Another year, time for a new calendar! {New Braunfels Pin-up Photography}

Most of you have heard about the project I helped put together for the Humane Society of New Braunfels a few months ago. It was a major undertaking to organize models and photograph 12 full months in pin-up style, but it had amazing results for us.

We got a lot of attention, if you'll remember that front page coverage we got from the Herald.

We also made the front page of the TX Citizen and were the talk of the town for a while.

The calendar has been a hot item and there are still some copies of it left. The cost is $20 and because the production was paid for through ad sales, every dollar of that $20 goes directly to the animals at the shelter.

Stop by the shelter to pick up your copy before they're gone. Then hang it on your wall and think of the animals every time you look at it.

Plans are already being made for next year's calendar.

To share a little tease of what you'll see, I offer you a few of the months. Here's February, to make your Valentine's Day bright, sponsored by the Landmark Salon:

And here's Miss September, sponsored by River Road Ice House:

Here's one of my faves, Miss November, sponsored by Dirty's BBQ:

Here's Miss August, sponsored by Tobler Air:

My Favorite dance studio, Diamond Divas Burlesque, sponsored January:

Want to see more? Stop by the shelter, or the Perky Peacock, or the the Hungry Gypsy to pick up a copy.

Lisa On Location Photography

Because some traditions don't fall so easily...

Take a look at my mailbox the other day. What is that stacked on top of the Netflix DVD, filling our mailbox to the max? The family Christmas Card. It's a dying art. Every year I get fewer and fewer. And every year I spend more and more time thinking about, planning, and executing our family Christmas Card. It's like I want to do it just because fewer and fewer families are doing it. As a result, I've become sort of legendary in my family for my Christmas cards.

I didn't always put so much thought into it. I always had a letter that went along with it and I'm told they've been pretty cool letters. It's hard to not be amusing when I'm talking about my children. The adventures they create are better than fiction. But it's just the past few years that I've decided to make our Christmas card photos be more than the average family Christmas card photo.

A couple of years ago we had this amazing demonstration of our adventures.



You would not believe how many people ask how we could let him float away like that. And weren't we worried he'd get too high. Want to know a secret? He's not really floating away. We just got rid of the ladder he was sitting on.

Last year I got into the whole retro pin-up theme so I decided to create a typical 1950s family scene. I had to shop for the right clothes, find an old television and easy chair, and then photograph each little scene by itself on white screen. It was a major undertaking.

This year I drew inspiration from another famous family, with whom I must say I relate quite a bit -- The Griswalds. I fashioned it after the old European Vacation movie poster, which is actually a parody of other famous movie posters. We got quite silly again this year.

And in true Griswald fashion, I got a bit caught up in the season and failed to mail them all out in time. So if you're part of my family and you've been like Clark, sitting around waiting for this year's card much like he waited for the bonus that finally came in the form of a jelly of the month club membership, the wait is almost over. The cards are on their way.

Next year will hold more surprises. Maybe I'll don a mermaid tail and take the camera underwater. I've always wanted to sky dive and photograph the adventure. We'll just have to wait and see what the year has planned for us.

Lisa On Location Photography

Lisa on Location has a Brand New Location

When I started this little adventure known as Lisa on Location 5 years ago I had no intention of opening a studio. "Who needs that kind of overhead?" I thought.

And I've done just fine without it for all these years. But I finally hit a point in my career where it just makes sense for me to have a home base. Pin-up is what really pushed it home for me. And so many boudoir clients would prefer to shoot their sessions away from home to surprise their guy. I needed a place that's fun and comfortable and retro to host these sexy, hot boudoir and these cheesy, fun sessions.

And that's exactly what I found in the Landmark building at 144 Landa Street in New Braunfels. The building itself is about a hundred years old so it's got retro down pat. I teamed up with an amazing lady to share space. You will recognize January, the owner and operator of Diamond Divas Burlesque studio as one of my frequent models. January can strike a pin-up pose like nobody else. She can also dance like nobody's business and she's an amazing teacher. January runs the section of the studio that hosts dance classes -- pole dancing, belly dancing, burlesque, yoga, hip-hop, you name it. They can do it. And while they're shaking their thing in their part, I'm shooting away in my part.

I'm posting a few photos of the studio space, but I still have some finishing touches to make. I'm excited unveil it to the community in full force next Thursday, December 12 with a grand opening Masquerade Ball. We'll have food, a ribbon cutting, a toast, a cash bar and tours. January will also be having demonstrations of some of the dance classes they've begun. The poles should be arriving any day!

