Friday, March 27, 2009

Class of 2009 Senior Portrait Scholarship Winners

Howdy everyone!!!

Attention

& family & friends

The staff of V7 Photos is soooooo excited to announce....

The Winners of the Class of 2009 Senior Portrait Scholarship are.....

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...
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Kyle Alexander & Destini Free


Please join the staff of V7 Photos in telling them Congratulations and watch the blog for images from their sessions coming soon.


& See you at the studio soon for your sessions!

Laters,
Anna & Kristy
V7 Photos

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Wk of 3/22-3/26 & Stimulus Package

Howdy everyone!!! It's been a crazy busy week at the studio. Let's see:
Move out of Freeport office
Put Reception area & Kristy's "office" back together
Rearrange furniture in my office & put it back together
Put studio back together......ummm we won't go there...lol...no really it WILL be done by Monday afternoon. It would have been done sooner but I had to finish moving out of the Freeport office by Tuesday soooo now back to work on the studio then I guess I need to get around to doing my taxes at some point...lol

Speaking of Taxes....V7 Photos is offering a "Stimulus Package" to all our blog readers. The stimulus package is good on ALL orders placed from now until April 14, 2009. The following items are included:

25% Off Canvas Gallery Wraps

25% Off Press Printed Cards

25% Off New Thin Wraps (Thin wraps are sorta like the Gallery Wraps where the image extends around the edges of the portrait. Here's the link to see what they look like. Thin Wraps You can get them with either an Easel Stand to set on a shelf or with a Block Mount to hang on the wall)

25% Off Metallic Prints 16x16 & Larger

25% Off 16x16 Standout Mounts

10% Off Individual Portrait Sheets

****Now through March 30, 2009 - 35% Off Digital Double Mats (Digital Double Mats have the appearance of Double Matting but are printed digitally with a 3D effect. There are a wide variety of sizes and multi-image templates available. Visit this link to see the choices. Digital Mats)

Don't forget....this is good on past, present & future (well the next couple of wks) sessions as long as your order is placed by the dates above.

Laters,
Anna
V7 Photos

Friday, March 20, 2009

03/20/09

Today was a busy busy day. We had a session this morning with a lovely couple.
Here's one of my fave images from the session:

















After their session was complete, Kristy & I got busy and got EVERYTHING pulled away from the outer walls of the building so they could drill the holes to treat under the slab as well as around the outside of the building. WOHOO....no more bugs...
We decided since we had everything pulled out that we were gonna do our "Spring Cleaning". We also are in the process of moving ALJE from the office we rent to the building we own and since Kristy's desk wasn't in the best of shape (it's only particle wood and been moved/built/taken apart 12 times including when it moved from my house to the studio...and I've had it since 1996 so it was a pretty good desk) we brought the computer desk/file drawers to Sweeny to replace hers...We also brought one of the bigger file drawers as our customer drawer was getting kind of full (a very very good thing). It's looking soo nice. I can't wait to finish putting up everything and get the studio back in order. Once we finish, I'll take pics and post them here for y'all to see the studio. Let me just say, if you haven't been in the studio since....before Christmas...it's totally changed.

Have a great wkend!!!!
Laters,
Anna
V7 Photos

Thursday, March 19, 2009

03/18/09 - Attack of the Swarm

So we were in my office at the studio working on our ad campaign and had a friend drop by to say hi. When she left, she called me to the front and showed me the studio front windows.....the bottom of the entire front of the studio was covered in a swarm of termites....UGH.....It's soo crazy, we ate lunch up there and there was nothing...and hour later they are everywhere....so we got on the phone to pest people and finally got someone who would come TODAY because as we were calling, they were getting further and further from the window towards Kristy's desk. The wonderful guys from The BugMobile showed up and we went back up front (we were hiding from them in my office) and there were maybe 30 of the stinkers left...!!!!!!!!! we still want to know where all those hundreds of bugs went. SO, he sprayed them and gave me a quote to treat for termites. So now that's what I have to look forward to...UGH...sometimes I wish I could just rewind and do over a wk.












