July Special - Plus: 12 Hour Sale!

We have a double special for you!

all

Session Fees

are

50% off in July!

Call us by 31 July to schedule an appointment and get 

50% off your Session Fee.

But that's not all...

Introducing (drum roll) our

12 Hour Sale!

Call us between the hours of 

9:00am - 9:00pm (EDT)

on Monday, 23 July 

and you'll get a whopping

75% off Session Fees!

Don't miss out - call 404.583.0659 to schedule your 

Senior, Family or Pet Portrait Session!

50% Off Session Fees offer ends 31 July 2012.  75% off Session Fees offer runs from 9:00am to 9:00pm EDT on Monday, 23 July 2012 ONLY.  Offers do not apply to Headshots or Baby Portraits.  Sessions do not need to be scheduled for July, but must be scheduled for no later than 31 December 2012.

Spirit of Happiness - A Love Story

Just recently I was honoured by the opportunity to photograph a friend's wedding.  This sweet couple were full of smiles radiant enough to outshine even the brilliance of the sunny June day.  Their joy was infectious and all who were gathered to witness this special event were caught up in the spirit of happiness that enveloped the bride and groom.


Here are a few of the photos from their day.

Mutts & More Festival ~ Cumming GA Pet Photographer

Dog lovers!

This coming Saturday, 16 June 2012 is YOUR day!  

Or rather, it's your dog's day.  

The Humane Society of Forsyth County 

(which, by the way, is a No-Kill Shelter) 

is holding its 

2nd Annual

and us lot at

Southern Kiwi Photography

are teaming up with them.

Come on down, bring your pooch and visit us at our photo booth for a photo of you and your pet!

Now, you know that pretty much nothing in life is free...  but we're not asking much.  Bring a can of pet food or something from the HSFC Wish List

and we'll give you a 4x6 print of you and your pup.

If you arrive empty handed, no worries - just $5 will do.

All proceeds, whether goods or monetary, will be donated to the Humane Society of Forsyth County.

Help us help our furry friends!

Where:  Fowler Park, 4110 Carolene Way, Cumming

When:  Saturday, 16 June 2012

Time:  10am - 4pm

Admission to the Festival is FREE!

For more information visit the HSFC Website

Free Facebook Timeline Photos

Are you someone who likes to change things up from time to time?  Then here's something for you!  I created a new album on our Facebook page called "Free Timeline Images".  From time to time I'll upload photos to it that are nicely sized for Facebook.  Feel free to use images from this album for your Timeline photo.

Here's the first one in the album; I took it yesterday evening during the Transit of Venus.  Click on the Facebook button under Social Media at the top right of this blog to visit our Facebook page and see the album.  While you're there - like us!

Did you take a photo of the Transit of Venus?  Put a link to it in the comments or share it with me on our Facebook page.  It's something to brag about!  None of us alive today will be around to see the next occurrence - it's not until 2117.

A nod to The Police for the quote!

For those of you who are curious, the EXIF data is: ISO 100, 300mm, f/32, 1/8000 with an ND 2.4 Filter.  Note that even with the ND Filter attached, I still took care not to look directly at the sun through the viewfinder.  I like my eyes.

School Photos ~ Cumming GA Child Photographer

School photo shoots aren't for the faint-hearted - especially when it's littlies!  They keep you running but boy, it's a load of fun.  You see the whole range of reactions: beaming smiles, wide-eyed wonder, a few little tears, shy smiles, total hams and some flat out wails.

One of my favourite photos was a little guy of about 3 months.  He'd been crying and so my assistant picked him up and calmed him.  I photographed him over her shoulder, making sure only he was in the image.  He's staring straight at the camera, eyes wide open, with one last little tear spilling over onto his cheek.  So precious!

And then there's the one with three siblings on a park bench: the older two are looking at the camera while the youngest is letting out a balled-fisted, face-scrunched howl.  His mum says she has wall space and a frame earmarked for that one.

Here are some of the photos from the shoot.  (Note that I only post photos that have a signed model release from the parents.)

New Zealand - Saying Goodbye to Franz Josef Glacier

One thing about New Zealand weather is it's changeable nature.  The various mountain ranges cause a vast difference in weather patterns within a few kilometres.  These two photos below are a good example.  The first is taken near the base of Franz Josef, looking west as the river winds its way out to the Tasman Sea.  You couldn't ask for prettier blue skies.

I don't much like that there are a bunch of tourists in my photo (just as I'm in theirs!), but they do give a sense of scale; showing the size of this flat, broad valley that is typical of one formed by a glacier.  Valleys caused by rivers are V-shaped.

Here we have one last look back at the glacier before taking the trail back to the carpark.  There was a bit of a storm brewing over the mountains, giving us the push needed to get back on our journey south. The stream in the foreground is from the waterfall you can see on the left of the photo above.  Notice that it's your standard, clear water and not the milky colour of the glacial river shown above.

Franz Josef used to fill the valley as far as the scrub line in this photo.  As you can see, it's receded quite considerably.  But before you go all 'global warming!' on me, the glacier has gone through several periods of growing and receding over the past 260-odd years.  

In 1750 it filled the valley well beyond where the river disappears around the corner in the top photo and over the next 150 years, it slowly shrank back to the scrub line.  From around 1910-1990 Franz Josef experienced a roughly 20 year cycle of advance and retreat.  In 2000 it advanced significantly, to about as far as you can see in the top photo.

I remember a time when you could put a stick in the ground at the base of the glacier at the start of the day  and by night the stick would be swallowed up in ice.  Franz Josef may be a shadow of his former glory, but he's well capable of marching his way back down the mountain.  He's done it before.

For more in the New Zealand series, click HERE

Spring Smiles ~ Cumming GA Family Photographer

Come spring and early summer in Georgia and *everyone* wants to get out and play - after the pollen's gone, that is.  Here are some smiles for you - Mum and Dad with two adorable little boys.  The youngest decided to try out his climbing skills and I caught a series of photos that just begged to be turned into a single image.  I love his expression as he realised he made it!