3 weddings and a funeral

Not exactly...but, it's been an interesting month. Photo shoots have been happening. Had a little hitch in the business but over that and all better now...however, 2013 has not started out on the positive note I had hoped...

However - the weddings: I have been hired for a couple of weddings this year :) Hurray! I am meeting with another potential wedding client tomorrow to look over my portfolio and discuss options.

The rest of the title: My best friends husband had a major heart attack the other day. By major I mean the man almost died, he had to be airlifted to a different hospital, he was having emergency surgery when his blood pressure crashed...Thankfully, they were able to stabilize him and now he has surgery scheduled for this coming Friday.

As I was driving home from my visit to central Illinois for the sake of visiting my best friend and her husband I received a phone call from a family member who informed me that my aunt was in the hospital and in a coma...
She passed away on Sunday.

This has brought a flood of communication from family members and while it may seem harsh and mean, I am a pretty darn honest person...by honest I mean, I don't act or pretend to have feelings that I don't for the sake of being socially accepted. While many people love the swarm of their families getting together, I personally, dread it. And, for good reason. Our family doesn't get together and have the love and hugs and stuff that other families do...and our family tends to say stuff that usually gets blurted out in the heat of the moment and then later they are offended if someone has the nerve to be mad at them. I am not saying by any means that I am not like this in some ways; I am simply saying that I attempt to keep that kind of behavior to a minimum and also attempt to keep my mouth shut rather than say hurtful things to people.

This being said here are a few  Prime examples of behavior by family members that makes me nuts:
Example 1: On the day that my aunt went to the hospital I called my cousin.
Me: "Hi, it's Patty. Is your mom okay?"
Cousin: "Who is this?"
Me: "Your cousin Patty" (we live one town apart and run in to each other at walmart quite often...I'm certain she knows my name).
Cousin: "What do you want?" (seriously, didn't I already explain the reason for my phone call?)
Me: "I got a call from one of our cousins (did I mention this cousin that called me lives in FLORIDA and my cousin lives in the town over while my aunt lives just down the road from me?) and he said your mother was in the hospital. I was calling to see if she is okay..."
Cousin: "She's in the ICU."
Me: (getting a bit annoyed as I just want to know a yes or no, and possibly what happened.) "Okay, but is she okay, what happened, do you need anything?"
Cousin: "She's in the ICU, Patty. We could use some prayers."

I ended the phone call at this point, by saying, we will keep her in our prayers and please let me know if you need anything.

I then called my brother, who called my mother in Portugal...shortly after this my brother called me back and informed me that my aunt was brain dead, and they were keeping her on life support until her daughter from California could get there to say goodbye. (Now, yes, I think it is ridiculous that my cousin felt the need to not just say this...but I tried to chalk it up to just being distraught...still a bit annoying but understandable).

Example 2: Last night at about 10 p.m. I received a phone call from my cousin that flew in from California....I was already lying in bed as I had been up since 4 a.m.

Me: "hello?"
Cousin from California: "Hey little Patty, it's me."
Me: (sleep dazed) "How are you doing?"
Cousin from California: "Not so good, this sucks, it just sucks, I can't believe she is gone, it sucks, it sucks, it sucks."
Me: "Yes, I know. I'm sorry."
Cousin from California: "so, your mom is coming from Portugal for the funeral, Right?"
Me; "Yes, that's the word."
Cousin from California: "Will your sister be here?"
Me: "Yes"
Cousin from California: "Will your daughter be there?"
Me: "Yes, of course."
Cousin from California: "Do you want to pay for the flowers or the food?"
Me: silence...as I thought perhaps she was talking to one of her sisters who were all there.
Cousin from California: "LITTLE PATTY?"
Me: "Yes"
Cousin from California: "I asked you a question."
Me: "I'm sorry, I thought you were talking to your sisters."
Cousin from California: "No, I asked if you were going to pay for the flowers or the food."
Me: "Neither"
Cousin from California: "Well, I just went through mom and dad's stuff, they don't have much."
Me: "Neither do I. I'm really sorry, I just can't do it."
Cousin from California: "Oh, well, think about it and see what you can do."

