Photography & Lettering Archives

The Results of that FUNKY URBAN EXPEDITION! | A Photographer + Designer Event for Little Girls

December 13, 2009 By Laura 5 Comments

Finally, the results of my first photography event, with my designer friend! You may have seen the planning, sample photos and announcement of the event HERE. I have to say, this is one of the most fun and creative things I have ever done, as a professional photographer.

The title of the event says it all! FUNKY and URBAN, well describe the artsy visions I had for this event and these beautiful little girls! I am reminded, always, that the work I do is God’s work. Yes, sometimes it helps support my family, but it is really always God’s work….through me. There is no other work worth doing to me, if not for Him. And it is clear, every one of these children, are the perfect work of His hands. It was an honor to have them smile, laugh, dance and giggle, in front of my camera!

So, for those who ‘get it’…and can appreciate the fun artsy side of things too, I hope you enjoy some of the photos from this first event of my own. As a reminder, a custom made tutu came with the cost of this event, but the moms were responsible for putting together the outfits for their own girls. {O} took part in this event too, and had SUCH a blast, as you’ll see. All of the little girls were ADORABLE. They just loved being dressed up and showing their funky side. They hung out all day together, giggling and having the kind of little girl chit-chat that little girls do, in between their turns for having photos taken.

Here’s a (very) small peek at the beauties me and my camera got that day…….

Does God do beautiful work, or what? What blessings each one of these girls are. Like ALL children…their beauty and innocence SHINE. I can see the amazing craft of His hand in each one of them. Capturing that in photos, for them to have forever, is what I love to do.

The moms and girls LOVED the photos, and I am guessing this will be a day these little girls will remember for a long time to come. I know I will.

Thanks for coming to see these little stars.

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Plymouth Tire & Auto Service | Truck Lettering

November 30, 2009 By Michael 2 Comments

Michael here. Here is one of the most recent truck lettering jobs I have done. Plymouth Tire & Auto Service has been a customer of mine for about eight years now. I have lettered several trucks and did some signs for Steve over that time period. On this job Steve wanted me to design something different. Something that would catch the eye a bit more than the traditional door lettering that he had used in the past. So this is what I came up with.

This is a four color job with each color as an overlay on top of the red base color.

Below is closer look to show you the surface I had to work on with the second half of the name.

This took a bit more time to do as you can imagine.

Steve and his kids got a real kick out of “Bib” (the Michelin Man) in the back seat with his arm out the window.

Yup, both sides match. ; )

I think the back speaks for itself. Thanks for taking a look.

Michael

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Photographer + Designer = Funky Urban Expedition! | A Fun Photography Event for Little Girls with Their Moms

November 15, 2009 By Laura 2 Comments

I had this idea that had been nagging in my head for the longest time. As a photographer, I wanted to do a little girl’s urban expedition photo shoot. I wanted my custom designer friend, Michelle, to put it on with me. I knew we would be QUITE a team. It would be an event/package deal, of sorts. Moms would need to sign their little girls up, and they would come along too.

I mentioned it to my friend,and she LOVED the idea! So we planned it. Little did I know, it was going into a crazy-busy time for me. So the event was ON, it was OFF, it was ON and OFF again. And THEN, it was ON again!

We needed to create an ad for the event. So naturally, we needed photos to fairly express some of the kind of images we would be creating as a team, between my photography skills and her tutu designing skills. (Although she does SO much more than tutus!) The photos I would create of the little girls who joined the Expedition were going to be FUNKY, FUN and PLAYFUL in their attire, and also in my creative processing of the images. We were going for urban and different. The event itself was meant to be a grand girl’s day out on the town!

So to create images for the advertisement, I took my own little model, {O}….

Then I took some of the photos I got, and created an ad, which we put on our web sites, as well as a few 8×10 printed ads hung up at some places moms go.

Here is the ad, with the details of the event.

The event ended up being postponed, but was held on the afternoon of October 25th. I was glad it was a little more into colder weather, because I wasn’t sure I was liking the little tank top. So we all went for a little more covered up look.

