One of my very favorite ways to get into the Christmas Spirit is to bake cookies for my family and friends. I always start simple and work my way up to elaborate decorated treats. Today was my first baking day, Classic Peanut Butter Cookies!

Jenna and David had a beautiful intimate wedding at Firesky resort in Scottsdale and it was a blast. They are an amazing couple and couldn't be more fun to work with! Here are just a few of their memories of the day.

Dan and Danielle LOVE Downtown Phoenix so off we went to find the perfect combination of park and urban backgrounds! So much fun.

Went to Empty Bowls Day for lunch and a good cause. The event was sponsored by the Sonoran Arts League and Carefree Resorts as a benefit for the Foothills Food Bank.

A few days ago I promised to show a bit of what I shot on Saturday when I started a series of PHX Metro images. I started in my own front yard and here's what I came up with:

Gone Shooting.

The other day my friend Brenda from Ray The DJ was once again telling me how much she enjoys my New Orleans series and as we were talking I started thinking about a Phoenix Metro series. It's a beautiful rainy day, the kind with magical light so I'm off to explore and photograph and explore some more.

Let's see what I come up with today...maybe I'll share...tomorrow.

Some people have a favorite coffee shop to meet clients in, I have a meditation garden! We've been slowly transforming our outdoor space to be a winter meeting place to enjoy with my clients.

Since moving here I have done a variety of commercial sessions in my garden and now I can meet with my clients in this beautiful space, too. It's getting cool enough to really enjoy my new outdoor room, why not come discuss the possibilities of your wedding or portrait session and listen to the water bubbling from the fountain at the same time!

Looking forward to enjoying the sounds of outdoor living with you soon.

I'm So Excited! I just got confirmation of my booth space at the one and only upscale bridal fair in Scottsdale. See details below and come visit me.

Last night I made a quick stop on my way home from a Head Shot session (yes, it WAS about 107º) to ABC at Scottsdale and Shea where my friends were hanging out. OMG everything looked soooo good. My Friend Scott had a tiny cup of coffee, as you can see.

Last night was a scorcher...and I was out with Ray Grace from Ray The DJ at Scottsdale Civic Center doing head shots for the Wedding Chronicle. Ray was such a trooper...just kept mopping his face and smiling, while I dripped pools of sweat on my camera and everything else.

Thanks for such a great time, Ray!

A Desert Encounter

On Friday I did a site walk with the sweet mom of one of my brides. What a surprise we had to have a Desert Iguana crossing our path! He looked at us, we gazed at him...he stepped under a bush, we came closer and stared into those still reptile eyes.


Spent the weekend searching the internet trying to find a name, an image to attach to the memory and finally came up with this photo that Scott Fitzpatrick has graciously shared with the public domain ;-)

I just signed up for "I Do At The Zoo" the very most fun bridal fair in Phoenix! I hope you'll come to see me on Sunday, September 16 for food, my photos, fun, my photos, raffle gifts, all the vendors you need for your wedding and, of course, my photos. For more information check out the special events page at http://www.phoenixzoo.org/events/special_events/special_events.aspx

Weekly Schedule for Eric Maisel's Blog Tour

Meet:

Ken Dow http://www.creativityhappens.com/blog/1
Sally Nicoll http://www.sallynicoll.com/snblog
Penny Plautz http://www.wellpower.com
Kathryn Petro-Harper http://kathrynpetroharper.com/mindfullife
Melanie Bowden http://motherhood.booklocker.com

http://www.tenzenseconds.com/blog_tour_wk6.html

Hah! I was moving around some old files from hard drive to external and found this old thing lying around! Is it adorable?

This Week's Schedule for Eric Maisel's Blog Tour.

Meet:

Susan Gallacher-Turner http://sculpturepdx.blogspot.com
Scott Davis http://www.findingyourmarbles.com
Ray and Bernadette Smith http://www.enlightenedink.com/journal
Mary Ann http://nomorecommasperiod.blogspot.com/
Trista Hill http://www.tristahill.blogspot.com/
Rahul Prabhakar http://2brahulprabhakar.blogspot.com/

http://www.tenzenseconds.com/blog_tour_wk5.html

What an Adventure it was photographing Renata and Matt's wedding at the Wrigley Mansion!!! It started out as a warm beautiful day which quickly turned into WIND(!), RAIN(!) and a DUST STORM(!) The ceremony was moved inside and by the time it was over the storm was, too, leaving a beautiful day to make pretty pictures. Here are just a few of them now:

Today is the day! Please welcome Eric Maisel, Author of Ten Zen Seconds as we chat about how his methods can help the creative/businessperson.



