Portrait Special

Some of you lovelies who follow me on Twitter or Facebook may know this already, but in case you missed it: I’m have a fabulous fall portrait special! Before the leaves finish falling off the trees (or after they do if that’s how you roll), it’s time to get the family all dressed up pretty and get some portraits done.

Imagine your family looking equally cute and happy!

So, what is this fabulous special? Why it’s 1/3 off the regular sitting fee! ONE THIRD OFF?! Yup! You get an hour sitting on location for only $200 (+ tax in Tennessee).

But Claire, what do I get for my $200? Fantastic, fun, fabulous photos of you and yours, of course! But beyond that, you get $100 in print credits and online viewing and ordering. None of that dragging out the proofs at the Thanksgiving table and collecting up each aunt, uncle, grandparent, cousin, or sibling’s order. Nope! You just send them to the site, and I’ll take it from there.

What about Christmas cards? We can do the postcard style or a folded card or you can purchase the file and make them yourself.

What if you don’t live in Knoxville?! Don’t worry! We travel! We already have trips to Cookeville, TN, Gainesville, GA, Atlanta, GA, and Macon, GA scheduled. There is a small travel fee to cover gas and other travel expenses to locations not already on the schedule, but if you buddy up with a few friends, you can split the travel fee amongst yourselves. PLUS if you’re feeling all organizational, plan a portrait day for your friends and family members. If you plan 3 total portraits during our trip to your area (including yourself), we’ll include an additional $25 print credit. If you plan more than 3 portrait sessions, you get an additional $50 print credit. Knoxvillians, the same applies to you. Refer 2 additional portrait sessions for $25 more in print credit, 3 or more for $50!

So what are you waiting for? Our print order deadline for guaranteed Christmas delivery is December 1st, so get your sitting booked now. We have weekends and weekdays available.

The Lounge Bridal Show

We had such a wonderful time at the Lounge Bridal Show. The food was fantastic, the DJs kept the party hopping, and we had a great time practicing bouquet holding. The bouquet was provided by Linda Parrent at Elegant Essentials. It’s completely faux, but it is AMAZING! And look how well everyone did. A bunch of pro’s! No “ice cream cones” or “statues of liberties” here! Even some of our fabulous vendors got in on the action.

Some of the vendors here include:

Rosa’s Catering

Luxe Catering

Above the Rest Event Design

Ryan’s Productions

Knoxville Photo Booth Company

Jyl Walker Jewelry Design

All Occasions Party Rentals

TE Photos

Me! Rebecca Claire Photography & Pellucid Photography

National Zoo Portraits

In October, we went up to D.C. to photograph family portraits at the National Zoo. Boy did we have a BLAST! Kiera and Zane are ADORABLE! We drove up the day before and got to hang out all day. The next day we did some more shots at a fabulous park down the street from their house. It was a really great trip and got us out of the movie cave where we’d spent the last two months. So I guess you guys are expecting to see some images or something, huh.

Riding the Metro with Dad.

The Toddler Run

Looking for the animals.

There's a leopard in there somewhere.

Chillaxin'

The zoo is big!

It's the Daddy-express!

Looking for small mammals.

I love ALL the animals!

Propper adult:toddler ratio? 2:1

Tha girls!

Three generations looking over there.

Giddy-up, Granddad!

I think we lost him.

Silvek’s; Little Rock, AR

Silvek’s is a fancy bakery inside a regular Kroger. I wish I’d thought I take a shot of the ridiculous array of choices there, but I was overwhelmed by the decision making process. Didn’t help that we had arrived right as they were closing up and the counter lady had already shut down the credit card machine so we had to procure some cash for the purchase.

We ended up getting 4 items to share between the 3 of us (Nate, Anthony & me).

First was this delightful lemon tart.

Then this toffee chocolate thing. YUM!

I’m not 100% certain what this was. Layers of flaky filo dough interspersed with mascarpone and hazelnuts. This was the riches item in our box of goodies.

