Goodbye 2007! Hello 2008!

Here we are, less than twelve hours left in 2007. I can't believe how this year has flown! Anything left that you would like to have accomplished this year?

This is the time when we look back on the year past. What an awesome year it has been! What is so wonderful about our profession is that we get to capture your memories for the year. It is such a blessing to be able to capture a moment for others. You can't go back to your child's first year, your wedding day or your senior year, but we are so happy to have been able to capture these milestones for our clients.

I've never really made a New Year's resolution and I haven't decided if I will this year. What is your goal for 2008? Is it to lose a couple of pounds, spend more time with your family or maybe work on your relationship with God? Whatever it is, I wish you the best. I wish for you to have the best 2008 you could have. After all, you won't get to have a second chance!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe night ringing in 2008!

Here are our very favorite images for the year 2007

Michael's Favorite:
An image from his week at the Bonneville Salt Flats of his crazy friend from Canada. He set a world land speed record.
Loretta's Favorite:
An image from Luis and Jill's beautiful wedding that we photographed this fall at Ciccone Vineyards.

Lindsay's Favorite:
A timeless image from one of our Hollywood black and white sessions.

But we really could not forget Cameron.


AAAHH!! IT'S 2008!

Christmas Eve Services

Just one more reminder that we would love to have you join us for Christmas Eve services at Bay Pointe Community Church. God is so awesome and we want to share Him with you.

Services are 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00 PM. Take an hour away from
your hectic schedule, relax and enjoy the splendor of the season. Celebrate the birth of the Christ child. Celebrate your family. If you have no family in the area, there are plenty of Bay Pointe members who will give smiles and hugs. Come alone, come with family, just come! It will be a wonderful experience.

We are blessed and want to share our blessings with you. We look forward to seeing you there!

Loretta wishes Stacy a Happy Birthday!

It is a pleasure to wish Happy Birthday to Stacy! When I photographed Stacy a few weeks ago, I found out that her birthday is Christmas day. What a great day to be born!

I did not want Stacy to miss her birthday wishes while she was enjoying Christmas with her family, so I decided to post this a few days prior.

If you know Stacy, give her a birthday hug. If you do not know Stacy, I will tell you a little bit about her. Stacy loves her family, is a great friend to many and is a delight to photograph. She is a beautiful woman. I am glad we met!

Stacy is mom to Dani. We photographed Dani's senior portraits. Dani is such a great model that we asked her to model for our Super Monday class. Dani modeled for our Hollywood style lighting. You can see Dani's image in a previous blog.

Enjoy your day Stacy!

All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!

Laurel looked today how I felt last night at the mall while I was trying to Christmas shop. Anyone else having that problem? Most of my friends would say that I am the Christmas queen. I love Christmas carols and the Christmas season, but I cannot shop!

On the bright side, we are completing all of our Christmas orders. Whew!!!!! Today we are finishing up by framing twenty wall portraits. It looks like a framing factory in the camera room.

It seems that lately, I have had a way with making the children scream and not always screams of delight. Laurel is cutting teeth, so she was not really mad at me. We were able to get some beautiful images before she had enough of us.

It's Here!

Today we launched our all new Miss Heart of Michigan website! We are so excited that it has all of the most up to date information about our pageant. As we gain sponsors, we will add more information about them. Also, as our list of sponsors grows, we will be posting the dollar amount of the scholarship that our 2008 Miss Heart will receive. We'd love to hear your feedback on our new site! Please check it out! www.MissHeartofMichigan.org

Something new for Christmas!

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock! Christmas is right around the corner! Have you made plans for Christmas Eve church services? Michael and Loretta would like to invite you to join them at Bay Pointe on Christmas Eve. Services will be at 3, 5 and 7:00pm (They will be at the front door for each service, so you cannot miss them!). I know that sometimes around Christmas, it's nice to go back to a church you are used to. Why not try something new this Christmas Eve? They would love to show you around Bay Pointe! There is child care available for children up to kindergarten at all services. Check out Bay Pointe's website at www.bponline.org for more information about weekly services! Hope to see you there!

Give, give, give!

Today Michael and I went over to the Father Fred Foundation to drop off the checks that our clients donated. Father Thome was so delighted to receive the $280! Anything we can give is alway so appreciated. The Father Fred Foundation is located on Hastings Street in Traverse City. They are always accepting donations of food and clothing. The Father Fred Foundation has a long standing history in our community. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful place for those in need. If you are interested in donating your time or goods, you can learn more on their website at www.fatherfredfoundation.com. 'Tis the season!

