Where did December go?

I do apologize for the delay in posting a more recent blog. December has been a whirlwind month! I had back to back appointments plus my brother and sister-in-law had their vow renewal ceremony. I was in the wedding PLUS I was also the photographer! Luckily I have WONDERFUL friends in my life that served as second photographers as well as my husband. So they had 4 photographers to capture their wedding day! Thank you SO much Kricia, Micha and Andy!!

No, I am not in this picture because I was behind my camera at the time when this picture was taken! Brittany was such a gorgeous bride! I can not tell you all how blessed I have been for her to become a part of my life! I wish them a life filled with happiness and love!

I designed many, many Christmas cards! These two just being a few samples!

(The wording is only distorted because these are not the high resolution images!)

I am currently in Cleveland, Ohio with Jason for a wedding this evening at Jacobs Fields! It's going to be really awesome! Last night Jason took me out and we did a shoot of me in my wedding dress at a place called Squires Castle. He got some AMAZING shots. If you check out his blog http://www.capturelifephoto.blogspot.com/ you will see them! I can't wait to get one printed to hang in my house! I LOVE them.. he did a fantastic job.. as usual!

After that I will be home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then I fly to California for a photography workshop and a wedding. I will be gone for 5 days! This is going to be yet another wonderful learning experience.

So I want to take this time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your photographer and I hope to continue to do so in the future!!!! I will post pictures from my new travels when I return home from California. God Bless you all!

I LOVE this time of year!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our family had a great one, that is for sure! We went to my Mother-in-laws house and celebrated there. I don't know about all of you but I don't eat food that good any other time of year!! Thanksgiving and Christmas.. it's the time to go ALL out for food! Andy and I snapped a few quick pictures of us Thanksgiving day before we headed down. This is a busy time of year and the countdown is on for the Christmas picture order deadline! All orders must be placed by December 4th or I can not guarantee that they will be back in time to give out for gifts. My beautiful little girl is also now 9 months old!

I can't believe how quickly time has passed! She is growing so quickly! As me for me the next few weeks are going to be extrememly busy! Work, work, work and then a little play followed by more work. My Aunt Rita, Kaydence and I will be traveling to Texas on the 15th of December to visit my mom and the rest of my family for Christmas. Then I come home the 20th only to fly out the next day for a wedding in Cleveland, Ohio. Isn't that awesome?! I will be home for Christmas Eve and Day and then the 26th I fly out to California to meet the whole Jason Lanier Team as well as photograph a wedding and attend a workshop! Then I come home the 31st and have a couple days to wind down before another wedding! I will keep you all posted on my travels. It's not too late to have Christmas Beach Pictures done. This is the beautiful Robison Family!

I hope that you all have a great week! Talk to you soon!

Children

The joys of children are never-ending. I LOVE to capture children's expressions and personalities! Every child is so unique. I can't even begin to express the joy that I get watching children smile and just be kids!! From babies...

to older children..

there is so much to capture!

I just wanted to thank every customer that has given me the opportunity to meet and take photographs of such wonderful children and watch them grow up!

What are best friends for?!

So this weekend I had such a great time! As much as I would like to say it was a nice relaxing weekend I can't. But... I did have a great time and some much needed time with a best friend! I went up to Tuscaloosa to help Kricia with her first non-family/friend catering event! I drove up Thursday night and first thing Friday morning we got up and had some breakfast at Panera Bread. Can I say OMG!?! What an awesome place to get breakfast!! I had never been but will definately go back! If you ever want something sweet for breakfast I recommend the Cinnamon Bagel....yummy!! So after that we went back to the house and started prepping the food for the next day. Kricia's client picked a very large selection of foods for their engagement party.

Everything from Deviled Eggs, Mango Pinapple Salsa, to Caramilized Onion White Cheddar Cheese Dip! We made Italian Subs that were terrific!!! I had a pretty funny moment when it came to the blueberry scones though. I looked at Kricia and asked her if it was okay if the Blueberry's got smashed in the dough. Kricia, thinking I meant just a little bit, said, "Yea.. no problem." She then walked over from what she was doing and said, "OMG.. we are going to have smurf scones! The dough was blueish purple! I felt so bad but we then decided that if that was the only thing that went wrong with this whole experience then we were doing pretty good! They turned out very good though and tasted wonderful. The other awsome thing was that we managed to keep everything very organized as we went along. We didn't have to stop every five minutes to wash something or things like that.

