Julia and I are so happy to know that something like Peoria Playhouse is coming to the Peoria area. With four children of our own we really want to see Peoria get behind this project and give all kids a fun interactive ways to express themselves, learn, and give mom & dad a bit of a break. That is why we are so happy to announce a joint event with the Peoria Playhouse and Portraitlife. This special is running for June and July. It's simple, just pick a time and day and the session is on us. We will then donate the typical session fee of $150 for every session we book to the Peoria Play House (The Junior League of Peoria). It's a win/win. Our goal in this event is to help bring something new to Peoria and to capture kids in their individuality and the uniqueness they express.
June 25, 2008
June 20, 2008
A little surprise.
A couple of weeks ago Julia and I went to Asheville to visit our good friend Parker J. It was his 40th birthday and we flew in as a surprise. His wife Missy planned a b-day extravaganza for the old boy (ha-ha).
In returned it was us that was surprised, as he took our little one (Sophie) out an photographed her in her favorite outfit (Mom and dad was still in bed because of a late night). Let me tell you this story of the yellow dress. She has this "Belle" nightgown that she wears about everyday and I do mean everyday! (yes we wash it about every other day). It is one of those things that not only means the world to Sophie but even to her mom and dad. We will be sad one day when she out grows it. Until then she will continue to prance around like a little princess. If you would like to take click the word sophie below. Parker may never understand how much this meant to Julia and I. It got me really thinking about the important role that we have as photographers to document peoples lives. This time in sophie life will come and go but the memory of her bouncing around in this little night gown will stay with me forever. This one image says exactly what type of girl Sophie is EXUBERANT!
I have some cool friends!
June 11, 2008
UPDATE
"One" is moving along pretty good. We now have a online registration to make things easier. You can also see some of the updated details and schedule of events. We are really excited to see the interest in this event.
To find out more about the "ONE" Conference go to the website. I would like to thank some of our sponsors for helping us spread the love and being a part of "ONE" 08
www.sidebyside247.com
Burrell Colour Imaging
SPA
Robert Andrew Designs
Our new art gallery is coming along nicely. We brought in the same group that did our current studio. We have the creative juices flowing to make it a unique venure. It will be the home of this year's "ONE" conference. Our completetion date for new space is July 10th. Here is a sneak peak at what will be the new art gallery & wine social called VENUE. This is a joint venture that Julia and I are really happy about. It is combining two of our favorite things, wine and art.
June 03, 2008
ONE~ MARRIAGE+BUISNESS
I know we have recieved a lot of emails from you all as to when are we going to do this thing called "ONE"? Well I am happy to say "We are officially open"! This will be a very unique photography conference that deals with what all other conferences and workshops don't talk about. Julia and I feel we are only as strong as our relationship. When our relationship is not balanced everything else gets out of balance. That's why we want to surround you with others that go through the same issues every married couple goes through. We will deal with the tough topics, yet have a blast with other married couples. We are excited to host this event at our new Art Gallery and Wine Social called Venue. We have some special guest involved and are adding to the list of great speakers. It will be full of surprises and we hope you can join us in Sept. Hurry we are limiting this conference 50 couples. Register by August 1st to take advantage of the early registration. You can get more details here.
May 24, 2008
All for Jimmy V
I had the pleasure this past weekend of shooting for a wonderful cause. My friend Ryan Joseph and I were asked to shot for ESPN to document the Dick Vitale Gala in Sarasota, Florida. It was to raise money for the V Foundation. The money raised was to help the fight against cancer. I have had a love affair with basketball all of my life. I had the opportunity to play basketball in college and after that I put up my sneakers aside and picked up the whistle. I coached high school basketball for 10 years at my old high school. I have sat under the teaching of so many great coaches like Bobby Knight, Roy Williams, Pat Summit, Dean Smith, Pat Riley, and my high school coach Steve Doty.
While photographing at this gala, I was amazed at a side I have never seen of these great men. They were willing to give up not only their time, but also their money (and lots of it) to help with such a worthwhile cause.
Coaching is a like a brother hood. They stick together and help out each other. I find that not only amazing but inspiring.
Over the next yea, Ryan and I will be doing a book to document what these coaches everyday life is like (all proceeds to benefit the Jimmy V Foundation). We see them as these great thinkers on the hardwood. However, after spending some time with them, we were more impressed with how they are with their family and friends. That's the side everyone needs to see. If you would like to help, contact the V foundation. The money raised on this night was to help with Pediatric Cancer.
May 14, 2008
Seniors (Its Time for 09)
It's that time of year again, GRADUATION!! With graduation comes the passing of the baton to the next leaders of the class. Each year we celebrate this momentous occasion as high school juniors begin the extremely exciting journey to the class of a SENIOR. This Saturday we had a celebration for them. We want to send a big thanks out to all of you that came by. It was so fun to watch you laugh together during your photo booth sessions and entertain Washington with karaoke in the street. We wish we could bottle some of your energy!