The tiramisu was good, but not real tiramisu. It was a yellow sponge cake rather than lady fingers and could have used a bit more coffee flavor. So I’m going to call it delicious sponge cake and just be happy that I ate it.

Here is my serving of deliciousness. We each got a plate and stuffed ourselves (this was following a fabulous meal!)

The Huckleberry; Louisville, CO

When traveling, always ask the locals for restaurant suggestions. We stayed with our friends Michael & Wade in Louisville, CO after Gilly & Jerry’s wedding. It was a great visit, and we can’t wait to head that way again! Of course, what’s a visit with friends without a visit to said friends’ favorite breakfast spot? Thus, we headed to The Huckleberry, and hurray for that! There was a wait, and it was well worth it!

We got some fried green tomatoes for an appetizer. They were delicious! Who knew you could get great fried green tomatoes in Colorado? The tomatoes were perfect in their greenness, a bit crispy, but not too much. The breading actually stayed on and was flaky and perfectly brown all over.

Nate got a breakfast plate. that biscuit was delish! The potatoes and eggs were awesome too. But that’s not the really amazing part of his meal.

The amazing part is that these pancakes rivaled Shorty Lu’s! Seriously! I know! I couldn’t believe it either. But they were light and perfectly cooked. They really know their pancakes in Colorado, I guess.

Then there was my naughty little treat. I got the Mixed Berry Crepe. Now really, that’s not so bad. It was full of berries, and I got some fiber in the crepe and calcium in the mascarpone. Plus there’s the turkey sausage and eggs. It was a well rounded meal! And I ate every friggin’ bite, plus a few of Nate’s pancakes. No wonder my pants were all a bit tighter when we got home.

The moment you’ve all been waiting for!!

Lots of people have asked me, “Claire, When? When do we get to see this movie you are always talking about? We’re dying here, really!” To which I reply, “I love you, but if you reanimate, we’re definitely going to have to shoot you in the head. And soon, my dearies! Soon you will be able to feast your possibly undead eyes on our creation.” This seems to calm the horde for a bit until I post again about how awesome this thing is and the questioning begins anew.

Well, this blog is here to tell you that the time is nigh! Heck, if you’re reading this tomorrow, the time may be RIGHT HERE AT THIS VERY MOMENT!!!!

I’m sure you have some questions, so I will provide answers, Zombi press conference style. You over there, with the horrible gash and the oozing wound.

“Ms. Presnall, what is the exact *brains* time, date and *brains*, I mean, location of said viewing.”

A very good question, my disgustingly undead friend. We have two, count ‘em TWO showings! Our friend Morgan, owner extraordinaire at Organized Play, is so awesome that he has offered to give you, our wonderful friends and fans, two chances to see our film. What a swell guy!

The showtimes are:

9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday, October 30th!

The address for Organized Play is:

221 Cumberland Ave., Knoxville, TN

Of course, Google Maps thinks it’s over by Locust, BUT IT’S NOT!! It’s right next to the 1st Tennessee Building (that big glass one. Tallest building in town, you know) and diagonal from the Bijou. Here’s what it looks like (before Morgan put the store in):
View Larger Map

Or, you can just use my handy-dandy little map with only the important stuff (the river is to the left. Yes, I know this isn’t oriented North/South, but I’m okay with it).

For you folks coming from James White like us (Northside REPRESENT!), if you take the exit US-441 S/Downtown/Cumberland Ave it will spit you out ON CUMBERLAND and you will see Organized Play on your right as you head towards Gay St. How awesome of the City of Knoxville to build an exit just for this event!

Organized Play is doing a full Zombie Theme Friday. He even wrote a blog about the event on their website (which has loads of info on the other fun things they’re doing as well as directions, store hours and such). So be sure to stick around and try some of their fabulous new Zombie games! We also have our art still hanging and for sale.

