Little Miss Maria

Micki

Red Lanterns

I had a blast photographing members of the Red Lanterns. Here are just a couple of the images we took....

Steeler fans, little boys and some fall color

I am so far behind on my blogging, but here are a few from some recent sessions....

Coffee Shop Grand Opening

Last night we had a grand opening event for some area businesses in our coffee shop. A very big THANK YOU to Moe at Sophia's Restaurant for providing appetizers, Marzoni's Restaurant for providing beer, Anthony Scavone from Anthony's Restaurant for all his help with the coffee machines, Jonathan O'Harrow for the beautiful music, Doug Gardner of Mister G Coffee for the excellent coffee beans, Heather Inzko (a.k.a. "the Baking Fool") for the yummy cupcakes, Andrea Smith for the absolutely divine chocolate cake w/ coffee buttercream frosting and last but not least - Cody Jones and Jonathan Preston for all their hard work making this event come together so beautifully....you guys rock!

Leslie & Matt

Fall Family Portraits

Jessica & Eric

Kylee

Coffee, coffee, coffee...

Well, for the past few weeks I have been researching everything I can find regarding coffee and coffee shops. I have met with a local coffee roaster and sampled some of the finest coffee I have ever tasted. I have to say that I found freshly roasted coffee to be so absolutley delicious that I cannot fathom the thought of altering it with cream or sugar, (two condiments I normally can't do without in my Dunkin Donuts or McDonald's coffee).

I now have a deep appreciation and new understanding of the processes of growing, harvesting, roasting, storing, grinding, brewing and serving coffee. My family thinks I'm obsessed. They thought the same thing when I got into photography, and now almost 9 years later I am still obsessed with photography - but now I have another passion. I am counting down the days to our grand opening....which is scheduled for October 29th.

Over the weekend we got the back half of the coffee bar installed, (counter, counter top and sink). Tomorrow we hope to run the plumbing to the espresso machine and the sink. I spent the biggest part of my evening writing out the menu on my new menu board. I bought a new grinder, a French press and a frothing pot today.

My first shipment of freshly roasted coffee samples should arrive tomorrow. I already have a name for my custom blend....but that's a secret for now. I will tell you that all of our coffee will be of Fair Trade and organic origin. It is roasted by Mister G in Lewistown and shipped to us withing 24 hours of roasting. Fresher coffee you will not find in Altoona!

We are a finalist in the AN-NE awards!!!!

We just found out that we are a finalist in the PPA's annual AN-NE Competition!!! The AN-NE's are awards that are given specifically for marketing categories. This was our first time entering and we are honored to be a finalist!! Thanks so much to our FABULOUS graphic artist, Amber for all her hard work on our entry.

Here's what the judges had to say about it:

"Embodies one who hit the bulls-eye of her target markets with a unified look. Creating a unified image between photographic specialties is not easy (and doesn’t always work), especially when you consider that they wanted an upscale look while controlling costs; to be eco-friendly, warm, and welcoming; and to create pieces that people want to keep. They accomplished it…with great connection between all the pieces and great showcasing of striking images."

more Ashley and Corey

Ashley and Corey

Mason & Logan

Allison

Zach

Rebecca & Charlie