Merry Christmas

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you I've had opportunity to work with over the past year. I've made many new friends and look forward to forging new relationships in the coming year.

And now, for the photo part of the BenjPhoto "photoblog":

A few nights ago I enjoyed shooting a community outreach event with our church. I had some help from an elf and some guy in a fuzzy red suit....... Hmmmmm.



Well, there's our elf, but where's the big guy? We were nearly in a panic when someone said, "There he is and pointed to the chair.

There was one pretender to the throne . . .



. . . after another.



Well, the big man finally made it, but I think the poor guy was really tired....... or this little girl had a very looooong list.



All in all, it was a good evening. Although it was pretty taxing on the big guy. He had to leave early. I think the elf sent him home to rest.



And now I'll leave you with a Christmas memory: A little boy my wife used to take care of was left with me while she ran to do an errand. That's OK. I think kids are great. The little guy looked around for my wife and couldn't find her, so he came to the great oracle..... me.

"Mary? ......... go.......... car?", he asked.

"No."

"Mary? ......... go.......... truck?", he tried again.

"Nope."

"Mary?", he thought hard......, "Mary? .................... Christmas?"

What more can I say?

You can find more shots from the event at: http://photos.benjphoto.com/Events/431283

"Casino Royale" At the Biltmore

Update: Link to photos at the bottom


Last weekend we shot a corporate party at the Arizona Biltmore. We set up a "photo booth" (manned by my associate, Jim) for formal portraits and shot candids of the party goers as they mingled, danced and gathered at the tables for some Casino Royale styled fun (cue James Bond theme music now).

As most of the folks arrived they were greeted by polished servers offering beverages and appetizers as well as tables laden with a mouth watering display of seafood and other goodies.

Tables were decorated with giant martini glasses and flickering "ice dice".

Along the back wall was an array of tables set up for various games of chance.

The opening band (yes, there was more than one....) was a cool little jazz quartet. I don't have any more information than that (I'll try to get it from my contact for this gig and will post it later) because I didn't want to interrupt the set and they got away before I realized it. They set the Casino Royale mood from the top as the folks arrived and kept it up for the early part of the evening.

After most of the folks had eaten and the gaming tables started attracting a crowd, the second band started cranking up. Shirley's Temple is a rock cover band that amped up the house for the remainder of the night and offered an alternative to those who'd rather dance the night away than throw down at the tables.

All in all, it was a fun night. Jim and I enjoyed shooting it and I hope everyone likes the results of our efforts as much as they enjoyed the celebration.

I've already had some inquiries about the full range of photos but I'm getting a new e-commerce site that was supposed to be ready for me to start posting, but it's not. I certainly hope the provider gets things going before the weekend is out and I can get the photos up before family starts coming in (yours as well as mine) for Christmas. Check back tomorrow for links to the photos, and my sincerest apologies for the delay.

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Update (Sunday, Dec. 23): Still no word from the vendor turning the new site over to me. Once it's turned over I'll have to do some setup of my own and then I'll be able to post the photos. If I don't hear from them today I'll find another place to upload the photos on Monday and post the links here. I am very sorry for those of you who've come looking for your photos. To help soften the disappointment I'll offer some discounted pricing for any shots you want to purchase.
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Update (Monday, Dec. 24): They're up. I had to go to plan "B" in order to do it. The vendor I'd initially chosen to host my new e-commerce page didn't come through for me. I've had a portfolio page hosted by another vendor for several years and decided to upgrade to their e-commerce package instead. Please let me know how the experience goes - either positive or negative. And thank you for your patience (I nearly lost all of mine.....).

You can see the various galleries at: http://photos.benjphoto.com/Events/430982