Trippin' with LSD

NEW BLOG

2009-11-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

WE HAVE A NEW BLOG - WWW.TRIPPINWITHLSD.COM PLEASE FOLLOW US THERE. DON'T MEAN TO SHOUT BUT WE WON'T BE POSTING ANY GREAT NEW STUFF HERE ANYMORE. JUST ONE FANTASTIC BLOG IN ONE LOCATION NOW! HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Artisan Cheese - Our little Dean & Deluca's

2009-06-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, my husband Jay is an awesome cook. We are both foodies as evidenced by our constant struggle with our midsections! (I hate that part of it) BUT the food part - oh so good! Many times you may be looking at a recipe in Martha Stewart or Bon Appetit or some other magazine and find something you want to try but there will be some out of the ordinary ingredient listed and you just sigh and stick it back on the coffee table. Sound familiar? Well, my friends, no more! Judy Allen - a former food stylist for Martha Stewart in NYC - has opened Allen's Gourmet Grocery at 42nd & Peoria just to satisfy the foodies in this town. Judy also had the same problems after she moved back to Tulsa from NYC (she's one of our former brides!) This food boutique is reminiscent of a Dean & DeLuca store. - wire shelves full of great items - cases of artisan cheeses, pates, prosciuttos--beautifully presented as well. It sports a salt bar - different types of salt and she has a menu that tells you what each salt enhances and you can buy just a bit to try it out. All the little crackers, cookies, nuts and goodies you could ever want! I had a foodie gift basket created here and it was the most awesome gift we could have given our friends. Here's the little (iphone pic) snack we're having tonite with our wine - Yummy! Go by and say hi to her and get yourself some cheese!

High Art at the GAP

2009-05-12T19:21:00.001-07:00

"Hurry! Get over here quick with your camera!" I'm not sure what the rush was...but thanks for the heads up (off?), Barbra! ~sophia

A Day at the Zoo

2009-04-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

It is a rare day that Lisa and I get a day to play. We took our new cameras to the zoo to get a feel for them and all I can say is the I couldn't be happier with the results. Canon 5D Mark II...you rule!

ALL THINGS WONDERFUL

2009-04-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Sophia and I have many blessings in our lives but the ones we cherish most are our darling children and grandchildren. It just doesn't get better than this. Sophia's daughter Jessica (pictured left) has started a BLOG for new baby Lucy - In the Sky with Diamonds - and while we like to post our own photos of her, her mommy is much faster and takes pretty good photos too! Sophia and I have been friends since age 5 so when our kids became friends - well, it's nice. That brings me to my next bit of info.

My daughter-in-law, Megan, (pictured right) has a BLOG that is taking over the internet I think. It's got all kinds of stuff in it and more photos of my granddaughters - Tatum and Taylor - than I have! Well, almost. In This Wonderful Life has movie and TV reviews and commentaries, her obsession with Reese Witherspoon and Kate Hudson, party decor, more pictures of cupcakes than I've ever seen, make-up chatter, her quest to have a baby (we're all praying for this), and just a bunch of other girl stuff.

Take a look if you have a few spare minutes. (or more)

Seattle : an LSD iphone Documentary

2009-03-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

Last year, when we both got iphones, we started this little hobby - iphone documentaries - it's a little weird and we are usually the only ones who think they are funny but,nonetheless, we do it anyway. It ends up here in the Trippin' blog b/c it's just something we do for ourselves and our creative inspiration. It feeds our souls and makes us better at other things -- or so we tell ourselves. I've even downloaded an APP for my iphone - night camera - so I can take iphone pics in lower light conditions. It's a pretty cool little thing if you're into that stuff. We did iphone-Vegas, iphone-Tulsa State Fair, iphone-Scotsdale and now, iphone Seattle.

Anyway, Jay and I recently went to Seattle to visit our dear friends, Rob & Carol Hille, who have recently moved from the farthest corner of the US to the other farthest corner of the US - West Palm to Seattle. This is like the 4th place they've lived since I've known them. We get to visit wherever they go and stay at "The Hilleton". The service is great, food great, conversation the best! Our friends are sooo happy there and we are happy for them. They showed us all around - they've only been there since January themselves! They live in a high-rise and that's what the view of the space needle is all about in the pics. Pretty Awesome! Speaking of.... some of you know that I am fairly claustrophic and years ago when the Hilles lived in St. Louis, I went up in the arch in "The Pods" - it was AWFUL - I stayed up there for hours wondering how else I could get down. So, the first place they take us to in Seattle? Yep, the Space Needle. There's quite a few pics from there while I was getting the guts to go up. Well, that's done! Whew! I'm a ground dweller at heart. Open spaces. I'm glad we got that over with first and the rest of it was marvelous. We went to the open air market at Pike Place, they throw fish around there - the original Starbucks, Elliott's Bookstore - very cool. Could stay all day. We ate at Lola's - yummy food - Greek and thanks to hanging with Sophia, I knew exactly what to order and how to say it! We had a wonderful dinner at the Wild Ginger, breakfast at Lowells, shopping and lunch at Nordstroms and the cutest little store - The Diva Dolls. LOVED IT!Saw an entire store for ManKilts - okay... Everyone walks everywhere - or takes a Zip car. It's a very "in" sort of place. I could live there too! People always talk about how rainy and crummy the weather is but I have to tell you, it was pretty good as far as I was concerned. It drizzled a little but we had sunshine and clear skies most of the time. There's tons of Starbucks - I had to watch myself so I wouldn't O.D. on grande, no-fat, one-pump, no-whip, Mocha! Yikes! I got little name bracelets for my girls, t-shirts, aprons, granola, chocolates. There was a huge picture in this chocolate shop that was made out of chocolates all placed together. Interesting. Here's a little iphone documentary of the trip. (about 90% of these photos are iphone but we did have the 5D with us for a bit one day so there's a few tossed in. See if you can pick them out. haha!) Watch: Iphone Seattle

