Promos for November

Here it is (finally). The line-up of promotions for November:

• Week 1 (November 3-7) 50% off Family/Kids Sessions
• Week 2 and 3 (November 10-21) 50% off Eve Sessions
• Week 3 (November 18 only) a business promo details TBA
• Week 4 (November 25 only) Our 2-for-1 Tuesday...Two friends. One hour. $100. And November 29 is shaping up to be some kind of photography seminar...

Please note: Saturdays are not included in the promotions, although there should be availability one Saturday for shooting in November.

More on our Family Week: it's a good time to create a family photo to send out for Christmas, or kids' portraits for Grandma & Grandpa. We have lots of fun places in the studio to use...even a bed, a trampoline, a swing, and a bright red claw-foot tub (complete with bubble bath!)

Don't miss out! Call Rodney today at 221-8413 and find a time that works for you.

Dreamscape on Sale Now

Dreamscape

"Dreamscape" is a prairie cloud study, an expansive sky scape. Moody monochrome blues with sharply contrasted, swirling edges make this a great conversation piece
or simply a point of contemplation.

This image won "Best in Fine Art Category" at the Professional Photographers Association of Canada national print salon. It is part of PPOC's travelling Loan Collection for 2008-2009, a collection of 40 outstanding images chosen from all across Canada for their impact, inspiration, and innovation.

Commenting on this piece, Rodney is extremely grateful. "It was a gift, really. God was the true artist in all of this. I was just privileged to be on the road at the time and stopped to appreciate it."

In celebration of Rodney's recent achievements, we have decided to print a run of limited edition, numbered 24x36 canvases. No more than 12 will be made and will not be available again in this format.

Special pricing is as follows:

first one - $ 300
next two - $ 600
next three - $ 900
next four - $1200 (taxes not included)

We have reserved two to be auctioned for charity. If we sell eight before November 3rd, we will donate half of the proceeds. If we sell all ten before then, we will donate 100% of the proceeds. The charities are two organizations we believe in as they serve those who are most vulnerable.

One is Alpha House, which provides protective living for women leaving abuse. We're just getting to know them and so far are very impressed with the work they do in order to help women get safe shelter and life/career skills. Their new campaign for awareness is called "Live Life Empowered" and is being launched at their Annual Fundraising Dinner on Thursday, November 6th at the Fort Garry Hotel.

The other organization is Siloam Mission and we have been involved with them since before their expansion. They serve as "a connecting point between the compassionate and Winnipeg's less fortunate", providing meals, emergency shelter, health care, arts expression and employment training for those in need. Their Annual Gala Dinner is being held at the Victoria Inn on Friday, November 7th and will be focusing on their arts program with David Asper speaking.

We expect these to sell fast, so call today: 221-8413 or email studio@evestudios.ca to get yours.

We will keep careful record of when you leave your message, whether it be by phone or email in order to ensure you get the best possible price. Payment must be made at time of order confirmation by credit card or before November 3rd in studio.

Everyone who purchases one of these fine canvas prints will also receive a fact sheet containing a description of the art and a short bio of the artist.

Wow!!

Well last night was the night of the Cancer Care Manitoba "Guardian Angels" banquet. In August I was able to be part of the evening by photographing 9 woman who are cancer survivors, it was so amazing and inspiring to be part of this event and to get to know these women, they are even more beautiful in real life than I could portray in the images. I marvel at the strength that it takes to overcome a foe like cancer and the damage that it does to your body; I was however reminded by the women that it can't steal your spirit.

Thanks ladies for letting me be a part of your story, it was truly an honour!

All in Perspective

Well, this was a very busy weekend; it was the weekend of our Professional Photographers of Canada - Manitoba convention. It was a great but exhausting weekend. I learned a lot this weekend about myself and life. A few years ago I decided that I wanted to be the Photographer of the year here in Manitoba, a lofty dream. Last year I was in a seminar and the presenter suggested that we write our dreams for the next 3 years out, well I wrote become the photographer of the year in Manitoba.


