Wednesday, June 25, 2008

It's a BOY!

I found out a week ago that my son and his wife are expecting a baby boy! The due date is set for Halloween, which was also my Father's birthday! So much excitement, can't wait to welcome another grandson!! My other two grandsons are about to have birthdays. The oldest will be 4 in August and the younger one will turn 3 in September. They are like little fish lately, still swimming almost every day and learning so fast. It's fun to watch the delight in the 2 year old's eyes when he swims across the pool, "I DID IT!" he squeals! It is amazing to see that energy and excitement!!!!
Now that Solstice has passed, summer is officially here. Although I love the Summers here, my clients are not as thrilled to be out shooting in the afternoon these days. I am definitely what you would call a morning person. So it works out perfect, I've started doing sessions as early as 7:30am and it's great! We get some great lighting, and cooler temperatures. The younger kids are generally awake and ready to start the day, and it works well!
We're still working hard to get word out to the 2009 Seniors. We have more availability during these summer months, and the schedules of Senior year can sometimes be busy. So, if you know anyone graduating this year, please have them call us soon to schedule a time for an unforgettable Senior Session!!! visit www.myspace.com/rickmueller

Monday, June 16, 2008

Father's Day

I had a wonderful celebration yesterday with my family. It is always fun to get together now that they are starting families of their own as well. My son and his wife are expecting their first child in October. Tomorrow we will hopefully find out if it's a boy, girl, or Golden Retriever. I have two grandsons so we'll either have a third grandson or a first granddaughter. My wife made a beautiful 4 course meal including Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce. It was all amazing. Saturday I spent part of the afternooon in the pool with my grandsons. It was my first time in the pool this summer, and it was a perfect day for it! They are 2 and 3 and just learning the independence of swimming. After a few months of lessons they can now motor themselves around the pool using a noodle to stay afloat. The three year old loves to swim underwater and we're working on getting him to use his arms to keep his head above the water when he needs a breath. The two year old will jump off anything he can climb up when he's on land, but is terrified to jump into water. In time I'm sure he'll be the first to do flips into the pool, once he overcomes that initial fear.

Early Saturday morning I photographed a beautiful little girl in the park. She's 6 years old and wore a darling beige dress with a bow in front. The dress was perfect with all the green backgrounds in the area. We had a lot of fun and many laughs. Her older siblings had also had sessions with me so it was fun to see Mom again too!

This week I will be working on production and with Kathleen on our future promotions. I'm looking forward to an exciting summer and getting ready for the class of 2009.

Monday, June 9, 2008

The First Blog

Well, here goes. My first time at blogging. I've been wanting to start this for a long time, but life just hasn't allowed it to happen. I appreciate your patience as I get started on here, I'm sure I'll have the hang of it soon.
There is no other place I'd rather be right now than here in Scottsdale. I am looking forward to the rising temperatures and laying in the sun when it's 115 degrees out. Those days by the pool are so much better than my childhood days of shoveling snow in Wisconsin.
As for my business, I have passed the one year mark since I moved out of the Scottsdale Airpark location in January 2007. I had been there for 22 years, and the transition was not easy by any means. I had made the decision because I received word from the landlord that the building would be torn down in June of 2007. I had one employee at the time and far too much overhead with the space I was renting, so I saw it as a sign to make a change. It was so difficult to part with so many amazing props, backgrounds, equipment, and memories that I had accumulated at that studio. One year later I have finally vacated the three storage sheds I was using to hold on to some of those items. I am so happy that I decided to make that move. As difficult as it was at the time, I now get to enjoy being on location entirely. I continue working with one employee, Kathleen. Having her here allows me to spend more time behind the camera, which is what I enjoy most about my business.
I have the privilege of going to my client's home, to see their style and capture images in their own backyard. The family pets get to be involved without traveling in the car. Some of my High School senior sessions allowed for things like turntables and book collections to be photographed, something that couldn't have been done in the old studio. I also love being able to capture those first portraits of the babies in the comfort of their own home, I'm pretty sure the mom's appreciate not having to pack up the car and drive across town for portraits.
As summer arrives, I'm looking for more of the early morning outdoor sessions or anytime indoor sessions. This is a great time for the publicity portraits where I can come to office locations.
I am also taking time to get back to painting. I have been taking classes to learn different mediums, and I absolutely love it. Maybe in the future when I put down the professional camera, I will be able to continue selling art in a different format.
I think I'm off to a start (maybe even good start?) on this blogging so it's time to get back behind the camera. This afternoon I will be scouting out a location for a family session that I have scheduled on Thursday.
Thanks for reading!!