Quote of the day TWICE

Every day I get one email from Quote of the Day, an email service I subscribed to a very long time ago. Sometimes, I read the quote they send out and I swear it's exactly what is going on in the world.  Today, I got TWO emails from Quote of the Day.  I guess one wasn't enough.  I thought it would be appropriate to post them BOTH knowing what so many people are going through.  I know the world does not read my blog, but if you read these, write them down and please pass them on.

"Pain is a part of being alive, and we need to learn that. Pain does not last forever, nor is it necessarily unbeatable, and we need to be taught that."
– Harold Kushner

"The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense."
– Arnold Bennett

FREE FAMILY PORTRAITS FOR FIRE VICTIMS

It may be a bit soon to be offering this now, I know most everyone is just trying to figure out what to do next.  When my De la Vina apartment burned down in 2003, I thought constantly about the photos and the things were just gone. It was about 3 months later, after settling into a new place, with all this new stuff around me that I wanted to finally decorate my walls, but I was lost and nothing seemed to fit.  A friend gave me some of her treasured artwork to hang up and that small familiarity helped me feel at home again.   I know for a fact that one of the first items someone will grab when the house is on fire, if they are lucky, are family photos.  I know many people did not get the chance to grab anything and lost everything.  As a photographer and a fire victim myself, I understand. Please allow me to help in the best way I know how. 

To the Tea Fire Victims,

I am offering a FREE FAMILY PORTRAIT to help start your new family room.  Call or write to me anytime you are ready. 

(805) 684-9201 
kristen@grinnellphoto.com

All my best~Kristen

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Tea Fire

It was a terrifying sight to see as my boyfriend, Eoin, and our neighbors drove up our neighborhood hill in Carpinteria and turned the corner to watch the blazing Tea Fire engulf the hills of Montecito.  At 8 miles away, we were safe from the wind and the heat, but watched in shock the natural disaster no one in the car had witnessed before.  After personally knowing what it's like to have your house burn down, my heart was really heavy last night for everyone going through such a devastating loss.  Still, it is a relief to hear no one has been seriously hurt.  My prayers go out to all the famillies and people who lost a home in the inferno's path and to the fire fighters battling the elements.  God Bless and please be safe.  

Carpinteria High School

I was invited to speak at Carpinteria High School to a Santa Barbara City College class on Career Planning and Life Skills. I had a class like that when I was in college, never in high school. I thought, how cool! If I had had a photographer come to my high school class and talk to me about his/her job and how to get it, I would have probably been years into my photography career by now. So, least to say I was so excited to inspire and recruit these young minds and hearts into taking the artistic path through life. I brought all my tools, Cherry's laptop, my business cards, promotional Coffee Table Books, and my camera. As I'm standing up in front of the class talking about life as a business owner, the day to day activities, what I enjoy the most about life as a photographer, hands started going up attached with questions like, What do you do if someone doesn't like the edit you do? How long did it take you to totally work on just photography? What does a second photographer do? Do you pay your interns?

I was floored at how much fun it was and how many of their questions were surprisingly intuitive. Then, I gave my camera to one of the students who expressed the most interest in the craft. Kyle Hardin's photos, below, are the result of a high school spirit with a future photographer mind. Thank you Andrea Peters and Ann Bunby for putting it all together and to the class, for keeping my spirits high with your enthusiasm. :)

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Marathon Madness

Ok, so my sister called me up one day back in August and told me she signed us both up for a race. I thought, awesome! I love 5K's! And since we both love to run, what better way to share my favorite pasttime than with my favorite partner.  Well, come to find out she signed us up for the PF Chang's Rock n' Roll Marathon ... gulp ... a marathon!?  She is NOT my favorite partner anymore. :)  I've been 'training' ever since then and it's not going as smoothly as I had hoped.  I've asked my friends and clients that run for some pointers, because I need to know I'm not the only one suffering from chin splints, calf pains, blisters the size of half dollars on my feet, body aches I didn't know existed and all the while an excitement I've never felt before.  I hate running now.  But I love it even more, I can't not love it.  To experience the freedom that running gives me is something I will never take for granted, but my body will be glad the training is over.  But, shhhh, don't tell my body I'm signing up for the LA marathon next year!

Stephanie & Jory's Wedding

Cherry Thomas asked me to come along with her to one of her weddings and help out with the details and 2nd photographer duties. I was thrilled! Although, it was raining like crazy the morning after Halloween, the day of the wedding, Stephanie and Jory were so excited to get married they hardly noticed the crew of Calamigos Ranch quickly moving the ceremony indoors.  The weather, to me, was perfect for dreamy photos of the two of them.  The rest of the night was so fun and full of many fun memories to talk about for years to come.

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Kai and Kyle Jolly

Sometimes, as photographers, we end up in weddings ourselves as bridesmaids or groomsmen, or even as the bride or groom, and the tables are turned and we are getting our photos taken. Such was the case for my photographer friend, Kristen Beinke, who was to stand up at a wedding in her home town.  So, Kristen called me up and asked me if I wanted to shoot Kai and Kyle's wedding on October 25th. I was so honored that she asked me in the first place!  I met beautiful Kai at the Four Seasons  for some really fun photos of her girls and the most adorable flower girls. Kai is a very sweet person and a little camera shy, but she opened up to me right away.  Once I started quoting movies, she instantly broke into a wonderful laugh and brought her girls right along with the vibe. When we got to the church, Kyle and his men were anxiously waiting for their photos to start and it didn't take much to rouse that crowd.  I had to seriously concentrate on not laughing and shaking the camera.  The ceremony at Montecito Covenant Church was amazing and emotional, you could honestly feel the room getting warmer with all the love. No joke!  The rest of the night was such a blast at the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion, but we were able to stop along the way at butterfly beach and catch some gorgeous light, hooray!  I hope you two had so much in Figi! Congratulations Kai and Kyle and keep in touch!

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