Marcia: Many artists including myself have trouble wearing the "businessperson" hat. It's so easy to feed the creative soul, such fun to take care of the inner child and so hard to make the "mundane" chores of accounting, marketing, etc. a priority. How can utilizing these principles help to focus on the business side of the equation?

EM: In several different ways. First, incantation 3, the "I am doing my work" incantation, is customized each time you use it and announces some specific work that you intend to do, and by naming your marketing or your accounting as your work you orient yourself toward that work with more energy and less fuss. Incanting "I am doing the books" can go a long way toward avoiding doing the books.

Second, incanting "I make my meaning" helps remind you that there are many mundane things that must get accomplished for a meaningful life to be led: that, if you find it meaningful to have a published book that finds readers, you are also obliged to find it meaningful to market and promote that book.

Third, you can use incantations 10 and 11, "I an equal to this challenge"and "I am taking action" to fortify your resolve and propel you in the direction of the marketplace.

Marcia: How can Ten Zen Seconds help with the challenge of negotiating contracts?

EM: Generally speaking, a book contract, although many, many pages of fine print, only contains about half-a-dozen "red flag" issues that an author needs to monitor. One is the delivery date; another is the book title; another is the manuscript length; another is the option clause; another is the royalty structure; another is the number of complimentary copies received. These and a few other items constitute the main areas where an author needs to pay attention, as most of the rest is boilerplate.

First, you use incantation 1 to completely stop; because we are anxious, it is hard even to read the contract, let alone think about it and negotiate. Stopping and centering is the first task. Then you take each point in turn and incant "I am equal to this challenge," so as to announce to yourself that you ARE equal to the challenge of negotiating the contract. Even
writers with literary agents, where the literary agent does the lion's share of the negotiating, still ought to understand their contracts, so this process is similar for all writers, whether agented or unagented.

Marcia: Many times while driving on the freeway or during some other activity which I can't stop to write is precisely when I will have a stroke of creative brilliance. I often cannot retain the thought. Is there a way that Ten Zen Seconds can help me to retain the essence of these ideas until I can put them on paper?

EM: There is almost nothing in life, short of performing heart surgery or landing an airplane, that can't be interrupted when a good thought strikes. If you're in a meeting, jot the thought down. If you're driving, speak it into the little device you keep with you for just that purpose. If you're talking to your friend, say "Oh, I just had a thought! I must write it
down!" If you're in the supermarket, stop right in the aisle and make a note of your thought in the pad you begin to always carry around with you.

It is a mistake to let ideas go by because we are doing other things, as that often means that we are holding our own ideas and our creative life in a second fiddle place in our being. In line with this idea of stopping to get that thought down, many of the incantations support this excellent habit, "I am completely stopping," "I embrace this moment," " make my
meaning," and "I am taking action" among them.

Marcia: How can Ten Zen Seconds help me to attract more clients?

EM:Building a business has many parts to it. Part of the process is trusting that you have the right entrepreneurial energy and skills, which incantation 4, "I trust my resources," can help you begin to believe, and part of the process is manifesting that energy and those skills, which incantations 3, "I am doing my work," and incantation 11, "I am taking action," both support.

You attract clients by becoming a presence in your community, by finding and accepting speaking engagements, by writing in your field, by becoming a known brand, and so on, and the more you can do these things with joy ("I am open to joy") and without baggage from the past ("I am free of the past"), the more you can "return with strength" to each facet of your practice-building.

Thank you Eric.

For more information on Eric Maisel and Ten Zen Seconds visit
http://www.tenzenseconds.com

Week 4 schedule of Eric Maisel's Blog Tour.

Meet:


Quinn McDonald http://quinncreative.wordpress.com/
Walter Logeman http://www.thousandsketches.com/blog
Shannon Grissom http://shannongrissom.com/blog/index.htm
Sandy Lender http://www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com
Me! Right Here, Friday May 11
Phylameana lila Désy http://chakracises.wordpress.com/

Remember The Boy, The Girl and The Motorcycle? Here's a few cute memories from their wedding. They got married at a cute little church and then were off to the Phoenix Zoo for a wild reception. Here are a few of the sweetest moments.

This week's schedule for Eric Maisel's Blog Tour.

Meet:


Dani Greer http://www.squidoo.com/writeprompts
Mary Gordon http://www.creativevoyage.blogspot.com
Judith Nasse http://childrens-book-reviews.blogspot.com
Martha Garvey http://myfatcat.typepad.com/kindly_eccentric_middleag/
Jan Allsopp http://janallsopp.blogspot.com
Catherine http://poetrychook.blogspot.com


http://www.tenzenseconds.com/blog_tour_wk3.html

Check this out...this is so cool.

Last week I got to do a fashion shoot at Venue of Scottsdale...models, stylist, make-up, the works....Venue is doing weddings now so I got to do this.

