Me and My Philosophy (Photographically Speaking)

I went to my daughter's favorite fast-food restaurant today. We ordered our food, and it came quickly and without fanfare. The fries were hot, but there was too much ice in the drink, and I noticed that the chicken breast on my sandwich was noticeably thinner than it had been in the past. We got our own napkins, straws and ketchup. Still, the food was tasty, and we quickly ate it and left. I compare this experience to several I had while living in Japan. I was teaching English there, and on Christmas, they had a party for all the teachers at a really nice restaurant. The food was GORGEOUS. It was almost too beautiful to eat. Everything was perfectly framed in a ceramic or laquer bowl or plate. The organization of the food and the colors were so pleasing to the eye. And in my bowl of soup were floating flakes of real gold. We were served expertly by lovely women wearing kimonos, and we never had to get up to get anything for ourselves. The whole experience was enchanting and unexpected.

Photography can be like the two meals I just described--or anywhere inbetween. It can be served up quickly without much thought or care, or it can be a wonderful feast where you feel like a special guest. My goal is to provide the latter experience. This starts with a pre-session consultation where we discuss all the aspects of your shoot so we can be as prepared as possible when the day of the shoot arrives. I show you all my products, and you get a feel for what you might like. For example, if you are interested in an album, I will ask you to bring more changes of clothing so we can get enough variety. We will also choose more backdrops for your shoot if it is in my studio. If you want a large portrait to hang over your fireplace or piano, we will discuss whether it needs to be horizontal or vertical, and plan accordingly.

After the shoot, I actually come to your home to show you your images. While there, I will walk around with you and find the perfect location for all your prints, so you don't have to worry about where to hang your artwork. We'll pick out frames together, and your completed artwork will be delivered right to your front door! No more taking prints to the framers and worring about transporting them there and back.

The bottom line is, I am like that kimono-clad server at a sumptuous dinner. You don't have to get up. You don't have to worry about a thing. I am here to serve you gorgeous artwork of your family. And who knows? There may just be a few surprise specks of gold, too :)

Relaunch Celebration!

I am so excited to announce the re-launch of my photography blog!
To celebrate, I am inviting YOU to become a follower! This is what
you’ll get in return!

1. Everyone who becomes a follower will automatically be entered
to win a $50 gift card from Amazon.com!

2. When you become a follower, you will also receive a set of three
adorable baby ballerina cards that you can print yourself! These are
5x7 cards, and you can either print flat cards or folded cards using
your favorite photo lab (like Costco). Make sure to leave your e-mail
address in a comment on my blog so I know where to send them!
(Scroll down to see images of the cards).

3. My new blog is not just about photography! I’ll also post my
favorite recipes, have fun quizzes, and talk about interesting subjects
such as personality profiling and little-known movies I think you'll love.

4. Yes, it is still mostly about photography, and that means you can send me your photography questions, and I’ll answer them on the blog! I’ll also be posting really embarrassing, horrible pictures I took when I first started, and you get to tell me what’s wrong with them!

When you join the blog, you get one entry for the $50 gift card. When you go to Facebook and like Blue Prints Photography, you get another entry! (Link below, or you can just click on the "Like" button at the top of the sidebar on this blog).  When you post about this to your friends on your blog or Facebook, you get another entry! Just be sure to leave a separate comment on this post for every action you take. (So if you "Like" me on Facebook, leave a comment. If you post about this with a link back to my blog on Facebook, leave another comment. If you post about this on your own blog with a link back, leave another comment. I think you get the picture :) That will give you three entries in addition to the one you already got for joining this blog!)

Here is the link to the Blue Prints Photography Blog: http://blueprintsphotography.blogspot.com/
Here is the link to my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BluePrintsPhotography

Thanks so much for joining in my excitement! I look forward to sharing so much with you all! The drawing for the $50 gift card will be held on Monday, September 12th if I have reached my goal of 500 followers! (If I haven't reached my goal by then, the drawing will be delayed until I do, so tell all your friends to join the blog as soon as possible!)

Sincerely,
Melissa Blue Howell

Here are the three adorable cards you'll get when you become a follower!

In Their Own Words.... {Denver Family Photographer}

We recently had the opportunity to have Melissa take our family portraits!  For those of you who follow Melissa's blog and don't know us, we're the Johnsons. Logan (1 year old), Milli (3 years old), Kelli (Mom), and Chauncy (Dad).