We had everything prepped and in the car except for the food by about 12:00 p.m. The morning of we got up to get ready and load all the food at six. The party was at 10 a.m. so we had to be there no later than 8. We got there and just hit our areas (mine decorating/placing) and Kricia the rest of the food preperation. Everything went so smoothly! There are so many great pictures that I could add to this from all the finished products but I'm going to create a slideshow of all the pictures and post that for everyone to see later. Kricia was able to hand out a few business cards as well so that was great.The other great thing was that the setting we were in was awesome! We were completely surrounded by woods so I took a few minutes once we were done with the party to get a few lanscape shots. I really wish that I would have had a bride to take out and place in the shots.. they would have been amazing but you know.. I'm not really complaining!

So anyway.. this blog is very long at this point. The whole weekend was fabulous.. from the great food and job Kricia did on her first event to the extra experience taking pictures of food and landscape. I hope you all had a great weekend as well! Here is one last lanscape shot for you to finish up with......

Until next time,
Leslie

At last.. A Blog!

Wow! That is the one word that I can use to describe Pittsburgh! I really LOVED that city! It is SO gorgeous! I'll be posting a picture or two of me later that Jason took while we were looking around a bit. Right across the street from the hotel was an old European Style train station that was converted into an apartment building. Wait until you see the pictures! They are awesome. Pittsburgh has the "feel" of New York City but cleaner. Now on to the wedding... that was a little bit of an adventure! The ceremony was pulled off without a hitch.. it was after that things got a little crazy.

We leave the church to head to the reception. The groom had told us that the reception site was about an hour away. On the way was an Old Mill that we were going to stop at to take pictures. Well... that didn't happen. The limo driver got lost...she had GPS in the limo.. I guess she didn't know how to use it! So needless to say we were in the car behind them and we are following them to the most secluded area. We keep looking at each other saying WOW.. can you imagine this picture or that picture?! HA.. yea right.. we finally get back into the city and are a little down about the fact that all the shots we thought we were going to get were gone. The poor bride and groom were 30 minutes late to their own reception! (I WOULD BE TICKED!) Oh well, Jason and I had another plan for some gorgeous pictures. Before we had the chance to really talk about that though, Jason asks the DJ what the first dance song is. Well, the DJ tells Jason that the Brides father was supposed to bring him the CD. So the DJ heads over to the bride and even from a distance you can see that something isn't right. No one had the bride and grooms first dance song! NO WORRIES! Jason, by the grace of God, had brought his wireless internet card and we were able to pull up their song and download it on Jason's IPOD. YAY! The day was saved. So, luckily that all turned out well!

We ended up taking the bride and groom to this old alley and a gorgeous old Courthouse just a few blocks down. We got some AMAZING shots. If you want to see more of them go to Jason's blog. He has the slideshow up. His website is http://www.jasonlanier.com/. That is about all for now! Have a great day! Until next time...

Leslie

What is in a name??

This is my question for the day:

What is in a name?

Is it honesty, integrity or character? Or, is a name just a name? There are many definitions to the word name. Some of them include:

1. a word or a combination of words by which a person, place, or thing, a body or class, or any object of thought is designated, called, or known.
2. a reputation of a particular kind given by common opinion
3. the verbal or other symbolic representation of a thing, event, property, relation, or concept.

To me, the second definition jumps out the most. I want others to relate integrity, honesty and character to my name. Those three things make up the person that I am. I value them at the highest possible standards. Yesterday, I was told that it is a great thing to hold these things at such high standards because if I didn't, then no one else would either.

So, I have made a big decision that was influenced directly by this question. Over the next several weeks I will be transitioning my business name to Leslie Roark Photography. Don't worry, you will still be able to get to me using www.ambiancephotographybyleslie.com! I just truly believe that if I value my name enough to use it for my work and business, then others will too.