We ended the call very shortly after that.

I am already not looking forward to all of this - but we will see how it goes, perhaps some super glue to my lips would do the trick from allowing my brain and mouth to work together and say something I shouldn't. :)

Best Friends

I feel so blessed to have been asked to do the photo shoot for Jared and then to be asked to do one for his best friend Ray. Here is a picture of the two of them together. 

Senior Portraits

A lovely weekend spent near my hometown.

2 Senior Photo shoots done while there...now for editing this week. Which truly needs to be completed by Saturday as I have more photo shoots coming up.

Today, I'm off to the oncologist and pulmonologist with my husband and son, both are just for checkup's :)

Below is a photo from the weekend's photo shoot. The only one I have, thus far, edited. It was a very busy birthday weekend for me.

A big thank you to both Jared and Ray for allowing me the pleasure and honor of capturing their Senior Portraits!

© Patty Pixx Photography

All Rights Reserved

The darling Olivia

I was asked to do a photo shoot covering a 4 year old's birthday party...

My favorite shot from the entire day is below. This little girl is just a darling!



                                             © Patty Pixx Photography
                                                All Rights Reserved

One more...

One more shot from the Raven photo shoot...

This was such a very fun shoot and I was thrilled to be a part of it and have such a willing model. 

Another concept photo shoot will be happening soon, with a different model. I am very excited to be working on this little project. Pics will be posted once we have completed the shoot. 

Raven Photo Shoot

This afternoon I had an opportunity to do a photo shoot with the beautiful Raven. She is one of the most inquisitive people I know, and asked me to do a shoot with her. We decided to go Black and White and to do simple and maybe a little moody...I think we accomplished what we were looking for.

Below is some of what we made happen!

As I am certain I have mentioned repeatedly...black and white is my favorite medium by far. I am thrilled with these photos and I hope you like them as much as I do. 

Upcoming hometown visit...

I will be in Hoopeston, Illinois in a few weeks (September 22-23). I am doing Senior Portraits for my best friends son.

If you, or anyone you know, might be interested in getting family portraits, individual portraits, or any other type of photos done please feel free to share my information with them.

I would love to go back home and have a weekend filled with photography! That is my birthday weekend, so I only have a few expectations aside from doing the Senior Portraits of Jared...eating Monicals pizza, getting a new tattoo, and hanging out with my best friend.

So, happy riding to my friends out there rolling over the pavement, and happy capturing to my friends with their lovely cameras.

Opportunities abound

I am so thankful for all the support that has been directed towards myself and my photography business.

My September is actually pretty full! I'm very excited about this. I am currently still booking September shoots as well as October and beyond.

I'm still in love with black and whites...and honestly would shoot in black and white more often than not if my clients preferred it the way I do :)

Below are a few photos from a recent photo session:

September is filling up!

I am very happy (and super Thankful) to say that my September calendar is filling up very nicely! This is very exciting for me!

Yesterday I was asked about doing a wedding next summer (fingers crossed that pans out).


Saturday I walked around downtown DeKalb hitting local businesses and trying to get my pamphlet and business cards up in their stores. I had several takers including the children's resale shop and Small Town Skate Shop  which my son is always visiting.
This morning I ordered new business cards as I'm down to my last 50 or so. :)

School starts next week, so August is always a little tighter on budgets. Hopefully, the fall will be super busy and profitable :)

Have a great day!

www.pattypixxphotography.com
www.facebook.com/pattypixx

Studying

In my quest to accomplish greater shots, I have picked up several books on Photography. Currently I am reading through a text book on Black and White Photography Technique. Very interesting actually...and yet, a moment ago, I realized I am sitting at home on a Friday night...inside the house reading a book, while the rest of my family is outside hanging out by the fire...

This has me thinking that I need to give a little! Tomorrow night (hopefully it's not going to rain tomorrow...I haven't looked at the forecast) I will not do anything photography related but instead will spend the entire time with my family!

