The Birthday Bash

Well Sunday was the big party and I think I am still exhausted! Thatcher and his friends had an absolute blast all afternoon racing down the inflatable slide. And I love how many grown-ups joined in too!

A special thanks to my dad who was the photographer for the day-- he let Olyn and I really enjoy the party and not do any of our "real work"!
I swear Thatch must have gone 50 times!He is such a big boy-- he went up by himself and actually refused any help!
We went inside for presents, cake and ice cream. I was so proud of how Thatch shared his new toys!
His favorite was the new laptop-- that was the one thing he refused to share!
My good friend Katie of Katie's Cakes and Catering made Thatch's birthday cake for us. Thatcher loved it-- he was so excited that his cake had cars on it. He cared nothing for the candles and singing-- he just immediately ripped off all the cars!Thanks again to everyone who came out to celebrate with us! We had a great time and Thatcher was so excited to have all his friends here!

Volunteering with the American Cancer Society

A lot of you know that my mom is a breast cancer survivor and I am a huge cheerleader for the American Cancer Society. I was in awe of the way the ACS helped my mom and the lengths they went to for support, caring, aid and assistance. I have never seen an organization so committed and dedicated to helping people in such a very real, practical way. I will be forever grateful to the American Cancer Society and their employees and volunteers who did so much for my mom and my family.

Last fall, it was again the anniversary of my mom's diagnosis and it is a time every year that I stop and thank God I still have her in my life. I thought back to the incredible way the American Cancer Society stood by her and how I can never repay that debt. But this year, I thought I might start trying. I am blessed in so many ways, mostly by my wonderful healthy family, but also in having a business that is so rewarding and fulfilling. So, I came up with a plan and presented it to the American Cancer Society who have partnered with me to make my plan a reality.

I am using my art and my skill to pay my debt to the ACS forward. Each month, I will spend 4 hours with a family currently fighting the cancer battle. I will document their daily life-- from eating breakfast and watching cartoons, to walking the dog and curling up with a good book. The "Day in the Life" portrait session will capture a time in their life-- both the good and the bad. It is a living history for that family and their battle. The session will include a DVD of the images so they can make prints and share with their loved ones. The sessions are completely free to the families and a small token of my gratitude to ACS.

Now, we need YOUR help. If you know of a family currently battling cancer who would like to have a "Day in the Life" session, please contact Caroline Miller with the American Cancer Society so we can include them. Caroline can be reached at 850-297-0588 ext. 3702 or by e-mail, Caroline.Miller@cancer.org. Please help us share our support and love.

If you would like to donate or volunteer with the American Cancer Society, you can also visit their website, www.cancer.org

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Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Thatcher

Ok... I can't exactly have a cute kid contest without including the kid I think is the cutest in the entire world! Not that I am in any way biased! So, yes, I finally did real portraits of Thatcher rather than just following him around the house with the camera. :)Most of Thatch's session was Olyn placing him in the spot that I wanted and then doing anything we could to keep him from running off. :) That's just what almost-2 year olds do. The one time Olyn tried to get him to pose it didn't work out exactly as planned... Olyn wanted Thatch to lay down, so he demonstrated the pose. Thatch decided that jumping on Daddy's back was way more fun than posing alone...

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Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Our "normal" weekend

I had almost forgotten what it was like to have a "normal" weekend... pretty much every weekend for the last 3 1/2 years has been consumed with weddings, shoots, editing, invoicing, emails, etc. The weather was so beautiful that I did everything I could to put down the crackberry and just be a mom and a wife this weekend. We went shopping, worked in the yard, got haircuts and watched movies. In other words, it was a perfectly uneventful amazingly relaxing and refreshing weekend.

I even picked up the camera for something personal-- the first time in I can't remember how long! I was planting flowers while Thatcher played in the yard. Olyn turned his back for a second, and Thatcher found his sandbox... which was full of water from the rains we've had. In that split second, Thatcher ran into the sandbox and instantly sat down in the four inches of standing water.

Once he was soaked, we decided to just let him play. I think this is the most fun he has ever had. He splashed, dug in the sand and then decided to use his little shovel to try and get the dogs equally as dirty as he was. He would fill the shovel with wet sand and chase after the dogs, thowing the sand whenever he was in close range.