Last night after a weekend of learning and judges from across Canada Judging the work of Manitoba’s Pros my goal came to be. It was humbling and somewhat exciting to receive this honour, but in reality the best judges in my life are my clients and the best award I could receive is the love of my family and friends.


Here are the images I had judged, thanks so much to those of you who helped to make these images possible, I appreciate your help more than i can say.

Rodney S Braun MPA

By the way, to celebrate being the photographer of the year we are going to be having a great special, look for info in the next day or two.

Cool Kids

Rodney just took the kids out to the exchange district for a session. They just started doing their own thing. It was great! I just had to post a photo!

Taking Action

Sonya is happy to report she has just completed her first core-strengthening work-out after a very very long hiatus.

I finally decided to take some action on the needs of my body, and scheduled exercise time into my daily planner for Thursday, Saturday, and Monday mornings. I am so excited and proud of myself. It was a little challenging doing a ball work-out with little people around, but we made it through. I feel energized and strong, and am looking forward to building on that.

What do you need to put into action? What's holding you back? I picked up two books on a little library date I went on the other night. The first I read in an hour or so. It's called "Passion" by Barbara De Angelis. One thing that really stuck out to me was this:

Passion is born of commitment. When you are committed to something, whether it's a dream, a cause, or a relationship, you feel passionate about it. And the deeper your commitment, the stronger your passion...It's very difficult to feel passionate about something when you aren't committed to it. In fact, it's nearly impossible...your lack of commitment doesn't allow your passion to flow toward [these projects]. You simply can't get motivated to care about them and take action on the outside, because you've never committed to them on the inside. Try this simple experiment: Choose one area of your life in which you'd like to feel more passion, perhaps your relationship, your job, or your emotional or spiritual growth. Then,for even one day, deepen your commitment to it. If it's your partnership or marriage, express more commitment through your words and your behavior. Focus on the best qualities of your mate, and remind yourself of how much you do love about him or her....You will be amazed how the act of committing more intently to one thing you care about for just one day can transform your experience of life and of yourself. People who seemed unexciting suddenly become interesting, fun, and attractive. Tasks that seemed mundane and boring became stimulating, and fill you with contentment. Personal challenges that seemed unattainable become opportunities for significant and lasting breakthroughs. Most of all, you will discover that your own passion has been just waiting for a chance to burst forth and express itself. pp. 15-17

I think in the modern world, we've often gotten it backwards. We expect passion to lead commitment rather than the other way around. But I think De Angelis has got it right. I'm going to commit to six week of core strengthening and see where that leads. Let me know if you embark on your own journey of renewed commitment to a dormant dream or goal. Let's see what happens!

Thanksgiving Reflections

First things first, happy thanksgiving to you all!! Thanksgiving is a special time of year for me; although I try to live a life of thankfulness all year long this is a much more focused time of it. Those of you who follow my writing will know that I had a fairly bad accident Aug 21 and since that time I have not blogged at all, well in the words of Austin Powers "I'm back Baby, Yaaaa!!"

Today is a day in which I celebrate and am thankful for life. Not only am I thanking God today for taking care of me on that August morning, but I'm also joining with my extended family to celebrate the lives of and mourn the loss of two relatives. Today my thoughts and prayers are with my Mothers family as they join together at the funeral of my uncle Herman in Rosthern Saskatchewan. My Dads family awoke to the news this morning that at 3:30 AM my fathers oldest sister passed away in northern Alberta.

Life is such a precious gift and in the end death can be as well. As I started out by saying I have not written since my accident and there are many reasons for that. When in High school and collage I was always a competitive athlete and as such always felt pretty much invincible, you may know the feeling; lightning fast reactions (well maybe not lighting fast, but pretty close), killer body ( Actually I never killed anybody with it ), smart, and generally I made good choices. It is very humbling to realize that in a split second no matter who you are you could loose everything.