I see great things to come for this location. I still photograph all over town and all over the state (and yes I'll still travel to Chicago and the Caribbean and beyond). I like to think of this location as just one of my many locations throughout the world. But this one has really cool furniture.

Lisa On Location Photography

To Blog or not to Blog {New Braunfels Wedding Photography}

I just happened to notice that my last blog was more than a month ago. That won't do. The only thing is, I totally don't have time to blog right now. But I can't stand that it's been so long since I did. So instead of blogging. I'm going to recap the past month so you will see exactly why I simply don't have time for this.

September 25. One day after my last blog. Early release from school then off to the dentist for the kids where I got to spend a whopping 3 hours in the waiting room. Seriously. There would be no blog that day.

September 26. Two days after my last blog. Boudoir party. A very fun day of boudoir with some very fun ladies who snuck out of work together with their most interesting unmentionables on underneath their stuffy work clothes. There would be no blogging on this day!

September 27. Brianna and Travis got hitched. Totally fun wedding, but alas not time for blogging.

September 28. Kelly and Jason got married. Nicest couple ever. No time to blog!

September 29. Wake at 5 am to catch plane for Chicago where I was met by a bride and her family to be taken on a whirlwind tour of the city to shoot her bridals. Blogging? Forget about it!

September 30. Arriving home to a full list of chores and catch up work. sigh.

October 1-3. Full days of catching up, wedding sneak peeks, editing, returning phone calls and trying to breathe. No blog.

October 4. Ugh. Worst day ever. Sad news on the homefront. Forget about getting anything done for the next few days. Where's the hole I can climb into? You wouldn't want to see any blogging from me about this.

October 5. Calendar unveiling party! I'm totally going to blog about this shortly!

October 6. Happy birthday to me. I mean who can blog on their birthday? Really?

October 7. Picture day at school. The glorious annual event in which I stand in line and direct hundreds of children to their appointed Lifetouch photographer to get their stale but extremely traditional school pictures taken. With all the hair combing, nose wiping and smile inducing, how could I possibly blog?

October 8- 9. Still more editing, 2 sessions and a class.

October 10. Bras for a Cause. One of the most fun events I have the pleasure of photographing. Take a look at this . Now this it totally blog worthy. Okay I dropped the ball on this one, but who had time? Because right away we go into...

October 11. Multiple sessions and..

October 12. Lindsey and Seth get married. Beautiful couple and beautiful wedding.

October 13. Darla and Randy get married. Fun couple and a very rainy day.

October 14-18. Studio prep. So I'm breathing dust and cleaning, prepping and moving into my brand new studio space. Who has time to blog when you're doing manual labor. Really?

October 19. Sue and Jim get married in this perfect back yard ceremony.

October 20. Lovely visit with family out of town while I meet up with another fun couple for an engagement. No time to blog on the road.

October 21-29. No fewer than 11 appointments including sessions and meetings as well as studio prep, catch up editing, and quality time with the family.

Which brings us to today, October 30. I concocted a list of excuses for my lack of blogging, which in itself, made a blog. I'm pretty clever that way.

Now for my list of coming attractions, that is, things that are on my list to blog about when I get a minute here and there and I'm feeling spunky and creative: a blog about The Humane Society Calendar, a blog about my most recent experiences at judging (the Guadalupe County Fair one day and then the San Antonio Professional Photographers guild another day), a blog about the difference between there, their and they're because, really, isn't about time we all got that right?, and last but not least, a blog about my brand spanking new studio in the Landmark building. I'm seriously excited about it and I can't wait to share photos and invite all of you out. But alas, that's for another day. I've already blogged today.

Lisa On Location Photography

Off With That Light (off the camera, that is) {New Braunfels Wedding Photography}

My clients sometimes ask me why I do what I do. For example, "Why do you run around like a crazy person putting that thing all over the place?" as I move my light from one corner to the next often tripping over my own feet in the process.

"I'm making magic," I tell them. "I got mad ninja lighting skills." I typically get blank stares and rolled eyes. They aren't convinced but at least they stay out of the way and they do eventually get used to various strobes firing in various locations. Sometimes startling people and making babies cry (sorry about that little one). But there is a method to my madness.