Tomorrow I have another boudoir photo shoot. I am not sure what to think of this and yet...I did not intend to do anymore of these shoots than the one I was asked to do...and yet, I find it intriguing now that I am on my third one...and have been asked to do several others that I am now working on scheduling. I find them fun, and may end up doing one with me on the other side of the camera to help myself understand what it is that I'm asking of my clients when I want them to pose a certain way, and how self conscious someone becomes on that side of the lens.

I am also looking forward to several other shoots that are coming up including a senior portrait shoot with my best friends son...It seems impossible that he could be a senior already!

All in all, I am completely enjoying this adventure I am on...and indeed it is an adventure...Photography opens your eyes to so many things...It doesn't matter what I'm doing anymore, I see things as if I'm looking through a lens and want to keep my camera near me all the time so that I can capture great things.

  This was a shot that I took last weekend during a photo shoot of these two brothers. The younger one absolutely loves trains and his mother purchased a black and white print of the old grain elevator that still sits over the tracks...that is where we took this picture...but we took it on just the opposite side of the grain elevator. Fun shoot, fun day, cute boys!

Cool summer mornings

This past few days I have woken up and actually been chilly. I am honestly not prepared for the cooler days of fall to be upon us, yet, I know that in a matter of about 6 weeks autumn will begin.

Today I woke up feeling a bit under the weather, but made myself some coffee, started laundry, pulled food out of the freezer to make for dinner tonight and shortly will go find a spot on my couch, curl up and begin crocheting for the day. I may even venture out of my comfort zone and pull out the sewing machine, as there are a couple Christmas presents I still need to make.

I am also babysitting for two other photographers I know while they are working.

If I finish any projects today I will be sure to post them :)

Have a great day...I'm staying inside and trying to stay warm...it's a brisk 53 degrees here this morning!

AudioDrive in Rockford

I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to do a photo shoot of a show the other night in Rockford that featured AudioDrive at the Festa Italiana. This band had so much energy. They played a lot of 80's Rock, and their fan base spanned several generations.

The guys in the band were forewarned that I didn't have a lot of concert photography background; and were very gracious to let me do the shoot, even holding poses for an extra second or two in order for me to get them!

I will post a couple of pictures up here; but please check out my facebook page and my webpage . Please give me some feedback!

 Ben Tuula on the guitar...close your eyes and let the music take you! 

 Colin Edmison on the drums pounding out the beat.

 Dan Curington on vocals. This guy has a fabulous voice and interacts a great deal with the crowd.

 Daryl Andrus on the bass....Do you feel like I do? 

Jay Strong on the keyboards...music is what feels sound like. 

Brendon's Photography Interest

My son Brendon has been showing an interest in photography. Yesterday I took him out early in the morning. It was a gorgeous overcast day, so no worries about the sunlight streaking up the pics. He had his little snap and shoot but I handed him my Nikon D3000 and let him go to town...he was THRILLED!

We went to several different places and he took some awesome shots! I am very proud of him! He did a great job and we had a blast. I also want to thank JR WYATT PHOTOGRAPHY and CIJAY PIKULA IMAGING for their kind words to Brendon! They had him grinning ear to ear yesterday.

Here are some of the pictures he took yesterday...they are also up on my facebook page. 

 It's a shame the wind didn't catch the American Flag here - I think it would have made a phenomenal shot if it had. 

 This is the old Wurlitzer Building in Dekalb that has begun to cave in . I thought he did a nice job capturing the water tower being the building as well.

Photography Website is up and running

I am very excited to report that my Photography website is now up and running!

Please check it out at www.pattypixxphotography.com .

 This has been a great journey thus far. I am absolutely loving doing portrait work for people and the band work has been amazing!

Visit the sight, I will be playing with it and changing things as I go, share it with friends :)

Thanks and have an amazing weekend!

More shoots/more pics...

I've been busy with photo shoots...some pin up shoots, some family portraits etc. Here are some:

Saturday Fun Day

Good morning. It seems I haven't written much lately and I apologize. I've been swamped!

