senior pix

Hey gang! This is John and he is a senior here at Grandfield High. John is an AWESOME kid! He is SUPER smart and has big plans after graduation, he plans to join the army and make a career out of the military. His big dream is to become a pharmacist though. We all believe that his dream is very achievable since he is very ambitious. Here are a few shots from his senior portrait session. He really liked the finished print where he is sitting on the staircase. I used a little bit of a Lucis filter on it.

By the way, did I mention that he is also my daughter's boyfriend? Here are a few shots of the both of them as well!


Cheers!
V-

More PPA Charities Operation SMile Pix!

Hey gang! I just opened an account with Flickr. You can log on to http://www.flickr.com/photos/veronicaleal/?donelayout=1 to see more of the candid shots that I took for the Operation Smile fundraiser at Imaging USA in Phoenix.

PPA Charities

One of my favorite charity organizations is the Professional Photographers of America Charities "Operation Smile".


Every year, the members of the PPA unite and donate thousands of dollars to help children and young people born with facial deformities receive the medical treatment required that would normally not be possible.




Our organization is so great because we send money to send medical teams to different countries to perform the operations. The medical team that the Operation Smile organization sends donates their talents and time. The mony is used to cover the costs of providing these services.




This year at Imaging USA, we held our annual fund raiser. We met at the Alice Coopertown Restaurant. A local band (who was fabulous)entertained us and food and fellowship was enjoyed by all. By the way...these events are where the BEST NETWORKING possibilities come forth. Hundreds of items were donated for our silent auction by photographic vendors and we were able to bring in some extra $$$$ besides the already donated amount to the charity.

This year, I was honored and privileged to be able to take the event's candid photographs again. Here are a few snapshots of some of my friends and different faces that make Operation Smile possible. I hope you can make it next year!
Cheers!
V-

Imaging USA 2009

Wow! I can’t believe that I’ve already come and gone to PHOENIX, ARIZONA!!!
Imaging USA 2009 was fabulous!

The weather was absolutely refreshing………………in the 70s. And now we have to deal with Ice and snow in Texoma. It was so surreal for me as I was flying over Arizona to see all of those canyons and what looked to be vast amounts of dirt and sand. Those of you who know me well know that I have this crazy little pet peeve…………..I HATE dirt in between my toes! I could feel my toes scrunching together as I looked out the window.

When I took the drive from the airport to the Sheraton, the scenery was so different and AMAZING! The view was nothing like the grassy Oklahoma plains that I am so used to.

Probably, the coolest thing that I saw, were the cacti along the side of the road. I have seen the bush type cacti all of my life, but had NEVER seen a tall Saguaro cactus in real life! The movies and the photos in books and magazines don’t give these plants justice. They are so statuesque and BEAUTIFUL!

Anyhow, the people here are very nice, and I will post more photos of Imaging USA later this week! Wish you were there!

Cheers!

¡Caramba! ¡ ¡ ¡No puedo creer que ya fui y ya vine de PHOENIX, ARIZONA!!!

El tiempo estaba muy suave…..en los 70s. Y pues, ya….tengo que mantenerme con el hielo y la nieve aquí en Texoma. Era muy surrealista para mí cuando estaba volando sobre Arizona y estaba viendo todas las montañas y toda la tierra y arena. ¡Ustedes los que me conocen bien ya saben que me choca mucho tener tierra adrento de mis dedos de mis pies! Pude sentir mis dedos apretandonse cuando miraba afuera de la ventana del avión.

Cuando tome el viaje del aeropuerto a la Sheraton, el paisaje era muy differente y tan asombroso! El paisaje no era nada como los planes de Oklahoma que estoy muy acostombrada. Lo más suave que mire eran los nopales por el lado del camino. He mirado los nopales del monte, pero nunca he mirado los nopales Saguaro en toda mi vida. Los he mirado en las películas y en fotos en revistas y libros, pero les da justo como se miran en la vida verdad. Son tan Hermosos~


Como quiera, la gente aquí son muy amables y voy a poner más fotos en los días que vienen. ¡desea que ustedes estaban auí!