Now, I don't want this taken the wrong way. There is a lesson to this post much more valuable than any decision I can make for my business. That is, that each and everyone one of us needs to value our names because our names hold more than each of us could ever imagine. It is my hope that twenty years from now if you hear the name Leslie Roark, that you think of my character, honesty and integrity. Even, before you think of my photography! Until next time..

Les

No News is Good News

I guess the old saying is true.. at least for this week! No news is good news! I have spent the week diving head first into advertising and the like. I also FINALLY posted new pictures of my darling little girl, Kaydence! She is absolutely the love of my life. She gives kisses now and calls out "ma-ma" when she wants me. She is just over 7 months old and she has 6 teeth! Four on top and 2 on the bottom. At this rate she will have a mouthfull before she is a year old.

I am off to a shoot in Pittsburgh this weekend with the bossman, Jason (http://www.jasonlanier.com/)! I am looking forward to this SO MUCH! The wedding is at a tavern! Can you even imagine the pictures that will come from this?! Hopefully if you all are reading this you have seen the new slideshow! I hope you enjoyed it! I hope you all have a great week!

The Eyes Tell All

In the last few weeks since I posted my first blog these eyes have cried many tears. Some of them have been happy.. but I must be honest.. most have been tears of sadness and worry. The happy tears started when I spoke with one of my new best friends, Kara Lanier. For those of you that read my previous blog you know that it is because of her that I met a second new best friend, her husband Jason. If you want the full details, please read the previous blog because this one would never end if I told the whole story again.

After working with Jason on Pensacola Beach he asked me, "Leslie, would you ever be interested in traveling with me to shoot weddings??" Well of course I said yes but to be honest I had my doubts. Why would this AWESOME photographer want me to shoot with him? I told him to call me if he ever needed someone, that I would love to and we parted for the night... me excited over the wonderful shoot we just had but sad because I never really thought he would call. Boy was I TOTALLY wrong! That’s what I get for doubting myself! About a week later I get a phone call from Jason asking me if I was busy on the 22nd. I was totally shocked and excited BUT.. I already had a shoot booked that day.. as I told him this he said well what about the next weekend.. are you booked then? OMG.. this dude is serious.. he really does want me to work with him! I had nothing booked the 28th so after talking with Andy we decided that it was a great opportunity to gain more experience with wedding photography. I called Jason back and everything was set to go.


Then, a tragedy occurred the Tuesday before my wedding on the 22nd. My camera fell into the ocean from my tripod during a beach shoot. Christy, I’m so glad I saved your pictures!
I cried SO hard about this! I had a wedding less than a week away and my camera was not working to say the least. Luckily I knew that I had a backup camera, my grandfather has one, but I have to learn a WHOLE new language of camera because its not the same as mine. Not to fret.. better to teach myself that than to have to call a bride and say, "I'm sorry you have no photographer for your wedding." So I got my new camera ordered and sent mine to be repaired (yes.. they can fix it!) but this "tragedy" still put a damper on things so my spirits were very low. Then after having a sinus infection for 2 months I finally got better only to get a virus last week that cause me to run a fever of 101.7+ for 16 hours last Tuesday. Andy said, "What are you going to do about New Jersey?" I looked at him from the bed and said, "I don't care if I am bleeding to death, I'm going to New Jersey!" Luckily by Friday I was in tip-top shape excited about the weekend. I took the picture of me in the hotel room waiting Jason to call me to leave for the wedding. The New Jersey shoot was fantastic! For a few sneak peek pictures go to www.jasonlanier.com and look at his blog. If I didn't know the number of shots we took at this wedding I honestly would have said we laughed more than we worked but I know that is not the case! We just click like old friends and of course talking with Kara on the phone after the wedding made it feel even more as if we were all old friends!

