Happy New Year 2008

Well, this will be my last post for the 2007 year... wow, where has the time gone??? I just want to thank all of you guys who made my year so fabulous. I made many new friends this year all due to the fact that you have entrusted me to photograph your children, so thank you for that. There are many exciting things that are going to be happening in the New Year and I am so excited to share. To start the New Year off with a bang.. Gina Lee Photography and Onward films are teaming up to create a exciting new contest for all of you, so be ready to get your creative minds rolling and start thinking about the New Year. This contest will be fun and challenging all at the same time. So stay tuned for more details on that.
And in the next couple months, I will be releasing some more dates for the KIDS ONLY SESSIONS for the spring, so get ready to mark your calendars for this event because these sessions are going to fill up fast. I am on the hunt for some more secret locations in the area, since my secret locations are not so secret anymore. Ha! :) and many more exciting things that are going to be launched in 2008. So stay tuned.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
~Gina Lee
Now, we have to get ready for our one-night only HSM light show. 6-10. Come on by if you are in the area... We would love to see you...:)

Sealed with a KISS

Gina Lee Photography has been KISSed... Oooh and it feels so good... Check out this spankin new book I just received in the mail for one of my clients.... and it feels so yummmy... I started going with KISS BOOKS because they are fresh, clean and simple.. I like the company's motto, because they make this book work with the photos and not the other way around, and I am very pleased with the results. The leather around these babies are Italian full grain, you just want to wrap your arms around it and they come with a oh so funky bag to keep safe, but the leather on the books will last a lifetime, so no need to worry, show this book off..
If anyone is interested in this product, shoot me an e-mail, and we can make the magic happen. These books are great for any type of photo shoot. Family, children or wedding.

New friends......

One night, during one of our busy nights doing the light show, a really cool couple came by, Jeff and Lisa. They just loved the light show so much and were so gracious, they invited our family to their Christmas party. I thought Ok, Saturday night, light show, directing traffic or party???. Decision made.. Party it was. Well, this was no ordinary Christmas party. It was the coolest Polar Express Christmas party I had ever seen. Jeff and Lisa are big Disney fans, and they did not miss a beat when it came down to the finest details. When we arrived, there was a small train to pick us up in the front yard of their house. Jeff designed and made the train himself. There was enough room to hold 3 adults and 3 children on each trip. The train departed and led you into the backyard that was all decked out to make you feel you were arriving at Disneyland on the main station depot on Main St. It was an exact replica of the Main St train station. And even the the jolly twosome came in for a visit. Remarkable.. I will tell you, it was not just a party, it was an experience. It was the feeling when you see something for the first time and you just can not believe your eyes experience. Yes, really... The detail that went into such an event. I wish I had some cool pictures to show, but as you all know with two little ones to watch near a very cold pool, my camera did not pop up too much. I did manage to take one of Jeff on his locomotive. Thanks Jeff and Lisa. Thank you for inviting us (total strangers) in to share your enthusiasm and talent during the holiday. Your party was amazing and we will never forget.




Ok, well there was another family we had met during out light show, Dave, Bonnie and Martie. They came and went, but did not go too far. They had a flat tire on the way out that night.. A very cold night. So, I asked them if they wanted to come inside our home as they waited for AAA, they were a little hesitant at first, but knowing they had about an hour wait. They decide to take me up on my offer. My warm home was hard to refuse. Madeleine and I made them hot chocolate to warm them up a bit, and they were very gracious with the small gesture... Well we were on the second hour of waiting and still no sign of AAA. During this whole time, I came to get to know Dave, Bonnie and Marti. What a nice family. They pretty much have traveled all over the world and I had a chance to hear about some of their travels. Very exciting. It was one of the funnest times I had at home with complete strangers. And we had plenty of laughs..Well, AAA never came and Chris ended up changing the tire himself.. a few days later, I get a Christmas card from Dave, Bonnie and Martie. Thank you so much... It was a pleasure meeting the three of you and I hope our lives do cross paths again.
~G

Christmas morning

Madeleine was so excited to see that her cookies she left for Santa were all gone and the ONE apple she left for Rudolph was nibbled on. Just look at her face...


We pretty much lost Ryder on the first gift...He was so excited to walk into the room and see a table full of trains. His face just lit up, he was hooked from that point.

Best Christmas present ever.............

My husband and I agreed not exchange this year, because of the fact that if we see something we like, we will usually just buy it.(within reason) And Santa has visited us pretty much all year long and we are just so blessed that we have each other , our health and wonderful children, and it really can not get any better than that. But there was one gift under the tree from Madeleine that I just have to share.. and to me, this is the best present any Mom can have. I want to share my present with all of you. Enjoy...
Merry Christmas and many blessings in the new year....
~G

Just for fun... Again.....

Just having a little bit of fun... this stuff will never get old...
Merry Christmas...

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Sweet...

So, I just finished up my last session for the year 2007 and I am now officially on vacation till the new year. SWEET...but now what do I blog about... Oh Yeah.. me...J/K
Although, I will not have any sessions till the new year, I have many things that are happening in my personal life.. I have met so many wonderful people that I want to blog about and an awesome polar express party that I am for sure going to talk about and other fun videos to post as well, so stay tuned..

