Happy Birthday and Happy New Year

Just wanted to wish Steve a Happy Birthday- he's not an old man yet according to our daughter he has another year! LOL!!!! Also wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I hope your year is AMAZING!!!! Hope to see you for wedding pictures, family pictures, senior pictures, baby pictures, or just for fun pictures- or let's go to dinner and just have fun. Thank you to everyone who made this year one of the best so far!

New Seniors MySpace Page

Hey everyone, we have a Seniors MySpace. We are in the process of launching it, and really need friends! Check it out... http://www.myspace.com/magekseniors and become our friend!

Senior Pictures!!!

Well, it is that time of year again. Senior pictures!!!! Not the senior pictures that the school does, but the really cool senior pictures that you have done for family and friends. Our Senior Ambassador in Baytown recently did her first set of pictures (yes, I said first, because on Monday, we are going to another location!!!). Below is a glimpse of some of my favorites...

Favorite locations

If you are looking for an AMAZING venue, you have to check out Centurion Palace (located in Dickinson) and their sister site, Ella's Garden (located in Tomball). They are BEAUTIFUL locations, and they photograph well because the folks that run it really put some thought into where things should be. The two ladies are absolutely amazing!!!! They will help you with everything. You don't need a wedding coordinator on the day of your wedding, because they will do it for you. The food is good, the cake is great, the DJ gets people up and moving, and the ambience is stunning! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Centurion Palace. I will post a slide show from Ellas soon:)

Merry Christmas

We wanted to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had an AMAZING day:)

Bay Area Wedding Professionals

We recently attended the Bay Area Wedding Professionals monthly meeting, and annual Christmas lunch. It is a great way to meet other folks in the wedding industry. There are several folks that we have met along the way, that we had no idea they were even part of the BAWP. Here were some of our favorite folks (and we have seen their portfolios or have worked with them before)...

Butler's Courtyard- a GORGEOUS LOCATION!!!! We are planning on attending their open house on January 18th- come out and see us. We have never attended an open house or bridal extravaganza before, so this is new to us. www.butlerscourtyard.com

Theresa Rocabado- Make-up Artist- WOW! Her portfolio is AMAZING!!! She will go to your house or location to do the make-up. Her website is www.mymakeuprocks.com and her email is theresa@mymakeuprocks.com Phone: 832-689-4858

Want to rent a really cool car or a limo- Jan Jordan of Jordan Limousines is the lady to call. Her phone number is 713-301-5523 and her email is jljordan0715@aol.com The website is http://jordanlimousines.com/

Need a minister, well Weddings Performed does weddings anywhere, anytime!!! Lynn Turner and Brian Engle are the two we have met. The website is www.weddingsperformed.com and the phone number is 281-478-6126.

Family pictures

Well, here are the family pictures. This is the Burk and Miller families!!!!

Family stuff....

Hello everyone. Thought I would update you on all of our family stuff. We recently took family pictures- Steve and I, along with our four kids, and Kim and Dwayne, and their daughter. We had a great time. Got some great pictures on Sunday!!!! Pictures will be here shortly.

On Monday, on our way to school, the kids and I were in an accident. An oncoming vehicle towing a trailer lost the trailer, which hit us, sending us spinning. We spent Monday evening at the Emergency Room. Everyone is okay. No major injuries- LOTS of aches and pains though. I spoke to several folks over the next couple of days, so I thought I would show you the pictures.

This is my door panel- my daughter thinks it says Kill on it!!!

A sneak peak at Steve and LaGinna's pictures....

While we aren't done editing all of the pictures from the wedding, I was so excited about the wedding I wanted to get a few of my favorites up. Steve and LaGinna are studing for finals and getting ready for their honeymoon, so I thought they might want to take a quick break and just sneak a peak!!! All the pictures will be posted on the wedding pictures page soon, but here are just a few of my favorites.

What a busy week!!!

What a busy week we have had- we have done a couple of engagement pictures, a set of bridal pictures, and a wedding!!!! The engagement pictures were downtown and Hermann Park, but the bridal pictures were at Northgate in the Woodlands. I can't show you those because I am waiting for to get married in January. The wedding was in Fredericksburg- the day after snow!!!! There was no snow there, but it was still very cool. They got married at the Nimitz Museum. They were amazing. They did all of their pictures before the wedding- and let me tell you, their family is FAST!!! We gave ourselves a couple of hours before the wedding to get everything done, and they were done in about an hour! We got some great pictures!!! We even got some outside with the Christmas lights after dark- very cool!! They are going to Disneyland for their honeymoon- all expenses paid thanks to Expedia!!! LaGinna entered a contest everyday for 2 weeks and won one of the first prizes!!!!

Here's a glimpse at Kara and Manny's pictures!!!



and a glimpse at Wyatt and Vanessa's pictures....

Inspiration....

