A breath of fresh air ... sort of .....

FINALLY!!!!!!!!! Yesterday was like a breath of fresh air for me kinda .... even if I did get some more bad news about a friend and a family member (I'll get to that).

One of my dearest friends and fellow photographer, Dennise Landgraf, flew up from Brownsville on Thursday to attend a photography seminar called Tots 2 Teens (which by the way was AWESOME!) and then spend the night with me and my family. What a treat! ... I am pooped but refreshed at the same time! KWIM?

That day started with me baby sitting my grandmother while my mom went to the hospital for her last eye surgery follow up. My hubby had to pick up my gall-pal and drop her off to me at the house. Not 5 minutes later after the drop, my mom gets home only to say that the new eye looks good but unfortunately the Dr's want to now go in and operate on the other one ... like, in the next 2-3 weeks .... joy .. here we go again.

So after getting that lovely little slice of news, my friend and I had to quick make tracks back to my house so we could grab a bite to eat, get dressed and have a much needed head shot mini-session .. we both needed to update our pics and there was no time like the present!

After that it was quick off to the Gunther Hotel at 4pm only to get out of the seminar at 11:45 ... yes, it was a loooooooooong one! Realizing that all of that sitting makes one's tummy get hungry we went over to have a late night nacho supper (gotta love Mamma Margies) and finally ended up back home after one in the morning ... sigh, I'm tired just thinking about it all!

To make my evening even more eventful, I left my friggin phone at the house (Yet another Erika-ism) and a few of my friends were left without a call back from me ... so sorry guys, you know I love ya both!

Off to bed we go only to jump back out just a few hours later so that I could get her airborne by 8am. Oh, and did I mention that my little girl came up sick during all of this?

As this Friday winds down and I'm sitting with my sicky-pooh girl and I'm stuck just starring at all of the things that I was sooooooo inspired to get done today :)

Having D come up and attending the seminar was just the jump start I needed to get back into my oh-so powerful groove, and it all came to a screeching halt with my sick little goose ...

sigh ....

life ...

what a ride :)

Oh, and here's one of the shots that D took of me !!! LOVE IT!

The mom made me do it!

Yes, baby Max got to come back into my studio and mommy had a very specific set of photos that she wanted ...

No explanation needed, just remember that she made me do it! ;)

Welcome Baby T!!!

This little guy had such a great photo session .. and I was totally shocked! normally I strive to do any newborn sessions early in the AM when they are fresh, but this time mom and dad could only make it for a 7PM start time.

So in a word, YES I was worried! But little baby T put us all to ease ... perhaps I should think about dragging new parents out to my place later at night more often .. it's not like they are getting any sleep anyways with a newborn in the house!

Congrats to Kim & Abram ... your son is a true blessing!

Man ... I gotta say ... this first image was literally the last shot of the night and it is soooooooooooo my favorite one! You did good A!

Ok, so mom brought in the bow and I think that it was the perfect size and color ... and the perfect baby ;) ... well done!

My new headshot :)

So I needed to have a head shot done because a friend of mine did an interview of me for her pay-it-forward type of blog. (I'll post the link to the article once it is online).

These are the four that I'm gonna let her chose from. My family and friends have already spoken up on which shot is their favorite ... which one would you use for the article?

Oh, and before I forget, a great big hug and thanks to Chasity Furse of Studio 423 for taking the time to do these for me. You are the best :)

A personal note to all ...

As many of you may have noticed, I have apparently fallen off the face of the earth and I can absolutely understand many of your frustrations with me. Phone calls and emails have not been returned and many prints & products have not been delivered in my typical timely manner. I would like to first and foremost apologize to all those that have been wondering what has happened to me and the previously prized customer service and friendship that you have been accustomed too.

Over the past several months my family and I have been riddled with several major health and mental crisis’s and as a result of everything I have been unavoidably unreachable and distracted … and for that I truly do offer my sincerest apologies. Public confessionals has never been something that I was fond of, but in all honestly your valued friendship and loyal business deserves nothing less from me.

Alas, there has been a glimpse of peace and life at the end of this long dark chapter in my life that will joyfully result in the “Business as usual’ mentality. So, on that note, if you have been waiting for a print, product, service, phone call, email .. whatever, from me please take comfort that come 1st thing Monday morning I plan to finally (and quite thankfully) return to the world of this photography business that I love so well. One by one I will answer your emails, phone calls and requests. I only hope that at this point you can take it on faith that nothing would mean more to me than your love and continued friendships.