Ho Ho Ho...Merry Orders!

For the next few weeks, Michael, Loretta and I are feeling like busy little Christmas Elves! We have been working away at all the Christmas orders we have! Today I am at a standstill. I finished everything I could and now I sit and wait for FedEx to bring more portraits! Loretta has made a home for herself in front of the computer retouching and sending in the orders. The ice storm in Kansas has slowed down delivery for a few of the orders. When they arrive, I will be a very busy elf getting us back on schedule! We know how important it is to have your portraits for Christmas! We promise that we will call as soon as your portraits arrive! Happy shopping!

Christmas Special 2007

Here are samples from today's Christmas special. The children had beautiful outfits! Red and black were the theme of the event.

We photographed the family dog in one session and baby doll with another. They also dressed beautifully for the portraits.

A great big thank you to those who contributed to the Father Fred Foundation. Together, we were able to raise $250 for the Foundation. Way to go, Traverse City!

Feeling the Christmas Spirit!

One day down, one to go! Today was the first day of our children's Christmas special. What a fun day! I even got Skittles!

Our clients are amazing! They donated their session fees to the Father Fred Foundation. Today alone, we raised $150 for them! What great things they will be able to do with such generous donations! Tomorrow will only bring more. The Christmas season is always a good time to remember those in need. We are thankful that we are able to give to them.

Here are a few of today's images.

Lots of fun! Lots of fake snow on my pants! I cannot wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us! For tonight, I may go start my Christmas shopping. Oh boy! Wish me luck!

The Many Faces of Cameron

We had so much fun photographing Cameron today! Cameron's dad is the head coach of St. Francis' Varsity Football team. We have had a great time getting to know Josh and Heather through St. Francis' successful football season.

Today Cameron made his daddy proud by showing us his football skills.

Cameron came in sleeping, but made us laugh through his entire session. I guess I am good at getting kids to scream! Cameron now has new expressions that his parents have never seen. We absolutely loved all of them! We couldn't pick a favorite so we wanted to give a sneak peak at why Loretta is laughing out loud. She made so much noise, that Michael is hiding upstairs!

Cameron was so excited about having his portrait taken that he couldn't keep it inside!

The weather outside is frightful!Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

We thought he might need a hat for the storm that is supposed to hit us tomorrow. Isn't he so cute? Everyone drive safe with all the lovely weather we have coming!

Happy Birthday Cayden!

Friday is Cayden's second birthday! We first met Cayden's parents when we photographed their wedding in September, 2003. The next time we saw Greg and Jenny was when we met Cayden at their first family session. Since then, we have also photographed Cayden for Easter and on our Happy Apples set. We love to see Cayden every time he visits us! Jenny said they are having a party for Cayden. We hope everyone has a good time! Happy Birthday Cayden!

Children's Christmas Special

The Children's Christmas Special set is ready for portraits!

Our beautiful model Holly wore her special Christmas dress so we could photograph her for the postcard that will be mailed to clients.

If you have not been a part of Classic Gallery Children's Specials, here is how it works...

1. You call the studio to make an appointment for Friday, December 7 or Saturday, December 8. Our phone number is 231-947-6655 or 800-417-2822.

2. You write a tax deductible check to the Father Fred Foundation for the session fee. The fee will be $20 for the first two children and $10 for each additional child. We used to have clients bring toys for the session, but the financial need is so great this year, that we decided to let the Father Fred Foundation make the decision for the use of the money.

3. You choose the pose and package on the day of the session.

4. Special packages pricing is available for this Christmas session. Packages start at $40. Christmas cards are also available.

5. Your portraits will be delivered no later than December 19. Your Christmas cards will be available on December 14.

The best times are booking quickly! Please call now! (however, if it's midnight, please wait until we wake up!)

St. Francis Gladiator Football

Hi from Loretta, blogging from Traverse City. Hi from Michael, driving home from Detroit.

Congratulations to the St. Francis football players for their hard work and determination for the 2007 football season. Congratulations to the coaches, cheerleaders, booster club, parents, friends and families, who worked along with the team to make a great season.

Michael was at Ford Field and he was amazed! The Gladiators were so professional.

Michael was also witness to a halftime official proposal of marriage. She accepted!

I was not able to go to the game, so I listened on WLJN radio. It was great hearing them read emails from friends and family listening all over the world, including Iraq. That's a following!

