Christmas tree ornaments plus wedding photography follow-up

The past few years, I've participated in a homemade Christmas ornament exchange. Thanks to Amanda Snyder for organizing the exchange this past year! Anyway, here are pics of some of the ornaments I've received:

From Allison, a gorgeous chain-maille decoration:



A beautiful homemade garland from Cyndee with dried slices of oranges tied to a shimmery tulle ribbon:



And thanks so much to Becca for this lovely crocheted fan:



In response to my post yesterday about my cousin's wonderful wedding photos, Brooke Palmer posted the following:

Thank you for your kind words, they are deeply appreciated.

I am the “Palmer” half of Cipriano Palmer Photography. Your article is very flattering and complimentary towards Josie and myself but we have to give credit where credit is due here. Dan & Crina were a delight to work with and gave their all to the photography process at their wedding. The photography portion of their wedding day was carefully planned and orchestrated. More than ample time was scheduled to allow us to be creative and explore the various locations we photographed them in. This fact cannot be overlooked when discussing how well the photographs turned out from their wedding day.

Josie and I photograph many weddings every year and the attitude of the bride and groom is paramount in obtaining great results. There is the old saying, “You get out what you put in” and I feel the efforts Dan and Crina made were a big part of the success we all enjoyed on their wedding day.

Wedding photography

Photo credits: Cipriano Palmer Photography.



Jeff and I went to my relatives' Christmas party over the weekend, hosted by my cousin Naomi and her partner Rick. I always look forward to this event; I like my cousins, and it's always fun to catch up. Plus this time I got to see some of professional photos taken at Crina's and Dan's wedding.



Crina and Dan hired Cipriano Palmer Photography, a couple who specializes in wedding photography. Whoa, I was blown away by some of the photos they took! Excuse the slightly blurry quality of the photos posted (with Crina's and Dan's permission) in Blatherings today; I took them from screenshots.



Crina and Dan opted to take the subway instead of a limo, and got some great shots along the way. Apparently the TTC conductor made a public announcement congratulating the happy couple, and commuters on the subway all cheered and clapped.



I don't think I could ever be a wedding photographer, and admire those who do it professionally. Unlike casual portrait photography, you're under much more pressure to get it right the first time. You have to be prepared for all lighting and weather conditions, plus either be able to change lenses on the fly or have several cameras easily accessible. Plus if you're at a friend's wedding, you have to emotionally detach yourself from what's going on in order to take enough photos.

Plus a ton of other qualifications, of course. Some people think wedding photographers charge too much -- probably because almost everyone has at least a point and shoot camera these days, and the attitude is, "Heck, I could take photos myself. Why should I pay someone to take them for me?".



And of course if you're on a tight budget and aren't fussy about photo quality, this makes sense. I can't help but think that the attitude that wedding photographers charge too much in general is misplaced -- if they really DID charge too much, then no one would hire them.

But I admit I don't have a ton of experience in this area so am interested in hearing from any photographers (or those who have used wedding photographers) out there who have a different opinion.



Anyway, if you like the photos in today's Blatherpost, please do check out Cipriano Palmer Photography.


For comments, also see my Livejournal.

Illustration Friday: Voices

For Illustration Friday. This week's theme: "Voices."

Twittertoons

Kevin Cheng inspired me to experiment with putting comics on the background of my Twitter page. I loved Kevin's Twitterpage design; he's able to include promotional info without being obnoxious about it. Kevin was kind enough to give me permission to copy his design.

The comic strip at the top of today's Blatherpost was my very first crude attempt. For my second strip, I smartened up and worked on a larger image, then shrank it. Anyway, I've posted a new Twittertoon on my Twitter page. :-)

No, I won't be updating Twittertoons regularly. Are you MAD? I already have way too many comic strips online. Stop giving me that look, Jeff.

Complacent cats and custom-made comic books

Above: my mom-in-law's cat, Duffy. Duffy is extremely affectionate, particularly toward those who are allergic to cats. Like me.

Jeff and I spent the weekend doing Christmas stuff with his family and mine. For Christmas this year, we put together comic books for each of the nephews and nieces on his side of the family. I sent out short e-mail surveys last month, asking for info to help us make stories that much more custom-made for each child -- favourite TV shows, for example, and anything exciting that had happened during 2008.



It was fun to see the kids' reactions as they opened their gifts from us. Though the youngest wasn't all that impressed at first...he yelled, "I DON'T LIKE IT!" and tossed his storybook across the room. But he warmed up to the idea of getting a book as his Christmas gift when his mother read it to him later in the evening, and pointed out that HE was the star of the book. Heh.

Soon the kids were all reading each other their own storybooks and comparing adventures.

We used Comic Life to put together the comic storybooks, using a combination of photos from our archives, plus the occasional artwork by yours truly.

Fun to put together and fun to give. :-)