As some of you may know, I have an inspiration board. I surf the net, puruse the bridal magazines, and read as many photography books as I can to find really cool pictures and ideas. Then, I post them on my inspiration board- right next to the computer. I have pictures from sessions we have done on it, as well as pictures from other photographers. I also have a few quotes on it. They are there to remind me to always strive to be better than the day before. Here are a couple of quotes that inspire us to do the best and reach for the stars.

Coach Carter: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. (Thanks to my son, Jacob- keep shining!!!)

Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

And, one of my favorites.. 212Degrees. Here's a link to the 2 minute movie....

http://www.212movie.com/

MySpace and FaceBook....

Hey everyone, we have been updating our MySpace and Facebook. If you have an account, add us as a friend and we will send you some pics to put on your profile. To find us, search for Magek Photography!!!!

The newest sessions.... not your grandma's photo sessions.

Day After, Trash the Dress, and Bridal Boudoir sessions are the newest trends in wedding photography. Day After sessions are when the bride and groom both put on their wedding clothes, or at least the bride wears her dress and the groom wears nice clothes at a minimum. Then, we go to a great location where we can get have a great time getting romantic and sexy shots of the two of them after the actual wedding day. It is a much more relaxed atmosphere compared to the wedding day, and can be a lot of fun!!! When these sessions are thought of in advance of the wedding, it makes the wedding day go much smoother. While we still want to get great shots of the two of you on your wedding day, we know we are going to get amazing shots later as well. Sessions can be done one week, one month or even one year after your wedding.

Trash the Dress sessions can include the groom, but always include the bride in her dress. The idea does not have to be that the dress is "trashed" but that there are no worries about the dress getting dirty. They typically happen at a location that is not the "typical" bridal session location- like the beach, or walking around downtown, or in an alley. It can be anywhere!!! We have taken pictures where the bride walks out into the ocean, where the bride has jumped into a fountain, and where the bride walked all over the Strand in Galveston. Sessions can be done whenever you want after the wedding day.

Bridal Boudoir sessions are typically done before the wedding as a gift for the groom- usually given to him on the honeymoon. These are done at the bride's house or at a hotel, and are very tasteful sexy pictures of the bride. Our style is artistically sexy. You don't have to be nude, you can wear that sexy lingerie or othe sexy clothing. You don't have to have the perfect body eihter. Every bride is beautiful!

Ask us about doing a session for you!!!! They are some of our favorite:)

Amazing Engagement Session!!!!

WOW!!!! Words will never describe the the engagement session tonight- you will have to see it to believe it. We took pictures downtown, which is not that out of the ordinary. We have done that before. But, this time we went into the Downtown Aquarium, and went up to the helicopter pad. OMG!!!! AMAZING!!!! It definitely pays to know people in high places- thank you Chris!!!!! Here are the pictures....



By the way, if you are trying to come up with a place for your next party, wedding reception, etc., be sure to keep the Downtown Aquarium in mind. The banquet hall is exquisite!! I was shocked at the price as well- they will work with you and make it worth your while to at least consider them. Check out their website: http://www.aquariumrestaurants.com/downtownaquariumhouston/flash_content/index.html

Aaron's brothers coupon

I don't normally pass this kind of information along, but Aaron's brothers frames has a coupon for 40% off any one item, so if you are looking for a frame, this might be an inexpensive way to get what you want. Here is the link: http://www.aaronbrothers.com/coupon/

Blog Coupon

Looking for great Christmas presents.... How about pictures!!! And to our loyal blog readers, here is a coupon!!!! Just enter the coupon code at checkout to receive 40% off prints. The coupon is only good until December 12, 2008, but you can use it as many times as you want- tell a friend! All payments must be received by the 19th of December.

Other things....

Oops, I totally forgot to mention a few things...

First, if you know a senior who is in need of senior pictures, we are looking for Senior Ambassadors for this school year, as well as starting to look for them for next school year. It is a great way to get your senior pictures for FREE!!! The senior ambassadors have the ability to get a flush mount album of their pictures as well as loose prints to give out, all for free!!! They simply have to refer their friends to us for their pictures!

Second, we are updating our MySpace and Facebook. If you have an account, please add us as a friend and we will send you some pictures to put on your page!!!

Okay, that's it for now, but keep watching, there will be more!!!!

Gearing up for the holidays

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We were able to visit with all of our family- my sister and her husband came in from Austria, my brother and his girlfriend, as well as my parents came in from Arkansas, and my grandmother came from New York. We also got to visit with Steve's brother and his three girls. It was a lot of fun. I even ventured out on Black Friday to Wal-Mart to get the 4th book of the Twilight series- I quickly left and went to Barnes and Noble- much better!!! Kim and her family stayed at home and visited with local family.

Anyway, back to the busy photography business. I know people say we are in a recession, but I will say we are very busy! We already have more weddings booked for next year than we did last year. We are very excited!!! We have even gotten to the point of having weekly business meetings so we can keep up with what we have as well as build our business. They are a lot of fun!!!

From the labs, we have several albums we are waiting to come in and a lot of pictures that we are waiting on. We have a couple of ideas that we are working on that will hopefully benefit all of our customers. Keep an eye on the blog in the next week!!!