Speaking of things for sale, after watching, I’m sure you will want to know where YOU can acquire a copy of Zombi: Brotherly Love. Well, my friends, I will tell you. We will be selling copies on our website. Not quite yet (there are still a few design things required like disk art and packaging), but SOON!!! Soon Pellucid Creations will have many fun zombi things to purchase. If you’re interested in a copy of the film or fun things like posters, stickers, t-shirts and the like, just post a comment below or send me an email, and we’ll get right on it!

Of course, if you JUST CAN’T WAIT ALL THE WAY UNTIL 9 P.M. OMG!!! We will be on Knoxivi 11 O’Clock Rock talking about the film and showing a few clips to tease you (because we’re sadistic, I mean love you and want you to be excited, and in excruciating agony for the next 9-11 hours).

Yes, you with the ripped off arm and a giant seething bite wound on your remaining shoulder.

“But my brains *mmmm brains* were addled by the death and reanimation process. I don’t understand what time I can see this 11 O’Clock Rock.”

Another excellent question. 11 O’Clock Rock is a live online internet show hosted by none other than our very own Brent Thompson, star of Zombi: Brotherly Love and the lovely Lauren Lazarus. You can view it LIVE at 11 a.m. EVERY FRIGGIN’ DAY (during the week) or if your boss is a pain and doesn’t allow such amazing cultural expansion at work, you can check it out in the archives ANY TIME! Just go to their website and you’ll see lots of options. So, for those of you in the undead horde who didn’t catch that:

Watch us LIVE at 11 a.m. on FRIDAY, October 30th on 11 O’Clock Rock on Knoxivi.com.

Here’s hoping we don’t make asses of ourselves.

One last question. You with the mostly decomposed flesh and only slight oozing.

“Are zombi welcome at your event *brains*?”

Yes. High-functioning zombi with at least a bit of self-control are welcome on a few conditions:

1. No attacking the living.

2. No eating brains during the event.

3. If you are unable to answer questions intelligibly and shamble towards us in a menacing, brain hungry way, we may consider you too far gone and have the right to dispatch you to save ourselves. If you’re a fast moving zombi, we will just have to dispatch you faster.

Fitz’s; St. Louis, MO

I used to eat at Fitz’s in college (on the days I had money). It was good, but I’m not a rootbeer buff (or any soda, for that matter), so it wasn’t my usual haunt. I took Nathan there on our last road trip to Colorado. He loves rootbeer and for Christmas in 2007, I ordered him a case (plus a case of their orange cream). It’s very expensive to have the stuff delivered, plus you get fewer bottles in a case, so our plan was to load up the car with as much Fitz’s rootbeer as we could. We actually only got 2 cases, but that’s 48 rootbeers, and I think Nate may still have one or two left. He doesn’t share them. He will give you instructions on how to procure your own. I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you want to win Nathan’s affections, bring Fitz’s rootbeer.

Fried pickles sound awful. I mean, pickles are perfectly good cucumbers that have been soaked in pure evil. But damn, you batter and fry those suckers, and I just love ‘em!

Nathan has taught me the importance of a good Reuben sandwich. Fitz’s makes a mean one! We took half home for Amanda (who loves Reubens as well).

Do you see the bunny? There’s a bunny in the corner, hiding (as bunnies often do).

Of course, I just wanted to buy the rootbeer and eat at my favorite St. Louis eatery, The U-City Grill. God I miss that place! Sadly, they only accept cash, and I was all out and without my ATM card for some reason. Just means we will have to return to St. Louis (and soon) with ample wads of cash so I can get some Korean diner food!

Why we are worth it.

