The much appreciated “are you out there” emails from friends, fans & blog followers have been making their way into my inbox recently, and I am so sorry this blog has been producing silence softer than crickets as of late.  I know everyone is busy, I know it. But if you’re a blog follower or friend of mine who has been with me for any length of time, you know that my family is in the midst of a major life transition (actually, more than one, all at once) and busy just doesn’t describe the demands that have been put on our time lately.

I’m going to catch you all up on our relocation plans in another post, which I promise, will not be as overdue as this one is.  In the meantime though, to thank and reward you sweet people for sticking with me, I’ve decided to offer 40% off everything in the Kaleidoscope Shoppe for one week only.  Just use code: badblogger upon checkout and enjoy!  As always, if you’ve purchased within the last 7 days, email me and I’ll happily do a price adjustment.

In non-delay related news, I also wanted to share a few pictures I snapped the other night of a sweet neighbors adorable little girl, who clearly, has a thing for Hello Kitty. Sometimes a girl just knows what she likes!  And I like this girl.  She’s got spunk and style and I had a blast with her.

Thanks again, as always, for stopping by my little corner of the cyber-world.  I’ll be posting again soon about where we’ve finally decided to settle.  I’m excited, and can’t wait to share!

Until next time, PB

I’m married to a runner.  Well, actually, a marathoner/ triathlete type of guy.  I can’t even remember how many times I’ve worked my way down to a finish line to cheer him on near the end of  a race.  The spirit of marathon and the spirit of the spectator is only understandable to those who have experienced it, yet I know I join all of you in mourning the bitter loss that took place on Monday.  The above picture was shot on my last trip to Boston, a town we love dearly, near the harbor.  My deepest thoughts and prayers are with all those directly affected, and to those who are no longer with us, may you forever run on.

Blessings – PB

Well, the wait is over, Kaleidoscope’s newest lovely little illuminators are here!!!  Plus, if you use the code: light13 you will receive 30% off your entire purchase through March 15th!

Check out the B &A’s,  then read the “What you need to know” information below to clear up any questions you may have, and to watch full video demonstrations in both CS and Elements.   Scroll to the bottom of this post to purchase, or visit the Kaleidoscope Shoppe for even more B&A’s,  and *maybe* stock up on a few of your other favorite color & light infused digital darlings.  Since everything is 30% off, it’s a great time to round out your texture collection as well!

What you need to know:

• Lightscapes contains 102 versions of 24 unique .jpg light overlays, plus a bonus pack which includes 42 versions of 14 unique circle, prism, and haze overlays.  Lightscapes were created using natural light, and are designed to be blended in “screen” mode.    Lightscapes is compatible with Photoshop CS and Photoshop Elements.  Each overlay measures approximately 14 x 9”and is 300 dpi/ppi.

• Once purchased, a product download page should pop up immediately.   You will also receive an email in the inbox associated with your account, so if you purchase with your Paypal account, the email will go to the address associated with that account.

• If you have compatibility concerns, or if you want to try Lightscapes prior to purchasing the full set, please download the free Sampler pack here.  Per industry standards, once purchased, Lightscapes is non-refundable.

• Lightscapes is not a set of actions, filters, or presets so there is nothing to install when using Lightscapes.  Lightscapes  does not work in ACR or Lightroom, it works with Photoshop CS and Photoshop Elements.  For a full video demonstration/tutorial, click here for Photoshop CS; click here for Photoshop Elements.

• Lightscapes includes written directions, however, it is recommended that you watch the video tutorials on this site for additional tips, tricks, and editing suggestions in order to fully utilize all Kaleidoscope products.

• Please DO NOT press the download button repeatedly in the same sitting.  Press it once, and allow the download to take place.  Most customers have no trouble downloading.  If your download seems to be taking an unusually long amount of time, please empty any caches on your computer, disable any firewalls that may be in place, and (if possible) re-boot your computer.  Should you continue to experience issues, please contact me at patti@pattibrownphotography.com and I will follow up with you as soon as possible.

• Please email patti@pattibrownphotography.com prior to purchase with any questions not addressed above.

               Lightscapes Light Overlays for Photoshop CS & Photoshop Elements (All versions)……..

Sooo, I’ve actually begun receiving email from readers who are concerned about my whereabouts.  (Once again, proof that I have the sweetest readers in the world.) I’ll catch you all up on everything that’s going on with us personally after I plug my almost-here release.  And provide some freebies.

