Happy New Year - the Year of Rabbit

Yes, yes.  I know I have been owing a new post for for months.  It has been a busy holiday season for us.  Right, that's not an excuse.  So here I am, finally, on the New Year Eve of the Rabbit Year, attempting to look back the year past and look ahead for the year to come.  Not really a new year resolution, just time for a reflection.

Last year, we set off to continue our philanthropy efforts utilizing our work/talent.  So we continued our Family Portrait Month program and we will continue being a Family Portrait Month studio to benefit Operation Smile.  We also started offering custom-designed "Smile Cards" during the holiday as an additional way to benefit this cause.  More design samples to come soon to continue this offer throughout the year.  At the local level, Clark has been volunteering his talent at our children's schools, documenting the school events.  He's loving it and really enjoys being a part of the children's school life.  Now he knows all the kids in those classes and has become a "buddy" for many kids and even gets special hugs from a few of them.  (Oh, yes, he bragged about it like a kid.)  Well, I couldn't volunteer in the classroom as much but really enjoyed the few special events I participated and continued to contribute my time in other ways.  Now both of us are on the school auction coming up in March.  It will be a fun night and Clark will sure lend his photography talent to the event to raise the fund much needed for the public school!  In the years ahead, these causes will always be an important part of our professional and personal life.

In the past year, a couple of our close family members were visited by Thanatus but the love from the family must have convinced him to leave them alone for now.  We are thankful for still having them around.  Family is always our priority and we believe it is true for most of you.  We value the memory and time shared with our family and we believe you do too.  That is what we are here for.  We like you to find the time you spend with us on a photo shoot is quality time with your family and is fun.  We certainly had fun during the photo shoots with all the families.  We hope the photos not only records the faces and smiles at that point in time but also bring you the memory at the date of the photo shoot, a special family get-together time that is just like any other family get-together time.  This is the type of photos we want to capture: natural, simple, real.  But special.  This is also the products we want to offer: simple but special.  We look for high quality prints, photobooks, albums and we provide simple but special design to highlight your photos and bring back the memory.  If that is the style you are looking for, we are here for you.

Last year we also had our first school portrait event.  It was fun - the pumpkin hat was certainly the most popular item of the day.  We all love the panoramic group picture.  The reaction of the children seeing theirs and their friends' pictures at the ordering event was priceless and encouraging.  And it is certainly satisfying to see the pictures hanging on the wall of the school.  On the other hand, we also had quite a bit of learning from the experience.  There is always something we can do better next time.  It was a good start.

We continue to look for inspiration and always find something that inspires us.  The Birth of Impressionism and the Post-Impressionism exhibits were the highlights of the year.  (Yes, I still owe a write-up for the Post Impressionism one.)  But exhibit is not the only place to get inspired.  Art is everywhere and it only needs our eyes or ears or a heart to find it.  And we are firm believers of work from heart.  When an artwork emphasizes too much of its form, it loses its genuine touches.  That's why decorative art remains decorative but cannot be a masterpiece.  That is why some of the most impactful portraits are the simplest black and white head shots without fancy background or Photoshop filters.  That is why sometimes an untrained but beautiful voice touches our hearts.  I think this is the ultimate state for an artist - know the techniques well enough so they become part of you and then you forget about it.  We are far from this state but this goal keeps us getting better,  We will start participating in competitions but you will also be our judge for our work for you. 

There was something we set out to do but haven't executed.  We wanted to share techniques, tech tips, gadgets with you but this has not happened.  Clark continues to provide advice and tips to friends and clients but we have not been able to organize the thoughts in writing to share with everyone.  This is what we need to work out in the  new year.  We are also reviewing our plan for the year and will have more to share in the year to come.  We will also continue look out for high quality and special product offerings that speak to our hearts and will touch yours. 

We are excited for the new year and we know it will be a better one. 

Happy New Year!  Happy the Year of Rabbit!