Merry Christmas!

Hope you all have a GREAT Christmas. I'm heading for the Big Apple - yeah!!

Going on Vacation

The offices of Anne Clay will be closed from December 20 through Monday January 5. I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday!

Karin

Karin went on to be with the Lord last night. We will miss her and pray for her family during this difficult time today and the days ahead.

Karin

The life of a beautiful young wife and mother tonight hangs in the balance. Karin's family waits by her bedside for her to go on to her eternal home, or receive a complete miracle of healing from cancer and for her hands and feet which have not been receiving oxygen now for a few days. Please remember Karin and her family in your prayers tonight that her suffering would end and for grace for her beloved family in this difficult season.

If God chooses to take her home, we will miss Karin. She had a sparkling spirit and a great love for her husband and children.

For CHRISTMAS DELIVERY

All orders must be to me by noon tomorrow in order to get your images before Christmas.

Thanks, Anne

Karin is rallying

There have been some improvements in Karin's condition - miraculous improvements. Her organs seem to be regaining function. Just yesterday her family said goodbye and yet, it seems that it may not be her time to go. Please pray for Karin that she would regain FULL health.

Closing for Christmas

Anne Clay Photography will be closed for vacation from December 20 thru January 3. All orders must be placed by Monday, December 15 to insure a Christmas delivery.

With Deepest Sadness

It is with deep sadness that I share with you the passing of a beautiful young wife, mother and daughter this day. At this very moment friends and family are saying goodbye to a precious young 35 year old Karin, mother of 4 year old Kevin and 18 month old Aria and Kien.

Please send your love and prayers to Steve and family through this most difficult season.

I will be posting images later taken from our latest portrait session as a memorial to a dear woman who is going on to her eternal home.

Website Server is Down

I just went to check my info@anneclay email and the server is down - I apologize for that - I've contacted my hosts and notified them of the situation and hopefully I will be on again soon.

Anne

Nutcracker Dancer's Pointe

The Dancer's Point Program of the Nutcracker is ready for viewing. Go to www.anneclay.com and type in the password that was given to you for the posed picture in the advertisement (ask someone there if you don't know the password). All images from the program are for purchase in 4x6, 5x7 or 8x10. Cropping will be done as ordered.

Great show last night girls! You all looked beautiful!

Anne Clay

Christmas in Apex

Last night was so much fun!! Thank you of all you who came and to those who helped me get set up. We had a great turn out and all enjoyed the popcorn and hot cocoa. At one point there were almost 100 people gathered around "The Polar Express"! What a great time! Stay tuned for pictures!

Christmas in

Big Fun....

Big fun coming up tomorrow night at the studio - we are having a kids outdoor movie night, popcorn, hot cocoa, brownies and cookies for Christmas. Big raffle going on for free stuff and coupons... Come meet the whole family and enjoy some Holiday Festivities! The whole town of Apex will be ablaze with lights, food, the lighting of the Christmas tree, sleigh rides and Santa will make his visit. See the Apex Chamber of Commerce for more details in historic downtown Apex - a great place to be!

Santa Pictures

Well tonight was a great deal of fun - I had the opportunity to take pictures of my community with Santa. The little ones are so cute - they are all animated and excited until they get on Santa's lap and then they get shy and quiet and put their little hands in their mouths. The older boys talk like crazy - telling Santa all that they want. I got to watch some girls go into great detail about the ponies and everything else they wanted - only to have the boys come right behind them and do the same in fun.

After the pictures I got to go on a nice sleigh ride through part of the neighborhood. Spirits were lively and I think that everyone had a great time!

No pictures to show yet - I'll load them tomorrow....

Christmas Raffle

This year Anne Clay Photography is giving away a free portrait session and 11x14 print to the lucky winner of our Christmas Raffle. To register go to the website www.anneclay.com and go to the "contact" section of the site. Please fill in your name, address, phone number and email address and write "raffle" in the comments section. The raffle ends on December 31, 2008. The winner will be announced in January 2009.

Merry Christmas! Anne

Young Actress

Here are a few images of a beautiful young actress that I took last week. She's been doing some work on "One Tree Hill". We had a lot of fun changing up poses and trying on different outfits graciously loaned to us from some local boutiques.

Nutcracker

Here's the information for The Nutcracker....

Nutcracker

Dance studios around the country are performing The Nutcracker in the next few weeks and I've been out photographing a few of them... Here's a special dance studio in Morrisville, Dancer's Pointe. It's a great dance studio - check it out!!
www.dancers-pointe.org

I admit it

Okay - I'm admitting some media addiction here - altho ironically, we don't have cable TV - we have bunny ears on one lone small TV downstairs so that we can see the news in case the world blows up or something. I do watch a few of my favorite shows on the internet - like "Pushing Daisies". and "Grey's Anatomy" (altho there have been a few" The Bachelor" is a show that I cringe every time I watch - but being a sucker for love - somehow I have to watch. Don't know why.... So last season I was captured by "The Bachelorette" rooting for her to choose the best possible candidate and i have to admit - I seriously thought she would choose Jason. Although I loved Jesse too so I was truly torn.