¡Chao!

Good Luck at the Bridal Fair!!!

Yipeee!!! I am soooo anxious to fly out of this FREEZING Southwest Oklahoma weather and go to Phoenix! The weather will be a DELIGHT!

The only down fall to going to Imaging USA is that I will miss the Wichita Falls Bridal Fair. :( Several of my local photo buddies will be attending and I soooo wish that I could be a part of the show.

For those of you getting married soon, the bridal show will be this Saturday at the Wichita Falls MPEC Center. There are so many fabulous photographers around our area and this is a WONDERFUL opportunity to meet them all and check out their work.

Anyhow, Good luck to all of you shutterbugs and don't stress too much getting ready for your booth!

P.S.
Be nice to each other out there! We are all PROS ;)

Imaging USA - Woohoo!!!

WOW!!! I am getting SUPER STOKED about going to Imaging USA again. This will be my third time attending and it will be SUPER to be able to see all of my friends and meet new ones.

This year, I get to photograph the American Society of Photographers banquet again. Last year, I was given the honor of taking all of the candids for the event and I have been asked to do it again this year as well. What an honor to be able to meet and photograph our country's BEST of the BEST photographers! You can learn more about this organization by logging on to www.asofp-online.com

This will be the gown that I will be wearing to the dinner. I like to shop online quite a bit, but this year, I forgot to purchase a gown early enough to accomodate shipping time. I searched all over Lawton and then drove in to Wichita Falls where I was lucky enough to be able to find this one in my size.

I leave on Friday and will be there early enough to attend some of the pre-conference events. I will post pix of Phoenix and Imaging USA next week!

Cheers!

Paula Unplugged

I went on a REALLY FUN photo shoot yesterday in the middle of no where, Oklahoma! This is Paula, and she is the lady who makes my new line of children's frames. She happens to also be a very accomplished singer as well.

For this particular image, I used my Lumedyne and I "Split lit" her. I did move the reflector just enough to give her a bit Rembrandt lighting under the other eye for a more dramatic effect. I normally don't use split lighting, but I really enjoyed "breaking this rule" since Paula is a musician. I hope you love this portrait as much as I do!
Cheers!

Elgin High School

Hey there! I just wanted to post a few shots of one of the seniors that I photographed this holiday season.

This is Courtney and she is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! She is from Elgin High School and has a promising future ahead of her. What I LOVE about my clients is that they are all so different. The white pickup in some of these shots was her grandpas. The use of his truck made her portraits very special and very memorable for her family.

On this particular day, it was a beautiful day but also EXTREMELY windy. That didn't stop us though.........we still got wonderful shots and had so much fun! In order to get more sharper images due to the wind, I used off camera flash in most of the shots and I mostly had to face her towards the wind because of her long hair.

Even though I am usually very careful not to get sun in people's faces, I really liked the pasture and trees so I asked Courtney to just "play" in the field on the second shot. I then converted the image to a high grain sepia tone with a little bit of color to create a really funky look.

Anyhow, the most rewarding part of this experience for me was the look on Courtney's mom's face when she opened her box of portraits and loved them just as much as I loved creating them!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE what i do!
Cheers!

What a HOLIDAY SEASON it was!

WOW! What a WONDERFUL holiday season it was for 2008! My holiday photography schedule actually started back in October and went all the way through TODAY! I have been Soooooooo busy that my blogging has had to take a mini-break.

Anyhow, Today I researched a potential opportunity for my business. It seems that there is a local building for sale in my town. IT is FABULOUS!!!!
The building is about 24 feet wide and about 70+ feet long. The ceilings are very tall and that is important for my studio lighting techniques. I love that the building sits in downtown Grandfield and is historical. It has a lot of charm and that is important to me as well.

It almost seems like a dream except that .................it has a severe water damage problem at the end of the building towards the back and there isn't a bathroom. Apparently, the rooftops in these old town buildings are flat and this particular building has sloped down a little towards the back. So water has collected and now the roof top has caved in and the water is damaging the wood floor and the walls.

