Hey, photogs! I just downloaded a really fun ringtone from Sprint. It’s Swizz Beats’ “Take a Picture.” I’d heard this song months ago and just recvently remembered it. I’ve been wanting a new ringtone for a couple of weeks, and this one is perfect for where I’m at in my life right now. I have my photography business on the mind 24/7, it seems.

I think your ringtone can say a lot about you. I’m usually surprised by what ringtone a person chooses…sometimes it can be pretty humorous!

What is your ringtone, and what does it say about you?

And because I always try to include a picture in my posts, here’s a picture I took last week. I loved all of the hay bales in this field. I couldn’t pass it up!

Baled Hay

If any of you tried to order something from my web site, there was a glitch and I would not have received notification of it. I discovered this yesterday when I placed a fake order to test the system and did not receive an email confirming the order. It is up and running smoothly now, so you should be good to go. I apologize for the problem, but thank you for your patience!

And don’t forget that if you want to order any of my artwork, simply type the word “public” in the proofing area to see what images are available. Have a Happy 4th of July!

Today is our dog Lola’s 3rd birthday! I know, I know, you’re shaking your head thinking I’m nuts to celebrate my dog’s birthday. Maybe you’re right. But Lola is family to me. She’s always happy to see me and loves unconditionally. She’s the lap dog I’ve always wanted, but still playful enough to have fun with.

After work yesterday, I stopped at Give a Dog a Bone in Evansville and bought Lola a doggy birthday cake. Last year, I forgot her birthday until the 4th, so I made sure to get her birthday treat early this time. This thing is about as big as she is, so we only gave her a little of it this morning. She also had her birthday banana (she literally goes nuts over bananas…even say the word and she starts spinning in circles because she’s so excited). Tonight we might even take her on a little car ride so she can stick her head out the window as we’re driving…she loves that, too.

She also got a bath last night so she could look her best for her big birthday. She looks so funny all wet – all 7 pounds of her – but I still love her like crazy. Especially when she does that head tilt thing.

It’s finally here…MY NEW WEB SITE IS UP! That’s right, just head on over to www.nicoleneffphotography.com and check it out. There you can find my prices, see galleries, contact me and order prints (if you go to the proofing gallery and enter “public,” you can order some of my artwork). I’m beyond excited, and it’s been a long time coming. Here’s the first picture you’ll see on my site:

There was a lot that had to fall in to place before I was ready to unveil it: get the pictures edited, choose a web site, decide the layout/colors of that site, choose prices, see an accountant, fill out all of the paperwork to become an actual business, wait for the site to go live, wait, wait, and wait some more (there was a server problem that delayed the visibility of my site). There are a lot of people who I owe thanks to for making this all happen:

• My fabulous husband, Tyler, who encouraged me not to wait until Christmas to get a web site like I had planned. I’ll never forget walking hand in hand with him on the beach in Hawaii and talking about my future business plans. I just about stopped in my tracks when he said, “Why wait until Christmas? Why don’t you just do it now?” Since then, my imagination has been running wild with all of the things I could do with a business. He’s spent a lot of nights in bed alone because I’ve been up late planning, designing, and researching everything that I need to put into this business, but he’s not complained once. I’m such a lucky girl!
• Brenda of Appointed Design…she’s my design diva. Not only has she done a FANTASTIC job editing the photos I’ve sent to her, but she’s been a great friend who has answered sooo many of my questions along the way and even took the time to critique my web site before I decided to go live with it. We may live hours apart, but our friendship and faith keeps us close.
• My accountant, Larry Bitter of Brown, Smith & Settle here in Evansville. I’m sure he’s tired of all my emails asking questions that probably seem like no-brainers to him. I’m simply not a math person, so wrapping my mind around all of this accounting stuff gives me a headache.
• All of the people who have scheduled photo shoots with me have given me confidence that I actually CAN have people who want my work to hang on their walls. I have to pinch myself sometimes when I think about all of the great people who have entrusted me to take their picture.
• Last, but not least, God. I’ve prayed and prayed about this and it just feels right. And now that it’s actually happening…how blessed am I? God has blessed me with this passion and talent for photography. I’m nothing without Him, and I must give Him all the glory!

