GACS Long Forum

What a grand day for all the folks at GACS! The dedication of the LONG FORUM was a wonderful celebration for everyone. I made lots of pictures which are all posted on our Online Order Station at www.martinphotography.com

Looking Back - Moto Trip 2007

Playing with Animoto and used some images from the motorcycle trip to Nova Scotia back in '07. My two brothers and I loaded up our touring bikes and rode up the Blue Ridge Parkway. We took in the H-D Factory tour in York, PA before heading across New York with a stop in Woodstock. We took the ferry from Portland up to Nova Scotia. After a great loop through NS we ferried back to Bar Harbor where we met our families. A journey we'll never forget! Next summer we're fly fising in British Colombia for an adventure - Salmon anyone?

Fun Size Portraits

What happened to 8x10????
Well, it still exists but we're doing a greater variety of sizes now than was the tradition for many years. These days we are printing portraits in 8x12, 20x30, 10x20, 15x30, 4x10, 5x10 and more. Utilizing some of the more fun ratios gives us a great contemporary look. Here are a couple of examples from a session yesterday for 1:2 ratio portrait. We've prepared these as 5x10 for displays in some of the new desk size frames we have here in the studio. Stay tuned for more. Thanks to Sarah for being such a great model.

Family Portraits

Around Thanksgiving and Christmas we always have a Family Portrait Special. We have clients that plan around it and come back year after year to update the images in their family histories. We also get to meet some new families that are looking for a wonderful way to treasure special times together. This fall was no different from any other - I had a great time photographing family groups in the studio. Here's a couple of our new families from this year. Extended family groups are always special and the coordinator - usually Mom - always gets a gold star in my book. While everyone is all clean an dressed for portraits we do all the small groups as well - the smaller famillies, the grandchildren together and with the grandparents....the list goes on! Could be a great resolution for the year ahead to commit to following through on that age-old promise to get a new family portrait. Give us a call - we'll help.

Holiday BBQ & HD

We've enjoyed some down time during the holidays. We closed the studio Tuesday before Christmas and will reopen on Friday 1/2/9. Our daughter has been home and we have treasured some wonderful time together as a family. We did create a new picture for our Christmas card after Janell got home from North Carolina - that's on the front page of the web site.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was as gorgeous a day as you will ever find in Atlanta in December - Sunny & 65 degrees. My friend John and I just had to take advantage of that weather to get the motorcycles out for a spin. No long trips - just a run out to Winder for a BBQ lunch and some riding along some of the back roads of Barrow and Walton County. I'm grateful to Nancy and Janell for their willingness to take some time together to go shopping at Phipps so that I could go out and play.

Since our friend Mark was on the road driving his family through Tennessee we had to occasionally send him a text or a pic to be certain he knew he was missing a great day for riding. Here's a pic John made of me just before we went in to enjoy that sandwich and cup of stew.

Hope you all have had a wonderful celebration of Christmas and that your New Year's Eve will be safe and enjoyable. We've got some great special offerings coming in 2009 that I know you will enjoy. Some will be posted right here on the BLOG and offered by e-mail. If you'd like to be certain you get these offers be sure to send me your e-mail address and request being added to our list. Mail to: glenn@martinphotography.com

Lawrenceville Kiwanis Christmas Kids

For over 10 years now I've had the joy of serving as the official photographer for the Lawrenceville Kiwanis Club's Christmas Kids Party. This local service club has made a difference in the joy of Christmas for local children for many years. With the help of folks like you the club has been able to provide presents as well as a party for over 300 local children. With the challenging economic times we're in we had no clue how the public might respond this year as the children's wish lists were distributed (these are children involved with Gwinnett DCFS). Folks amazed us - I think this year we had more gifts - including bicycles - than ever before. I guess that hard times make us appreciate what we have and encourage us to be more aware and giving with those around us with real needs. Thanks to everyone who contributed - we gave each child a sack full of Christmas presents, a party and a picture from a visit with Santa. Here I am with Santa during a break in the photography. Among the Kiwanians present were 5 Judges from various courts in Gwinnett County. We took advantage of a great opportunity to make this pic of Santa with Judges Greene, Washburn, Mock, Hutchinson and Clarke.
Hope you all have a great Christmas - I know a lot of kids that are thanks to you!

Sibling Smiles

The other evening we had a brother and sister in for a session . It's always interesting when we get teenagers together in portraits - posing close takes just a little encouragement. However, these two fell right into the portrait mood and we created some wonderful images. These are fun portraits that their parents and grandparents are going to enjoy for many years.

Here's a good opportunity for me to remind all of you about the difference it makes when you plan your clothing for portraits. Notice the dark solid clothing. Then notice how the white accent on each coordinates and dresses up the portrait with just a bit of formality without being stuffy. The pearls and the tie keep a fun teen look but give the portraits just a touch of dressiness. Probably you didn't notice this at all - that's because it works! When properly selected the clothing really shouldn't be a focal point in a portrait at all. The clothing is just a palette for showcasing faces!
I'll climb off of my soapbox now and let you go back to enjoying the portraits.