Love, E.

I got to shoot a Red Carpet event!

Yep, that was a first for me and I had such a great time. Thursdays Premiere Event was made to present NBC's Friday Night Lights opening show for Season 3. This show was featuring San Antonio's very own Gridiron Heroes which is a spinal cord injury foundation whose mission statement is to provide immediate, as well as, long term resources and support to individuals sustaining a catastrophic spinal cord injury through activities associated with high school football. The foundation is providing awareness and funding support for these great athletes and would be most appreciative of your donations. Please click on the link to share your support for their great cause.

Our very own local Fox & Hound pub hosted the pre and post VIP parties while the Red Carpet event and screening was at the fantastic Palladium theaters in the Rim. My night was surrounded by local and Hollywood celebrities, actual Grid Iron Heroes, major sports figures, producers, publishers, media and lots more!

Before I show you any of the photos I want to give some major thanks to Brandon Santiago of Mokeytoes Film Productions for inviting me to tag along with him to this event. And as for the photos that I took, none of them would be allowed for you to see if it weren't for the generous permission of Mr. Israel Sanchez of Learsi films. Words can not express how grateful I am to these guys for allowing me to have this experience .... y'all are the best!

Oh, and now for some of the images that I took that night! You might even recognize a few folks!

A daddy and his little girl.

Ok, now how great is this shot! This couple brought in their sweet little girl that arrived a little more than 10 months after I shot their wedding. As usual, my M&M couple (tee hee!) were just a laid back and easy going couple ... and so was baby C :)

We found out that this little lady just loved being swaddled. (hopefully mom and dad can use that to their advantage and catch some zzz's!)

My Wish for You in 2009

(Thanks Terry!)

My peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts.

May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $1000 bills.

May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!

May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires and may happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy.

May the problems you had forget your home address!

In simple words ............ May 2009 be the best year of your life!!!

What a way to bring in the New Years :(

For those of you that I have been in contact with, you know that my son had a nasty case of the flu leading up to Christmas. Well, he was able to shake off the fever just in time to celebrate Christmas with our families.

This week, my loving son gave my daughter his flu, so as of today she is on day three of 101.9 fever that wont stop. (Around here I teach the kids to share everything ... I guess they took it literally this time!)

On top of that, yesterday I had a tickle in the back of my throat ... today those tickly spots have turned into blisters ... yuck.

What a way to bring in the New Years :(

To all my friends and family, stay healthy, stay safe and have fun for us on this New Years Eve!

As for me, I'm gonna try and do what a sweet client of mine said ... "Leave the flu in 2008!"

I'm having a session archival sale!

Why am I doing this? To be honest, because I can and because I have had so many requests for this that I know you want it! So here's the scoop on the deal ...

You will have the chance to by all the images that you were shown from your session burned as full sized jpegs (AKA Digital Negatives) onto a printable DVD Rom from your first session with me. If you had multiple sessions, you can purchase any additional session DVDs.

To take part in this special offer simply email me letting me know which session you would like to purchase a disk from and I'll send you info on the details and pricing.

Remember, I am doing this to clean up my studio filling space, so all of my files are getting archived and sent to an off-location storage facility by the middle of January. What does that mean to you? Basically it means that you have only until Friday Jan 9th to place your request and finish your payment before my office is cleaned out ... so don't delay!

Will I do this again next year? Who knows .. let's see what happens this year first ;)

Merry Christmas!

Here's to wishing you a great Holiday spent with family and friends ... from my family to yours, Have a great season!

So you think you are busy these days?

Try being this couple! Christmas is on Thursday, the baby will be induced on Saturday and they should be bringing baby home by New Years Eve. Whew! Now that's busy!

A touching phone call.

This morning I was pleasantly surprised and treated to a most unexpected phone call. It all started last year when I met sweet Mandy B. at a networking event. When she found out that I was a photographer, Mandy jumped at the chance for me to photograph her oldest daughter who was soon to graduate from High School. While we were at the photo session (which was awesome, I might add) Mandy told me about her other daughter who was a few years younger than the senior I was shooting. According Mandy, her other daughter Shelby has always shown an interest in photography. Mandy went on to tell me that it would be so great if I would consider letting Shelby come along with me for some photo sessions just so she could get an idea of what it was all like.