First of all, Kaleidoscope is (once again..) expecting a new arrival!   Any day now, Lightscapes will be here!  The Lightscapes Collection is my newest set  of light overlays created from real light combined with a few artistic enhancements.   Lightscapes are compatible with both Photoshop Elements and Photoshop CS.  For a full demonstration of how they work, click here  (Elements users, click here.) Lightscapes have been testing incredibly well, and should be available to you within the next week or so.  Here are two quickie shares, and if you scroll on down, there’s a link to download your free Lightsapes Sampler.  A little “try before you buy” gift, if you will….plus, the Sampler should help calm nerves of anyone unsure about compatibility.

(Above image created using Lightflare 15a from the Lightscapes Free Sampler and my upcoming Lightscapes Collection)

  (Above image created using Lightframe 2a from my upcoming Lightscapes collection.)

Download your Lightscapes Sampler by clicking on the “Buy Now” button below.   It’s free, I promise.  Then, come hang out with me here on Facebook to get ideas and information about upcoming specials.   (Note: for those of you who were kind enough to fan the original Kaleidoscope Facebook page, I combined it with the Patti Brown Photography page about 6 months ago to simplify things. I hope you’ll come and stay.)

Lightscapes Free Sampler for Photoshop CS & Photoshop Elements…………………………

***New Subject****

Now, onto other (personal) news.  My family and I will be undergoing a huge transition this year as my husband will be retiring from 20 years of active duty service in the United States Air Force.  To say that this is a time of great anticipation, emotion, and transition for our family would be an understatement.  I’m so proud of my husband.  He grew up as an “Air Force Brat” and has weathered many moves, adapted to many new places, and subsequently has also had to say goodbye to nearly every attachment he has ever made in his entire life.  There has literally not been a day he has been alive that he hasn’t understood what it means to serve, and never was his calling more clear than in the days following September 11th, 2001.  I can’t go into great detail for fear he will die of embarrassment, but let’s just say that those who know him best (like me) have the privilege of knowing him best and understanding his legacy of service.   We also know that although he has loved his time, he is ready to move on; and as every woman who has ever loved a man of service knows, where he goes: I will follow.

Where will that be?  As of right now, we have no idea.  We are still working out the details and sorting through the options that lie ahead.  This is a very contemplative time for our family, and we are spending most of our days trying to determine the best long term options for everyone involved.  Should we leave Virginia, I will desperately miss her.  As Pat Conroy says so eloquently  ”My wound is geography.  It is also my anchorage, my port of call.”  If you’ve ever loved a place, you can relate.  However, those of you who have been with me for a while have probably picked up on my hidden gypsy soul (which, for the good sake of society, is properly disguised as a somewhat normal looking person); and that soul is once again craving some change.

So, gang – there you have it.  My recent pre-occupations summarized in roughly 714 words.  The great thing about this business is that I’m able to take it anywhere, and do it from anywhere, and of course, I hope you all will follow along wherever we wind up.  I’ll let you all know which way the wagon’s pointed once we’ve determined it ourselves, and in the meantime, I truly do have more images and more products coming out this year, I promise.  It won’t be such a long break until we meet again.

See you next week with the full Lightscapes collection!

xoxo – PB

I also wanted to say a special thanks to Tara Farrell for collaborating with me to make the above picture happen.  You are the best, sweet friend!

Blessings, PB

Last Friday was my husband’s birthday.  We started the day in happy spirits, and it was somewhere between escorting my 6-year-old son to his school bus and putting the final touches on Ray’s birthday cake that I heard the report.

So, I did something I rarely do.  I turned on the news.  100 rounds, three dead.  Those were the first numbers I processed.

Now it’s important to note that I rarely (rarely) watch the news. Occasionally I’ll catch 20 minutes or so of the Today show, and I did watch coverage around the election, but I’m always the last to hear about things because I just can’t stand watching those news channels.  Too much argument.  Too much doom.  Too many politics, all things I avoid as much as possible.

Until Friday.

100 rounds, three dead.  Newtown Connecticut, Sandy Hook Elementary, Principal and School Psychologist Killed.

It was filtering in now, a few facts at a time.  Ray came home early for lunch and I told him what had happened.  We deliberately turned off the TV and had lunch together, trying to salvage an hour of what was supposed to be a happy day for him before absorbing the realization of what else this day would forever mark.   It was tough.  We tried small talk. We tried to stall the inevitable.  It didn’t work.

I broke first and turned on CNN.  The facts filtered in.

Over 100 rounds now, at least six dead (but they hadn’t said children yet….still no children.)  Newtown Connecticut, Sandy Hook Elementary, Principal and School Psychologist Killed.  School Evacuated.  Shooter dead.  Panicked parents gathering at firehouse.  Mass confusion.  Mass hysteria.  Mass Media.  Mass Shooting.

