I got my camera back from the shop!

It’s been a long 3 weeks!  I received a call from Peachtree Camera Repair in Marietta, GA at 12:30pm yesterday.  They notified me that my D300 was ready for pick up.  I was more excited than I can say.  I will admit that while it was in the shop, I was forced to “re-learn” my D70.  I found that although I did not want to necessarily go back to it, I remembered after  doing a photoshoot with it, just how nice and sharp it was.  I appreciated the D70 again and was able to do my session without any issues.

 

My wife Tabatha and I left for Atlanta as soon as I got off work at 2:30-2:45 and high-tailed it up I75 so we could miss the Atlanta traffic.  We were blessed to be able to get all the way through downtown Atlanta and up to Marietta in a timely manner.  The traffic was good all the way until about 2 miles before the exit I needed to take.  We arrived at the shop just before closing and I was so pleased to check the camera out and see it focusing like it was supposed to.

 

We left and had dinner at the Marietta Diner (seen on Food Network on DDD) and that was nice.  We both had to bring food home, they give you A LOT of food!  We bought two slices of cake (Carrot and German Chocolate) and I tasted them when we got home and by the way, they are gigantic slices.  The cakes are delicious and worth a trip up there by themselves.

 

I took a few test shots once I got home and they were sharper than ever, even more than I when I first started shooting with it!  I was very impressed and I’m very happy.

 

August 2009, it's been a while.

Life is good. I recently went to Phoenix, AZ for a week with my wife. It was very VERY hot! I enjoyed the time away but there is not much at all to do in Phoenix but to try to fine a place to get cool!! I walked around downtown while my wife was in a class one day and I felt like I was going to pass out, but God kept me.

I also took a trip to Sedona and that was great! The way it came about was, as I sat in the foyer waiting for my rental car to be delivered, another hotel visitor mentioned to me the red mountains of Sedona should not be missed. My wife was in class that day, so I drove there on my own. While I was there I took some very nice photos of the red mountains.

Even with the heat, I would go back if we were going to stay in Sedona at a resort and do some hiking and travel to the Grand Canyon.


While I was in Phoenix, I took my camera to the shop there to get some things checked out and found the contacts on the camera bodies and the lenses were in real need of cleaning. Also, I have noticed as of late, the photos seem soft, to the point of being out of focus at times. I tried everything I knew to fix the problems myself but I was just out of luck. Once we returned to GA, I took my D300 to Peachtree Camera Repair in Marietta to get an estimate. The repair company called me with a $400 repair that I was not ready to pay out, but, can I do right? Apparently, there is a bracket or something that hold the image sensor is cracked and needs to be replaced. The biggest problem with receiving that news was that I had a wedding shoot in a week, which leads me to this next topic..


You know, it's good to have good friends! I found that the friends that I have are good friends. When I was in need for camera body, I could go to my good friend, Michael Williams of Michael Williams Photography and he allowed me to use his D300 to complete this assignment. It was a great thing to me to be helped like that! I'm so grateful to Michael for his friendship and trust. Thanks Michael!

All the weddings (3) that I shot in July went very well. The one I shot today at Hilton Garden Inn in Warner Robins for Wanda and Willie Pickett was a lot of fun and should bring some more business. I made some good business contacts and Carlisle Photography is now on the preferred vendors list with the hotel! God be praised.

Do unto others; a testimony.

Luke 6:38 [KJV]

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete, withal it shall be measured to you again."

Friends,

I am a believer in God’s Word as you can no doubt tell, but, I just have to share this short and very recent testimony.

I believe in giving, blessing others, and doing so without expectation of a return blessing.  In other words, from the heart.  I have a good friend in the business by the name of Michael Williams of Michael Williams Photography.  I have known and respected him for years now and you’ll see references to him in earlier blogs I’ve made.

He is a professional full-time photographer in this area and by some expectations, should be a competitor of mine.  I simply do not subscribe to that thinking.  I believe that what God has for me is for me and likewise for others.  I cannot take EVERYONE’S photos!  I don’t want to try either.  But, not too often will you hear of people in the same profession or skill passing on or giving away business.  Well, in Luke 6:38 it says that what you give out will come back to you in return. 

I received an email yesterday (Tuesday) about a 50^th Wedding Anniversary event at the end of the month.  I will not be in town that day and responded to the person with a recommendation for them to contact Michael Williams.  When I sent the email, I (in a playful, aww geez, kinda way), said “Man, I won’t be here to do this”.  But, in my heart I was so glad to be able to send a possible client to a trusted friend and colleague.  Well, just as Luke 6:38 says….it was measured back to me in less than an hour!  I received a call for a wedding job in July!  That job is on a day that I will be available!  God is so faithful!

Luke 6:38 [AMP]

Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you.