During the celebration, everyone that scheduled their senior session was entered into a drawing for a shopping spree at Pink Sugar Boutique. Congrats to the winner, Jenna Haste of Dunlap. Big thanks to the Girls at Pink Sugar ( Erin and Cory Crusen) for being a part of our open house.
If you missed the open house, you can actually still experience a bit of Pink Sugar with a 20% coupon off of any one clothing item when you book a senior session with Portraitlife before June 15th. (call the studio for more details 309-444-8514).
While we are talking about young people, make sure you pick up a copy of our latest newsletter (Northwoods mall or the Portraitlife Studio). It's an inspirational story of a young girl name Meghan Hirschmann, owner of Bezales. Bezales is not your ordinary company. The driving force behind Bezales is certainly not your average corporate leader. Instead, the Bezales story is about family, values, hard work and creativity — not to mention the vision of a 16-year old entrepreneur. So pick up a copy of "Lifestyle" and learn more about Bezales.
May 13, 2008
Big Sky Country
Julia and I had just back from Montana where we shot the beautiful wedding of Paul & Tenneil. Here are a few of our faves. It was our first time to the Big Sky Country. I really enjoyed driving fast on the open roads! I kinda felt like Ricky Bobby (Mom I am going fast) haha. If you would like to see more images check out our new wedding website at www.jeffreyandjuliawoods.com. Enjoy
May 10, 2008
I know I know...
Thanks for all the hate mail I have received due to my lack of blogging. haha! (I can't believe it has been almost 5 months since my last post.) Julia and I have had such a wonderful winter and now spring. We have been on the road for most of it. It's been great to meet so many of you during our travels.
Well, all I can say is that I am back and I will try to make every effort to post at least once a week. That way I can catch you up on what we are up to. Which most of the time just seems like insanity.
One thing we have going on this month is our last "exposed" workshop until the fall. So, we wanted to have some fun and get our good friends at Blu Domain involved. We had a contest to give away a free seat. The catch was contestants had to draw a stick figure of Julia and I. It was so fun to see all the creativity that you all put into this.
We have to admit we were really overwhelmed with the response. We recieved over 450 emails. Here were the four finalist.
AND THE WINNER? Bonnie Novotny
When she incorporated our children it seriously melted our heart. We look forward meeting you Bonnie.
January 18, 2008
ONE CONFERENCE 08
Julia and I have had "ONE" in the works for a long time (actually about three years). We have been waiting for the right time and we wanted to take the time to make sure our motives were pure. We wanted to make sure we could really help couples unite in a stonger way. That's not to say that we have all the answers, but we do know we have the passion to share from our own experiences. The details about the conference are being set in motion, however I wanted to let all the faithful readers in on somthing special. This endevor is from the heart! It will not be a photography conference full of fluff but, practical information to help not only your business grow but to most importantly strengthen your marriage vows. We have a few other couples getting involved that we are excited to tell you more about. Details are almost finalized and with in the next week we will open up registration. So stay tuned. I hope to see you there! If you would like to be on the waiting list feel free to email us at [email protected] .You will be able to find out more at www.sidebyside247.com
January 02, 2008
Out of the Office.
Julia and I will be making our annual pilgrimage to one of the biggest photographic convention and tradeshow. We go to be inspire but, also to inspire others. Julia and I will be doing a fair amount of speaking. If you are a photographer and headed to the convention please stop by and say hi.
Here is our schedule while in Tampa.
Friday & Saturday, Jan 4th & 5th (Pre Convention classes at the Tampa Bay Convention Center)
Sunday, Jan 6th 10:00am (Digital Wedding Forum at The Grand Hyatt) Sponsored by Canon
Sunday, Jan 6th 4:00pm (Canon Explores of Light Tradeshow booth)
Monday, Jan 7th 1:00pm (Canon Explores of Light Tradeshow booth)
Monday, Jan 7th 2:00pm (Marathon Press Tradeshow booth)
Tuesday, Jan 8th Noon (Marathon Press Tradeshow booth)
Tuesday, Jan 8th 3:30-6:30 (Platform "Art of Success") Sponsored by Bella Grafica
We will also be releasing some brand new products for photographers during the convention. They will also be available through our education website."Need to Change" They include new photoshop brushes, photoshop embellishments, and layered psd templates. This will be the first release of these new products.
While in the area, please join us for our good friend Ryan Joseph's gallery opening in historic Ybor City at the Hoffman Porges Gallery . It's bound to be a great time with friends and a wonderful exhibit of his photographs from a resent trip to Africa.