Again, I had to break from it.  It was just too much. Ray and I fumbled through most of the day and were counting down the minutes until our 6-year-old got off the school bus.  At around 3:00 or so, I broke again.  I knew that as soon as the bus came, there would be no more of this mass-ness broadcast in our house for a while.  And when I say at 3:00 I broke, I mean it.  I really, really broke that time.

Updated facts. Hundreds of rounds fired.  Between 20-26 dead.  Mostly children……

That was it.  There was no running from this or denying it or trying to pretend it wasn’t real.  It was at that point, as it did with so many of you, the realization of what this was just flooded in.  And something was now forever broken.

Maybe it’s because my son was born in September of 2006 within days of two of the littlest victims.  Maybe it’s because I have experienced mental health issues with people in my own extended family, so I know exactly how broken the system is.  Maybe it’s because I live in a state where people are still reeling from the Virginia Tech shootings.  Maybe it’s because I am obsessed with history and realized that the Second Amendment was adopted on December 15th 1791, and these shootings took place on December 14th, forcing me to ponder the question of what our fore-fathers could and could not have imagined over 220 years ago.  Maybe it’s because December 14th will forever hold new meaning in our household.  I don’t know why this has me so completely consumed, but it does.  It’s also causing me to seriously ponder the societal norms that resulted in the circumstance of a 6 year old meeting his death inside of his classroom at the hands of a madman with a semi-automatic weapon.  20 times over.

I wonder how scared they were. I wonder if they saw their teacher killed first.  I wonder if their last visions were that of the barrel of a gun, or if it took longer….if maybe one of them caught a glimpse of a hand-print Christmas tree hanging on the wall before passing into the next world. I wonder if my own son would have called out for his mommy had it been his classroom instead.   I wonder how their parents are managing to breathe in and out.  I wonder how much comfort God can possibly grant the families of such victims because I am unsure as to how much I would need myself.  I can’t imagine there ever being enough.

These thoughts are not thoughts I had ever experienced prior to Friday.  And they have changed me.

There is nothing any of us can do to reverse what happened.  Admittedly, not being that into politics, I have never really given much thought to gun control.  However, I will now.  I have been slowly familiarizing myself with the general debate and the laws in various states.  Some of what I’ve learned has shocked me, some of it has saddened me, and some of it just has me asking why?  For instance,  I’m trying to determine why an individual with a history of mental health issues, someone who may be considered “a threat to themselves or others” is able to legally purchase a semi-automatic weapon in so many parts of this country.  I can’t figure that one out.

When I presented this thought – which I know isn’t particularly unique or profound – to Ray, he brought up the other side of the coin.  The one that says “well, what rights do we then limit for the mentally ill?  Should they not be allowed to vote?  Should they not be allowed to drive?  A car could be used as a very serious weapon? ” And I realized that the flip-side is complicated.  ”Of course they should be allowed to vote and to drive!”   I sharply replied.

Of course they should.

And there it was.  There it always is.  The frustration.  The reason I don’t watch the news.  The reason I can’t stand politics.  The limits of a society, largely propelled by special interest groups and self-serving politicians that forces me into choosing one side of the coin or the other.  Heads or tails. Black or white.  Right or Left.  And I’ve come to the realization that we simply must start printing a new type of coin.   Topical currency that allows reasonable discussion geared towards protecting the greater good rather than polarizing us to the point of rendering ourselves helpless.

One of the toughest things about the human experience is reconsidering beliefs that define us.  It’s hard, it really is.  It makes us sort of question everything.  However, one of the most unique things about the human experience is that it’s never too late to change our mind or to just examine things from a different perspective.

We are far more complex than merely two sides of a coin.

We are capable of thoughtful and respectful conversation followed by carefully crafted law designed to protect us while preserving our freedoms.   When it gets hard, when we feel threatened or angry or superior or inferior we need to refocus and try to have the conversation again. All we have to seek for motivation are the names of the 26 innocents lost last Friday.

In closing, I want to humbly add that along with the rest of the world, my prayers continue to be with the families of those lost in Newtown, particularly during this season.  One of the most comforting experiences of my childhood was being blessed by my Pastor after communion.  There are times I can still feel his gentle hand on my head as he spoke the beautiful words that so many of us cherish.  I would like to share these words for all of us to ponder during these days.  I offer them as a blessing to all those affected.  I offer them as a prayer for anyone struggling.  I offer them as a plea that we all may seek peace.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make His face to shine upon you, 
and be gracious unto you.

May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, 
and grant you His peace. 

Amen. 