So, Thatch has learned lately that if you get anything icky on your hands the best course of action is to immediately wipe it on your shirt. We are doing more laundry than ever and here he is caught in the act! So, that is the latest from us and our blissfully uneventful weekend. :)

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Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and Santa brought you everything on your list! We had a fabulous time here at home and are currently drowning in wrapping paper and new toys. :) Many of you received our company Christmas card, so I thought I would share our family card here on the blog!

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Tallahassee & Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Stephanie

Many of y'all have either met Stephanie or heard of her-- she is the woman who keeps me sane. :) She is the one who organizes the office, manages print orders, assists me at weddings and in general does her best to keep everything in order! In addition to being phenomenal at her job, she is an absolute riot and a wonderful friend.

We snuck out of the office this afternoon for her "senior" portraits. While most senior portraits are of high school students, we didn't see why we couldn't do them for college as well!

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Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

A night at the fair

Last night was the opening night of the North Florida Fair. Olyn and I took Thatcher and had an absolute blast! The fair will be in town from Nov. 8 through the 18th. If you go, make sure you stop by the Star98 booth and register to win a $250 gift certificate from Long's Photography!

Ok, enough business talk-- here is our night at the fair!

Waiting with daddy for the pigs to race.

Racing pigs: Thatcher watching the pigs!

Thatcher absolutely loves animals. He routinely hugs both of our dogs-- so last night he thought the animals in the petting zoo needed hugs as well.
And this is the llama that was on the other end of the hug.

We only went on one ride, but Thatch thought it was a riot. He held onto the handles and "revved" his horse and waved to daddy everytime we went by.

We ended the night with a bag of cotton candy, which went over very well. :) It actually went all over all three of us!

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Tallahassee & Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

It's Cowboy Day!

It was Cowboy Day today at Thatcher's daycare. I snuck out of the office for about an hour to go see him ride a pony and play on the playground. :) He loved the pony-- he patted it for the longest time and kept waving "hi!" every time the pony walked by!

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Tallahassee & Thomasville's premier wedding & portrait photographers

Monkey on the Loose!

Olyn and I did Thatcher's Halloween portraits this evening so we can send photos to his grandparents. Not that I am at all biased.... but he is seriously the cutest monkey-- EVER! Most kids at this age really aren't in to wearing a costume, but he LOVED it! He ran around the studio stomping his feet, giggling and squealing SO loudly.

Just a reminder to everyone that we will be doing kids portraits ON HALLOWEEN! Its a quick 15 minute session with online proofing and your choice of a 5x7-- only $15! Many of you have heard Tammy talking about us on Star 98 and Halloween time slots are going quickly! We would love to see you and your kiddos on the 31st-- so call and schedule an appointment!

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Tallahassee and Thomasville's Premier Wedding & Portrait Photographers

What happens when you leave your production manager unsupervised...

Many of yall have met my production manager, Stephanie. She is the one who keeps my head on straight-- she handles all of the print orders, the office details, and a long list of odd jobs. Well, last week she was labeling and organizing some stuff for me. Olyn and I were in the office chatting while Thatcher had a snack... and this is what I came back to!! :)

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A New Challenge

One of the best things about my job is that it is always a challenge. There are always new things to learn or new ideas to test. Every time I pick up a camera I want to create something new, try something I haven't tried before and see what I can create. With that in mind, I offered to photograph Eduardo and Cristina-- award-winning ballroom dancers. Combining a dark setting and fast action can be a photographer's nightmare, but I think we got some really cool images!

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On the road

I hit the road this week to see my family in South Carolina. While that may sound like a week of vacation, I have been shooting almost every day! I have some really cool shoots planned while I am here and I think there will be some interesting things on the blog this week!

I started the week by photographing Riley-- she is the daughter of my best childhood friend, Jennifer. Its so funny to see both of our children together... I hardly feel that we are old enough to both be parents! I loved spending time with Jenn and Riley-- Riley is so much like her mommy it really made me laugh!www.LongsPhotography.com

Our week away

A lot of you know that we took off last week to have a family vacation. This was the first time in three years that we left the office for something completely non-photography related! We spent all week in Indian Harbour Beach with my parents-- not doing much of anything!

I did take the camera along, so here are a few quick snaps! (Oh, and yes, Thatcher had his hair butchered while we were there. Hopefully it will grow quickly!)

This is what happens when Grandma insists that Thatch can have a chocolate chip cookie...

Thatch's favorite place in the condo? In the kitchen cabinet with the pots and pans!We took Thatcher to the Brevard Zoo, where he and I fed a giraffe.Thatcher with his grandparents on the zoo train.Thatcher and Daddy in the butterfly aviary.