The morning of August 21 was a beautiful morning, my routine was exactly the same as always; get up, have breakfast (2 pieces of toast with peanut butter and a glass of Iced Tea), spend some time with the kids as they mooched my breakfast from me, shower, get dressed, say goodbye with hugs and kisses for everyone, walk to the van, turn around as Rachel came screaming out the door that she wanted another hug and kiss, and go to work. This morning I had a meeting in St Bonniface area and enjoyed the beautiful ride down Main Street; but as I crossed Logan Ave out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash and before I had a chance to hit the brakes I hear the sound of a crunch and I remember rolling on the side of my vehicle and skidding down the pavement looking at it as it passed by my face (My window was open and I was inches from it). In the end both the nice man who hit me and I were able to walk away from the accident but now a month and a half latter I am still feeling a lot of pain from it. I can't help but think of how grateful I am to be fairly healthy and alive.

Since that morning I have turned 35 and celebrated the 4th birthday of my precious daughter and I'm reminded more and more every day how blessed I am. God has been so very good to me, and as I look back over the past year I can truly say in the words of Job of old "the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, Blessed be the name of the Lord."

As I reflect again on this year it has been an amazing blessing to meet many of my clients for the very first time and I can truly say that that has been a blessing. Someone was at the studio last week and said, "Wow, these women are all so beautiful!" My response was simple, All of my clients are beautiful!! It may seem to be a cliche but in fact I feel so blessed to have gotten to know each of you and I am truly thankful!!

Have a great Thanksgiving, you will be hearing from me again soon.

Rodney

Marketing is Fun!

This fall, I've been stepping it up a notch in the area of marketing. Sometimes it's scary, but in the end, I really enjoy it. I'm not a natural when it comes to talking to new people, particularly on the phone, but I'm learning lots and enjoying the challenge. My favorite part is getting out and finding exciting businesses and friendly staff. It's a nice change from mothering and household duties.


Every Wednesday out, I stop at Cornelia Bean first, to order a tea-to-go, smell a few new teas, and learn a bit more about their business. I love starting out this way. Such a treat. Cornelia Bean is a store on Academy that specializes in importing amazing teas and coffee as well as all the acoutrements (I love the occasional big word...hope I spelled it right!) Sometimes I stop at Bernard Callebaut for a couple of amazing chocolates to either give away or enjoy myself. It's also where I buy my chocolate chips with no artificial flavor, which are a great pick-me-up for me and the kids. I usually stop in at Tiber River to say hi and to look around at all their amazing natural products. Most recently, I picked up their "Pretty in Pink" essential oil blend for the studio. Let us know what you think of it next time Rodney burns it.

Last week, I visited the European Shoe Shop and ended up picking up an amazing comfortable casual black shoe for an equally amazing price. Bonus!! I followed my intuition and ended up across the street at Moulé. Their fashion and home decor is high-end, but the service was far from high-brow. I don't think I have ever met such friendly and upbeat staff in a store. Every single one of them was quick to smile, very personable, and completely genuine. What a great experience!

This week, I had the pleasure of a visit with Esther Vandenberg of Vandenberg's Fine Jewellery. As a new business owner, it was so nice to spend time with one who's a little farther down the road. She and her husband started their business 11 years ago. What I really love about them is their character, their generosity, and their team-focus. If you want to support a quality business and you're looking to create a piece that has your signature on it, give them a visit on Portage between Ferry and Barry. "You dream it, they make it". They also have a great collection of fine jewellery on hand in their peaceful and serene storeroom.

Well, the other thing that makes marketing so fun is the shopping. As a mom of three little people, it is a rare treat to be out by myself. This time I was even in a shopping mall. Someone had told me I had to try Laura Petites if I was looking for clothes. They were right. I got the nicest pair of black pants there, and there's no hemming required! What I also learned at Lululemon, is that they sell more than athletic wear. They have some business wear as well, all with four-way stretch and wicking-away capability. And they offer free hemming! I never did take the opportunity to try a pair there as I was on a time budget, but one of these days...

That's it for my fun with marketing. If you've been missing Rod's writings and photography or are wishing for more writing on us and our business, you should write and tell us first of all, because we'd love to hear from you...and we are hoping to get back on track with our blogging. Give us your feedback and what you'd like to see and hear. That would be appreciated.

Have a great week-end!