So, now Jason - the single father of the adorable little boy is going to be the new Bachelor in January - and I'm going to have to watch another season! ugh.... I'm a slave to the media!

christmas cards

Thanksgiving is right around the corner - and with that the wonderful Christmas Season.

No doubt you've been holding back this year - trying to cut corners and watching the economy with fear and trembling.

One thing not to cut back is keeping in touch with your loved ones. As your children grow and change and your lives change it's great to keep in touch with picture - better yet - Christmas cards of your loved ones. Here are just a few examples of some of the variety that can make your Christmas cards unique and special.

Wow

Wow - I haven't written in this blog for a month. It probably looks like I'm not doing anything! Where does the time go?

Rest assured, I've been keeping busy making beautiful images for many of you out there and working on some more art endeavors.

Digital photography is one of the greatest things that has ever hit the art world - aside from paint! There is so much that can be done. Only problem is that it means much time in front of the computer - and for me some sleepless nights because my brain is over stimulated. I guess it's a common problem among computer people -

Here is a gorgeous couple that I had the opportunity to photograph a few weeks ago on their 50th Wedding Anniversary. A beautiful, fascinating and gracious couple - still very much in love and a tremendous blessing to their family and to those that they meet. I enjoyed our time together so much.

Society and all it's pressures are hard on a marriage and yet this delightful couple met during World War II - and what a story they have to tell.

When we think of photography - we usually think of babies, children, seniors and weddings - and a family portrait every now and again. Let's preserve the memories of our parent and grandparents too - These become the portraits that mean so much to us.

New Website

So the new website is up - still www. anneclay.com
- looks great!

Working on New Website

You can probably tell my my lack of blogging that it's been pretty busy here at Anne Clay Photography.
Senior Sessions have been well under way and we've been having a great time of it. There are lots of new products and images that I am very excited about!

Right now I'm excited about the Christmas Special that we are running. Take a peek at the ad! This is a great opportunity to get a session, unique, wonderful cards and pick out some great family portraits for this year! With the new location, I have many unique new backdrops, made long ago and used in new way.

Call early for Christmas cards - I fill up fast at Christmas!

Scenes From My Summer Vacation

Senior Portrait Art

Lance Clark

Here's a interesting man who had me take his head shots last month.

LANCE CLARK
Counseling Intern, M.A. in Professional Counseling

Lance was born and raised in Pennsylvania, attended undergraduate school in Boston, lived ten years in Maine, and now gladly calls North Carolina home! He has been married for twelve years and has three children, two girls and a boy.

Lance’s journey into counseling professionally began as a lay counselor for state-wide retreats at which he served as a men’s group leader for 5 years, beginning while still in his mid-20’s. His impact at these retreats was noted and led to an invitation to serve as a group leader inside the Thomaston State Prison in Maine, which he did for 3 years. Concurrent to his time as a lay counselor, Lance nurtured a 5-year relationship through the Big Brothers of Maine program with a foster child diagnosed with Aspergers.

Seeking a more servile and personally satisfying career, Lance left a high-profile career in the music industry to move with his family into a residential home and be a House Dad to 9 boys, ages 6-16. With his third child on the way, Lance resigned after a year, but was soon after offered an administrative position within the organization. Lance served in this position for 2 years, training staff and overseeing therapeutic program implementation in all homes and the on-campus academy.

Impressed by the impact of competent therapeutic intervention, Lance chose to enroll in Liberty University’s Master of Arts in Professional Counseling degree program, attending full-time and maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

Lance’s experience and professional interests converge in serving men and male children and adolescents. Adult issues may include, but are not limited to, father-wounds, anger, pornography and sexual addiction issues, depression, career dissatisfaction and transition, and general life concerns.  Adolescent and pre-adolescent issues may include, but are not limited to, anger, pornography use, loneliness and isolation, school/peer/sibling/parental relationship concerns, transition adjustments, and life-choice challenges.


Lance writes:

“Victims, perpetrators, all of us who have ever experienced confusion, hopelessness, conflict, anxiety, addiction ... we all have in common that we have experienced in body, mind, emotion, and/or spirit, individually or in relationships, something contrary to the Truth of Christ and His loving and hopeful intention for us. Truth created us (John 1:1-4), desires to lovingly govern us (Colossians 3:15), and will, if we cooperate, lead us into ultimate health and freedom (John 8:32).

I perceive the overarching work of therapy to be the identification of Discrepancy (the gap between our current being and Christ-likeness) in our life and circumstance, and then discovering together how Truth (a construct comprised of the Triune God and Scripture) meets our need and desire for justice, healing, vision, and hope for our personal future.”


ALPHA CARE / Executive Director: Marilyn Harding / 1613 Walnut Street, Cary, NC 27511 / 465 1422 Office

CONTACT: Lance Clark / 919 816 2524 Confidential Voice Mail / HYPERLINK "mailto:alphacare@embarqmail.com" alphacare@embarqmail.com

A snapshot of Rockport

Here's a little piece of beauty from my wonderful vacation. I try never to miss this place when I go up north.

Family Portrait

Here are some dear friends of ours with their really cool car....

