moved. Did something bad happen? Is the economy affecting us? Did Danielle (the photographer I share the studio with) and I have a falling out? No, nothing that dramatic. So here's the lowdown. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Danielle and I both realized that we really didn't need that much space. The location of the building totally rocked but we were just not using all the space. But we were paying for all the square footage none the less. When the light bulb went off for us, we decided it was time to move... so we did!

We are going to miss the gallery feel of our old space. And the display windows could not be beat. And man did the location rock! But we are totally not going to miss the not-so-pretty carpet, which totally clashed with the boutique look we are going for.

So our new place is beautiful! It has gorgeous wood floors, beautiful window light, and it is the perfect size for the perfect price. Yay!

And the best part of all, we are right next to Nikki Jane's Boutique! They have the cutest stuff in there... I am so in trouble!!

So in fair warning, someday I might move the studio back home...probably when Nomi is in 1st grade or higher. By then, she will be old enough to realize that crying during consultations is usually not a good idea.

My dream would be to take over the whole house and move my family to a different house... I wonder if they would go for that...

I Survived!

Yay! I survived WPPI and I didn't die from a brain overload! I learned so much that I barely know where to begin to implement. When I came home, I was faced with a ton of emails. Luckily about half of them are stuff that I can delete, but the other half will take a little while to answer. If you did email me, please know that I did not drop off the face of the planet (unless you count going to Las Vegas), and I am answering emails as fast as I can....

Am I Crazy?

I think I am. Right now I am sitting in a terminal at PDX waiting for a flight to take me to Las Vegas for the WPPI convention. It is going to be a ton of fun, but I have to admit, I'm home sick already.

I am going to be gone for 6 days and that just seems like forever to me. I have never been away from my family for that long before. But this trip will be very good for me and the company. A ton of amazing photographers will be there. Many of them are my mentors and my "American Idols". I can't wait, but boy am I going to miss my babies and my adorable husband.

Gotta run. We're boarding!

Say it isn't so!!

For the past 5 years, we have been so good about sending Christmas cards and a family newsletter. They were a ton of fun to make and folks seemed to really like them. And I love to read them years later.

Well....

It is already January 20th and I am thinking that sending out cards this year is just not going to happen. I am totally bummed. But let me tell you why. Maybe a good chuckle is what will make this all better...

So I had squeezed in a day a week before Christmas. It was the perfect day. I was going to create the portraits of the kids to put onto the cards. Nomi was in a very good mood that day and I had forewarned Adria and Jarom of the plan. But then, something very bad happened. Nomi got a hold of a washable black crayola marker... you know, the kind that washes off the skin after 3 days or so.

My cute little baby drew all over her face, but mostly her lips and right eye. She looked like a little goth baby. It was actually quite funny. When she looked in the mirror though, she cried and tried to clean it off. She is just too funny.

I was kinda bummed. So I squeezed in another day after Christmas. It is family tradition to send the cards after Christmas anyways...

Then is happened again!!!! Where in the world does she find all these markers!!! I took it as a sign. No more markers are allowed in the house. And no Christmas card this year. It just wasn't meant to be and I am now OK with that. My only regret is: I couldn't find our point and shoot to take a pic of Nomi in her "goth mode". Arrggg!

MIA?

I know I have been pretty MIA lately. This time of year is very busy for most photographers and I definitely fall in that rank. I am so very behind in my posts. It is my goal to catch up within the next two weeks...

BIG News!!

OK, so we have a couple of very big and exciting news to announce:

The first one: After 30 years, I have finally stopped biting my nails! OK, so that isn't super big or earth shattering, but it kinda sorta is for me. Whenever I brainstormed, watched TV, or get to the exciting part in a book, I would start biting. Uuggg! When I caught my little Nomi picking up on the bad habit, I knew I needed to quit and so I did. The only bad thing: I keep accidently scratching everything in my path. I don't mean to, I am just not used to nails. I even drew blood on my arm two weeks ago... what a dork I am!

The second one (and this is a big one): I know I must be crazy but I have decided to go for it. An opportunity arose to share a retail location with another photographer in town and I decided to jump on it. I know I am crazy but I am so excited!! So, if you are wondering why I have been a bit slower than usual at returning emails and phone calls, this is why and I am so very very sorry. We are moving this weekend and I totally can't wait! I will post pictures of the new place as soon as everything is settled. Plus I will put more detailed info in my upcoming newsletter. Also, people keep asking when I will be having an Open House / Grand Opening.... well, I guess I should. I'll keep you posted as soon as I figure it out....

I am sooo bad! I haven't made a post in so long. I think it has been over a month!!!! I know, I'm a total dork! July was a very busy month with both Who's on Third (Turkey Rama) and Newberg Old Fashion Festival. Both events were crazy fun and we got to meet a ton of new people and visit with some very dear friends.
When August hit, the senior season came into full swing and to spice things up a bit, we took a trip to Utah to attend my little brother's graduation from BYU. It was just me and my lil' sis and 5 crazy kids on this trip. Somehow we got there and back safe and sound. My cute little bro is now working on his Masters. He's so cool.


OK, so a few weeks ago, we got to photograph Joanne and she is like crazy gorgeous. And the best part is that she is so very sweet too. We selected these 4 for her Facebook page and I can't wait to see them on there!

FireWorks!

Soooo, as many of you know, I am on the Newberg Old Fashion Days Festival committee, "in charge" of the fireworks. Part of my job is to help find and coordinate volunteers.