Who We Are - PART 1

2009-01-26T06:26:00.000-08:00

Since this is the Trippin' blog, We can put our personal observations in here. You can get to know a little about us and what makes us work. So, here's some things I like a lot and not so much - we'll get Sophia to add hers on in Part 2 - and feel free to comment with your own. These are not ranked or in any particular order - just random as they pop into my head.

THINGS I LIKE:

1. warm weather with a little breeze

2. partly cloudy skies (God' diffusers)

3. watching my granddaughters play in the dirt

4. being a grandmother

5. my iphone (even though it's not the 3g one)

6. being alone

7. having plenty of hot water

8. event planners

9. my truck

10 making my daughter laugh with just a "look"

11 when the new season of one of my favorite shows starts

12 DVR - missing the commercials of #11

13 Sunday night dinners

14 vision boards

15 the feeling I have when I pray

16 having wine with my friend while our husbands cook

17 my patio in the summer

18 when my dog runs to the door to see me

19 good hair days

20 potato anything

21 Starbucks grande, triple, skinny, one pump, no whip Mocha

22 when someone cries at one of our photographs

23 when someone laughs at one of our photographs

24 friend's house I can wear my slippers to (or no shoes at all)

25 talking to my sister

26 ranting to my sister

27 having a batch action work all the way thru the first time

28 being a photographic artist for a living

29 vanilla bean ice cream

30 standing in line at Ted Drewe's Original stand in St. Louis

31 watching people

32 orchids and african violets

33 having enough points at the end of the day for a glass of red wine

34 getting my hair colored - it's so pretty the first day

35 road trips with my camera and Sophia

36 kids with no front teeth

37 little boys in baseball uniforms

38 tutus and petticoats

39 dressing in costumes

40 my 85mm 1.2 lens

41 couples in love

42 newly sharpened pencils

43 a new box of crayons

44 having all my lens caps at the end of the night

45 chocolate cake balls from Mallory's Mudpies - OMG

46 little baby shoulders and that little place between their necks and shoulders

47 listening to The Allman Brothers Band and driving fast with the windows down

48 having a really good NetFlix movie in the mailbox when I get home

49 a champagne buzz

50 putting on clothes right out of the dryer

NOT SO MUCH....

1. people who have "private caller" on my caller ID

2. brain freeze

3. not being able to see without glasses

4. small spaces

5. movie theaters

6. crowds of shoving people

7. making small talk at fund raisers - UGH

8. having my picture taken

9. running a batch action and having it get almost done and have an ERROR

10 having photoshop "unexpectedly quit" and I haven't saved my work lately

11 power surges

12 people who upset brides on their wedding days

13 videographers with 6 tripods

14 having the edge of a label fold under on itself

15 cold coffee that gets hot and hot coffee that gets cold

16 being short on DVD space by mere MB

17 getting in the wrong lane of traffic on the highway

18 the BIG blindspot in my truck :-)

19 being really up for a session and it cancels

20 driving behind a TownCar in Utica Square

21 Malls

22 bad martinis

23 dental procedures

24 flight delays

25 cleaning the cat box

26 burnt toast

27 oatmeal

28 slow website with links that don't work

29 identity thiefs

30 being a perfectionist about some things and not being able to stop myself

31 stress eating

32 not having any points left for dinner (ties into #31)

33 hot flashes

34 static electricity in my hair

35 people who correct other people's grammar in public

36 Miracle Whip

37 fake butter - I really don't believe it's butter and no one else does either

38 big dogs that jump up

39 rodents and people who keep them as "pets"

40 running out of paint

41 forgetting to change my ISO on that first shot coming/going inside/outside

42 folding chairs

43 annoying ringtones

44 my muffin tops

45 still feeling younger but looking older (this really sucks)

46 being cold

47 not seeing or talking to my sister for several days

48 the grocery store

49 having my normal route under construction

50 being late

We'd love to hear about you!

