Christa + Mark = Engaged (Blurb Book) December 31, 2008

I’ve been waiting to share the preview of my 2nd Blurb book for engaged couple Christa & Mark.  You may remember their engagement sessions photos posted HERE.

Mark was wonderful to work with on the book.  He decided on what photos he wanted included, what order he’d like them in, and he wrote a beautiful dedication in the front of the book for Christa.  He was so super organized with the details that it allowed me to be more creative with the design.

The book was a Christmas gift from Mark to Christa (so I had to wait to post it) and from what Mark told me the book was a huge hit with her!

Click on the title of the book in the badge below and then “preview the book.”

Christa & Mark…

By Jen Rinaldi Photog…

Book Preview

Or click here to go directly to the preview:  http://www.blurb.com/books/503414

Barnapalooza Indiana (and more) December 30, 2008

I’ve been dying to work on these since I got home from Indiana since I’m a proud lover of barns and rural scenes.  Below you will find more from the “drive by shootings” series with Julie Lawson in Parke County, Indiana.

The first photo is a new spin on an earlier Pano that I posted -  that I felt fit well with the series.  The rest are all new; processed with the same texture with about the same opacity.  I normally wouldn’t do an entire series textured but for these I felt it fit so well.

I hope you love them as much as I do!

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Wish You Were Here… December 29, 2008

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA

After Heather & I did portraits at the beach we enjoyed the sunset by the pier…wish I was still there…

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Indy Ghost Riders December 28, 2008

During my visit to see Julie in Indiana we has some time to do some “drive by shoots.”  It was bitter cold but I can never pass up a good photo opportunity…that’s what coats, hats and gloves were made for!

Julie took some photos during the drive by as well but she decided to take them from the comfort and warmth of the car LOL!  Check them out here:  http://julielawsonphotography.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/parke-county-cars/

“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.” ~Albert Einstein

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Saturday Funnies December 27, 2008

Due to the popularity of Emmy’s rendition of “Low” by Flo-rida…

The following performance was scheduled during my Indiana visit with Julie (photographed by Brianna):

Santa Rosa Plateau – Panoramic December 26, 2008

On the day that Heather & I did our Strobist shoot (mentioned in the previous post) in the Santa Rose Plateau, I had a minute in between so I shot a few photos (with the intention of doing a panoramic) before the sun set completely.

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39400 CLINTON KEITH RD. MURRIETA CA.

The Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve is located at the southern end of the Santa Ana Mountains in southwest Riverside County, near the city of Murrieta.

The Reserve consists of 8,300 acres and protects unique ecosystems like Engelmann oak woodlands, riparian wetlands, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, bunchgrass prairie and vernal pools.

Visitors to the Reserve can enjoy the oldest standing structures in Riverside County that once served as bunkhouses for cowboys dating back to 1846. These two adobe structures remain shaded by a 400 year old tree and separated by a relaxing, one-of-a-kind, picnic area.

So Sad to Leave Happy Heather December 24, 2008

Today was a bitter sweet day…I left Heather & California behind for cold & rainy New Jersey.  It was hard to leave such a great person and a beautiful place behind but Christmas was here and I must head home back to my family and my buddy Lucas the Lab (oh how I miss him!)

Tonight I’ll leave you with a few shots of our trek into the reserve where we did a shoot yesterday.  As soon as Heather and I have time to edit our photos from this shoot we’re going to post them at the same time (we hope).  So we’ll leave you with these fun “in action” shots…

On our way to the trail we met James who was also at the Plateau doing photography (he shoots wildlife and sports action photography…and that would be good reason for the 400mm lens and 40D he’s sporting!!).  Heather thought it’d be nice to take a photo with him so we could remember all of the photographers we met this week:

Of course I couldn’t leave with out something eventful happening…I realized this morning that I left my point & shoot Canon in the middle of the grassy plateau we did a photo shoot at yesterday.  The good (and bad) news was that my flight was delayed almost 2 hours so we had time to stop and I retraced our steps down into the canyon and found it right where I thought I must have left it.

You can imagine my happiness once I found the camera and it still worked (thank goodness for a dry night!!).  I took this test shot with it and to my delight it seemed perfectly okay!

The Jen Rinaldi Photography cross-country tour of 2008 had ended and it’s hard to leave friends like Heather and amazing mountainous views like this behind!

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Happy Birthday to Us! December 23, 2008

I spent my birthday in San Diego Tuesday with Heather and an old friend that I used to work with (Kyle) who I hadn’t seen in 6 years.

Kyle moved to San Diego about 3 years back and I was excited when I realized Heather didn’t live far from S.D. and we were all able to get together for lunch.

Heather bought me a yummy desert and I ate it before my meal even came..

When we were leaving Kyle mentioned that he had some free time and he took on the roll of tour guide for us – which made our night!

We even had him use the Nikons to get some photos of us without us having to hold our arm and take it ourselves! LOL

We visited the beach at La Jolla as the sun set and got some great scenic shots!

It was chillllllly!  We were loving our hoods last night!