AJ

"Lift as you climb"

 

What a blessed week I've had!

Where do I start??  I have been so amazed at God’s faithfulness, it blows me away!  I will try to put this down succinctly so as to show how God is just putting things together.

 

May 7^th, I received a call for a wedding photoshoot for July 11^th.  I met with Michael Richardson of Hustle Inc. to give him an outlet for his ideas and help him with clarity in his thoughts.  I believe we’ve made a good connection and some future business collaboration will come from it!

 

May 9^th, Shot the CFA prom along with my son’s help. It went very well!  My son took 300 photos and I was very impressed with how he flowed with the night and captured precious moments.

 

May 10^th, Gave tithes and offerings off the earnings of the on-site orders at the prom the night before. 

 

May 11^th, received a NICE order from the Prom shots on my website from a mother of one of the attendees. 

 

May 13^th, I had a dollar figure in mind of what I wanted to give in the Tithes and Offerings at Bible Study.  After calculating what I was supposed to give, I was saddened that it was less that I had in my heart to give.  I gave what was in my heart and by the end of service, I received a call for a Senior Photoshoot!!  Can’t beat God giving.

 

May 15^th, I shot the Bailey photoshoot I had schedule for their baby boy, the senior photoshoot which was to be a very low earner and got triple what I expected in orders!

 

May 16^th, Scheduled a wedding photoshoot for July 25^th and I got my wife some real estate business from the same couple.

 

May 17^th, I gave my tithes and offerings.  I shot the monthly Gospel Music Hour at House of Prayer and made several business contact.

 

May 18^th, I received a call from someone looking for a local photographer for a Maternity Shoot.  I scheduled it for the 25^th of May!

 

May 20^th, I scheduled two new clients for the 25^th of May as well, a young baby photoshoot and 3 children (brothers and sister).

 

All glory and honor to God for His goodness and faithfulness.

Update of 9 May events!

Although the photoshoot for Dabar Ministries fell through, the photoshoot that evening for the CFA prom went very well.  For our background, we used the Tiki Hut the planners had created as a “theme” centerpiece.  They had set up a nice Hawaiian theme and I did not want to change it or add “another” centerpiece as a background for  the photos.

 

The overall event and the photography went very well and I am sure the participants were please and will be happy with their photographs.  A very special thanks to my son Aaron for all his hard work and dedication to Carlisle Photography.  He really makes things run smoothly for me on location.  As I was taking the formals and posed shots, Aaron was roaming around taking candids and impromptu photos.  I’m very glad he was there to capture what I would not have been able to get.

 

AJ

 

 

Ups and downs

Well, I don’t really have too many downs, but, some things come along that we don’t care for.  On the positive side, I received an order for photos the other day out of the blue!  It was a great surprise and it was from someone in another state that knew the client.  Thank you Lord.

 

On the negative side, the photoshoot I had scheduled for the 9^th of May at 11am was cancelled because of a scheduling conflict with the hotel the event was to be held at and the client.  But, even that was ok, because after speaking with the client, she assured me that they have been discussing Carlisle Photography and that they will be utilizing my services more in the months to come!  God is so good!

 

I met again with Michael Williams of michaelwilliamsphotography and we had a very, very prosperous meeting.  We both left with excitement for what is to come for both our businesses.  While there, we met Mr. Michael Richardson of Hustle Ink. And found out that he and a couple other local designers will be having a fashion show in a few months.  It was a surprise that our conversation was overheard and birthed another business contact for the two of us!  Praise God.

 

Well, thank you all for visiting and reading.  Catch me on Twitter, Facebook, and this blog regularly.  I have also signed up with linkedIn and soon to be with Flickr if I think I can keep up with the posting.

 

Till next time…

Happenings

The HCHS Prom Night went well with the two sessions I had.  The pictures came out great and I believe that I will be using one of the young ladies for some modeling work in the future.  She has nice height and looks for some ideas I have in mind.  This young lady also stated that she wants some senior portraits as well. 

 

The next day, I had the monthly Gospel Music Hour session to do.  There were three guitarists that go by the name “Street Connection” and they were awesome.  I took some nice photos and they can be viewed on my site as well, just go to (view your proofs > events > gospel music hour).  Be sure to leave comments.  After the session was done and I looked over the photos, I started having a lot of musician photo ideas go through my mine.  I will likely be contacting these gentlemen for some future work.  Keep coming back for updates on the musician series I’m going to put together.

 

Next up is the Christian Fellowship Academy on 9 May 09.  I will be on-site for this event taking photos.  I am looking forward to making some possible future contacts.  I am considering making my own display for the portraits but I may go with a “pre-made” setup from a prom décor provider.

 

Keep Carlisle Photo in your prayers, there’s a lot of things yet to do!

AJ