Here's to Summer! Thank goodness it's almost over!

I love summer. I really do. I love hanging out at the pool or Schlitterbahn, I love being able to sleep late and having endless hours of daylight to do all the fun things I can't fit into the day when it's winter.

But as much as I love summer, I love the end of summer even more. My kids groan and complain when we go into a store at the end of July and see back to school gear. And I moan and complain with them to assure them that I'm sorry to see our freedom slipping away, (but I'm secretly pumping my fist and saying "yes").

You see, I'm a fan of summer, but I believe there is too much of a good thing and summer is just that.

A lot of people get married in summertime. A lot of them. So I continue to work in the summertime, but I no longer have the quiet hours of 7:30 to 2:30 Monday through Friday like I do during the school year. There are no quiet hours at my house right now. I get to hear the sounds of children squabbling over the Wii. The sounds of children playing the Wii. The sounds of children watching "My Little Pony" or that mermaid show from Australia that I've memorized every line of every episode yet the name of the series escapes me.

I get to feel the mommy guilt that creeps in after several hours of watching my children turn into zombies in front of a television/laptop/Nintendo DS screen. That's when I grab the towels and head to the pool. Or grab the bowling passes and head to the lanes, or the mini golf course, or the jumpy place, or the playground, assuring myself that I'll finish the job after they're in bed but I'll be damned if they're going to turn into couch potatoes.

As a result, the midnight hour has become my friend. I've never really been a night owl -- nor a morning person for that matter. I prefer to call myself a "sleep person". Yet I've grown quite accustomed to working late into the night to do my editing so that I can spend the days with my darling children.

We've had a blast this summer so far. We made a trip to Florida and Universal Orlando, visited with friends, spent some time at the beach, lots of time at Schlitterban thanks to our season passes, the kids have enjoyed several summer camps. The girls enjoyed their time with the swim team again this year and the boy tells me he got to the highest level on the Ben 10 PS2 game (I'm so proud). But now I find myself counting down the days until school starts again. Summertime, I love you, but you're days are numbered.
Lisa On Location Photography

How I Paid J.K. Rowling's Electric Bill for a Month

You may have noticed my absence from the world of blogging as of the past few weeks. Or perhaps you're thinking "oh, you went missing?" Yes, I was missing from the world of Blogger because I battled a tropical storm, throngs of people (and a dragon or two), took a wrong turn in backwoods Alabama during a flood and got to know the smells of my children a bit too well. The 2012 Blaschke road trip is now a thing of the past. It's one for the photo albums for sure.

If you've been reading up on it, you know that our destination was a surprise from the kids. It drove them crazy for months guessing and wondering. I didn't tell them at the time but they did guess it once or twice. When I first told my middle child about the surprise, the first thing out of her mouth was "is it the Wizarding World of Harry Potter?" I was hoping the surprise in my voice was contained as I answered her "I'm not telling you if it is or not."

But, yes, darling girl, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was one of our destinations on this family vacation. We also dropped in on some very good friends of ours who moved to Slidell, LA and got to catch up and stay the night not just once but twice. We were worried along the way about Tropical Storm Debby that was dropping throngs of water on the entire state of Florida the day before we left. Mostly the skies were clear along the way until we hit Lake City, where a cloudburst left us stuck in one spot on the interstate for 2 hours. I had to piddle quite urgently at this time and noticed many of my traffic jam neighbors getting out of their cars, opening their umbrellas to shield their rear ends as they squatted on the road to relieve themselves but I never got the nerve to do it myself. I managed to hold my bladder until traffic moved again and we made it to the nastiest Cracker Barrel I'd ever seen in my life.

We arrived at our hotel late that night -- sadly the contents of the diaper truck and the zuchinni truck that collided on the interstate along the way can't say the same.

We didn't see another drop of rain for several days and the theme park was quite crowded while we were there. But the Harry Potter rides were worth the wait. The kids were thrilled when they weren't squabbling.

We were a bit annoyed at their "Express Pass" method in which if we were willing to pay an additional $300 per day for our family, we could get moved to the front of the line. They failed to mention that, in theory, you could stand in the regular line all day while they let all their Express Pass holders through time and time again. But I'm not bitter about it. Nope not me. And I'm not bitter about the overpriced T-shirts that I purchased or the large quantities of butter beer that my family requested only to take two sips and leave because it was too sweet. J.K. Rowling is a fine woman who deserves my money for blessing us with Harry Potter. It takes quite a bit to pay the electric bill of that huge mansion she lives in and I wouldn't want her to have to sit in the dark for one moment!

After three days of theme park madness and massive commercialism, we hit Kennedy Space Center, a special treat for Jayme, but The Boy loved the place as well. Especially the part where he got soaked in the decorative fountain near the missile garden. Jayme was disappointed that a launch wasn't scheduled for the day we were there, maybe next time.

