People in this business talk a lot about giving back to various causes, and charity projects always seem to find me! Our school and parish has a big Fall Festival, and some of the top items that go into the silent auction are projects done by each of the grades in the school.
So I got a request from the 4th grade room mom to help her out with the 4th grade project. And since they had a pretty good concept, I thought it would be fun to do. We took individual photos of each of the 4th graders (and thank goodness they were all there that day), and their teacher, Mrs. Hurlbut, and put them into a “Brady Bunch” looking grid. Greg Barnett designed the project, even approximating the “Brady Bunch” type face, and taking color cues from the shirts the kids where wearing.

Then we sent the file off to Costco for a canvas print to be made. Costco did a great job, getting the canvas back to us quickly and looking really good. The project got a few hundred dollars at the auction, with that money going back to the school. I was happy that we did a great job, which always makes us look good. And of course it helped out the school, also good!

Well, what IS new? School is back in session, Mom back in the studio. Festival at St. B’s, done. 4th grade project for Festival, done. Now we get ready for Halloween. And Miss C has been ready for Halloween since February! Finally got her costume ordered (Classic Alice in Wonderland), got the invites out for the Halloween party, and starting to plan that. Menu, cocktails, decorations have got to get done! We are making cute party favors out of toilet paper rolls (hey, we saw it in Martha Stewart, so it has to be good)!

Also… got approval from the Daddy Man that Miss C can have a KITTEN! So she is very excited about that. Actually, if anyone in the L.A. area does have a kitten available, we would be interested. But just one please, Mommy does have allergies (achoo)!

Getting ready for the Holiday Portrait season as well. You know that the earlier you get this done the earlier you can get your holiday cards made, so call us. Right now, a $350.00 portrait session is $275.00 if booked before December 1st, 2010. That should still give you enough time to get cards ordered for the holidays. Come on, when was the last time you had a great family portrait? And I can do some individual shots as well, so that you have a good pic for Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Networking lunch today up at the Woodland Hills Country Club. Always a nice place to spend some time! Have a great week!

We recently got together with Danielle and Zach for an engagement shoot in Redondo Beach, California. Now the funny thing about L.A. beaches is that they are often overcast. So we took our time waiting for some pretty light to happen on the Redondo Beach Pier. And what better place to wait around than in a friendly bar, just like Tony’s on the Pier! Great setting, I won’t even say “retro” because that place is exactly as it has been since 1952. The perfect place for a Classic Martini and a Mai Tai!

The light was starting to improve outdoors, and we got some of that golden glow that we wanted for an engagement portrait. Danielle and Zach were relaxed and easy to work with, and it shows in the photos. We can’t wait to shoot their upcoming wedding at The Walnut Grove at Tierra Rejada Ranch in Moorpark, California.

I love going to get my hair done! Who doesn’t? But what make it really great is that I get to hang out with a great hairdresser, Micheal John! He is really the best around, and just a cool person to spend time with. I’ve known him about 10 years, so when we get together we always have a lot to talk about: families, work, politics, and celebrity gossip! And hair too, of course. This is the after photo from my most recent visit with him. His color is perfect, and if you are in need of a great hairdo for a wedding or a big event, he does the best styling around.  I was going to be really brave and show the before shots, but I don’t need to scare people off. Lets just say it didn’t look as good as this.

Michael John and me after my hair cut and color *yay*

Michael John Derricott
MJ Hair Salon
310.659.8877
912 north la cienega boulevard
suite c
west hollywood, california 90069

Friday we appeared in “People in the News” in Valley New group‘s “Warner Center News” & “Valley Vantage” announcing our launch for our new Photography division Barnett Lifestyles that specializes in Wedding, Event & Portrait photography and our “Economic Wedding Stimulus” package.

Every wedding booked before Tax Day will receive a complimentary Engagement photo session – 2 hours of photo time. Thank you Kathleen for publishing this.

Barnett Lifestyles in buzzworthy events Los Angeles Magazine

I alway think its cool when you see your work get published. I was just reading our copy of Los Angeles Magazine and noticed that our friend Ian Blackburn’s Learn About Wine‘s event Stars of Cabernet was mentioned in Buzz Worthy events and said to myself “Hey! thats our shot, and we have a photo credit too”. It was a wonderful event, and I always love being a part of something special that people enjoy and help a good charity like the T.J Martell Foundation.

Here is our Flickr gallery of the whole event. We are wine makers too and loved chatting with so many great makers of wine. Good times! Enjoy.