You see photography is literally the "study of light". And most people are just comfortable using the light on their camera. That's fine and dandy. It's a good way to light a scene and show you what's going on and I often use that method to document a scene. It's safe. But most people leave the light on their camera all the time and get by. I'm not most people. To me photography is a delicate balance of light and shadow. It's brightness meeting darkness and combining in a magical dance of poetry. So I'll often taken the light off the camera and put it somewhere else. Sometimes it's a miserable failure of nightmarish shadows and blown out faces. Good thing there's a delete button. But when I succeed, my lovely clients oohh and aahh and say "how did you do that?"

So today I'm going to share a few images of off camera magic. It's often a simple technique of trial and error. Take a look below.





In the below image, the strobe is off camera and to the rear of model on my right.



The one below was actually shot with two lights, neither of them on the camera. Each was about 45 degrees to either side of me in between me and this lovely couple.



Shooting with multiple light sources give dimension to a scene. Notice in the comparison below how the scene shot with one light on the camera appears more flat while the image shot with one light behind the couple and one light on the camera has more depth and appears more 3-dimensional so to speak.



It's fun to play with lighting and I'm always eager to try new set-ups and new techniques. Like I said, there's always that delete button.

Lisa On Location Photography

The Latest Trend in Wedding Photography -- Bring Rover {New Braunfels Wedding Photography}

When I got married many years ago my family and friends laughed at me when I suggested I include my sweet kitty in my bridal or wedding photos. "Absolutely not," said my parents. It was just the latest in a long list of silly things that I wanted that society frowned up and I was told no. Don't get me started!

But today's brides have decided that anything goes. It's their big day, it's their bridal photo session. Why can't they bring their best friend and include him or her in their wedding or bridal photos. And they're right! I admit that I see dogs and horses brought along on more engagement sessions than bridals, but I have to say I really love them in bridals. Beautiful girl in long white dress with a slobbery animal. They won't let dirt or mud near them in that dress, but hand them slobbery puppy mess and all is right with the world.

I've gotten quite experienced with photographing animals the past few months while working with the Humane Society for their 2014 Pin-ups for Paws calendar, I'll blog about that later! So I don't blink an eye when a pristine bride in white pulls out a doggie treat and says "mind of I call over Spot for a few shots?"

The happy couple often jointly adopt some of these animals. They're becoming a family and that family includes their animals so why not include them in their photos.

Lisa On Location Photography

Welcome to my 15 minutes {New Braunfels Pin-up Photography}

What's that old expression? "Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame." I think Andy Warhol first said it, or something like it. But nevertheless, I got my 15 minutes on Saturday and it lasted a whole day. That's the day I was featured above the fold on the front page of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

So it's not People magazine, but that's okay. Everything in good time.

It's a step up from my old column in the Brenham Banner Press where I wrote ad nauseam about things that aren't really all that important. And it's certainly better than the old days of patrolling the police beat for the Temple Daily Telegram, where I might get a byline for writing a story about a purse snatching. No, it's better than that! This time I got my face plastered on news stands all over town, with my hair and make-up rocking in vintage style thanks to my friend Laura Myers. And I got the photo credit as well. And that's not all, oh no that's not all. They printed my press release practically word for word. How's that for a triple threat!?

The story is all about the calendar I've been working on to raise funds for the New Braunfels Humane Society. I'll blog more about that later. I'm really excited about it and can't wait to share more of the pin-up images I made for it. But all in good time.

So halfway through the morning, after enjoying a cappuccino at the breakfast table and perusing my story, I meandered out to my local Pilot gas station to pick up more copies of it. While checking out my two additional copies of the newspaper I noticed the lady rang me up for just one. "Excuse me, I'm getting two issues of this paper, not one." I said as I pointed to my face on the front page. "You may wonder why I'm getting two instead of one and it's because that's me, right there on the front page above the fold." The lady looked at the paper and she looked back up at me.

"Were you Alice?" she said.

"Excuse me," I said. "No I'm Lisa."

"I mean are you Alice in that play, Alice in Wonderland?" she said. "And that's why you're on the cover."

"Well no, I'm not in a play. I'm a cover girl like the headline says. I'm a model. And a writer. And a photographer too." I said. "It's sort of a big deal."

She shrugged her shoulders and told me to have a nice day. She didn't ask for my autograph, but that's okay. As I said, all in good time.