Homage to our furry friends

Here are a few of my favorite furry friends. The black one is mine "Angel" we call her altho yesterday when we left our precious New Jersey Bagels in the car at the rest area - we knew her name was certainly not appropriate.
Misty, the white dog is our little love. We purchased her in NH, kept her for 2-3 years and then gave her to some friends there so that she could stay in the snow, with a side bonus of nipping some ugly asthma in the bud for me.
My vacation was full of furry friends...just glad I didn't meet up with a bear, mountain lion or moose:)...

Studio on the fourth of July

Here's a sneak peak at the studio. This picture was taken on the Fourth of July during the festival in downtown Apex.

Cassidy

Here are a few images I took right before I left on vacation...Great job Cassidy!

On vacation

So here I am in Boston on vacation. Went to Cape Cod today for a day of sun and fun. My brother in law and the children all went clamming and tonight we will have a great meal of clams casino - yum - and home made clam chowda. For lunch we had fried clams, scallops and fish and chips - there's nothing like Cape Cod - or the New England coast for that matter. Such fun!!!

I brought my camera on vacation and wanted to document Amish country and the Cape and my camera sat in the car while I sat on the beach with a good book....guess that's what vacation is for!

Guess I'll mosey down to the kitchen and see if I can help split clam shells....

Funeral for a Friend continued

It's now Saturday evening and I've lived many life experiences since my last entry on Wednesday. I got in the car and headed up to New England. in order to avoid the DC traffic area, we took a long, long detour thru Pennsylvania. It killed our ETA but we had a great spontaneous moment. As we were traveling on my birthday, and because I still this many years later hold high expectations for my birthday, I thought it would be a great idea to stop in amish country and get a nice amish meal. Only problem was that we were 5 minutes away from multiple towns and restaurants closing. We struck out and ended up catching a "Five Guys" at 9:45.

Because we were still only in York at 10 PM we chose to abort our plan to go directly to Massachusetts and stop in Lancaster for the evening. We ended up at Willow Valley Resort and enjoyed a great time in the country while my husband worked....

in the evening of the next night we headed up to NJ to pay our respects at the calling hours to our friends. Calling hours are a mixed bag of complete grief and sadness and sympathy for those that you love standing in long lines receiving condolences from others and joy at seeing others that you may not have seen for 10 or 20 years. I saw many people, highly loved and cherished friends that I've lost track of for many years.

At the calling hours they displayed images of my friend. The value of professional images was not lost on me at that moment. It seems morbid to say that we want to document our images every few years in case someone dies, but when someone does go, how nice it is to have those images. I have a renewed passion for what I do.

Today was the memorial service. Tears were shed, laughter was shared and some very special memories were recounted.

So, I'm up in Massachusetts now, looking forward to going to the Cape tomorrow for some fun in the sun and R and R.

Passing of a friend

This morning at 4:30 my friend Ron died.

Ron contracted a blood disease a few years ago and after a long bout of suffering has gone on to be with the Lord.

I'm grieving today for a life cut short. A husband and father of two taken out of this world before what we would all consider to be his time.

Ron is part of a family that I grew up with. The Martin's came to my father's church when I was in late elementary school. They were a "huge" family to me with their 5 children. We soon became fast friends and spent many vacations together, camping trips, church, swam in their pool, hung out at their cottage on the lake. I worked and vacationed with Ron's sister, went to the junior/senior banquet with Ron's brother. Our lives were intertwined. Ron tried to teach me how to water ski - a hopeless cause for sure. Boy, could he ski - I loved riding in the boat watching. He could whip the snot out of the volleyball and was not to be tangled with. A great athlete and a great person.

I've been gone from NJ for many years, and in many ways have lost touch with the family - although my folks have kept in very close contact and relationship with the Martins. Time and distance change many things, but they don't change our hearts towards those we love.

Ron is with the Lord now. His long suffering is over, but his loss will be felt for many years in the hearts of his loved ones.

Here's a small piece of irony...tomorrow is my birthday. The day that I'm going to celebrate another year of life, health and love. On the day that I celebrate my life, I will be grieving the loss of another. in fact, there is not a July 4 that goes by that I don't remember the great times with the Martin's on the lake, boating, swimming, shooting off fireworks... Life is so fleeting...

I am a photographer because I value people. I document a moment of their lives and preserve it for generations. We are all made in the image of God and we are intertwined with each other in life and in death. When our loved ones are taken from us (and it's ALWAYS too soon), our memories begin to fade. It's the photographs that keep their image before us, trigger our memories and keep them alive in our hearts.

So today my wish is that you give your child that extra hug, extra kiss and tell them how much you love them. Call a friend you haven't spoken to in years. Don't let the busy-ness of life, the economic situation or the daily stresses take you away from what really matters.

anne

dog sitting

Here's a cute little face that I've been enjoying the past few days. I took her over to the studio today to get a few shots.

Cousins

Here are 2 cute little guys...Just have to love them!

Senior Rep Panther Creek

Here are some pics of our gorgeous Panther Creek Rep. We had a great time!

semi-formal time

Had the semi-formal last night. What fun! Here's the trusty teacher's group.