So go to my site, browse and leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

I know it was like two weeks ago when I said I had an announcement, and I promise it’s coming soon. Things are taking a little longer than I thought they would, but I AM making progress, so that is good. And believe me, it’s BIG news. At least in my mind it is. I can’t wait to share!

I’m so glad it’s the weekend. It’s too bad it’s going to be busy. After traveling last weekend to visit family up north, I came home pretty exhausted. This week feels like I’ve been running non-stop and my body is craving sleep. I should be in bed right now, but I have to post a blog. It’s just my style.

Last weekend in addition to taking my cousin’s picture, I also got the opportunity to go to my niece’s baptism/dedication. She’s getting big so fast, well for her anyway…she’s a tiny girl! Here are some pretty cute pictures of the little sweetheart:

Here she is with her daddy, Adam, who is a Methodist minister:

The district superintendent came to baptize her:

This is mommy, Kyla, holding Elizabeth. I love how this picture turned out. I shot at a really small aperture so everything except Elizabeth’s face is blurred:

This next picture makes my heart SO happy. This is Grandma Helen holding Elizabeth. I love the look on her face; it just seems like such a peaceful moment.

And finally, Tyler and I were outside waiting for everyone to go to lunch when I decided to play off the reflection in his glasses. Love it!

In other news, I finally started running again yesterday. It had been a month since I’d done any running at all (before we left for Hawaii) because I had cut my foot on a rock in the ocean in Hawaii and then I had my wisdom teeth removed. One month off really makes you feel out of shape! I’ve done 4 miles each of the past 2 days, so we’ll see how long it takes to build up my endurance again.

That’s right — I’m offering FREE photo shoots! These can be family, senior, engagement, fashion, business, baby, pet, maternity or any other kind of picture you can imagine (well, almost anyway)! That’s a $200 value for absolutely nothing but the pure joy of spending some time with yours truly!

I have some pretty fun shoot sites in mind, but if there is a place near and dear to your heart, you are more than welcome to let me know. Once I’m done with the pictures, I’ll send them off to be edited and then upload them to my proofing section where you can order however many pictures you would like!* You can even give friends and family members the password to your online proofing site so they can order prints, too. Couldn’t be simpler! If interested, leave me a comment and I’ll get in contact with you so we can set up the shoot.

I did a photoshoot this weekend for my cousin Rebecca and had an absolute blast. These were “just because” pictures since her mom never likes the quality of school pictures. Rebecca and I had a great time laughing, and we even had our own Talladega Nights moments. We found ourselves saying several times “I don’t know what to do with my hands” and then bursting into laughter. Rebecca will be a senior this year, and I look forward to doing her senior pictures. She’s a natural! (These images are straight out of the camera…no editing whatsoever)

*There is a $15 minimum order.

I’m thinking about switching from WordPress to Blogger. Does anyone out there use Blogger? I don’t really care for the templates on wordpress…they’re too limiting. If anyone has used Blogger and/or WordPress, would you care to give me the pros and cons?

Do I really need another? My husband will tell you no. He tells me I may have an addiction to reading about photography. He may be correct, too.

But Andy Biggs is so deserving of being followed. His work is A.MA.ZING. I found out about him through Shoot the Blog’s interview with him. Go to his blog and Shoot the Blog’s interview and prepare to be amazed.

His work would look amazing in my safari-themed living room. And really, the prices aren’t too bad, but by the time I’m able to afford one, he’ll be famous and the prices will be much higher.

I have some big and exciting news to share with you all veeeeeeeery soon. There are some details to be worked out before I share, but I’m expecting to deliver the news in the next couple of weeks. So check back often…until then, here’s a clue!

Could it really be so obvious? Surely not, right? Bring on the guesses, except for those of you who are in on the secret!

Wow. That’s all I can say.