YUMM!!! I saw the sign and I was in the door! I LOVE chocolate...How could I resist. So in I went and had my fill of chocolate. Chocolate Coke and Chocolate fondue! I was extra sweet with all that chocolate. Have you guys every been to a Chocolate Bar? I have never even heard of one before? I am in Reno this weekend shooting and of course get to have a little fun after sessions. The Chocolate bar was first on my list. If you havent tried one I suggest giving it a shot. Ask for a chocolate coke :) It wasnt on the menu but I insisted on having one....and they made it delicious. The little bar was so cute inside so I snapped a few photos. If I do anything else exciting I will try to post some images....Otherwise stay tuned for some sneak peaks of the Reno Sessions.

Let's CELEBRATE!

We are all moved in to our beautiful new studio and are just putting the finishing touches on it. I however am ready to CELEBRATE! In honor of our BIG MOVE I am going to offer some free in-studio sessions. I know its summer and I love shooting outdoors but I have this awesome shooting space, new props, new backgrounds and a roll up door for beautiful natural light. I am dying to play! New clients or current clients are welcome to participate. No minimum order required. I would love to see as many of you take this offer as possible...Lets make it a crazy week!

Here are the details....

I will give a free (up to one hour) in-studio session ($95.00 value) to anyone who emails or calls me to participate. The session will need to be booked anytime from 11am-6pm from July 2-July 9. This offer for this ONE week ONLY! No exceptions! I realize this is over 4th of July weekend so I will be booking limited sessions on the actual 4th of July. One free session per family. I will book all available appointment times and if I get more interest I will start a waiting list so be sure to book soon!

Please feel free to pass this along to anyone you know...the more the merrier!

Whitney
503-289-1133 or 541-517-4231
info@blissstudio.net

I guess I am it...Ha ha. I have seen this going around on many blogs but this will be my first tag. A blog stalker of mine "Christel" has so kindly tagged me (thanks Christel)....So here I go...

First the rules:

Once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose 6 people to be tagged, list their names & why you tagged them. Don’t forget to leave them a comment saying “You’re it!” & to go read your blog. You cannot tag the person that tagged you, so since you’re not allowed to tag me back; let me know when you are done so I can go read YOUR weird/random/odd facts, habits and goals.

All about me...

1. I play volleyball on mondays, bowling on wednesdays and softball on fridays.

2. I LOVE STARBUCKS! (although most people know this).

3. I am a "chick"iterian? Hmmm not sure how to spell that....I am not technically a vegetarian since I eat chicken...But I dont red meat. Let's face it...I am the pickiest eater! Oh well.

4. I have been to Italy, Hong Kong, Mexico, Canada, Tobago, Peurto Rico, France, Caribbean and of course all over the USA. I LOVE to travel...Not bragging....I just feel blessed to have been so many places.

5. I can barrel Race :)

6. Although I am a horrible cook....I can bake yummy sweets (that is all that really counts right?)

7. I am afraid of the dark (and spiders!)

8. I was cheerleader in High School

9. I can walk barefoot on gravel (and it does not hurt). I like to be barefoot.....even though I have a nice collection of shoes...go figure.

10. I am getting a mini cooper for my 30 birthday....I dont want to turn 30 so after my bday this year I will be 29 and holding...ha ha. But I figure with something exciting to look forward to 30 cant be that bad? I hear life happens in your 30's? What do you think???



My Tags:

Lisa Robbins (my Rival...how can I not tag her!)
Glen Johnson- The photographer who shot my wedding :)
Todd Zeller-Awesome Videographer
Connie Ourada- Owns the Brides Corner
Bryan Welsh- Awesome Photographer and has been harassing me for photos of my new studio...Thanks Bryan!
Dan Harlacher- Husband :) And needs some encouragement to post on his blog!

I will be shocked if all these guys play along but I guess we will see what happens.

Thanks again to Christel for the Tag!

I know many of you have been harassing me to POST PHOTOS of the new studio! ha ha! Well, we are still working on making it perfect and I dont like to post incomplete photos. Or I guess I should say incomplete spaces. We are getting much closer to having it finished but I figured if I just give you a couple sneak peaks that will encourage you guys to come see it for yourself. We have not set an open house date yet but we should be celebrating in September or early October...Will let you guys know as soon as we pin down a date. Those of you who already emailed me you are on the invite list so dont worry... I will keep you posted. :) These photos were taken with my iphone so not the best quality but they work. Dan and I worked all weekend on the studio and I snapped these today....remembering that I needed to post something for you guys. These are just hints...

I said I had some fun news to share...I won Best of Show with an album at my photo conference in Bend this last week! I was so excited. I scored a 91 with my baby album titled "Tristyn" which won best of show. And I scored a 90 with a wedding album titled Istvan and Kathleen. I was blown away....I had the only 90's scored with any album or photo entered. You can see the winning entries on my websites. Tristyn is the featured album in my children's webpage and Istvan and Kathleen are in the featured section of my wedding site. Take a peak :) Thanks to PPO and all the wonderful judges for taking my bribes. Just kidding...The judges did not know they were my albums...Makes me love them more! WOO HOO!