So I just got a message through the super cool message service on my fancy new website. Have I mentioned how much I love my new website? Well, I do! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

OK, I’m getting off topic. The message was from someone questioning our prices. I will admit, we aren’t the cheapest wedding photographers out there, but I stand by our pricing. I have a lovely Excel worksheet that breaks down all of our costs and a fabulous formula that helped me determine our price. It’s pretty darn scientific. At Rebecca Claire Photography, I really want to concentrate on the fine art of wedding photography. We aren’t a couple of kids who just got Rebel XTi’s for Christmas and thought we’d start shooting weddings for a bit of extra spending money. We have been doing this for years and have taken that time to truly hone our craft. I could have been all snooty and said something along the lines of “blah blah, you must not be our customer, blah blah” like those ladies in Pretty Woman, but that’s so not me. Obviously, this person doesn’t understand why we are worth what we are worth, and so I have taken the opportunity to educate. Of course, once I finished the email, I was so pleased with how well I really got to the heart of why I believe we are worth it, that I thought “I have got to share this with my fabulous blog readers who are wonderful and intelligent and generally all around fabulous.” (Really! You know you are) So below is my email response:

With Rebecca Claire Photography you aren’t just getting wedding photographers. We are trained artists with degrees in our fields from four-year accredited art schools. Our package includes unlimited time on your wedding day. We are there as soon as you desire, be it right as you wake up or after breakfast, and we don’t leave until you tell us you are ready for us to go. After your wedding, we personally edit and retouch each image. We do not send this important work out to a company or individual who was not at the event and has no idea what happened and who are your important friends and family. On average, for every shooting hour, we have five hours of editing and retouching. We limit our bookings each year so that each wedding receives the attention it deserves both pre and post wedding day. Because we handle the images from start to finish, we can guarantee the highest degree of quality and craft.

We also include an “everything” album which includes every image from your wedding with the individualized care we give to each image leaving our studio. The 100 5×7s are delivered in a custom made hardwood box created by a local wood artist, and the large print or canvas is an heirloom treasure, printed archivally to last for generations. With online ordering, your friends and family can view and order prints directly from us. The stress of making sure each person gets the prints they desire is lifted so you can enjoy your images after your wedding worry-free.

Of course, if you like our style but $20,000 is not within your budget, we have a sister photography company, Pellucid Photography, for our trained associates. Each associate works with us both at events and in classes and no associate is sent out on their own until we are satisfied with their competency, artistry and ability to manage the stress of wedding photography. Pellucid Photography is completely customizable with packages starting as small as three hours, but they all include two photographers plus an assistant, just like Rebecca Claire.

All in all, at Rebecca Claire Photography, you’re getting a pretty great deal.

Penny’s Noodle Shop; Chicago, IL

On our last day in Chicago, we met up with Julie to return her mother’s shoes (which her mom left at Lauren’s house in Ann Arbor) and have lunch. Julie rode her bike over while we packed up the car and then we walked to a cute little noodle shop down the street, Penny’s Noodle Shop. I love Chicago, have I mentioned that? The fact that you can walk all over is just fantastic! Julie was able to stash her bike in the coat area, and we were set for Thai food.

Being in the north, sweet tea is difficult to find. But Thai Iced Tea is always sweet and delicious.

I love Tom Kha soup and this one was super delicious! Look at all of those goodies in there.

Nate always gets the Pad Se Eu with chicken. He just loves the stuff and can never bring himself to try something different. So he goes around comparing the Pad Se Eu at all the Thai places. Because we were travelling and had no place to put the leftovers, we shared a plate, and thank goodness! This picture is after we’ve had our fill. Look at all of that food! Sadly, this was not our favorite Pad Se Eu ever. It had a sweet barbecue flavor to it that was good, but not what we were expecting. The Tom Kha was good enough to return next time and perhaps try a curry dish. MMMMMmmmmmm…. Curry……

LeConte Bridal Show

Club LeConte had their bridal show on the same weekend we shot our movie. Luckily, the fabulous Beth was able to man our booth. She got so many compliments (because she’s awesome) and took some great pictures too! Just thought I’d share a few to brag on her.

Above the Rest did the cool balloon center pieces

These are more than likely Magpies and therefore delicious!

Always in Bloom does really fun work.

Jyl Walker’s jewelry, beautiful as always!

Above the Rest again!

And here’s a shot of part of our booth.

By the way, Beth is one of our fabulous associate photographers. Let us know if you have an upcoming event and would like her to photograph it.