Today's paper has something boring above the fold about the city council raising taxes or something like that. My issue was so much nicer. And because I'm feeling generous and don't think I should make you go all the way to the newspaper office to pick up a back issue, I shall print the original press release right here.







Pin-ups for Paws Calendar Raises Funds for New Braunfels Humane Society

September 4, 2014

New Braunfels is already buzzing about the production of an unconventional pin-up calendar featuring models and pets to raise much needed funds for the New Braunfels Humane Society. The calendar has generated excitement along with a few disapproving comments on the Society's Facebook page in recent weeks. But most of the response has been overwhelmingly positive, says Amanda Craig, vice president for the board of directors of the society.

The full calendar will be unveiled at Billy's Ice House on October 5 at 6 pm. The models, photographer, and some of the pets featured will be on hand to sign autographs and meet and greet supporters of the calendar.

The society got 60 new likes on their page in one day when someone made negative comments about the calendar on a local New Braunfels e-mail list. And dozens of Facebook users jumped in line to purchase a calendar, Craig said.

The calendar will feature 12 local businesses, one for each month, and 15 models from New Braunfels and the surrounding areas.

“The calendar project is different from other fundraisers because not one dollar was taken from our funds to make it happen. Usually there are some upfront costs associated with this type of thing,” said Craig. “Twelve local business each purchased a calendar month which gave us the needed funds for production and printing.”

The pin-ups were photographed by Lisa Elliott Blaschke of Lisa on Location Photography, who donated all her time and talents to the project. Blaschke incorporated classic pin-up style by studying some of the master pin-up artists of the mid 20th century. She also worked with the sponsors to incorporate their ideas as well to create one-of-a-kind pin-up art representing each business, Blaschke said. The pin-up images are family friendly, she said.

All of the models are volunteers and the animals featured came from the shelter or were the pets of models, board members and sponsors.

“People came from all around to help us make this a reality and we are deeply grateful to each and every one,” Craig said.

The calendar has already pre-sold a large percentage of the 500-copy print run. Calendars can be ordered for $20 through the society's Facebook page www.facebook.com/hsnbainc

Brigete Bardot once said “I gave my beauty and youth to men. I am going to give my wisdom and experience to animals,” said Craig. “In our case we drew from the wisdom and experience of an amazing group of people. We combined that with the beauty of adorable animals and put it all in a 12X12 calendar that is sure to raise both funds and awareness for our shelter. I think Bardot would be proud.”

Lisa On Location Photography

Long Veils: Number 3 on my list of things that make me happy at a bridal session! {New Braunfels Wedding Photogrpahy}

That's just an estimate. It may be number 4 or 5ish, but it's definitely in the top 10 of things that make me giddy when I arrive at a bridal session. Number 1 is of course animals taking part in the session, but that's for another blog another day.

Most brides prefer the short veils, if they use a veil at all. And that's fine and dandy too. The shorter veils are easier to handle. They don't get in the way. They don't snag on the ground, but the also don't get caught in the wind or wrap around the dress, or flow and fly in a dramatic fashion with just the right light.

So yes, I love the long veils.

Lisa On Location Photography

The Griswalds -- er I mean The Blaschkes - hit the Caribbean.

It's not often that I'm able to block out a week and not book it so I can get away with the family. But that's what I did that first week of August. I turned away wedding requests, said no to clients wanting my time and I turned off the cell phone.

It was strange and different to not be busy all the time. But it wasn't long before I got really good at sitting around and doing nothing. We took a cruise to Belize and it was blissful. Unfortunately, we're incapable of going anywhere as a family without leaving mayhem in our wake. I'm just happy we made it to the second to last day of Camp Carnival before they asked us to not bring The Boy back.

Over the course of the week we swam with dolphins, sang Karaoke, we hung out at picture perfect beaches, paid too much for cheap souvenir crap that was probably made in China, we toured Mayan ruins, drank sugary adult beverages from cups that looked like monkey heads and ate entirely too much food.

It was a blast.

I wanted to share with you just a few of the images we took while in Belize. It really was a wild and unspoiled country, still untouched by hordes of tourists and developers. The people were very friendly and eager to invite us to return. This was before they got to know our Boy, however. But I digress. Enjoy just a few scenes from Belize.

And my apologies to our very forgiving tour bus driver who, I'm sure, was wondering who clogged up the potty with an ice cream cone. Sorry about that.

Lisa On Location Photography