Well, as many of you know, if I’m shooting on location for either a portrait session or an event, I will always try to have an assistant with me. So, fast forward a bit to my next session, I gave Mandy a call and asked if her younger daughter Shelby was truly interested in tagging along with me. And much to my delight, little Shelby jumped at the opportunity! Not only was she willing to help me out during my shoot, she was quite the little sponge and was taking in everything that I had to share with her. Now mind you, I could talk all day about photography to my friends and family, and most of the time there eyes just start to glaze over with boredom (yes, I can talk about photography that much ) .. But not Shelby! She took in everything that I had to say even if it did not truly apply to her preferred style of photography. And since that first successful and fun event together, I have gladly called her back to help with many more sessions and events. Some were paid jobs and some were not, but that never stopped her from being a great student.

And you know what is the coolest thing, she has always listened to every tip and trick that I can possibly share with her. From there she applies it to her own budding photography style, but she skillfully makes it her own. It’s one thing to learn from someone and simply re-create that same look and effect, but it’s completely different to apply that knowledge in a different way. Shelby takes all the knowledge that I share with her and makes it her own. That’s the true mark of an artist in my opinion!

So, now back to the phone call. It’s been almost a year since I have had the pleasure to meet and begin mentoring Shelby, and this morning her mom Mandy, called me. Not to book a session, not to ask if I had any more sessions for Shelby to assist me with, but just to say “Thank you” for sharing all that I know and for inspiring Shelby to learn all that she can. Wasn’t that the sweetest thing?!?!?! My eyes are still welling up with pride and Mandy sure made my morning with that unexpected phone call… and I don’t think anything will take this silly smile of my face all day!

If you’d like to see some of Shelby’s photography works, please take a moment to check out her MySpace profile and be sure to leave her some love. She is quite the budding artist and I am oh so very proud to call her my friend :)

Fa La La La La!

Well, today's post is on a personal note ... get ready for it ... I'm gonna do it ... I'm gonna brag on my kids! :)

My son and daughter (1st & 2nd graders) are both in their school choir and today they got to go on a field trip at two places! How fun! The first stop for the singers was at a retirement home where they were paid in candy bags for all their hard work (and they were paid quite nicely I might add!)

The second stop on their musical adventure was the newest HEB plus at the old Mc Crelis mall where they carolled the busy shoppers ... that kinda puts a new twist on the phrase "Dinner and a show" don't ya think!

Here's a few shots of my babies singing their hearts out!

And now for a fun shot of some of the classmates. Great job to everyone!

Today's newborn session!

Yep, Kim & John got a chance to bing thier new baby to my studio ... what a great session! Meet the families newest little pilot ;)

A pair of cousins!

Yep, it's not often that this brother & sister pair (aka my cousins) make in front of my camera! Their mom is wanting to order herself a Gina Alexander My Everything Tote featuring her kids in their team uniforms ... these are gonna be awesome!

Aren't these guys great looking!!!???!!

From my family to yours ...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Baby Max made it to my studio!

This little guy was perfect for his big modeling debut ... he didn't pee, poop, fuss, cry ... nothing! I have gotten so lucky with these last few babies in my studio ... of course, now I've probably just jinxed myself!

Anywho, here are a few images from our studio session!

I've gone FRUITY!!!

Made ya look didn't I! Seriously though, this Friday I had the great fun to participate in a conceptual photo shoot. The talented vidoeographer, Brandon Santiago of Monkey Toes Productions wanted to produce a promo real for marketing and he had this idea to put together quite a team. After reserving the top lofts of Pat O'Brien he filled it with a make up team, a hair team, a group if clothing design students and me the photographer. The overall theme was fruit! The videographer wanted wild, funky, edge anything goes for this look! And the best part was that I could shoot them any way I wanted ... What fun! The wardrobe team sewed the clothes right on the spot, the makeup group had a case full of goodies and the hair team was working with all of the fruits. The models were so easy going and totally willing to let the teams do whatever they wanted to do :)

It was a long and exhausting day, but oh so worth it! Tell me what ya think!

Strawberry girl, aka Allison Martinez

Kiwi girl, Erin Peterson

Orange model, Lisa Puchot Pineapple girl, Courtney, Justcie

Blueberry model, Wida Suttisamnt

Berrys, Melissa Pagan

Told ya it was a fun shoot! :)

Anyone have a blond wig I can borrow ASAP?!?!?!

I need to borrow a blond wig for a photo shoot this Sunday ... I've been busy with sick family & friends and I just have not had time to get one ... if you live in San Antonio and have a wig, I'd be very grateful if I could borrow it ... just contact me asap if you have one! Thanks :)