Now for the news that I have told some of you was coming... Over the next few weeks I will be transitioning to become the newest employee of Jason Lanier Photography!!!! Don't worry.. I am keeping my business.. I love you and your children SO much there is NO way I could give that up! I am still going to be doing weddings with my business as well so if you know someone who is getting married make sure you send them my link! I am super excited about this experience and I know that it is the right thing for me to do! This just means that if you would like to book an appointment that you will need to book it sooner rather than later. As a side note, now is the perfect time for beach pictures! I can also do custom Christmas cards for you to send out!!! So, these eyes have been through alot. I'm really am very blessed for things to have worked out so well. Andy told me the other night that I got "lucky" in meeting Jason and Kara but.. I know it was God all along! He obviously has a plan for me that is greater than anything I ever could have expected! I give him all the praise. I think that my camera falling in the ocean was his way of putting my feet back on the ground before I was floating in the clouds! Check back because I plan on updating my blog more often than I have been!

To Blog or Not to Blog...

For some time now I have contemplated having a blog for the business. I have a personal blog but upon meeting not only a fantastic photographer but also a wonderful new friend I have decided to start the business blog. I will still offer occasional giveaways to keep everyone on their toes. It is just going to be a little more informal than the old Daily News.

Now, back to my new friend Jason!

Last night I was given one of the greatest opportunities of a lifetime! I was able to work with a California photographer named Jason Lanier. Jason is a location photographer (yes, he travels to anywhere to take wedding photographs and etc.) that was in a bind. His wife called because they were unsure whether his connecting flight in Houston would make it in from Chicago with all the flooding going on right now. I spoke with her that morning and she said that if I hadn't heard from her by 1 o'clock that all was well in the world.
So at 1 when I didn't hear from her I decided to take a nap and relax from the long night before. At 4:14 as Andrea and Joe are getting ready to take their friend Josh to the airport Andrea hands me her phone (I had used hers when I spoke with Jason's wife because mine was dead). Jason's plane had to do an emergency landing in Baton Rouge, LA because of dropping cabin pressure (?? I could be wrong on the exact reasoning). He would be able to make it to the wedding but he was supposed to be there at 5 o'clock for the before pictures! Can I go and take pictures and be there with Jason the rest of the night?? So I was SO excited.. I said of course!
I got off the phone with Jason's wife to call Jason himself to get the details. In the meantime I am high tailing it to my house because it was 4:14 and I was supposed to be on Pensacola Beach by 5. I got all the details and Jason called the bride to just let her know the situation and that I was on my way but would be a little later than 5. I took a shower fixed my hair and makeup in 15 minutes! I made it to the wedding at 5:30 and got to meet the most awesome Bride and Groom I think I have ever worked with. (Funny side note.. I had happened to have met the Bride the night before at Joes (one of my BFF’s fiancé) winging party!)!!!

So I knew Jason would be there right at the ceremony and sure enough he was. I cannot say enough good things about him. Honestly, you would think that we had been working together all of our lives! We practically read each other’s minds on where each other needed to be and what pictures to take. He also shared so much with me regarding photography. I learned SO much from him! If this says anything... only my closest friends call me Les and by the end of the night that is what Jason was calling me and I did not mind one bit!

After all was said and done Jason asked me if I would be interested in ever traveling with him to take photographs of other weddings (and as he said.. of course I will be sleeping in a different hotel room! LOL). He travels all around the United States and other countries.. I said OF COURSE! So long as I can get Kaydence's schedule worked out and have all of that taken care of.
This honestly was such a great experience! I'm so sorry if there are typos.. I was just so excited to post this! Jason made a good point last night.. he said, "I love to take new photographers with me on shoots and teach them everything I know because if they look good, I look good." He is totally right and I would do the same thing. God really has a way of working miracles and this opportunity sure was one of them! We also got a picture of the two of us last night that I am going to have him send me so that I can post it! You all should check out his site.. it is www.JasonLanier.com. He is a fantastic photographer and I hope that God will make our paths cross again! And Jason, while I know you couldn't stop thanking me for helping you in a bind, I can't stop thanking you for one of the greatest opportunities I've ever had!!!!!!

So, now that I have this phenomenally long first blog, I will stop for the night! The next Senior to call and book an appointment will receive 1 free airbrushed 8x10!
Leslie