The next day we made our way up to Savannah, GA. I couldn't pass so close to the birthplace of Juliette Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts without making a stop! It was amazing being in a house that was almost 200 years old. If the walls of this place could talk!

We made our way home from Savannah too soon. It's on our list of places to return when we can spend a few days. We stayed one final night with our friends in Slidell and then ventured into New Orleans for the day before the long stretch home. We avoided Bourbon Street with the little one (if you'll remember my blog from our last visit there you'll understand why.

Before long we were home from the Great Blaschke Southern Adventure of 2012, as it will be known. As much as we love traveling, it's always nice to return home. Now I need a vacation.

Lisa On Location Photography

Harry Potter Awaits {New Braunfels Wedding Photography}

Here we are! As promised, I am revealing to you -- my beautiful readers -- at exactly the same time as I'm revealing to my children where we are going for our vacation. It's Universal Orlando, specifically for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The kids love that series. They've read it over and over. We've been first in line at the midnight showings. We've had Harry Potter movie weekends in which we watch all the movies and must speak to each other in British accents all weekend. The kids have their own wands -- collector's editions with certificates of authenticity.

I'm writing this a week and a half before the reveal so I can't tell you for sure what their reaction was because it hasn't happened yet, but I can honestly tell you -- They. Were. Thrilled. I know I can safely say that before the moment because I know them so well.

Here's approximately how it went down. Now keep in mind I'm writing this before it happened yet you're reading it after it happened so don't get confused. I printed up authentic looking acceptance letters just like Harry got -- even going to several stupid scrapbook stores looking for just the right kind of parchment and just the right kind of envelopes. I hunted down that stupid waxy looking seal like a madman.

I kept them hidden until the moment we pulled into the place. We drove past Disney on purpose just to fool them into thinking that's where we were going. Oh you should have seen the look of confusion on their faces as that park went by -- well I haven't seen it yet as I write this, but I can picture it in my mind. Then we drove another few miles to Universal and Harry Potter. I put on Hedwig's theme on my MP3 player, pulled out the stuffed Hedwig that's been riding on the rear-view mirror of my van for the past 10 years, and had that silly stuffed owl toss each child his or her acceptance letter.

And the crowd went wild.

Or so I imagine.

So as you read this, if you read it the moment it went live, we are barreling into Universal Orlando, whipping through the superhero section and the Cat and the Hat land -- we'll return to those later -- and hitting Diagon Alley. We're exploring Ollivandar's wand shop and sipping butter beer at the Three Broomsticks. We're having a great time I'm sure. I'll be posting photos soon. Right now I'm on a roller coaster with my kids.
Lisa On Location Photography

The most beautiful thing in this museum is not the artwork {New Braunfels Wedding Photography}

I'm always thrilled by the friends I make through my wedding photography. I really get to know my brides and grooms after following their romance for months and photographing their engagements, bridals and weddings. And nothing thrills me more than when their friends and family call on me to photograph their weddings as well. That's how I came to meet Coryanne. I photographed her brother's wedding this past spring. So I was thrilled to get the chance to work with this beautiful family again.

The only drawback was the drive to Dallas, but she and her fiance were so worth it. Luckily I happened to be in Dallas in early May for the Texas School of Photography -- a week-long learning cram session that taught me so much about thinking more creatively with my lighting. While I was in the big D-town Coryanne was happy to let me play a bit with my strobes to create some unique images for her bridal session at the Museum of Biblical Art. It's a gloriously beautiful building full of amazing and priceless works of art. But Coryanne proved to be even more beautiful than the artwork.


I'm so excited to finally be able to share these images with you. I had to set this blog to go live right after the start time of the ceremony so that neither the groom nor anyone else could get a peek at Coryanne's wedding dress until she walks down the aisle.


Coryanne's session has a different feel to it than many of my previous sessions. I feel like I've matured as a photographer and I've finally broken out of my comfort zone a bit with off camera lighting. In the past I had used it sporadically and found that I'd loved what I photographed, but still didn't grasp the details. Now I can look back and say this was the first in a series of sessions at which I challenged myself to break away from the old standard and set a new standard for myself.

Thanks so much for trusting me Coryanne! I can't wait to show you what I capture from the big day itself!


Lisa On Location Photography

Lisa on Location to the Rescue {New Braunfels Emergency Wedding Photography ;-)}

It was a dark and stormy afternoon.

Sounds corny, but it's true. It really was a dark and stormy afternoon just a few weeks ago when my phone rang. Dena called with an emergency. She'd taken her daughter, a beautiful June bride, to get her hair done, her make-up done and her nails done in preparation for her bridal session only to hear from their photographer that he wouldn't be shooting her session after all because it's raining. Never mind that it had been raining for most of the evening and all of the morning. It was literally a few minutes before the session was supposed to start.