Thankfully, I have been busy with the photography. The photo shoots are followed by days of looking over pictures, editing and then discing them up and getting them to my customers. I am enjoying it so very much!

 Recently I did a photo shoot for a family. They are a family split by their football loyalties. We played that idea up! 

They were a blast to work with. Today another set of family pictures with another family. I'm loving this! My brochures were recently completed (I made them) and I am working hard at distributing them and getting my name out there.

Healthier and Happier

My friend Beth and I have started running...this is quite the chore considering she is a hospice nurse and often gets last minute calls thus changing our schedule. However, we are overcoming this and starting to get in to a groove.

Aside from this I am trying to eat healthier. I have gained so much weight in the time that it's been since Bob's chemo and recovery. That I am not happy with at all. So, I am, aside from running (it's honestly more like jogging than running), trying to eat healthier. I intend to pick up a copy of the book "Skinny Rules" by Bob (from the biggest loser). I am eating more fruits and veggies as well as watching my protein intake and trying to keep it high to keep me full.

Last night we grilled chicken and I also grilled broccoli and zucchini. This was the first time I had ever had grilled zucchini...honestly any zucchini that wasn't chopped up and in bread. It was pretty darn delicious.

Anyway, hoping to get these extra pounds off, and hoping to have a lot of them off in the next 45 days when I fly to Florida to go see Motley Crue and Kiss with my cousin!

Another Busy Weekend

I had yesterday off for a doctor's appointment and then turned around and went to my friend Mary's Partylite candle party. It was so nice to see the girls that I used to work with at Bethany!

Today I have to work until 2 p.m. then turn around get back to DeKalb only to leave again at 4 p.m. We are heading up to Hoffman Estates as we have tickets to the MMA fights up there. A resident's son offered us all tickets to the fights tonight because one of his son's is already a professional MMA Fighter and the other is making his Professional Debut this evening. I'm very excited! What a great gift :) So much better than the cookies that usually get dropped off as a thank you! :) (Those are appreciated as well...please don't take that the wrong way).

Tomorrow is Father's Day...so, of course it will be a busy kind of day. Think Scavenger hunt :)

I have no photo shoots this weekend but my next two weekends I have shoots on both Saturday's and Sunday's. This is exciting :)

Looks like I will have lots of editing to do soon! #Thankful!

Lance Armstrong vs. USADA

Looks like they are at it again. Lance Armstrong is again under fire for doping...even though the man is an ICON of the sporting world, as well as a cancer survivor who does huge things for cancer patients, survivors, and research.

The man has passed I believe it said over 500 drug tests. How do they not see that they look like morons? Their witnesses to the supposed doping are all admitted dopers themselves...how can they not see that this is a case of people trying to discredit him?

It's ridiculous!

Below is a link to Lance Armstrong's response to this latest witch hunt!
http://lancearmstrong.com/news-events/lance-armstrong-responds-to-usada-allegation

Sunburnt and Tired

Yesterday was spent on the Kishwaukee River. We jumped in at Wal-camp in Kingston and finished up in Kirkland...this is a short trip by highway...not so much so when tubing! We spent 8 hours on the water. I am also slightly moronic apparently as the tubes were not comfortable and sitting on them with my butt had me dumped in to the Kish several times early on...at which point I decided to go stomach to tube and float that way (much easier) ...although my back is very red at this point lol. I bashed my knee a time or two and have a few cuts as well. However, it was a great day! :) Fun with friends...nothing beats a weekend spent like that!

Today it's back to the grind...I am exhausted (slept 9 hours) and it probably doesn't help that my blood sugar crashed during the last 45 minutes of our trip down the river; when that happens I'm always a little more tired for several days after...it was my own fault...I should have eaten more but it was hot and I was staying hydrated...so I figured I was fine...and I am...I just took a little detour for about an hour or so. Thankfully we all had brought some food with us and the shakes went away after a little while.

Friday I am off work but have to work on  Saturday...then it's a Saturday night MMA fight where a resident's grandson is making his pro debut! Can't wait!

Have a happy week!