This was just after they were discovered...we got about triple this amount then they vanished when we weren't looking. Will let y'all know what happens.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

3/16/09...Continued

Hi....So I said I'd come back and tell y'all about Kristy & my adventure to Anahuac. We had to go get some background checks done for a government job we are doing in Wallisville and the Chambers County Courthouse is in Anahuac. We left at 8:45 Monday morning...and of course it was super foggy until we got almost to Houston. Oh...something you might not know about me....I HATE really tall bridges. With that said...we took Beltway 8 around Houston to I-10...can we say I forgot about the really tall bridge at the Port?!?!?! Anyways....we made pretty good time and arrived at the court house at 10:30. Got the background checks done...then we decided to "explore" Anahuac....now if you haven't ever been there (I've only been twice and the first time I was in High School band for a playoff game) then I would be willing to guess that it's smaller than Sweeny...maybe the same size...But we saw a couple of Historical Markers and took a few random photos while we were driving around.
Here's a few of the images we took:

This is the Court House.












Anahuac United Methodist Church












City Entrance Signs

















Cool light in someone's yard












This was a monument at the Knights of Columbus (we think..we didn't write it down and can't rem. for sure) Military Park

















This canon was at the front of the park....I told Kristy..."Oh no...it's gonna shoot us"...so we HAD to take a pic..lol



















We decided to head back towards home and get something to eat along the way. At the 563/IH-10 intersection, there is this huge fruit stand....so we stopped to grab a snack and some photos. It all looked sooo yummy & much better than we can get in the stores down here.
Here's a few images from the fruit stand:























After we finished up there we got back on I-10 and headed towards Houston. We were going to stop at the San Jacinto Mall to eat but the parking lot was pretty full and we needed to get back so we hopped back on I-10. We crossed the tall bridge at the Trinity River and when we were crossing the flat bridge there (If you haven't been in that area lately...they are working on the highway)....so picture this...2 lanes going each way...concrete barricades dividing the E/W traffic and on the outside of both sides....NOOOOOO Shoulder....well there was a mini-van was in front of me, a full size van was next to me and it was pretty much bumper to bumper traffic heading towards Houston at about 55MPH. So this complete and total MORON mini van decided to (and I quote Kristy here) "see if 3 can go into 2...and it doesn't" (later found out it wasn't the mini van driving but a s-10 pulling it). Mr. Cause and Accident & Run decided to get in the lane where the van was....The van hits his brakes to try to keep from getting creamed from the side by the mini-van....I hit my brakes cause the idiot mini-van started coming back in my lane....I glanced to the right to see how close I was to the barricade and see Kristy toss her camera in the backseat (yes...she threw it...thank goodness it didn't break) I glanced the other way since I had NO room to my right and in my driver side mirror I see a semi slam into the back of the van and start sliding towards me....(I could have literally stuck my arm out the window and touched the trailer he was soo close.)...so I hit the gas figuring maybe I could slip past the van or at least get hit by the van and not the semi...Needless to say...we were both scared to death...I just prayed that we wouldn't die. It was almost like time stood still...I know that sounds silly but it's true...we were both soo shook up neither of us thought to take a pic of the idiot that caused the accident who tapped his breaks and then kept going...So we pulled over in front of the van so other cars could get around us and I had Kristy call 911 while I went to check on the other cars. No one was hurt bad.
Oh...here's a photo we took as we were leaving the accident scene so you can see how much room we had on the road....












Let me just tell y'all what we learned...
1) I love EMS peps but their dispatcher wasn't the brightest bulb in the box...Kristy told her we weren't from here...we had no idea exactly where we were...but we were on I-10 going towards Houston and if she turned around facing away from Houston the sign said xxxx next exit and that we could see lots of barges on the other side of the highway...they then asked her ...are you at i-10 & x...kristy said...is that xxxx street? they said no.....kristy said...then no that's not where we are and then told them the street again....they asked her 3-4 diff. streets before the cops showed up and told us we could get off the phone with them.
2) I never ever ever ever want to be involved in a wreck with a semi (thankfully we made it out untouched but OMG...not fun....the guy in the van got hit so hard his seat broke and was laying down flat.
3) I never ever EVER EVER EVER EVER want to stand on I-10 that close to Houston during lunch hour times again....SOOO not fun...loud, smelly, and kinda freaky being that close to cars flying by....at least there was a concrete barricade between us and them....the ones on our side had to go really slow to squeeze between the outside barricade & the van & semi cause they were partly into the outside lane (still haven't figured out how we didn't get hit...God is my only explanation)

