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Our day of lost and found!

To know Olyn and I is to know that we are dog lovers-- especially bulldogs and boxers. On Olyn's way to work today, he saw a baby boxer running alongside the road dangerously close to traffic. Olyn stopped his truck and the puppy literally came running to him! What could he do?? He brought him home to me!!

We had signs up by 9am and we were so hopeful that puppy's parents would call. As the hours ticked by, I really started to worry. Where was I going to put another dog for the night??


We finally got the call we were hoping for! Puppy's parents were out hanging their own signs and they saw ours! As cheesy as it sounds, I had to hold back the tears when he ran to greet them. I loved having him for a day, but I was just so happy his family had him back! I can only image how distraught I would be if I lost Bella or Beau!


So, to share the fun we had with puppy (whose name is Kenji), I thought I would share a few quick photos I took this evening!

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It's birthday time!!

I can hardly believe its been a year already! Thatcher is turning one on Monday, so we are shutting the office down from Friday through Tuesday so that we can celebrate with our family and friends. An update for everyone who hasn't seen him lately-- he is walking and starting to talk, he thinks Bella is the funniest thing in the world and he thinks his dinner goes well in his hair. :)

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!




Just a reminder that we are closed until January 2nd. We are still checking email and voicemail once each day, but we are limiting our office time. Thanks!

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope some of you come by our house to trick or treat, or I will be drowning in candy!

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Labor Day and College Football

Hope everyone has a good labor day! Olyn and Thatcher are already engrossed in college football, so it looks like I am banished to the studio to work on album designs!

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My day off

I actually took a day off. WOW! Photography has been pretty solid since Spring began and when I am not shooting and editing, I am taking care of the new house and baby! Today I did something just for me... I took photos! It is so wonderful to have your hobby and your job be one and the same!

Here are a shot of the favorite flower in my yard-- Pink Ginger.

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Happy 4th of July

We hope that everyone has a fun and safe holiday!

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Materinity Leave... well kind of...

I would like to thank everyone for their warm wishes and for their patience as Thatcher and I recover and get into a routine. We are all doing well and really enjoying life right now.

I have been on "maternity leave" for the last month, but what that really means is that I have been furiously editing images and designing albums whenever I can get Thatcher down for a nap! So, with the chaotic pace of new motherhood, I have not had a chance to share our latest work, so bear with me as we fast-forward through a month of weddings!

The day before Thatcher was born, I photographed Sabrina and Karl's wedding at Goodwood Plantation. The elegant affair had a flair of the old south, with the old plantation house as a backdrop.









Vendors:
Ceremony and Reception Location: Goodwood Plantation
Catering: Manna
Flowers: Blossoms

Olyn covered the May 13th wedding of Heather and Clint at Woodbrook. With the beautiful spring weather, the couple exchanged vows by the lake and celebrated underneath the stars.

Vendors:
Ceremony and Reception Location: Woodbrook

Olyn and our assistant traveled to Chipley to photograph the wedding of Chelsea and Dallas. The couple had a candlelight service followed by an intimate reception at the Groom's family home.
And a few of Chelsea's bridal portraits I did before the wedding:

Vendors:
Cake: Katie's Cakes

I returned from my brief leave to photograph the wedding of Sarah and Adrian at St. Peter's Anglican Church. The bride's elegance and the couple's emotion combined for one of the most moving weddings I have seen.

Vendors:
Ceremony Location: St. Peters Anglican Church
Reception Location: Ramada Inn
Florist: Missy Gunnels
DJ: Randy Kepple
Cake: Publix

And lastly, a few shots in the new studio of the new family!

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Our Newest Addition

On Sunday, May 7th, Olyn and I welcomed our newest addition, Thatcher Olyn. He was born at 8:10 pm, weighing 8 pounds and four ounces and 22 inches long. We are both doing well and getting settled at home. Thank you all for your warm wishes and for your patience as we try to get back up to speed.

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The Future Home of Long's Photography!

Many of you may already know that we are in the process of building a new home and a new office for Long's Photography. We thought we should share some photos and hopefully share our excitment about this new step!

The new office will have additional meeting space and work space along with a portrait studio area. We really feel that having an indoor studio will augment our family, maternity and kids portraits.

A view of the front:

A view of the back:

The new entrance to the studio:

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