I am also extremely thankful for all of you.  Customers, clients, fans, friends, and even those of you who have been kind enough to stop by the comments section of this blog to share a few thoughts, from the bottom of my heart, I truly thank you.  This work that I do helps support my family.  I don’t go to an office building every day, I don’t work for a large corporation or even a small business…this is just me, doing my thing, and somehow being blessed enough to carve out a living doing it.  To be able to experience such luck in this lifetime is exceptional, and without a doubt, I would not be able to do the work I love if it weren’t for you.  My cup truly runneth over.

Cheers, blessings & good health to you and yours this Thanksgiving!

Much Love, PB

If you’ve been with me for any length of time, you know that I stopped accepting commissioned family sessions about 3 years ago during the holiday season because, well, it just became pure madness.  I was trying to be a full time mommy to a VERY active toddler, while trying to be a wife to a husband who was finishing his Masters/working full time and traveling about 30% of the time for work, I was trying to be a good neighbor and friend to my Air Force Wife buddies (you can only truly understand what that type of thing entails if you’ve been married to the military….it is truly impossible to explain, but let’s just say there is a lot of cooking involved) and I was running 2 tiny (but still demanding!) businesses all by myself.  Out of my son’s playroom.

Yup.

You’re probably worn out just from reading that paragraph above, so you can imagine what it was like living it.  Picture a pressure cooker.  Not one sitting on a shelf in some pretty little kitchen store,  but a well-used, nearly worn out one on a flaming hot burner with steam bubbles seeping out of it’s lid, and making that squeaky hissing sound that a teapot makes when it’s boiling.  That was pretty much our life.  And I gotta be honest, there was a little actual hissing involved, too.  Clearly, something had to give.  Or we were going to have to hire a nanny and a maid.  And let’s face it, how many of us can really justify a nanny and a maid when we are working part time?

Not I, my friends.

And besides, I didn’t want to.  It’s totally cool if you do.  In fact, if you’re working part time from home, and happen to also employ both a nanny and a maid, my hat’s off to you girlfriend.  And I mean that with all sincerity.  Bravo, sister!  But that wasn’t my story.  I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my little one, and in retrospect, I am so glad I did.  It was a wonderful nearly-six-years of preschool life.

But then something wonderful happened.  It came along at just the exact time I felt that I was really needing a change, and it now allows me to do things like work out at an actual gym, blow dry my hair, and cook with wine.  It’s called KINDERGARTEN, and gang..let me tell you…if you haven’t experienced it yet, it is life changing.  Tough at first, I admit, but trust me…you’ll get over the hard parts.

So, this allows me a little more time to shoot pictures, and I’m announcing mini-sessions, Patti-style.  I’m not going to do a marathon weekend of 30 minute sessions.  I would be really overwhelmed doing something like that.  So instead, I’m going to offer sessions for $350 each,  Monday-Thursday evenings throughout October and early November, at a location near my home in southern York County.  Sessions will be laid back, fun, and will last between 30-40 minutes.  You can have up to 6 people (Mom, Dad, and up to 4 kids) and you’ll receive around 15 different digital full res/full size/fully edited images that you can use for anything from gift prints to Christmas Cards to wall-papering your upstairs hallway if you so choose.  I’ll also let you know where to get them printed for best results, and will help you with any issues you have.  For a better look at what a family mini-session would look like, check out my last post here and have yourself a little looksee.  That session took 40 minutes total.  Quick. Easy. Simple. (Happy!)

If you’re interested, contact me at patti@pattibrownphotography.com for full details and to discuss availability.  We’re traveling a lot this fall, with trips to Texas, Charlottesville, and the Outer Banks planned, so contact me sooner rather than later if you’re interested.  I know I’m posting this a little late, so I don’t expect to get a ton of bookings this year, so it’s likely I’ll be able to get everyone in who is interested, but if you email me on Wednesday for a Thursday session, let’s just say, it probably won’t work out.

Thanks, gang!  Until next time….

XOXO, PB

I also wanted to share an update for those of you who have followed this blog for a while now, and for my newer friends, I wanted to let you all know that after a 3 year “hiatus” I will be shooting mini-sessions again throughout October and early November!  They will be 30-40 minutes long (the above session lasted about 40 minutes) and will be held near the Bethel/Hampton Highway intersection in Yorktown.  I won’t be doing a marathon Saturday, but rather I’m going to schedule them Monday-Thursday evenings starting next week.  Pricing and details to follow later this week.  In the meantime, email me at patti@pattibrownphotography.com if you’re interested, and of course check my Facebook Page - it’s a great way to stay in the know.

Thanks so much! – PB