Earlier this year, Kelli's sister Karyn introduced us to Melissa when she asked her to do some portraits of our kids.  We had seen her work before and were excited to get portraits of Milli and Logan.  Our family has had a rough year, to say the least.  On Christmas Eve, 2010, Kelli and our 5- year-old daughter Elise were involved in a tragic ski accident in Wyoming where we live.  Kelli survived, fighting through extensive injuries and was taken to a hospital in Denver for several months of rehabilitation. Unfortunately, our beautiful daughter Elise didn't survive the accident.  A snowboarder had come down the mountain at a very high rate of speed and collided with Kelli and Elise. Tragically, the snowboarder didn't survive either.  Milli and Logan are Elise's younger siblings and Logan hadn't gotten any baby pictures before the accident occured.  We were able to have pictures taken of Milli and Logan about three months after the accident, but Kelli still had a neck brace on from neck fractures that were healing. On a checkup visit this month to Denver, we set up an appointment with Melissa for family pictures. 

The latest photos are of our family 8 months after the accident in our first family pictures without Elise.  Kelli has made a miraculous recovery with lots of love and support from family, friends, and many blessings from Heaven. We plan to have a family portrait painted by a talented artist and great friend of ours with Elise added into the painting. Because of this, we did several different poses that we can choose from to make this work. There was a special feeling at the photo shoot as we took pictures with Elise in mind.  She is missed beyond explanation every day.  Kelli continues to improve; in fact, she's now able to drive after 8 months of healing!  We are excited to see the painting when it is finished and we'll see if we can post it on Melissa's blog when it is completed.  Thanks Melissa for helping us make this happen.

Mexican Choclate Ice Cream

I spent two days going to every grocery store from here to Kansas looking for it. My elusive prize? Mexican chocolate. I don't know when the idea first ocurred to me, but once I had it in my mind, I could not let go of it. So I searched and searched. At one store, I was told to look in the baking section, ask at the cheese counter, ask at the bakery (sometimes they have big blocks of chocolate). All this after I had already looked in the Mexican food section. Finally, a store worker visited the hot chocolate section, and returned with this:

It was the mother lode. I have had real Belgian chocolate, in Belgium. This is not Belgian chocolate. It is something entirely different, and entirely wonderful. It has a rich, complex flavor that I cannot describe, but that is absolutely mesmerizing. There is nothing unusual in the ingredient list, so I can only assume it's the "artificial flavoring" that makes the difference. Whatever it is, I love it. I love it to death.

So I went online to look for recipes for Mexican chocolate ice cream, and all of them involved like 6 eggs and lots of cooking. Well, that's just not how we do things around here, so I made up my own recipe, and I must say, it is divine! I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. It has a wonderful complement of cinnamon, and ends with a slight kick from the cayenne pepper. (Hey, this is Mexican chocolate ice cream. There has to be something hot in it). This is now my new favorite ice cream. I can't wait to make more! (Please see this post for a recommendation of a fantastic ice cream maker).

Mexican Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 disk of Mexican chocolate (I recommend Abuelita brand, found at most regular supermarkets and Walmart. Check the Mexican section and the hot chocolate section).

1/4 cup cocoa powder (regular baking chocolate)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon (you can add more if desired)

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (add more if you can stand the heat!)

pinch of salt

Instructions:

Pour 4 cups of whole milk into a pan on the stove and add one Mexican chocolate disk. Heat on medium and stir with a wisk until all chocolate is melted and incorporated. Pour 1 1/2 cups into a mixing bowl and add the 1/2 cup of sugar. Wisk together until sugar is dissolved. (The warm milk will help the sugar dissolve faster. Save the rest of the chocolate milk and reheat if desired, or just drink it cold. It is fantastic!) Add the 1 1/2 cups of cream, the cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne pepper. Wisk together until everything is well incorporated. Cover and put in the refrigerator for a couple hours or overnight to chill. After mixture is cold, pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions for your ice cream maker. For mine, I just let it run for about 1/2 hour, until the ice cream was of soft-serve consistency. Transfer to airtight container and put in freezer. Let freeze for a few hours or overnight to harden and to allow the flavors to meld. Enjoy immensely!



Giveaway!

Recently, I have discovered Dressing Your Truth, which has made a HUGE difference in how I dress and how I feel about myself. I will be talking more about this in the future, but right now, there is a giveaway going on at The Carol Blog! Go check it out!

Second Memo to Me {Centennial Family Photographer}

Apparently, I forgot about the first memo to me. The one about 5:00 photo shoots and mosquitoes. Now I'm going to have to add snakes to the memo, because the same one that made an appearance at the wedding reception I did showed up again! Luckily, none of the kids saw it, or we would have had a much bigger problem than mosquitoes! (I'm assured that it is a harmless snake. Still, snakes are creepy and give me the heebie jeebies).

Other than the mosquitoes and the snake, everything was perfect :) And there was no thunderstorm! Here are some of my favorites from the shoot.

July is Ice Cream Month!

Recently, we bought this marvelous invention at Costco.