The event went FABULOUS! God blessed us with a PERFECT weathered day. We had 5-6 little girls (all we could handle!) and their moms. We all had a BLAST!! All of the little girls were so sweet, all giggling with each other and having fun. It was definitely a success! I am still working on their photos, but I am thrilled with the results in the images of these BEAUTIFUL little girls. I really got a lot of gorgeous shots of all of the girls. Can’t wait until the moms see for themselves!

I’m planning a follow-up post on this event, so stay tuned!

UPDATE: You can see some of the resulting photos of this event HERE.

I am featuring Michelle, and her business, Stitch a Wish Designs, right now in the Crafts and Creations section. She is SUCH a gifted, creative and meticulous designer, so her work is classy and beautiful. She makes a lot more than tutus, so go check out her amazing work!

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Our Church Sign Restoration, With a Surprise Underneath

October 27, 2009 By Michael 7 Comments

Hey Friends! This is Michael here. Recently my own parish, St. Bonaventure in Plymouth, MA, commissioned me to restore our Church sign out front. The original had been done so many years ago, and it was looking worn and weathered. It definitely needed to be refinished.

The original sign’s background was painted with a heavy coat of burgandy. The Church asked for it to be all stripped, sanded and repainted, with the trim as white, the gold reguilded, and the background the blue as you see above. This blue matches the doors of our church, which is symbolic.

So anyway…..I got it home and stripped all of the paint off. What I found underneath that old paint was the most beautiful mahogany wood! As I was sanding, I was thinking what a shame it would be to paint over that gorgeous wood. I decided to take a photo of the wood, and bring it to my pastor, to try and convince him to just varnish over the wood, with the carved letters re-guilded and the white trim. He agreed, saying he loves the look of natural wood anyway, and that he trusted my judgement. I think his decision about the sign was wise, as well as trusting my judgement. ; )

I really wish I had BEFORE and AFTER photos for you all. You would appreciate the beauty that was revealed, all the more. But with the original intention of just refinishing the sign in the exact same style, repainting it burgundy, there didn’t seem to be a purpose to taking a photo before I started stripping it.

Anyway, it’s nice to have your work respected enough to be asked to provide such an important feature of the Church. It would have been a shame to paint over such beautiful wood, again. I enjoying restoring it to it’s intended beauty, and it feels good to see it there in front of the Church, as I drive by every day, and pull in every Sunday. I’m really happy with how it came out, and we hope you enjoyed seeing it, too. Thanks for letting us share it with you.

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Performance Automotive – Truck Lettering

September 30, 2009 By Laura 2 Comments

I know some of you have been waiting to see how the truck lettering is prepared, before it goes on the trucks, but that’s not this post yet. lol. He will do that at some point. But this is Laura, actually, blogging for Michael : ) I took photos of this job for Michael, not only because I like the layout, because I think this tow truck is adorable! Isn’t it just CUTE?! It belongs to Performance Automotive, out of Plymouth. I love the red, and the tinted windows, too.

Also, I didn’t think we posted a 2 color job yet. It’s a sharp looking job.

Michael has been taking care of Performance Automotive for 10 years now.

So here’s the door before lettering, obviously.

Lettering with outlines are done in 2 layers. What ends up being the ‘outline’ of the letter, is actually a bigger, solid letter under neath the top cut letters.

In the 3 photos above, he is positioning the first layer, which will be the lettering outline.

There it is, applied.

Now here, he is applying the lettering over the outline layer.

Nice, huh?

The blue is outlined in metallic silver. It’s hard to see in a photo, but there is a bit of shimmer to metallic silver.

The kids got their rides in the cute tow truck, and the owner picked it up the next day, and was very happy with the job done, as always.
Need some business vehicles lettered as well? You can reach Michael at the following email address:
Alphbtman@aol.com

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UPDATE: You can see some of the resulting photos of this event HERE.

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