I will blog AALLLL about the party so soon, but I am exhausted. For now, here are the JoyCam shots – this was so much fun to have up at the party! Everyone totally got into having their picture taken, and I am so happy to have this slideshow! My sister loves this song and really thought it would be perfect…. It WAS a good night!!

If you are interested in buying a print or two, click
here! Leave a little love in comments for us!

…on Fast Forward. You can only see a bit of the studio, but I thought you might enjoy this! Details and party pics are up next…

Joy and I are very excited to announce the opening of our Bay Area Studio! The party begins on September 10 at 6pm. There will be snacks and drinks and the JoyCam, too, so come on by! We are grateful to our sponsors Pictage, Simply Canvas and OnOne software, as well as a whole bunch of other fantastic companies that have partnered with us to put on one heck of a party! Come for a peek at Simply Canvas’s new line of products, which we are excited to be able to showcase!

5772 Thornhill Drive (Montclair district)
Oakland, CA 94611

I’m excited about having a place to meet with Bay Area clients, but I wanted you to know that the studio will also be available for other photographers who want to offer workshops or who need a space to meet THEIR clients. Also, we are looking forward to hosting a monthly Bay Area Pictage User Group which will cover a range of topics and is open to all local photographers.

Some of our sponsors (read: tons of prizes for the party!!) include:

Simply Canvas
Pictage
OnOne Software
Kubota Image Tools
Tamrac
Pepper Custom Camera Straps
GoBee CF Card Holders
Kolo Albums
Boda Camera Bags
Fast Track Photographer
Lensbaby
Leathercraftsmen
ShootQ
Claremont Resort & Spa
Camera Slingers
Papineau Calligraphy
Camera Dojo
Jules Café

If you’d like to attend, please RSVP here.

A tiny sneak peek of a few of the studio details…

CHECK OUT the SWAG we got for you! There is even more than this!

Practicing for the JoyCam! We went shopping tonight to get PROPS for added fun! …

One of the reasons why Jules Café hosts a contest every month is to encourage readers to come back and visit the site. Jules Café has fresh, new content all the time, and it is built to help you, the photographer learn, grow, and share!

Look in the Grow section to find information about lighting, shooting, and equipment. The Learn section will have articles about business, marketing, networking, conventions, and workshops. You can find inspirational interviews and information about photography contests, charity work, and other fun tidbits in the Share section. So grab a cup of coffee, curl up in a chair with your laptop, and dive in to Jules Cafe.

For this month’s contest we are featuring the super cool GoBee CF card holder! Cleverly designed by professional photographers (and now designers and owners) Lauren Hillary and Sara France, GoBee offers a modern take on camera gear for today’s professional photographer!

Since its inception in 2006, GoBee has been leading the call for a stylish solution to protect your gear. GoBee introduces a line of camera gear that are functional but also express your individual personality. And, they are fun to wear!

Check out the GoBee blog to see our own Jules as the latest GoBee girl!!

For the contest this month, we’d love to hear about YOUR favorite camera gear… how does everything except the camera help you?  Leave a comment below to be entered to win a GoBee of your own! Be sure to visit back for a Coffee Break with the lovely Lauren Hillary!

…

Hello!  Wow.  Its the first of the month again!  Well!  This month our Coffee Break is hosted by the lovely Lori Nordstrom, and for the Olive Contest Prize, she is offering to spice up one of your cameras with her very cool camera pepper straps from www.spiceupyourcamera.com.

Now, here comes the opportunity to win yours!

In honor of the “Little Angels” Calendar that Lori Nordstrom devised to contribute to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, please use the comment section here to tell us about your favorite charity and possible ways to contribute to that charity as a photographer. It can be either a brand new idea that you’ve just come up with or it could be something that has been going on for years. We just want to hear about possible ways to give back!

You know, we have a whole section here in Jules Cafe dedicated to charity posts, and I would love to find more inspirational places to check out. After you click the “view/add comments” above this post to leave your comment, be sure to not only check that out, but to read Lori’s Coffee Break!!