Material Girl

2008-11-30T17:43:00.001-08:00

Some families feast on turkey for Thanksgiving. Some stage ambitious video productions. Here are a few of Sophia's photos from her family's remake of Madonna's Material Girl.

Festival of Lights

2008-11-19T19:20:00.001-08:00

Diwali, the Festival of Lights, celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. The actual legends surrounding the festival vary throughout different parts of India.

The Times of India summed up the modern meaning of Diwali:
Regardless of the mythological explanation one prefers, what the festival of lights really stands for today is a reaffirmation of hope, a renewed commitment to friendship and goodwill, and a religiously sanctioned celebration of the simple—and some not so simple—joys of life.

Sophia had the honor of capturing some of the festivities at the annual Diwali Festival presented by the India Association of Greater Tulsa.

OFF the HOOK!

2008-11-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

Brady Halloween Party 2008: the most kickass/bad ass/ off the chain/ wicked/insane/crazy/tight/wild night. See for yourself: OFF THE HOOK!

Get Your FREAK ON!

2008-09-26T11:40:00.001-07:00

It's that time again folks! HALLOWEEN! Get your best freaky self dolled up and get out to a party! Sophia took these photos at a party last year. Check it out: GET YOUR FREAK ON!

New York Says Thank You - Greensburg, KS

2008-09-18T07:19:00.001-07:00

We were recently invited to Greensburg, KS by the New York Says Thank You organization (you can see a little about them at the Youtube link here) for their annual Pay it Forward event. Each year a group of US citizens headed by FDNY firefighters, many who were present on 9/11, go to another U.S. location hit by hardship to help fellow Americans rebuild their lives after disaster. Each year, more and more people show up to help - usually from the place that was helped the year before. This year, it was Greensburg, KS, a town virtually destroyed by an EF-5 tornado May 4, 2007. Along with the FDNY, there was help from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, California, Louisiana, Mississippi and others. They all worked together in mud like you wouldn't believe! to raise a barn on the fairgrounds in Greensburg, KS for the 4H club. They worked sun up to sundown for 3 days and, even though the weather was a little hampering, got a great start for the barn! As a side project, FDNY sent the flag that was hanging at ground zero for several months after 9/11 until enough debris could be removed to reach it, to Greensburg, where it was lovingly patched with flags from Greensburg and other places. We were humbled and honored to be here and to document the weekend's activities for this wonderful organization. Jeff Parness summed it up in his 9/12 email "Seven years ago today, our world changed forever as well. That’s the day New Yorkers and Americans came together and witnessed unprecedented acts of kindness, neighborliness, and love. And that’s what NEW YORK SAYS THANK YOU is all about. What we do is not about 9/11. What we do is about 9/12....From one day of terror, 10 Years of Kindness." Please take a look at the video link and you are welcome to go to Pictage.com to view the Greensburg, KS Barn Raising photos we're sharing! Please support this organization with your time, talents and/or money! NewYorkSaysThankYou.org. Thank you!

Ft. Worth, Texas

2008-09-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a little photo Lisa took on a recent trip to Ft. Worth. We went there to get information about our new wedding album line and took a little time to play around in the Stockyards of Ft. Worth. Take a minute to look and see who this is. Yep, it's Sophia. Many of you know, but some of you may not, that Sophia is a member of the Purple Roses of Cairo dance troupe and each year they have are part of the Summer Stage production at the Performing Arts Center. This year she was a whip-cracking dominatrix and had a costume that was a cross between The Matrix and Gunsmoke. We thought the concept would make a great Bella Sofia Little Black Book. So... we went to Ft. Worth in August and shot in the streets of the Stockyard in the morning (it was already 100 degrees outside by 10 a.m.) with her in this outfit, cracking a whip in the streets and nobody blinked an eye! It was pretty weird. Actually, they thought she was part of the wild-west show that performs there in the summer! We met policemen from McKinney on the way down and Jeff Parness, with the NewYorkSaysThankYou.org on the way out! What a trip!

Flashback!

2008-09-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

We ran across this sign on a recent senior shoot. Aww! We parted our hair in the middle for the rest of the day! : )

What's it all about....

2008-09-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

We are starting this new BLOG to chronicle our personal travels, photographs and observations. It will contain things we find inspirational, educational, and just plain fun! Sophia's family has referred to her as a "weirdness magnet" and Lisa's family keeps asking her "why do all these weird things happen to you?" It's true we do have some strange things coming and going on in our lives and since we teamed up - it's sometimes double weird. We love our lives and love to find new things to inspire us. We've known each other most of our lives and have photographed together at different times, but now we have combined our photographic and graphic design talents and educations to create LSD Photography. In doing so, we've decided that an important element of our business is to keep things fresh and different all the time. (For instance, these are some officers of the law we happened upon at a Starbucks in Sherman, TX - they're from McKinney) We are inspired creatively by many things and although many may not directly pertain to wedding photography or portrait photography, they are what makes our images ROCK! So this is it... From Five to Fifty - what a long, strange trip it's been!