Dino is very kid friendly and has an entertaining show

The well known childrens musician, came to town a few weeks ago and played for the children at the Pottery Barn Kids in Pen Square Mall.  I know this because I have a daughter who just had to go there to see him. 

Dino is based out of Kansas City, MO.  According to his website at http://www.dinoodell.com, he has “saved cats caught in trees, trained expectant parents as disciplinarians, and battled forest fires in the Rockies.”  Several of his songs are more like interactive musical stories, but all the children loved him and he kept them all entertained.  I caught myself singing and moving along soon into the program.  It was difficult to do with the camera in my hand, but it was alot of fun !

Look for him to come back between 10 & 11 am at the Pottery Barn Kids at Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City, Ok

I’ve added a couple of pics I took that day as proof! 

Dino Entertaining the children at Baby Gap in Penn Square MallDino is very kid friendly and has an entertaining show

Most of you are past or are approaching the deadline to have your yearbook photos turned in.  A lot of you will have other portraits made and some of you will, sadly, wind up missing the deadline to get your photo in the yearbook.  Even if you’ve had someone take your yearbook photo already, you still have plenty of time to schedule some awesome senior portraits before it’s time to mail out your graduation announcements.

Most of the seniors I’m photographing have been asking for digital photos they can put on Myspace or Facebook so I came up with a great solution for them.  Every senior photo that gets ordered, I am also providing the same image in digital format that can be used on their digital web albums.  I can also provide digital only 5×7’s without having to buy paper prints.

The seniors these days are definitely out on the stuffy looking traditional poses.  Every single senior I’ve worked with in the last two years has considered “getting the digital images” for the online “digital photo album” a very important factor, so I’m giving them what they want.  A traditional professional photographer makes money by selling prints.  Most professional photographers know that seniors these days are looking for different posing styles but few have really grasped or embraced the idea that digital images are, in some cases, more meaningful.  It’s just something else my customers want so I give it to them.

If you need professional portraits and you’re looking for the ultimate experience, be it an “outside in the nature” look, an “urban” look, or a modern “studio look” with edgy lighting and glamorous poses, I’d be delighted to work with you!  Tell me what you want and I’ll see what I can come up with, you have my word.  To contact me, see my contact page on my main website at http://www.JohnBurchell.com

I’ve been having a lot of fun so far with all the consignment sales that have been happening around town.  This is actually the first one I’ve been able to set up a booth at!  I’m excited!  I’ll be up there for the next couple of days so if you’re looking for anything from me during the day, you’re welcome to come find me!

For those that don’t know what the head2toe sale is, you can check it out on their website at: www.head2toesale.com and see for yourself.  They have all kinds of used consigned items on sale for kids and babies.  It’s great if you’re looking to spend wisely.

For those that show up at the head2toe sale, I’m giving away a special coupon that only they will receive.  It’s definitely worth the visit if you’re even remotely interested in having fall portraits made.

Hope to see you there!

Wedding plans for 2009?  Book your professionals now to avoid last minute hastles.

If you’re getting married in 2009, you should be booking your photographers, florists, chapels and all the other services you’ll need.  Many professionals that are good at what they do, get very busy during the summer months and aren’t able to add more to their schedules at the last minute.  My schedule as a photographer is beginning to see several appointments for next year already.  This is just a friendly reminder that you shouldn’t put it off!  To see if I’m available or to book my services, contact me on my main website page at http://www.JohnBurchell.com

If you’re planning your own wedding, here is a helpful checklist I found on http://www.Todays-Weddings.com

I really love the conventions and schools in our area and the Fall convention is one I’m really looking forward to.  I wasn’t sure if we would be able to make it up there, because of my schedule, but it’s going to work out and I’m really glad!

For more information about it, make sure and check out the PPOK website at http://www.ppok.com

My favorite, John Woodward will be there along with many other wonderful speakers.  It’s sure to be a great experience!  The deadline for pre-registration is August

!Update! 

The convention starts this weekend!

Here is a more detailed list of the speakers.

Friday, Lewis Kemper is going to be there.  He has a two part program, one is outdoor photography and the other is Photoshop.  From what I understand, he’s been into Photoshop since it came into existance.

