Quick shout-out to Doug and Lizzie at Malt and Vine.  They’re holding a wine tasting on Jan. 19 that is wedding-specific:

Saturday, Jan 19: Wines for Weddings
2:00pm to 5:00pm
Gorgeous flavors for the right price. We can help you find the perfect wines for your special day.

I went to their December port tasting, and I highly recommend that you check them out!  They’re so friendly and helpful, and they have EXCELLENT taste! 

Happy tasting!

My backyard declared a statewide emergency!

Okay, so it’s not my backyard in the strictest sense, but Woodinville is not even 10 miles from our house. Holly works in Woodinville, and had to leave the office around noon yesterday because firemen came and evacuated them from the building.

This is a view from that building yesterday, taken with Holly’s camera phone:

And this was the view from my old office in that building last August, taken with my iPhone:

We’re fine, the pets are fine, no problems here so far. We live midway up a hill—and Redmond in general has been pretty un-touched so far—so we’re not too worried about flooding. Lots of people haven’t been so lucky, though. If you’re inclined and able, please consider a donation to the Seattle Red Cross to help support the work they’re doing to help flood victims.

As an aside, if you’re wondering how the iPhone photo quality compares to that of regular camera phones, this is a pretty darn good example!

Okay, this has been a BIG week of BIG announcements around here. As if the WPJA acceptance wasn’t enough, I have also accepted a full-time job as a graphic/web designer with Imagekind.com!

From the Imagekind.com website:

Imagekind.com is one of the fastest growing online art sites on the internet. Our newest partnerships allow us to bring almost unlimited options in the world of framed art, poster art and wall art.

Imagekind is about three things:

• Creating art from digital files
• Providing an online marketplace for selling art without any actual inventory
• Providing the world’s largest online venue for shopping for unique fine art prints

Our goal is to develop a fresh new online art experience that allows both consumers and professional artists a new outlet for sharing, creating and buying actual wall art from digital files. We often describe Imagekind as a cross between an art gallery, a photo-sharing service and a print-on-demand service.

Could a job GET anymore freakin’ perfect for me? I am so excited about this opportunity! I’ll be honest: I wasn’t even LOOKING for full-time work. I love freelancing (and I love all of my clients), and it’s been great to focus on my creative vision and freelance business for awhile. I updated my Monster.com resumé to toss my hat into the ring for some steady contract/part-time positions, and got a call from an iMatch recruiter for Imagekind the very next business day. As soon as I looked at the Imagekind website, I was in love. I love the Imagekind.com business model, their Web 2.0 flare, their Flickr partnership, and the fact that they have an office dog named Fenway. (Go Sox!) I knew that this was my Next Right Thing. There’s a paradigm in my life of the Universe (God/higher power/fate/the force/whatever you want to call it) presenting perfect opportunities to me exactly when I’m ready for them. Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, says, “What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us.”

I am being hired because of my background in user interface (UI) design. While I always design with the user in mind, I rarely get to do UI design on projects for which I am the actual target audience! I am so excited to bring my web, design AND photography experience to the Imagekind team to further the business and vision.

So, what does this mean for you, my amazing freelance photo clients?

Well, I’m finishing up the last of my family photo sessions by the end of the day tomorrow because I know you’re excited to see your photos and have them ready for the holidays. I am still booking wedding, portrait, pet, kids & families, and coquette sessions for 2008. You know me—I’ve always done my own freelance thing on the side when I’ve had a full-time job. I love what I do; photographing candid moments, authentic memories and real people is my passion. I imagine I will be more selective about the sessions I take so that I can sort of pretend that I know what “work/life balance” means, and I might take a look at my stated image processing times. What WON’T change is my dedication to excellence while capturing the important moments of your life that tell the story of who you are. So if you have a session you want to book, drop a line!

Holy cats, batman! Molly Bennett Creative was just accepted into the Wedding Photojournalist Association!

From their website:

Leading the way in Wedding Photojournalism, WPJA represents the most discriminating talent around the world technically, creatively and visually. Qualified members hold industry-leading standards, skills and business integrity.

The Wedding Photojournalist Association grants membership to the most talented professional wedding photographers in the industry–photographers who focus solely on using their photography skills in documenting weddings.

The WPJA is an extremely competitive association; so many people apply that they only contact you if you’re actually accepted as a member. They have strict membership guidelines, and only the very best are selected to be members. I’m sort of falling all over myself with excitement right now; it’s a huge honor to be accepted!

In honor of Labor Day, I wanted to take a moment to share with you a few of my favorite quotes that relate to doing what you love:

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
: Henry David Thoreau

If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or music, then in that respect you can call me that…I believe in what I do, and I’ll say it.
: John Lennon

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.
: John Lennon

I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.
: Madonna

No woman is required to build the world by destroying herself.
: Rabbi Sofer

When you love what you’re doing, you’re not working.
: Henri Cartier-Bresson

What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us.
: Julia Cameron

Leap and the net will appear.
: John Burroughs

Follow your bliss and doors will open where there were no doors before.
: Joseph Campbell

Hate what you’re doing? Have an unrealized dream career? I have two recommendations:

1. GigZig your current job at PayScale to see what you could be doing in five years
2. Pick up a copy of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and work the program in the book.

Happy Labor Day.