I will spend the next few business days researching this possible investment and prepping to leave for Phoenix Arizona for our annual Professional Photographers of America convention. I will keep you tuned. Wish me luck!
Happy New Year!
Cheers!

My New Haircut

Okay boys and gals..just like I promised...here's the NEW HAIRCUT!
Yup...I had it all cut off. But I gotta tell ya, I am love LOVE LOVING the life of a short haired girl! Now, I get to sleep in an extra 20 minutes in the morning and I don't have to worry about how I'm going to wear it for the day. It feels FABULOUS!

Anyhow, I had my daughter Ariel (Who's only 14 and drop dead gorgeous) take a few shots of me today. I set up the lights and the technical stuff for her and had her "click" away. I was super impressed with her because she intuitively handled my Canon 5D like a pro and i love the way she angled the camera on her own! Hmmmmmm.......this may be the beginning of a family business?
Anyhow, Let me know what you think: Long hair or short? Which is better?
Cheers!

¡Okay chicos y chicas…como les prometí… aquí está el NUEVO CORTE DE PELO! Sí… me lo corté todo. ¡Pero dejame decirles que estoy tan Tan TAN enamorada con la vida de una chica con el pelo corto! Ahora, consigo dormir en un suplemento 20 minutos por la mañana y no tengo que preocuparme de cómo voy a componerlo para el día. ¡Se siente FABULOSO!

De todos modos, mi hija Ariel (que solamente tiene 14 años y es muy hermosa) tomó algunos fotos de mí hoy. Puse las luces y la materia técnica para ella y nada más tomó los fotos. ¡Era estupenda impresionada con ella porque ella intuitivo dirigió mi Canon 5D como una profesiónal y me encantó la manera que ella puso la cámara de ángulos propios! ¿Hmmmmmm ....... esto puede ser el principio de un negocio de la familia?
De todos modos, déjeme saber lo que usted piensa: ¿Pelo largo o corto? ¿Cuál es mejor?
¡Chao!

Imaging USA

Hey Photo Gang!
I'm making arrangements to attend our Professional Photographers of America National Convention in Phoenix Arizona. Anyone need a 'buddy' to take advantage of the buddy pass?

The convention is January 11th-13th and the pre-conferences begin as early as the 9th. I just purchased my pass for $219, which allows for me to sign up a guest to attend. I can fill in my buddy information at any time. So basically, if anyone wants to go, I will add you as my buddy if you want to split the $219 with me.

If you've never been to a PPA national event......you have been missing out! This will be my 3rd national convention and these are absolutely fabulous and so much fun! The trade show is so big and all of the latest products and services are there to debut. The really nice thing about the convention is that all of the classes are outlined for you so that you can choose what seminar to attend depending on what your photographic needs are.

Anyhow, let me know if you'd like to save a little $$ on the convention ticket. Send me an e-mail at droleal@pldi.net or call me at (940) 636-9098. By the way, after December 1st, the price jumps to $269 for PPA members. ;)
You can log onto www.imagingusa.org for mor information.
Chao!

¡Hola amigos de foto!
Estoy haciendo planes para atender a nuestros convención de los fotógrafos profesionales de la nacional de América en Phoenix, Arizona. ¿Alguien necesita un “amigo” para aprovechar el especial de dos por uno?

La convención es el 11 al 13 de enero y las pre-conferencias comienzan desde el 9 de enero. Acabo de comprar mi paso por $219, y permite que puedo firmar el nombre de un invitado para atender. Puedo completar mi información del invitado en cualquier momento. Pues básicamente, si cualquier persona desea ir, le agregaré como mi invitado si usted desea partir los $219 conmigo.

¡Si usted nunca ha ido a un acontecimiento nacional de PPA ...... usted ha faltado en mucho! ¡Ésta será mi tercer convención nacional y éstas son absolutamente fabulosas y tan divertidos! La demostración comercial es muy grande y todos los productos y servicios están alli para estreno. La cosa realmente agradable sobre la convención es que todas las clases están contorneadas para usted de modo que usted pueda elegir qué seminario a atender dependiendo de cuáles son sus necesidades fotográficas.