Saturday morning - John Woodward is putting together a food and product demonstration with food being provided by the chef at the Tulsa Radison.  Products will be photographed with a smoke box and other light modifiers that are cheap and easy to acquire, yet produce STUNNING results.

Saturday afternoon - Shelby Lane is going to be doing a program dedicated to photographing children, babies and maternity shots.  I’m definitely going to be there for that one.

Then on Sunday - Ron Nichols for both the morning and afternoon slots, will be talking about Digital portraiture, organization of files and workflow along with office management.

And for Monday - Jon Allyn will be talking about the subtle art of persuasion, selling and sales techniques.  He’s also a great photographer and I’ve heard many good things about him.

That’s the lineup for the for speakers doing presentations.  The real purpose of this get-together is for print judging at the state level.  If you’re a member of PPA and are interested in getting merits for prints, this is where we go, enter our prints or digital albums, and they get judged to go on to the regional and then national level.

There are also going to be several vendors who will be offering “special convention” rates or will be handing out food or candy.  The vendors range from across the state and across the country.

Show up and have fun.  I’ll be there so look me up and tell me you read about this thing on my blog.

If you haven’t gotten an email from me yet, call me so you can find out how to see all your images from the photo session last Tuesday.

We had a great time and I really enjoyed having you all in.  I really like the way they turned out and I’m excited to hear your comments!

Update!  If you’re having trouble loggin in, please check your emails as the passwords have all changed…

I had another photo session recently with a family and a beautiful baby.  Please don’t be offended because I haven’t posted something about every single session, but this one just kindof stands out.

His dad brought him a good looking Cubs shirt and we had a really great time!

I’m looking forward to portrait day all day for an on-line based meet-up group here in Oklahoma City.  So far several have confirmed and it’s going to be a lot of fun!

My http://www.johnburchell.com website is just about ready for it’s debut launch and I’m working out client proofing solutions to allow everyone to view and order photos from our portrait sessions online!

I’m excited about photographing everyone’s children and having everyone come by.  I’ll be giving everyone an 8×10 that shows up and I will be giving everyone extra special pricing if they want extra prints or enlargements.

I’ve been long over-due for updating and adding to my equipment list and within the last several weeks I’ve made a huge investment in a lot of up-to-date and modern equipment.  I’m totally pumped!

Some of the great new equipment added to my arsenal:  An entire studio of equipment just ready for permanent space.  A set of 4) Alien Bees B800’s, light stands, softboxes, colored gels, barn doors, a background stand and two new cotton muslin backgrounds.  Plus, I’ve added a few new pieces of camera equipment that will no doubt be helpful in low light situations.

Well a lot of things have been happening for me in the photography world.  I have managed keep myself so busy that I have hardly been able to keep up.  I will be working a lot harder to keep everyone and everything up to date.  I wanted to thank everyone who has helped me with all the opportunities I’ve had to take photographs.

I’m still processing all the images I’ve taken during the last 2 weddings.  I’ve gotten photos back from the wedding I shot at the Civic Center Hall of Mirrors and they all look great!  I’m really excited about getting them off the bride and groom.

I’ve been photographing portraits and reunions and I have several photo sessions coming up within the next week.

I’m going to do an assignment for the Midwest City Sun on Sunday.

I attended the PPO School in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  It was a week long school and I studied the magic of lighting with John Woodward again.  It was a really great time!  Lots of new things learned and good times were had by all.  Continuing education is the only way to go.  I know I will never learn all there is to know about photography no matter how long I continue to compose through the lense.

Last week, I sat up a table at Babies-R-Us.  Their logo has the ”R” backwards, but I don’t know how to make my keyboard type that letter.  It’s a real super store for babies and I shop there a lot for my almost 2 year old.  It was a really great experience.  I got to meet several people and saw tons of great looking babies.  I even scheduled a couple of photo sessions that are coming up in the next week as well.

I have a completely new website coming on-line at http://www.JohnBurchell.com that was designed by some really great designers.  It’s all installed and running, I’m just putting my few finishing touches on it so it’s got a great sampling of what all I can do.

Again, I thank everyone who has been part of my little world.

Stay tuned for more information!