Need your HELP: Send Jesie to Hawaii!!

16.12.09 the latest & greatest

Alright friends, a closed mouth don’t get fed.  I need you!  The famous celebrity wedding photographer, Mike Colón, is having a contest on his blog to send ONE lucky photographer to his Hawaii workshop in January.  I’ve been so busy going to workshops, I think it’s about time for Jesie to go to one, but I need your HELP!  For those of you who don’t know, Jesie is not only one of my dearest and best friends, but she’s my second shooter and teammate.  She’s a big part of René Tate Photography.

Here’s how the contest works: whoever gets the most votes wins. haha That’s it!

Visit his blog, click the button by her name, and click “vote.” THEN, post this on your Facebook status, Twitter about it, email your friends, etc.

http://mikecolon.net/blog

There’s a TON of contestants, so the best way to find Jesie is to do a search on the page for her name by pressing Command + F (on Apple) or Ctrl + F (I THINK on a PC; I’m not sure…).  Only thing is they misspelled her name so search for “Jessie McElroy“.  Here’s a screen shot of what you’re looking for:

Thank you! To win this we’re going to need a loooot of votes, so please, tell your friends, family, office mates, etc.  It’s the only way. VOTING ENDS FRIDAY @ 4pm (Colorado time)!

Saratoga, CA: Samantha & Joe – Pt II

10.12.09 destination engagements

Part II of Samantha and Joe’s Saratoga vineyard engagement session picks up in a rustic horse stable:

Samantha you are so classy!

Lovin’ these wine barrels.

This looks like something straight out of a fairy-tale book!

Totally shot from the hip here.. Something about Samantha calling out for Joe to meet her just grabbed me.

Samantha and Joe, what an incredible shoot!  You are wonderful people; I had such a blast meeting and working with you!  I appreciate your flexibility and spontaneity. Good luck in all your future endeavors and with your wedding in New Orleans!  I look forward to celebrating the new year with you again at Kevin and Eryn’s wedding!

Make it a Special Day

10.12.09 personal

So I got this e-mail from Pictage’s CEO, Jim Collins.  He’s so awesome about e-mailing the 8,000 photographers registered with Pictage with all sorts of motivational bits and pieces.  He also rocks at being available and I bet if I was a fly on the wall in the Pictage offices, he’d be the CEO to practice “leadership by walking around.”  Okay, it’s techincally “management by walking around,” but I bet he leads those at Pictage by just being available and walking the halls and inspiring and encouraging with each turn he takes.

And speaking of being available, below is a short excerpt from his latest e-mail that really stuck with me. (I even put it in my journal I dug it so much.)  It reminds me of when I tell people to “make it a great day.”  According to Jim (haha), you can’t quite do that:

“On Thanksgiving day this year I caught myself for a moment on a thought. This is it. This is the only Thanksgiving day 2009 I’m going to have in my life. Maybe it’s having just passed one of those Birthday milestones, I just turned 45, and maybe it’s that I’m acutely aware of the speed with which my kids are growing up, but the thought really rocked me. I got to thinking about how I was going to make it special.

I guess the funny thing is that you really can’t make a day special. You can try. You can plan for certain things and you can remember to say or do certain things, but in the end whether or not a day is special is out of your control. The best you can do is make yourself available and see where it goes from there, but making yourself available can make all the difference.”

And so there it is folks… you just have to make yourself available… doing so can make all the difference.  Be open. 

And because posts are always better with a photo, here’s a shot (under TERRIBLE lighting) of Jim and I from the Pictage Partner Conference in New Orleans:

I HAVE THE COOLEST BRIDES & GROOMS

09.12.09 weddings

Yup…  Adam and Aundie.  Check out their Save the Dates!  Four different versions, all created to fit their Broadway-themed wedding in Austin, TX next July! I can’t wait!  The faces are members of the wedding party.