De todos modos, déjeme saber si usted quisiera ahorrar un pequeño $$ en el boleto de la convención. Envíeme un E-mail en droleal@pldi.net o llámeme en (940) 636-9098. A propósito, después del 1 de diciembre, el precio salta a $269 para los miembros de PPA. ;)
Se puede ir a www.imagingusa.org para mas informacion.
¡Chao!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving All!
I made a quick trip to Houston, Texas this last weekend to attend a Photography seminar at Prairie Fire Productions!
Steve Hertzberg was a cinematogapher from California and then moved to Houston as he peaked his law career. His passion always was in the film and photography industry, however. The last several years, he began to host these amazing hands on weekend photography worshops once a month. He brings very talented photographers and graphic artists from our industry to teach. I love these so much that I usually attend two to three times a year!
Jim Divitale will be coming on January 17-18 and be teaching a hands on photoshop class for those of us who don't want to struggle with it anymore.
If you are interested in knowing who will be coming to teach or if you would like to get on to Steve's newsletter, then log on to www.prairiefireproductions.com.

¡Feliz día de la gracia a todos!
¡Hice un viaje rápido a Houston, Tejas este último fin de semana para atender a un seminario de fotografía en Praire Fire Productions!
Steve Hertzberg es un cinematogapher de California y tiene unas clases tan suaves de fotografía todos los meses en los fines de semana. Él trae a fotógrafos muy talentosos y a artistas gráficos de nuestra industria a enseñar. ¡Amo éstos tanto que atiendo generalmente dos o tres veces al año!
Jim Divitale vendrá el 17 al 18 de enero y va a enseñar el photoshop para los de nosotros que no deseen luchar con el más.
Si usted está interesado en saber quién vendrá enseñar o si usted quisiera conseguir encendido al boletín de noticias de Steve, entonces ábrase una sesión a www.prairiefireproductions.com.

New Hair cut!

Ooookay………………So I got a new haircut last weekend! My friends have been asking what it looks like. All I have to say is that for me, it is VERY DIFFERENT!!!
I haven’t had hair this short since I was about 5 years old.

My hairstylist is out of Vernon, Texas. She used to be on 10th street in Wichita Falls, and then she moved to Vernon to be closer to her husband’s job. The lucky thing about living in Grandfield is that we are about equal distance to Wichita Falls, to Lawton, and to Vernon. So of course I followed her! Her name is Veronica too! She works at The Lion’s Mane and is a TRUE artist. Veronica is the type of hairstylist that will look at a client and tell her EXACTLY what look would look great on her!

Usually, I sit in her chair and let her do whatever she wants. Last year, I ended up with beautiful blonde streaks, flaming magenta overtones, and then decided to grow my hair long. But now I understand the appeal of short hair. This week, it has been HEAVEN to be able to sleep in a little longer and not have to worry about my hair. I just get up, comb a little, and GO!

My students FREAKED out when they saw my new look. Most of them liked it a lot…some loved it…..and some said I even look very SASSY and younger!....go figure~!
I will take a new picture this weekend and post it. Those of you who know me well………may freak a little.

Anyhow, this is a family portrait I took of my hairstylist and her family a couple of years ago. If you’d like to give Veronica a try, call her at (940) 733-8467. Tell her that I sent you. I promise that you won’t be disappointed!
Cheers!

¡Ooookay .................. pues conseguí un nuevo corte de pelo el fin de semana pasado! Mis amigos han estado preguntando como se parece. ¡Todo lo que tengo que decir es que para mí, es MUY DIFERENTE!!! No he tenido pelo este corto desde que era cerca de 5 años.

Mi peluquera está en Vernon, Tejas. Ella estaba en la calle 10 en Wichita, y entonces ella se movió a Vernon para estar más cerca al trabajo de su marido. La cosa afortunada sobre vivir en Grandfield es que estamos sobre distancia igual de Wichita, a Lawton, y a Vernon. ¡Por supuesto la seguí! ¡Su nombre es Veronica también! Ella trabaja en The Lion’s Mane y es artista. ¡ Veronica es el tipa de peluquera que mirará a su cliente y le dirá EXACTAMENTE qué mirada parecería fantástica en ella!