Win a Lensbaby Composer!!  This month, Olive is conceding the comments on her page to comments on Craig Strong’s Coffee Break page.  Craig was kind enough to give Jules Cafe his take on Learn Grow and Share, and Olive wants you to take a Coffee Break yourself and check it out!

Thanks to Craig and his fantastic company, Lensbaby, Jules Cafe is giving away a brand new Lensbaby Composer to one lucky winner!   With the Composer, Lensbaby introduces a completely new lens, delivering a smooth selective focus — just tilt the lens to the angle you want and focus.

All you need to do is read Craig’s Coffee Break and leave a comment for him.  The comment needs to be about how you have learned to see the world differently —- whether it was through an adventure or an  experience you had, seeing through a new lens, an experience with your children… whatever made you stop and see the world through different eyes.  We want to know.

Photography is all about learning to see the world through your own experience and sharing that experience with others.  Let us experience how YOU see the world, and you just might find yourself with a brand new lensbaby.

Its back!  Its Olive’s monthly contest where you contribute a comment and have a chance to win great prizes!  This month’s prize is a set of Lightroom presets designed by Nathan Holritz of Photographer’s Edit. This is a set of Warm B&W, Neutral B&W, and Color Lightroom Presets to get both your RAW and JPEG images looking fantastic in no time.

TO WIN: Because using custom presets will really speed up your workflow, please leave a comment about your BEST workflow tip if you’re interested in winning Nathan’s presets.  At the end of the month, we will choose one of the comments, and and that commenter will win the prize!

Your tip does not have to be lightroom related… it can be about any workflow tip you want to give.  Be sure to come back and check other comments – a lot of people have some really great advice. Why not learn from each other?  

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out Photographer’s Edit.  Not only do they have amazing presets, but they are a fantastic place to outsource your editing and color correction.  And if you are a Pictage member, you get a discount!!

To Jules Cafe, that is!  We are really excited about our new Jules Cafe look, and it is almost here!  Be sure to visit again to see the changes in the next few weeks.  Essentially what we want to emphasize is the fact that Jules Cafe has new content ALL THE TIME! We are constantly scrolling through our readers to find great information for you on all kinds of subjects… shooting, lighting, camera gear and business, marketing and inspiration!  The new look will help to highlight those articles, our Coffee Series, and anything else that is coming up on Jules Cafe!  

So grab a cup of coffee and have a read.  We’d love any feedback you might have…

 

Thank you to Tamrac for their generous donation of a gorgeous Adventure Messenger 4 for April’s monthly contest!  Keep reading to find our winner!

One of the reasons why Jules Café hosts a contest every month is to encourage readers to come back and visit the site.  Jules Café has fresh, new content all the time, and it is built to help you, the photographer learn, grow, and share!

Look in the Grow section to find information about lighting, shooting, and equipment.  The Learn section will have articles about business, marketing, networking, conventions, and workshops.  You can find inspirational interviews and information about photography contests, charity work, and other fun tidbits in the Share section.

So grab a cup of coffee, curl up in a chair with your laptop, and dive in to Jules Cafe.
In fact, don’t miss our inspirational Coffee Break series featuring both well-known photographers and those-to-watch who have given much to the industry, and contribute to the Learn Grown Share motto of Jules Cafe.  Next week’s article will feature the lovely and talented Justine Ungaro.

Because April’s prize was a bag designed to hold equipment, Jules asked our readers to leave a comment about which piece of equipment was their favorite and why.   The parameters of the question left it open to be anything at all that made life as a photographer better or easier.

Here were some of our favorite answers.  To see all of the answers, go to last months’ contest and check out all …

I’m very excited to announce that Tamrac has donated an Adventure Messenger 4 (in your choice of red or grey) for our April prize!!

I was SO impressed with all of the thoughtful answers you gave to last month’s question about what you could do for your business if you dedicated 15 minutes a day.  Because this month’s prize is a bag designed to hold your equipment, I want to know which piece of equipment is your favorite and why. It doesn’t have to be just a lens… it can be anything at all that makes your life as a photographer better or easier!  Leave a comment with your answer to be entered to win the Tamrac Adventure Messenger 4.