Monthly Archives: January 2016
Pet Portraits yield mountains of pet food for our local animal shelter
In early November of last year, we broadcasted that we were booking appointments for Christmas photos of families, kids, new babies, couples and your other adored family friends. We also set aside a special day to photograph your pets. Here was the deal: on December 12th, we would prepare a festive and decorative setting for pets at our Pixels On Paper portrait studio in Wilkesboro for a free session. We would provide you with a photo file of your pet for use on a holiday card or to print, frame or share. In return, you would bring a 20 lb bag of food for us to donate to the Wilkes Animal Shelter.
We exceeded even our expectations!
We filled our truck to overflow and delivered it to the shelter. Upon our arrival, they told us that they were almost completely out of dog food. Their food storage building had only a few bags until we unpacked literally our truckload.
The last time we did this fundraiser, we contributed 560 lbs of food to the shelter. That was 2012. For 2015, we more than doubled it, delivering 1,243 pounds of dog and cat food. Our partners in this, Waggles Pet Supply & Dog Wash matched more than half of our donations.
We love this fundraiser, though it’s an exchange of pet portraits for pet food. It’s a foodraiser! I don’t have a soapbox speech on this, gang – I just want to say THANK YOU. Thank you, because it matters. We hear in our communities fairly often about the importance of outreach and “meeting a need,” be it for a school, a church, a specific neighborhood that is struggling or for more well-known causes related to health and sustainability. These local animal shelters in our communities meet a real need as well, so whether you are a former or current pet owner, or just a big-hearted human, we appreciate your willingness to be a part of the helping team!
Below is a selection of our portraits subjects. No cat, dog or human was harmed in the taking of these. They were mostly snuggled to bits.
Our donation offers a small decrease in expenses for the shelter which can then prolong the time the animals have to be adopted.
We’re incredibly grateful for all those who participated, let us love on and photograph their fur babies, and especially to our partner Waggles Pet Supply & Dog Wash for their generous contribution of food and freebies.
Learn more about how you can give back:
About Waggles Pet Supply & Dog Wash
Waggles Pet Supply & Dog Wash is a locally owned and operated business in Historic Downtown Wilkesboro. Two sisters, Kim and Robin, with the assistance of their mother Anna have created a unique place to spoil pets. Waggles offers accessories, specialty foods/treats and grooming supplies. A Do-It-Yourself Wash is available where you are supplied with everything you need to wash your dog, but Waggles cleans up the mess. Waggles Wash, and Dazzle Dog Grooming are also available.
About Wilkes Animal Shelter
Wilkes Animal Shelter receives more than 6,000 impounds per year. Approximately 100 pounds of pet food are used per day. Donations of food, bleach, blankets and towels are always needed. The Humane Society of Wilkes volunteers work closely with the personnel at the Wilkes County Animal Shelter to help get shelter pets adopted or placed in foster homes. The Wilkes county animal shelter is located at 408 Call st. Wilkesboro NC. Their number is 903-7688 and their hours are 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday – Friday, and 10:30 AM to noon on Saturday.
the Wedding to complete the continuum of a couple’s journey
Every wedding contains a universe of memories that belong to a single couple.
And we love the continuum that leads to this… a gorgeous bride encased in her veil and a happy man waiting for her.
Thanks to our job and God’s hand, couples share that continuum and universe with us.
How they met, who spilled a drink, who was nervous, who made the first joke, what the proposal was like, setting the date, the excitement, all of the weird and traditional family ideas, friends who got involved, elements that are particular to them …..
Each one is as different as each couple, because each one is a singular story that is theirs for the rest of their lives, to be told again and again. Our job is to capture and celebrate.
Jamie Goforth and Daniel Harrison’s wedding in October of 2015 was a celebration of their complete story…… to date.
Jamie’s bridal portraits were so fun to capture. You like mountains, cars and beauty? Have a look.
Quick flashback of their engagement: these two met in middle school, but reconnected many years later. After some time, distance and chasing, they sealed the deal at the luxurious Grove Park Inn. Now fast forward to the below. A new family made up of Jamie, Daniel and Daniel’s son. A kid in a suit. Are you kidding me?! He was a perfect groomsman and sweet as the day is long.
The wedding ceremony was held at Camp Cheerio in Glade Valley, NC and their awesome and VERY LIVELY reception was in Roaring Gap at High Meadows Country Club where there was dancing, the shoe game, toasts and too much fun with their favorite people. We asked them about “best moments” from their reception and Jamie said, “How do we pick? Being announced as Mr. & Mrs. Harrison, our first dance as husband and wife, and talking to all of our friends and family.”
If only there was a behind the scenes photo of us taking the images below….
Both photos represent a far longer story (of collaboration and balance and coordination) than we can share in a blog post, so for now picture this: Ryan was kneeling down capturing the silhouette image on the left while I was leaning over his back with my camera directly above (almost on top of) his head capturing the image on the right. Both at the exact same time. Two different techniques and two different visions. When a couple of photographers, married no less, capture wedding photos, there is this crazy breaking of some 6th, 7th, 8th wall or entering of a new dimension that occurs. I’m still blown away that after 10 years working together how different and perfect our individual perspectives are in their own right. We continue to work together seamlessly to represent a moment in time. We are a team — both lead photographers — and we compliment each other in a way that only a husband and wife can.
Pixels on Paper is now booking sessions for proposals, bridal, engagements, and weddings for 2016 and 2017 and we’d love to be a part of capturing and celebrating your continuum. Call 336.990.0080 or email us and we’ll do our part in making your story memorable.
traditional studio bridal portraits ~ a mom’s wish come true
For generations, a formal, in-studio bridal portrait was the only game in town and there is a reason for that: they were classic and beautiful and often placed in gilded frames and given a place of prominence in the formal living rooms of people’s homes. In this post-modern age of outdoor portraits, studio bridals are a dying breed. Couples now have a specific vision that begins with quirky (often funny) and inventive ways to announce their engagement, then create their save the date cards, launch a website and finally produce a narrative that is singular to them. The genie is out of the bottle, folks and at Pixels, we embrace this and love the opportunity to create unique portraits that tell a story in an unexpected backdrop. I have to say though that I still love and appreciate tradition and the experience that it takes to create a formal portrait with studio lighting. We had this opportunity with Elisabeth, the beauty you see below.
Elisabeth is an only child and her Mom always envisioned having a traditional, formal, studio bridal portrait of her daughter to hang in their home. Of course we were eager not only to honor this request, but to exceed expectations. I spoke to her mom and got a sense of what she had in mind. This mother-of-the-bride wanted a hand-painted muslin backdrop for some photos and mentioned that she loved images of brides on staircases. Fortunately our studio has both!
While the studio bridal portraits feel more like they’re from a by-gone era, they are a perfect foil for the outdoor engagement portraits we took of Elisabeth Isaac…
… and their glorious wedding photos. If you haven’t read their story of doing pretty much everything in reverse, launch the links. It’s worth the read. These two are an inspiration.
Pixels on Paper is now booking sessions (both traditional and crazy creative) for proposals, bridal, engagements, and weddings for 2016 and 2017 and we’d love to help create memories and heirlooms of your journey from “yes” to “I do.” Call 336.990.0080 and let’s discuss this adventure you’ve begun.