Generalmente, me siento en su silla y la dejo hacer lo que ella desea. El año pasado, terminé con rayas rubias, tonos de magentas, y después decidía crecer mi pelo largo. Pero ahora entiendo la súplica del pelo corto. Esta semana, ha sido CIELO a poder dormir un poco más y no tuve que preocuparme de mi pelo. ¡Apenas me levanto, me peino un poco, y me VOY!

Mis estudiantes se fliparon cuando vieron mi nueva mirada. ¡La mayoria parte de mis estudiantes les gustaron mucho mi pelo … algunos les encantaron ..... y algunos dijeron que me parezco muy SASSY y más joven! Tomaré un nuevo foto este fin de semana y lo pongo en mi blog. Los de usted que me conocen bien ......... se van a monstruar un poco.

De todos modos, esto es un retrato de la familia que tomé de mi peluquera y de su familia dos años pasados. Si usted quisiera dar a Veronica un intento, llámela en (940) 733-8467. Dígale que le enviara. ¡Prometo que usted no estará decepcionado!
¡Chao!

Mason

WOW! I have been incredibly busy this holiday season! I am still photographing senior sessions along with family portraits. Don't wait too long to book an appointment.......the holiday deadline is December 15th.....YIKES...that's just right around the corner!
Anyhow, this is Mason. He is a senior from Grandfield and is an AWESOME kid!!! What I love about Mason is that he is not afraid to express his individualism and is such a GREAT well-rounded person. I have known Mason's family for over 14 years........and it has been such a pleasure to watch him grow into a smart and handsome young man.
Anyhow, Congrats on all of your accomplishments Mason and THANKS for choosing me to photograph your senior portraits!
Cheers!

¡Caramba! ¡He estado increíblemente ocupada esta estación de Navidad! Todavía estoy fotografiando sesiones de “seniors” junto con los retratos de familia. ¡No espere demasiado mucho para reservar una cita ....... que el plazo de Navidad es el 15 de diciembre ..... YIKES… ya mero está aquí!
De todos modos, éste es masón. ¡Él es un estudiante de Grandfield y es un chico tan IMPRESIONANTE!!! Lo qué me encanta de Masón es que a él no le da miedo asuexpresar su individualismo y es un GRAN persona bien-redondeada.
He conocido su familia por más de 14 años ........ y ha sido mucho gusto de mirarlo crecer a un hombre muy inteligente y guapo.
¡De todos modos, FELÍCIDADES en todos sus logros masón y GRACIAS por escojiendome para tomar sus fotos!
¡Chao!

Portrait Frames Now Available

I am so SUPER excited about my panels and wall portraits! I am now offering all of my enlargement products framed and ready to hang!!!

I am buying my frames through HART Portrait Frames. They are right here out of Stillwater, Oklahoma and the company is owned and operated by Anthony and Holly Hart. They are so super friendly and are willing to go out of their way to get you started with your framing needs. Anthony makes all of the mats and frames right there in their studio workshop. Their products are made of high grade materials and I love them because they offer designs and styles that nobody else offers locally. You can check them out at www.hartportraitframes.com

Anyhow, I am doing all of my own framing now. I wanted to give my clients every opportunity to go home and immediately hang their new portrait art. I love that I don’t have to go into a bigger town and wait to have my portraits framed. My clients seem to love this new service too! Give me a call or an e-mail to get more information of my frames!
Cheers!

¡Estoy tan emocionada de mis panels y mis retratos de pared! ¡¡¡Estoy offreciendo todos mis ampliaciónes con cuadros y listos para colgar!!!