We are proud to photograph all of the St. Francis teams.

Angel, the dog who stole our hearts!

Go Glads!

We just photographed the St. Francis football team and coaches, in preparation for their state championship game.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of this image, please contact us at 947-6655.

Michael will be photographing the team from the sidelines at Ford Field. We will post some of our favorites on the blog early next week.

We are so proud of St. Francis! Go Glads!

Yeah! Way to Go Glads!

We photographed the Army Recruiters Ball in Kalamazoo on Saturday afternoon and evening, so we missed listening to the St. Francis Football semi finals. As soon as we got back to the studio, I searched all kinds of web sites to find the scores. Wow! Great job!

We will photograph the team and coaches on Wednesday afternoon and be at Ford Field on Saturday! We are so excited for the team and parents and St. Francis High School. We are so proud of you!

Happy Birthday Molly!

Friday is Molly's first birthday. It has been so much fun to watch her grow. Isn't she beautiful?

Happy birthday Molly!

St. Francis Football Team

We were so excited to photograph the St. Francis Football team yesterday morning! This image will be printed in the State Semi Finals program. Good luck this Saturday!

Lindsay was going to post this image yesterday afternoon, but she was not feeling well. We sent her to the doctor, who immediately sent her to the ER for a CT scan. We have not heard the results yet. Please keep Lindsay in your prayers.

Super Monday

November 12 is Super Monday for thousands of photographers around the country. It is sponsored by Professional Photographers of America. Super Monday features twice per year educational programs which are hosted by professional photographers in their own studios - course offerings typically range from seniors, children and weddings to marketing and digital imaging. Michael and Loretta will be teaching a basic lighting course to photographers from Michigan. One photographer will be driving more than three hours to attend the class.

Dani from Forest Area High School will be our senior model for the Hollywood Glamour session. Since we are engaged, Anthony and I will be the models for the engagement session. I will also model as a bride for the formal bridal session at church.

We will take the class to Don's Drive In for lunch, so they can enjoy the best burgers, fries and shakes, along with the great atmosphere. Michael also made coffee cake, brownies and chocolate chip cookies. We will be well fed for the day.

I will post some images after class so you can see how much fun we will have.

Congratulations to St. Francis!!!!

Congratulations to the St. Francis Gladiator football team! Another great game! We are so excited for you! Good luck next week!

Good Luck St. Francis Football Team

Good luck to the St. Francis Football Team! We are cheering for you!

There's No Crying Over Spilled Hot Chocolate

Our studio property looks great today, thanks to the St. Francis Basketball team! The players did their community service by raking the studio lawn. In return, we made a donation to the Father Fred Foundation.

Since it was so cold, we decided to make hot chocolate for them. Who knew it would prove to be so interesting? Loretta and I slaved over a hot stove and microwave to make the best hot chocolate. The presentation was beautiful, until I slipped on the stairs and lost six of the ten cups. There was hot chocolate and whipped cream everywhere. The majority of the spill ended up on me. I smelled very sweet driving home, but I was a bit sticky.

We were able to recover. We made more hot chocolate and everyone was able to enjoy the warmth.

We are off to photograph the TC Christian Sabres Basketball team.

We are feeling very short, next to all of the basketball players.

Father Fred Foundation

The session charge for Happy Apple Days was food donations to the Father Fred Foundation pantry. Thank you to the families who were very generous in giving. Michael delivered the boxes of food on Wednesday. He noticed that the shelves were almost empty. If you find some spare food items in your cupboards, or you are at the store buying candy for Halloween, please pick up some non-perishables and add them to your shopping cart. If you feel motivated to clean your closets, the Foundation can use some winter clothing. You may bring them to the studio and we will deliver them, or you may take them directly to Father Fred. The Father Fred Foundation is so good to Northern Michigan. Let’s help them make it even better.

Happy Birthday Ellianna!

Tomorrow is Ellianna's first birthday! We are so happy to have gotten to know her and her wonderful family. It seems like just yesterday, we were photographing her parent's wedding at Faith Reformed Church! We had such a wonderful time. We are really excited to be able to photograph their beautiful daughter's milestones. We met Ellianna when Rick and Cara brought her in for her six month portraits. She was such a happy baby! We enjoyed capturing all of her little expressions.

We were pleased to see Ellianna again for our Happy Apple Days! It was good to see the whole family as well! It is clear that her family loves their little girl. Isn't she adorable?