I am still in Bend but will be on my way home soon (only a few hours left). I wanted to post just a couple images that were shot at a scavenger hunt yesterday. It was a fun event that we split into groups and walked around the complex shooting. The best part was the final slideshows of each of the teams. It was amazing the different perspectives everyone had. I didnt want to use any of my team members photos and I only had a couple of mine that we used for our presentation. I had spiderweb and the color red that you see on the lock shot. The other images are one of T.J. Cameron (black and white profile shot). T.J. was a speaker at the convention as well as one of my team members. And Larry Erickson is the other guy who is letting everyone know team three was the best!!

I have some news about my competition entries that I will share soon...

Whitney

Well, I just got home from Arizona last night and now Dan and I are heading to Bend, Oregon. We are going to visit a good friend, Cali, and then attend the summer PPO (professional photographers of Oregon) convention until tuesday. What a whirlwind month of traveling. I will try and take some photos in Bend to share. If you need me please email me info@blissstudio.net.
More soon...

Whitney

Here are a couple more photos I took while riding in Arizona. The horse I was riding was named Butter. Thank you to Genny for taking the photos of me :) I always get left out of photos since I am the one shooting. The other people you see is Liz and my Grandma (in the cowboy hat). Liz and my Grandma go riding all the time together and I get to crash the party whenever I come to visit! FUN! I love the views in the mountains. When I think of Arizona I think brown, ugly and lots of cactus. I am always amazed at all the Green when we are in the mountains.

Here are a few photos I took while riding this evening. We went riding from 5:00pm until the moon came up! It was a perfect evening. I was worried that it was going to be too hot but being out later in the day was perfect. Plus we were up in the hills where it was a bit cooler. I have shots of us riding and will try and post tomorrow. We are going out again in the am before it gets to warm so I may take a few more photos before I post the "riding" shots. The images here are just some of the sites. The very last image was shot through my sunglasses. I thought they would add a nice filter. I always think things look better through my sunglasses...It gives a warmth to everything. So I thought I would let people see what I see. Cool effect huh? More tomorrow....

Just a quick update of my whereabouts. I am currently in Arizona until Friday. I had a photography conference in Phoenix yesterday and am now visiting my grandma for a few days. Can you believe its over 100 degrees in Az? ICK! Although I left the rain behind so I am excited to see sun. We spent today by the pool and I am now heading out to go HorseBack Riding. I am bringing my camera so hopefully I can share some photos.....

I will be available via email while I am out of town if you need me.

Whitney

Hey everyone. One of my good friends Todd Zeller from Vivid Wedding Films has entered a contest for Selco Credit Union. He had to create a fun little commercial and now NEEDS votes. If any of you have a second please click here to view his commercial. Just in case it is commercial #4. Today is the LAST day of voting so if you have a sec please vote! Good Luck Todd....Hope we can help you WIN!

Thanks,

Whitney

I am faster than I thought. Here is Avery's Announcement. So cute! You are seeing both the front and back here.

Enjoy....

I took a few more photos of little miss Avery about a week after she was born. I am also working on her announcements which I hope to post tomorrow. Here are a couple of my favorites...

My first official shoot in the studio today! Well...not totally official but sorta! My good friend Tom Stram came to see me today to talk a little shop (Tom is also a local photographer). He brought his 3 year old daughter with him for me too meet. All I can say is CUTE! Nothing like Tom (ha ha...just kidding Tom...I still love ya). I wanted to let Tom see the studio (which is still a work in progress...but its getting there) and since he brought me the most adorable subject ever I thought I would take a few minutes to feel out the new space. I dont even have lights set up yet...but I have a huge roll up door that faces north with the most awesome light streaming in. These images were shot in about 5 minutes with all natural light. I am LOVING the new space. I cant wait to play some more once we get things set. Thanks Tom for bringing Dawson to visit...Enjoy!

I have been torturing all of you! I didnt want to share until everything was finalized just in case......

WE HAVE MOVED!!! WOO HOO!!!

This weekend we moved into a brand new studio space near Washington Square Mall! It is double the size of our old studio and is wonderful. Its been a long couple of days as we were moving and now organizing the mess :) We are also doing a bit of rebranding that is going to match our new style we are going to decorate the studio in. Those of you who saw the couch in a post below...that is the inspiration of the new decor. I spent most of yesterday painting (thanks to Connie for all the help!) and need to head into the studio to do some clean up today. We are planning an open studio day for fall and would love for you guys to come celebrate with us. I will be sending out invites for that late Aug....or sept depending on how long it takes the studio to be finished. If you want an invite be sure to email me so I can add you to my already growing list info@blissstudio.net. I am planning on taking photos (or at least one) but I want to get things a little more set before I do so....Hang in there for me!

New Address is:

Bliss Studio
7693 SW Cirrus Drive
Beaverton, OR 97008

Same contact info :)

503-289-1133
541-517-4231

Yes the BLOG WAR has ended and I WON! I have already rubbed it in with my rival Lisa....But I still wanted to share with everyone. Its been an awesome month and a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been following the blog this month and playing all my silly little contests. So I know some of you have been hitting the "refresh" button a thousand times waiting for me to announce the BLOG WAR winners....Sorry I waited until the last possible minute today but I have been working on my BIG NEWS...to be shared next....But first I am going to let you guys know the winners and prizes. I have decided to give away more then I intended as I had a ton of entries.

THE WINNERS ARE:


Grand Prize- Stephanie S. $250.00 Gift Certificate to Bliss Studio

Runners Up to each receive a $50.00 Gift Certificate to Bliss Studio

Debbie M.
Laura M.
Tricia S.
Jenny F.

Grand Prize for FocalPoint- Leah McLean

Congrats to all of you!