Estoy comparando mis cuadros por Hart Portrait Frames. Están aquí en Stillwater, Oklahoma y el dueño y la dueña de la compañía son Anthony y Holly Hart. Son MUY simpáticos y ayudan mucho para empezarlos con sus necesidades de cuadros. Anthony hace todos los cuadros allí en su estudio y sus productos están hecho de materias muy buenas. Especialmente me gustan los cuadros porque nadie aquí ofrece cuadros como estos. Se puede conseguir más información en www.hartportraitframes.com

Pues, estoy poniendo todos los fotos en cuadros yo solamente. Les quería dar a mis clientes toda la oportunidad de ir a la casa para colgar sus retratos rápidamente. Me encanta que no tengo que ir a otra ciudad más grande y esperar para que alguien me pone los fotos en cuadros. Yo creo que a mis clientes sí les gustan este servicio tambien. Llamanme or mandenme un correo electronico para saber mas información.
Chao.

WOW! I just found this REALLY awesome product!

I often find myself photographing an out of town wedding or covering a big an event for a client…..the problem is that many times, it isn’t practical for me to take my laptop…..which means that I have to guard my compact flash cards with my LIFE until I can get home and down-load and back-up my images!!!

So I just got a NEXTO portable photo and video back up storage device. It allows me to back up my photos directly from my camera or my cards in no time at all without using a computer!!!! I can store up to 160 Gigabytes of information on this little thing! Which are about 40 cards for me! It is about the size of a 3x5 print and works really, really fast. I backed up 590 RAW images from my 8 GB flash card in exactly 5 minutes and 8 seconds!

This little drive is so easy to use and is made of very durable material.
Right now, I’m only using it as a temporary back-up device………..but it can also be used as a hard drive.

Anyhow, the reason that I am so intrigued with this Nexto is because the new Canon EOS 5D Mark II will be able to shoot video as well. I was excited to hear about that but was also concerned about it eating all of my card space…………but now that I have this NEXTO, that won’t be an issue at all!

My NEXTO eXtreme ND2700 is made by NEXTO DI. You can get more information at www.nextodi.com
Or purchase one at Mel Pierce Camera out of Hollywood, California for about $209. Their website is www.melpiercecamera.com.
Cheers!

¡Caramba! ¡Apénas encontré un producto fantástico!

Siempre me encuentro tomando fotos en una boda en otro pueblo o tomando fotos en un evento para clientes……el problema es que a veces no es práctico a llevar mi computadora. Y eso quiere decir que tengo que cuidar mis cartas de foto con todo mi vida hasta que llego a la casa y las pongo en mi computadora.

Pues, encontré el NEXTO almacenaje portátil mecanismo para fotos y video. ¡Con este mecanismo, puedo poner mis fotos de mi cámara o cartas muy pronto sin la computadora! ¡Puedo poner 160 GB de información en esta cosa chiquita! Para mi…..son 40 cartas. El almacenaje portátil es el tamaño de un foto 3x5 y trabaja muy pronto. ¡Puse 590 fotos RAW imagenes de mi carta 8GB en cinco minutos y ocho segundos!

Este mecanismo es muy fácil para usar y se me hace que es muy buen hecho de materias duras. Ahora, lo estoy usando cómo un almacenaje portátil, pero tambien se puede usar cómo un “hard drive”.

En todo caso, la rasón que estoy tan intriga con el NEXTO es porque la nueva Canon EOS 5D Mark II va a poder tomar vidéo tambien. Estaba muy emocionada de eso pero tambien me puse preocupada porque iba usar bastante espacio en mis cartas de foto. Pero con mi NEXTO , eso no va a ser un problema.

La companía NEXTO DI hace el NEXTO eXtreme ND2700. Se puede encontrar más información en www.nextodi.com
O se puede comprar en Mel Pierce Camera de Hollywood, California por $209. Su direción del web es www.melpiercecamera.com.

¡Chao!

Gracie

I had the 'sweet' pleasure of photographing Gracie tonight. She arrived with all 8 of her Halloween costumes!!!! We only got to photograph her in 3 of those...........and then she decided that she'd had ENOUGH.

Anyhow............this was my favorite tonight.

Cheers!

Tuve el honor de tomar fotos de Gracie esta noche. ¡¡Llegó con sus 8 trajes de la víspera de Todos los Santos!! Nada más nos dió 3 de esos trajes……………y luego ya decidó que ya tuvo suficiente.

Pues………………este es mi foto favorito de esta noche.

Chao.