Thank you to the following people for making me look so good:
Emily, Venue of Scottsdale
Julie, Sophisticated Shindigs
Stephi, Stephi Kroup Make-up Artist
Men's Wearhouse, Scottsdale
Bridal Couture, Scottsdale
Classic Linens

...and of course my beautiful models, Matt, Chris, Nova and Karen!

....check it out.

Here is the schedule for this week's blog tour with Eric Maisel.

Meet:
Claudia Dose http://claudiadose.livejournal.com/
Emily Johnson http://www.happynews.com
Douglas Eby http://devtalent.blogspot.com/
Janice Grace Reihl http://www.riehlife.com
Melanie Sklarz http://www.doseofcreativity.blogspot.com
Donna Druchanas http://www.sheeptoshawl.com/blog.php

www.tenzenseconds.com/blog_tour_wk2.html

We're Part of a National Blog Tour!
Eric Maisel Joins Marcia The Art of Photography on Friday May 11, 2007

I'm so pleased to host Eric Maisel, PH.D., author of the new book 10 Zen Seconds. Dr. Maisel is considered to be America's foremost creativity coach and has taught thousands of artists the techniques necessary to heighten their creativity.

Learn more about Dr. Maisel here.

Zoo to You!

Saturday was Brooke and Randal's Wedding Day at the Phoenix Zoo and I got to come along for the ride. We were all over the place for their very romantic portraits, I'd like to share just a few with you now.

Sometimes wonderful things fall into your lap...I had a last minute wedding this weekend. Last minute for me at least. I was hired just a couple weeks ago and didn't even meet Vicki and John til the day of their wedding! I arrived for their intimate garden wedding at their friend's house and found a home full of love.

There really is nothing better than being surrounded by friends, and Vicki and John have the most marvelous friends.

We have a new addition to our photo family.

Zuri is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix who tells us she is one year young and is doing a fine job of protecting the house. She won't assume Studio Mascot duties until she learns her manners, but she still wanted to show off how pretty she is.

Shy Me
Pretty Me
Scary Me

Got Podcasts?

I do, now. Click Here To View

I was so touched to receive this letter that I had to share it.


"Well, what can I say... the album arrived and it's better than I ever imagined it to be... IT'S PERFECT! Patrick and I were totally in awe of it... I've never seen anything like it... style, class, sophistication... simply exquisite... and it doesn't hurt that I like the subject matter!!! Really amazing work both in photography and in album creativity and manufacturing. So pleased!!!

Thank you again for doing our photography and for putting together such a wonderful album. We love it and we love you."

Sincerely,
Carey & Patrick

I had a very special privilege on Saturday night...I got to be a part of Joelle and Michael's wedding. We started at Joan of Arc Church and then headed off to Camelback Golf Club for an incredible evening.

Check out how cute these two are!







Love the photos? Let me know by leaving a comment! Just click on the pencil icon below.

Went for a walk with Renata and Matt and took a few photos:

The Scottsdale Wedding Photographer and The Harley, Part Deux

I mentioned in an earlier post that I got to work with a boy, a girl and a bike. I'm in the middle of post production and wanted to share a few images on-line. Thomas and Doreen, you look great!

The Scottsdale Wedding photographs Tasha at The Boojum Tree.

Tasha is your girl when it comes to weddings and events at The Boojum Tree in Phoenix. I interviewed her recently for our studio newsletter and did a few funky headshots that show her multi-faceted sides.

Thanks, Tasha, for such a fun session!

The Scottsdale Wedding Photographer and Harley Davidson.

I have a short list of things I want to do, things I want to use my photography as an excuse to experience...finding wild horses and seeing them run, kicking up dust where only animals roam (this one I hope is coming soon)...sitting quiet watching wolf pups explore in person, not on TV...chasing cowboys on the rodeo circuit (yeah I know this one's a cliche, but i still want to do it myself)...going on the road with musician friends and documenting that life...feeling the wind on my face on the open road, on a motorcycle, photographing the people that ride them, the places they're drawn to, the reasons they ride...

On Friday I got a teaser on that last one...I have a wonderful couple getting married this Spring, he has a passion for Harley's and was gracious enough to ride in some bitter cold all the way to Cave Creek so I would have the bike as a prop for their engagement photos. There wasn't much wind, there wasn't the road, but for a few minutes I had a Harley.

Images coming soon...Thanks Thomas and Doreen!

Cia

I'm feeling kind of floral today...Here at our Scottsdale Wedding Photography gallery it's been unusually cold and wet and I'm ready for Spring so I've decided to share some of my favorite floral images.

Enjoy the images? Tell me what you think by clicking on the pencil icon below the last one.