(Giant Concrete Cross between 288 & the port on Beltway 8)
4) the yellow bumps on the road look like a fried egg....see for yourself...not the best photo but I snapped it while I was waiting for Kristy to climb back over my seat to the passenger seat (too much traffic for her to get in/out on her side of the car)












soooo....as if that wasn't all bad enough....we are crossing the REALLY tall bridge on beltway 8 and all of a sudden the truck in front of me jumped in to the outside lane (no signal/warning) and the person next to me had to hit their brakes to keep from hitting him...so I'm sitting here thinking....oh God.....not again...and please God not on this freaking bridge....I looked about 8 car lengths up the road and there is a car parked....no lights....no brakes...nothing....just stopped.....so I hit my brakes...pray the person behind me is paying attention cause they had been catching up to us.....well we got around them and thankfully OUT of Houston with no other happenings....Stopped in Pearland and ate at Chili's before going home....
Sooo....Sound fuN????? That was our Monday....I don't think I've ever been so glad to have a day end.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

March 17, 2009 - Happy St. Patrick's Day!



Hope everyone has on their green today. I spaced this morning and had to draw on my hand with a green sharpie (opps). I'll be back tom. with our adventures to Anahuac yesterday....it was soo not a fun trip.

Watch for the post coming soon about the scholarship winners.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

March 15, 2009

Well, today is a sad day for me. I found out that a dear friend, wonderful real estate lady & lovely client passed away earlier this week.
This post is just a little tribute to Jean Moore. You will be missed.
Here is one of my favorite images of her...it just shows how happy & full of life she always was.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Friday the 13th!

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!!!


I'm not going to stay on here long as I need to get to bed soon..Long day tom. with a wedding & senior shoot. If your images from your session aren't up yet, they will be up very soon...we are just about caught up.

Can y'all believe how cold it is right now!?!?! But hey...at least we got a little bit of rain...hopefully we won't still work cows this wkend since it's still supposed to be rainy/cold & Mom is out of town..... I don't mind working cows...really I don't....in fact I enjoy it...unless I get stuck being the only girl against my Dad, Brother & Hubby....I like having a little actual Help on the shoot...and since that's mine & Mom's job...when they fill in for her...it's...ummm...intersting. OHHHHH Yeah.....The funniest thing happened last Sunday. We had a calf that couldn't nurse (not the funny part) so we had to put Momma Cow in the shoot to milk her and get the baby eating.....well apparently this was one of our "reindeer" cows (we have a few that like to try to "fly" out of the shoot when they are closed in). So we got her in the end of the shoot with a pipe behind her & a piece of plywood (which had apparently been in the rain/weather too long) on the end of the shoot in front of her and we backed the "buggy" up to the plywood to hold it in place....well she picked that time to "fly" into the bed of the buggy...she was entirely in the bed of it...I sooo wish I had had my camera...I almost took it down there but it was just the 3 of us (Dad, Hubby & ME) so I didn't take it since we would all be needed...but on the other hand at that point in time my camera would have been in the bed of the buggy so maybe it's a good thing it didn't go...lol. She then flipped herself out of the buggy onto the ground and we had to re-pen her. After all was said & done she finally fed her baby and I'm happy to report Mom & Baby are doing just fine.
Here's the Mom & Baby:


Here's the buggy she jumped into:


This kinda shows how tall the fence is (Jerry aka Hubby is standing by fence & he's about 5'10):


Heading back to the house after we finished:


Well...that ended up being a longer story than I planned for...so with that I'll leave you to enjoy your wkend!
I hope everyone has a great wkend!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Reminder for the Class of 2009 Seniors!!!!