After La Jolla we headed over to Coronado and we captured the SanDiego skyline before we headed out.

After I said goodbye to Kyle we head off for our mutual birthday dinners (Heather Nov 14th) and mine which was on the day of the dinner (yesterday12/22).

I had the best meal of shrimp & homemade pasta with tomatoes, garlic Arguala in a white wine/lemon sauce.  It was awesome (and of course I added a ton of grated Parmesan cheese).

San Diego was one of my favorite days of the trip…and even despite the fact that it rained that day we had a GREAT time!!

JRP & OSPB December 22, 2008

We’ve having a great time here in California the past couple days…Venice Beach (quite the experience), Los Angeles (busy busy like NYC), Newport Beach (and surrounding beaches), out for some delicious meals, and lots and lots more!

Plus we’ve been getting some great portraits of each other!  I edited this one tonight and I’m loving it!  Isn’t she a beauty??

California…Here I Am December 20, 2008

After quite the traveling experience of canceled flights (because of the impending snow), hours on the phone with Continental trying to find another way of getting to California, leaving for the airport at 345am (without going to sleep before heading to the airport), riding on “mini-me” plane (which scared the heck out of me)…

…connecting flights in Atlanta (have you seen how HUGE that airport is??), a completely full plane where I got stuck with a middle seat (when all I wanted to do sleep)…

…to finally reaching my destination at the John Wayne airport in Orange County, California!!

…and finally meeting my friend Heather (of http://oneshotbeyond.wordpress.com/) after 2 years of being friends!

I had my very first IN & OUT burger (yum!)…

…and visited Heather’s neighbor’s amazingly decorated house for Christmas…complete with music and light shows!

Tomorrow we will be heading to LA so that should be a great first time experience for me.  I’m so looking forward to it!!

The Adventure Continues! December 18, 2008

I’m both thrilled and a little melancholy at the same time. The strange mix of emotions is due to the fact that the first portion of my cross country tour for “Jen’s Big Adventure” has ended and my final leg of “the tour” starts tomorrow.

I purchased the tickets back in September and it felt as if the days were going by so slow and the trips would never get here.  Now I’m leaving for the airport tomorrow to see Heather for my 2nd trip of 2 — and I know from experience with the trip to see Julie that it’s going to fly by tooooooo fast!

I’ve been looking at this entry on my calendar at work for so long and now it’s finally here!  YAY!!!

Is it Christmas Yet??? December 17, 2008

This little sweetheart “E” is Julie Lawson’s youngest daughter and this little lady will melt your heart the minute you meet her!

I did some Christmas portraits of her for Julie while I was visiting her in Indiana.

“E” even comes fully equipped with her own poses for portraits!  I didn’t have to direct a single pose – I swear!  Soon enough she’ll be accompanying her mom to photo shoots and posing the subjects for her.

This is the cutest one of the shoot – it’s almost as if she’s asking “Is it Christmas yet??”

This one is too stinkin cute!  Those little eyes peeping over the present are too cute for words!

Stop over at Julie’s blog to see her Christmas Diva photos of Emmlie from the same photo shoot by clicking HERE.

Give the Gift of Jen Rinaldi Photography Portraits December 17, 2008

Looking for a last minute gift idea?

Consider giving the gift of portraiture and help a friend or family member “Capture Life’s Fleeting Moments”!

Inquire with me regarding the purchase of a gift certificate

for a portrait session for the 2009 year.

Happy Birthday Cuz! December 16, 2008

My cousin RJ celebrated his big 3-0 birthday this past Friday night.

We were all there for the celebration!

The food was great, the DJ’s played all my favorite songs and there was good company!

RJ & his classic photo face!

RJ & I

RJ & his Mom (my Aunt Dee)

Me and my Aunt Dee

Me, RJ & my sister Darlene

Me, My Mom & my sister Darlene

RJ,

Thanks for having us at your birthday bash!

Enjoy your day!

And here is to many more happy years ahead for you!

Indiana Pano December 15, 2008

Julie and I had our very own round of “drive-bys” when I was in Indiana, visiting.

The two of us love “drive-bys” – we stop whenever we see something scenic that would make a great photo op.

It was SO cold but we had a great time pulling over and getting some shots of local barns and landscapes.

(The pano is best viewed in a large format so click on it to enlarge)

I’ll be sharing the barn series as soon as I have some time to edit it.

The photo below was taken a moment after I took the pano. We were ccccccold!

My First Customer Photo Book with Blurb December 12, 2008

I just completed my very first Blurb book for the “S Family” of “N’s” First Holy Communion – from back in May!

I loved making it and I can’t wait to work on more customer collections in book form.  It brings back my graphic design days that I really enjoyed!

I’m also looking forward to making my own Blurb Books for 2007 and 2008 if I can ever get time!

Click on the link below to view the 15 page preview:

Noelle’s First…

May 3, 2008

By Jen Rinaldi Photo…

Book Preview

Or click on this link: http://www.blurb.com/books/495568

Let me know what you think.