It does not use ice or salt, and it is amazing! This is the first ice cream we made with it, and it was a hit! I got this recipe out of Chocolate Never Faileth. I was worried the bananas might brown in the ice cream, but they didn't at all! I also used skim milk, which I would not recommend. I still thought it tasted divine, but when the ice cream freezes, it makes it very hard and very difficult to scoop. Other ice creams I've made with whole milk have stayed much creamier and easier to scoop after freezing. So go buy this ice cream maker (also makes sorbet and slushies). It was only $29 at Costco, and so worth it!

Chunky Monkey Ice Cream (this is called Crazy Monkey Ice Cream in the book. I have altered this recipe slightly, and also changed the amount of ingredients so it will not overflow in this ice cream maker. Or at least so it's less-likely to overflow.)

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup sugar
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup coconut, grated or shredded
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. oil (optional)

Instructions:
Melt the white chocolate chips. Add a little oil if needed to make the chips liquid. In large pan, combine the milk, cream, vanilla and sugar. Heat on low. When the mixture is warm (not hot) and the sugar has been dissolved, add the melted white chocolate chips. Remove from heat. Put in refrigerator to cool. When mixture has cooled, add the mashed bananas and coconut. Pour the mixture into the freezing canister and make the ice cream according the manufacturer's directions. (For this ice cream maker, you just turn it on and pour the mixture into the bowl. Let it run for about 25-30 minutes until it is of soft-serve consistency. It will get harder once frozen). Take the ice cream out of the canister and transfer it into an air-tight container. Stir in the nuts. Melt the chocolate chips and pour slowly into the ice cream while stirring it. The chocolate will freeze and make chocolate ribbons in the ice cream. Put the lid on the container and freeze for several hours.

Lindsay and Bryan, Centennial, CO Wedding Reception

"Marry a man who likes tools." This is good advice for any woman. It's GREAT advice if you are a high school theater teacher who needs a lot of sets built. Bryan has lots of tools and loves to use them. Lindsay is a drama teacher. It's a match made in heaven :)

The weather report said it wasn't supposed to rain. The one day of the week that wouldn't be plagued with thunderstorms and lightning. But the dark clouds rolled in anyway. They didn't care what the weather report said. The bride was convinced it was going to rain. The groom began singing Alanis Morissette. "It's like rai-ai-ain, on your wedding day...." An umbrella was put over the cake. Cool drops began tumbling from the sky--but just for a minute, and then they were gone. It's a good thing, too, since the father of the bride told me he had cancelled the tent they reserved in case of rain.

It turned out to be a perfect reception. The weather became cool and comfortable, washing away the heat from earlier in the day. The food was exotic and beautiful. And they had my favorite--little brownie bites, topped with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Mine ended up in the grass, though, after an uninvited snake made a surprise appearance and frightened me out of my seat with my plate of food in my hand.

Congratulations, Lindsay and Bryan! May you and your tools live happily ever after :)

Memo to Me {Parker Family Photographer}

Five-o-clock may be a wonderful time for the light, but it is also a wonderful time for mosquitoes and thunderstorms in Denver. It was raining as we drove to the trail head for the photoshoot. Behind me was one of my best friends from college along with his wife and five children. They were visiting from Minnesota, and this was the only time we had for the shoot. But I wasn't worried. Denver weather is schizophrenic, so I knew it would stop raining. But I also knew we only had about 45 minutes until the next thunderstorm hit.

Just as we pulled up, the rain was slowing down. My friend and his family took shelter under a pavilion while I scoped out a good place for the family shot. A large tree surrounded by tall, flowing grass presented itself as the obvious choice. I yelled for everyone to come over, and they set out for the tree with no thought for what they might be kicking up in the grass. I arranged everyone and headed back to my camera. With five kids, you'd expect a lot of fidgeting, but it soon became apparent that something else was going on. Hundreds of mosquitoes had been alerted to our presence and were descending on our position. Again and again, they thrust their dagger-like probosces into our tasty flesh. I swatted them off my arms and blew them off my camera. This was hardly a fitting thank-you for the man who probably kept me alive my last year of college. I was out of money, but he was never out of generosity, always feeding me store-bought chicken patties on a bun, or taking me to get a $1.00 burrito at Taco Bell. I hadn't seen him since he got married, 13 years ago, and now I had brought him and his family to a smorgasbord where they were the main dish.

I shot quickly and with purpose, but when we left, we each had tons of red bumps welling up on our bodies. The itching began in earnest, and I made a mental note: Next time, wear bug spray!

Andrea and Dallin

It was a bad beginning. She wouldn't give him the time of day, and he didn't want to waste time on her. He was getting ready to go on a mission for two years, and figured she wouldn't be there when he got back. But he was wrong, and three years after meeting in a freshman geology class, they got engaged. I kind of like bad beginnings, because they often lead to happy endings. Congratulations Andrea and Dallin!