It's not too late to sign up for a chance to win a Portrait Scholarship from V7 Photos. Scholarship applications are available for all local High School Seniors (Sweeny, West Columbia, Bay City, Van Vleck, Angleton, Brazoswood, Brazosport, and private/christian schools).

Click the image to make it larger to read.

Monday, March 2, 2009

March 1, 2009 ~ 365 One Object Project

ok....ok...ok....I know...stop posting....and stop doing goofy things...right?!?
well...while playing around on the net and looking/reading at other 365 projects...and joining one for the self portrait & one for the image 365 projects on flickr......well I kinda stumbled across a 3rd challenge & am gonna do it as well...
So....Meet Kitty
I don't rem. where I got her from...but she usually just sits on the DVD cabinet in my living room staring at the world from her perch....She (and I) have decided it's time for her to get out and explore the world....so join us as she discovers the world away from her shelf for 365 days.
You can follow along at:
365 One Object Project Photos
And of course....a quick preview....here is Kitty looking at the flickr page for the project.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

March 1, 2009 ~ 365 Self Portrait Project

So...since I decided to participate in the 365 Project, I decided to go one step further and do the 365 Self Portrait Project as well...
You can see the images here:
365 Self Portrait Project Images

and for your viewing pleasure....
Day 1 Self Portrait


Catch ya laters...I'm gonna go curl up on the couch and eat supper & watch tv with hubby.

New Homework Assignment - 365 Project

So, I've been doing some online photography courses to expand my knowledge and skills and we've been challenged by a "classmate" to do the "365 Project". I've been busy working on year end bookwork and moving/closing our office in Freeport so I haven't had a chance to start it yet. Sooooo....today as I was sitting in the church nursery (I'm the nursery director so I had to get there 30 minutes early to get some heat going so the kiddos didn't freeze.....speaking of....what the heck? It's not supposed to get this cold on the Texas Coast...lol) I decided to start a project I've been wanting to do for the church nursery. I want to take close ups & different images from around the church campus and frame them in the nursery for decoration & to encourage them to learn about the church.
Ok....now after looking back at what I've typed so far....I think I can understand why I take forever doing things....my mind goes off on tangents and soooo with that said....back to the reason for the post...
Since it's March 1st, I decided that would be a good time to start my 365 Project.
I will try to post most if not all of the images on the blog but you can always find the complete collection at:
365 Project Images
Day 1 ~ First United Methodist Church, Sweeny, Texas
Enhanced with Coffeeshop Attic Vintage Action

Easter is coming soon.....Easter LE Shoot 4/3-4/4





Easter Limited Edition Shoot

In honor of Easter, we are offering a Limited Edition (LE) Easter Photo Shoot. This is the perfect opportunity to get a darling portrait of your child for Easter. We will have the studio setup with a Easter theme complete with Easter baskets & eggs (pretend of course). We will also have a few other Easter props you can use during your session. We will also have live chicks if you would like photos taken with them. There are also several options for digital enhancements to add to your photos.
Hurry & reserve your spot today so you don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity.
LE sessions are $30 for a 25 minute session. Your fee will include 1-5x7 & 4-wallets of your favorite portrait. Additional portraits can be purchased at a discounted price. Easter is fast approaching…so hurry and book your limited edition portrait session today.
Portraits are always a great gift for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles & friends. They are also great for holiday cards or additions to your holiday cards.

April 3 April 4
10 am 10 am
11 am 11 am
12 pm 12 pm
1 pm 1 pm
2 pm 2 pm
3 pm 3 pm
4 pm 4 pm


Please choose a time that works well around your child’s schedule (naps/meals) so they are at their best for the portrait. Please plan to arrive a few minutes before your scheduled appointment so you can fill out the information sheet on your family.

Session Fee is due at the time of your Session.
Portraits will be uploaded for viewing on my website within 48 hours. You can then pick out your included prints & any additional you would like to purchase. Once your order is placed & paid for, portraits will usually be available within 1 week for pick up.

I accept: cash, check, credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover).
All orders will have 8.25% sales tax added.