Sooooo, if you are over 18 years of age, would love to wear a very fashionable orange vest and badge to match, have the best seat in the house, and think the idea of tackling people who try to cross into the "no trespass" zone would be way cool, then give us a call. We are still in need of 8 more people and we would love your help!

The event is Saturday, July 25th. If you can make it... yay!! 503-554-6808


We were able to fill in all our open spots. Thank-you to all who volunteered!!!

Newsletter!

I admit it. I have been very bad. I have not mailed out a newsletter in over a year!! But if you are on my mailing list, then check your mail boxes today. Yay!!! We finally sent one out and you should get it today!!

If you are not on our newsletter route and would like to be, then just shoot me an email with your mailing address (yes, that means snail mail) and I will mail one over to you. My email address is: rachel@racheloneilphotography.com

Hope you had fun reading the newsletter. Let me know what you think!

School is Out!

Yay! I love Summer vacation!! I love being able to sleep in till around 7:00 or so. I love the break we get from the rain. And most of all, I love all the time I get to hang out with the kids. We have a couple of fun things planned for the summer, but the big one will be our trip to Utah for my little brother's graduation from BYU. Of course, the beach is on the calendar along with some other "close to home" activities: the zoo, the library, Oaks Park, etc. What cool things are you planning for summer vacation?

It's 7:30 am and we're about to leave for the Festival. I am so excited!! These events are always so cool and soooo fun! We'll see you there!

Hi Ya'll!

Just wanted to let everyone know of a super cool event coming up tomorrow called the Joan Austin Community Festival. It is going to be a great event with a ton of cool activities. From helicopter rides, live entertainment, face painting, classic car show, and so much more. There will even be a 5K run starting at 8:30 am the will benefit Austin's Relay for Life team! That is so cool!! The school's address is:

Joan Austin Elementary School
2200 N. Center St. Newberg, OR 97132
10:00 am - 3:00 pm

We will, of course, have a booth at the festival. At the event, we will be having a very cool promotion. We are calling it the 5 hour sale. When you schedule a session within the five hours we are at the festival, you will get two $50 gift cards to go towards your order! What an awesome deal! Soooo, if you have been thinking about creating a portrait, whether it is a portrait of your family, baby, children, HS Senior (class of 2009 and 2010), then this is the perfect time to schedule your session!

Also, don't fret if you cannot make it to the festival. We will also be at Newberg Old Fashioned Days Festival and possibly Who's on Third (Turkey Rama) and we will be having the same sale, except it will last a couple of days instead of only 5 hours....

Hope to see you there!!

Mom Shop 2

On April 18th, from 9:00 - 2:00, we will have a booth at Mom Shop 2 at the Oaks Park Pavillion.

It is going to be very cool with over 30 boutiques, family friendly entertainment, and a very cute fashion show. Come join the fun and I hope to see you there!!!

For more info, go to:
www.mamapreneursinc.com/momshop

Competition Images

I have finally posted the comp images!! Yeh!!

This Image is called: Back Alley Moods. It scored a 78, which is pretty good. It was also selected for exhibition but all of my images were selected for exhibition, so that was pretty cool too.



The second is called: The Horse and His Girl. It scored a 79. Even better score. This was my highest scoring image. A judge also selected this image to discuss during the judges lunch. She didn't like the name of the image. She thought that if I chose a better name, it might have scored better. Good to know...



The third is called: Before the show. This image got a lot of attention. A few of the judges wanted it to score higher than the final 78, but the other judges didn't feel it. That's ok. It still got a judges choice award.



The fourth is called: Wake Me Up Inside. This one also got a lot of attention. Since I was going for the more raw and edgy images, I knew that some if the judges would love it and others would not. I was totally excited that three out of 4 of my images were discussed and 2 of those were challenged!! One said if I tweeked this image here and there, it could probably score between 85-90 (that is a totally awesome score). It was very exciting.



On a side note, anyone who knows me pretty well knows that I love the band Evanescence. Wake Me Up Inside is a line from one of their songs. All of the judges on the panel were 40 and older, except for maybe one, so I totally didn't think any of them would get the title (I just didn't think they were THAT kind of cool). Well, I was wrong!! One of the "older" judges knew were the name came from (maybe someone really cool told him but I'd like to think that maybe he is a closet fan), said he got it but thought that maybe our "older" panel of judges would not. I knew that they probably wouldn't get the song part, but in my heart, there was no other title.

On a last note, one of the judges suggested that I make a few changes to my images and then enter them at nationals.... hmmmmm.

Wow! I just got back from Professional Photographers of Oregon annual convention and had a blast!! I learned so much about keeping our business skills sharp, fun and super cool photoshop techniques, and different design tips. WOW! I think I had a brain overload and had to take a couple of days to digest everything. I really can't wait to start implementing everything I learned!

Also, before I forget, this year, like every year I entered 4 images into print competition. This year, I wanted to take a few risks with my image choices. Break a few rules and get the judges talking and maybe even thinking. I didn't want to enter the same old stuff that merits every year but something cool, modern, and funk-ay! A couple of the judges got me and a couple didn't. There was even a judge who fought for two of my images arguing why they should merit. Even though my images scored very well, alas, none had recieved the award of a merit. BUT, I got the judges talking and I was totally excited about that!!!! Oh, and one of my images did get a judges choice award. That was totally cool.

I will post all the images that I entered very soon. It will be the next post. Promise!