They were frantic. "What are you doing right now? We love your work, can you possibly photograph my daughter, like soon, like now?"

I was a bit taken aback at first. I was enjoying a leisurely afternoon of editing a wedding from the weekend before and sipping on some cappuccino while enjoying my Pandora channels and listening to the rain.

But something about the tone of her voice touched me. She described to me their situation. I could just picture these lovely ladies. The bride all niced up with professional hair, make-up and nails. They were sitting in their car in the rain with their wedding dress packed in a bag in the back seat. The wedding day was just three weeks away and it was now or never. They'd taken the day off work just for the session and spent a small fortune on stylists.

Of course I was going to help them. How could I not?

I made a call to the Faust Hotel -- the perfect indoor location for a rainy day - and then a call to Jayme to get the kids after school, and then I was off.

We created some lovely images staying out of the rain in the Faust and were pleasantly surprised when the sun came out and dried up the sidewalks outside. We hit the gazebo in the center of the plaza and shot some more.

It turned out to be an amazing session. Jessica, the bride, looked gorgeous. They were fun to work with, and willing to try anything I threw at them -- even getting silly on the luggage cart. Looking at the images from her session, most would never guess the stress that went on before it. They asked me if I was available to shoot the wedding as well -- they were considering replacing the photographer who stood them up. But, alas, I am booked at a wedding for another gorgeous bride on their day. I'm actually setting this blog to run at exactly the moment Jessica's wedding begins so her lucky husband to be can't see her in her gown before the wedding!

Good luck Jessica! I'm sure your day will be just lovely no matter what the weather (or anyone else for that matter) throws at you. With such an easy going personality, you'll be fine!

Lisa On Location Photography

I've Got a Secret {New Braunfels Wedding Photography}

So far this summer has been pretty cool. Business slows down a bit at the end of May. All the 2012 seniors are pretty much done and it's still a bit early for the 2013 seniors. Weddings for the summer are all booked and we're just waiting for the big days to roll around. All that's left to do is finish up a few orders, build a few albums, shoot a family session every now and then and spend the rest of the time chilling.

We have passes to Schlitterbahn, which is fun to do on a lazy mid-week afternoon. We avoid the weekends and we spend just a couple of hours, tops, on any given day.

We took a little mini vacation to Houston last weekend. The Beach Boys are having their 50-year reunion tour and we wouldn't have missed it. The Beach Boys' music is an iconic symbol of summertime so we couldn't think of a better way to kick it off with the family. We also caught a live performance of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and hung out at the Houston aquarium for a while.

But that's just the start of our summer fun. The big grand vacation to talk about will be in about a week or so. It's so amazing the kids will drop their jaws and scream in hysterics. And the reason I know they will is because they have no idea what it is yet.

I thought it would be fun this year to plan our vacation without telling them a thing about it. I've given nothing away. I'm horrible at keeping secrets. When I give presents away I usually can't stand the suspense and give it to them early. That's why I'm so proud of my resolve on this issue. They have no clue! Our conversations about it usually go something like this:

Them: "Are we flying or driving?"
Me: "Yes"
Them: "So which is it, flying or driving?"
Me: "One of those options."
Them: "Is it Disneyworld?"
Me: "Maybe"
Them: "Is it Hollywood?"
Me: "Maybe"
Them: "Is it a cruise?"
Me: "Maybe"
Them: "You're mean."
Me: "I love you too."

So that's pretty much our daily conversation on the topic. I will say that I'm impressed with their guessing ability. One of them has actually guessed it among the hundreds of guesses that have been made. But I didn't give it away.

And now you can wonder as well. "Where oh where is Lisa taking the family for their vacation this summer?" How about this: I'll write a blog and set it to post at exactly the same moment that the kids find out where we're going -- like when we actually arrive there. That way you'll find out at the exact same time as them. I'd hate to have you sit in the dark for all that time waiting for our return to find out where we went.

But until then I'll give you a hint. It's going to be So. Much. Fun!

Lisa On Location Photography

Transit of Venus {New Braunfels photographer}

Sometimes, when faced with a once-in-a-lifetime event, you don't let anything so mundane as blistering Texas heat, a cloudy sky or a tragically cracked telescope mirror get in the way. There are other, better photos of the transit of Venus across the face of the sun out there, but not so many from New Braunfels and not so many taken under circumstances as trying. Years from now when my eyesight's failing and I'm not able to look through a telescope (broken mirror or not) I'll cherish these photos all the more.

P.S. Venus is the circle in the upper right. ;-)

Lisa On Location Photography