P.S If anyone is looking for something to give that special person or family. I do offer gift certificates. So, please call if you are interested. They come in any denomination you like, a really cool envelope, and they get to spend time with your's truly :)...C'mon.. How much more perfect can it get?...:) wink..wink..

till next time..
~G

Family Picture

Okay, So through all this crazy (great) madness with the light show, print orders and family shoots, we managed to get a family picture done of our family... I thought, who would take our picture? who knows how to work my camera? Where? When? and then it just seemed to get too busy and time started to run out. So this is the end result...
The answer to the first two ?'s was pretty simple.. Ha! and we had to think out of the box a little...
So here is our Christmas photo for the year 2007. I hope you like it...




Merry Christmas!!!
~G

For the gals...

This is for the gals... Sorry Guys...
I wanted to share some really cool links with you and maybe you can put them on your wish list for the Jolly guy... Now, these products are for the oh so savvy photographer or the very sassy gal pal. If you have a Dslr or a point and shoot, the gadgets are still oh so fun...
These are just fun to have on your desk or in your purse... I want some of these....
Design-her gals




This has been my best friend for the last few months... it goes where I go..:)
Shootsac





Jill-e designs
ooh.. I want,want,want.. hey a photographer has to be stylish too..Right??




www.myfunkycamera.com

These are just some fun things that I have come across through my blog journey and think are very cool and fun, maybe you may like to have one of these as well... HO! HO! HO!
~G

My MEEZ

Just for a laugh... This is what you get when you are a blogger and you go blog stalking late at night...
gotcha!!! say cheeeeeeeeeese.....
~G

secret garden session

another note: to say THANK YOU!!!!. It is that time where I start to wind down a little and finish up all existing orders for Christmas, and start gearing up for the wedding season next year, but as you can tell with this video, I LOVE my career and all the rewards it comes with, and could not do any of this without all of the wonderful children I have met and come to love. What a honor.... THANK YOU!!!!!
~G

A "Thankful" winner

I want to thank all who participated in the "What are you THANKFUL for" contest. All the entries were so great and very inspiring, but there was one that really touched my soul. This particular picture taught me to stop and realize all the choices that we actually have in our day to day lives. We all have the opportunity to become anybody or anything we want to be in this world and we couldn't do it if it weren't for those who fought for our freedom.

This photo served as a reminder of how lucky I am to live in a country that gives me the chance to enjoy life, to be with my children, to see them grow up and have the same opportunities that I have.

So Erin, thank you for inspiring me.
Here is the winning entry and her words:

I’m sure you’re getting a lot of pics from everyone. Since you know that Jonah and my husband, Shane, are everything to me… I wanted you to see something else I am VERY thankful for:

“My Family’s Freedom”



I stood directly underneath our American flag and took this shot as it was flapping in the wind.

Thanks for inspiring me to look differently through my lens.

Sincerely,

Erin

Erin will receive a photo session and a 200.00 print credit to be used any which way she likes. Congratulations!

Again, thanks to the other 22 of you who participated in this contest. As my "Thanks" to all of you who entered and took the time to submit a photo and take time out of your everyday lives to read my journal, each one of you will receive a 15.00 iTunes gift card, because I just love music and I think all of you should too.... So, please e-mail me with your home address, and I will get those out to you right away. They are sitting on my desk just waiting to be redeemed with some funky fresh music...
Till next time....
Peace out!!!
~G

Print orders....

I know it is that busy time of the year where the malls get busy, the lines are long and the parking lots are full. But, I also wanted to put a reminder out there that in order to get prints by Christmas, all orders need to be submitted no later than December 7th. Of course, you can still submit orders after this date, but there is no guarantee that you will have prints by Christmas. And if you are looking for that special gift for someone, A photo is always the perfect choice..:) Hint.. Hint..
I also wanted to provide you with a very cool link that you may find fun and helpful.
Here you go... photojojo

Matthew and Tara...

I want to start off by thanking this awesome couple for being so patient with me. November and December are pretty busy months for me, due to the fact that there are so many families wanting family portraits and prints for Christmas delivery... Meanwhile I have had 3 weddings, 2 birthday parties and some grad shoots in between all of this,so I am a little late on posting a sneak peek of their wedding pictures.
I did have a blast photographing this wedding. Everything about this wedding was great. The dress, the shoes, the flowers, the fine details, and OH! It sure didn't hurt that the couple were absolutely gorgeous together...
I always appreciate when couples are willing to take pictures before the ceremony. It always gives me( photographers) a little extra time to get some different shots around the venue. Thanks so much guys for being so patient. Here are a few shots of the day and if you would like to see more. CLICK HERE...












Note: The winner for the November "Thankful" contest will be posted very soon, so stay tuned...

Boys... boys... boys...

Well, I had of a streak of just boys lately, I mean that in a very good way... But I was on a streak of photographing little girls and this week it was just boys,boys, boys..
Meet my new friend "Z". I had the pleasure of working with his mom in the cosmetic field for years and she called wanting me to photograph her little man. Well, not so little anymore... I think I made the mistake of going really close to the playground first to take his picture, and he was looking at me like " ok, lady, you have 5 minutes" and then I am off to a much cooler place, the slides... Who could blame him.. But I think I managed to get some great shots...
It was so nice to see Robin again after all these years. She has a very successful business of her own and is doing quite well. She is the owner/designer of a floral preservation company called Infinity Bouquets. What a amazing process this is. She showed me around her office and studio and it was such a amazing experience. I never knew how much time and detail the whole process takes to preserve flowers. If there are any brides out there getting married soon or in the nearby future, make sure you give Robin a call. I wish I would of had this done 5 years ago...
Here are some of the photos of the day...











and my favorite of the day...