As this year's seniors prepare to walk across the stage and receive their diploma, we would just like to say, "YOU ROCK!" We really enjoy working with seniors. Irrepreciably energetic and optomisitic, it always gives me hope to visit with a graduating senior and ask about their plans and they reply they are going to be _______ (fill in the blank). It doesn't matter what they choose to do with their life at this point, not really, but the fact they have goals and are heading in a direction thrills me to no end!

Weddings are very happy occassions and it is always an honor to be a part of such a special day even when it is a bit soggy! Here is a couple who would let a little water rain on their parade!

Spring is a great time to get your engagement portraits taken as well! Indoors or outdoors, we always have a fun time and it's so great to get to know them all personally.

Each couple has been fun to work with and you've heard me say it a million times and I mean it, we have the best, I mean the BEST clients! We are so lucky to have gotten to know and love so many people, from seniors to weddings, thanks for choosing us!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day and today is going to be fantastic! It's springtime in the midwest and this, plus the great people, is the reason we live in the heartland. Trees are budding, birds are singing, life doesn't get much better than this!

This is the time of year when the sweetest flowers bloom. Already having shown their pretty faces are daffodils and crocus. Tulips are popping up as we speak, as are grape hyacinth; rose of Sharon, dogwood trees and that thorny tree by the pond we think is a Russian Olive are all in bloom. I have a May favorite though. I wait for it all year long...the uncommonly beautiful scent of the common lilac is my favorite smell. I can close my eye and remember the smell the sweet scent of the lilac bushes that will explode onto the local landscape in the next week. Filled with anticipation of the fleeting fragrance, I know I will have my nose to the air to savor a years worth of the lilac scent on the May breeze.

It is also the time of wedding, graduations, proms and a summer of celebration. We have already started the wedding season and it has been wonderful. Brides, beautiful in their gowns, grooms dressed in tuxes, it's all a part of any wedding, spring, summer, winter or fall. Love blooms in all seasons and we are there to capture the lasting memories, be that the scent of the bouquet of the bride, or the taste of the wedding cake shared by all, our photographs will help you keep the memories of your loved ones, be that in a wedding, family portrait, senior portrait or reunion, as fresh in your mind as lilacs in spring.

Remember, Mother's Day is just around the corner and Father's Day follows quickly. Give the gift of memories this year. Portraits last for generations and they are a legacy for our children's children.

Juniors and seniors go nuts over the photo booth at Lawton-Bronson Prom this last weekend. I did the math and the photo booth shot out a photo every minute and 24 seconds. I think that is a new record for out booth. Check out and see how much fun they had at the prom.

I just have to say I love my life. I love my family, friends, and clients. I have the best job in the world and although some photographers find weddings to be stressful, we always find it interesting, an enjoyable experience because Eric and I, we usually have the good sense to make working fun. Life is just too short to do otherwise. Recently, I watched a lecture on the Internet by a man, Randy Pauch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He, too, finds life worth living and sadly, soon he will not be as he has terminal pancreatic cancer. His courageous, funny, touching lecture may make you appreciate your life only that much more. I am only going to give you the link to the short version, 11 minutes as seen on Oprah. If you are inspired, find and listen to the longer one. It can change your life. I would give you the link to the longer version but I want you to finding it yourself. It may mean more to you if you do the leg work yourself and if you don't find it worth your time, you won't blame me! Will you find it, take the time to really listen, let this lecture soak in and use it as inspiration to change your life if your unhappy? I think you’re worth it! Copy and paste the link below to your address bar.

Sunday - April 21, 2008 marks the day for Raceway Parks First Annual FWD Enduro Race and Practice Day. This is very exciting for Denise and I as iZZon Photography is the Official Photographers for the track. I will be at the track every Sunday night photographing the races. I had a great time yesterday and got some awesome pix. Check out the gallery at Raceway Park Web Site. Here is a image of the race winner. Congrats to the winners and all who participated. Any questions on photography or enlargements can be answered at 277-3524 or dturner@cableone.net.

For the Senior Class of 2009, we have a special gift when you have your senior portraits taken with us, we have t-shirts with our logo on them. They are really cool! We have about 25 so they will be given out until they are no longer available. Get your images taken by July 31, 2008 and you will receive 8 free wallets when you order. We also have some baby onesies to be given out, too. They say "I got my piks taken at iZZon photography."

Yesterday we had the pleasure of working with the United Way of Siouxland’s Women’s Power Lunch and the fabulous Ms. Della Reese. Many of you may remember her long running television show Touched by an Angel. Ms. Reese can sing like an angel, too! Her songs filtered the room softly while we visited and took photographs. Wow! What a voice!

We sponsor photos for the VIP section of the luncheon and take portraits of the participants with the celebrity speaker. We received a warm reception as always and enjoyed working with everyone.

This year, Girls, Inc., made a quilt with the skyline of Chicago to give to Ms. Reese. It was beautiful and a wonderful gift. Ms. Reese is indeed exemplary and a genuinely nice person beyond her talents as an actress, writer and singer.

The proceeds of the Women’s Power Lunch go to scholarships for women in transition and single mothers. We are proud to participate.

As the snow falls what I hope to be the last time for a long, LONG time (and I'm sure everyone in the midwest shares the same sentiment), iZZon photography will be shooting Mother's Day Portraits on April 24, 25 and 26th at the studio. Our theme this year will be Spring Flowers. Please call and book your appointment today. Mother's Day is May 11 and just around the corner. We will get your enlargements here before that date! WHY PORTRAITS ARE GREAT GIFTS: Mom's are special and love, LOVE to have portraits of family, it's not fattening, unhealthy and it lasts many, many years. A portrait says that this gift was thoughtful, purposeful and you had been thinking of your mother as special more than just one day but that she is special everyday!

If you happen to be driving north on I-29 or Hwy 105 Sunday, you might have noticed all the hustle and bustle going on at Raceway Park. Around 40 people came out to volunteer to help get the track ready for the Enduro on April 20th. With weed-eaters and rakes in hand, they cut down all the weeds and debris and hulled it away. Ron cooked up a mess of burgers and brats on his supped-up grill and with the refreshments, it was enjoyed by all. We accomplished a lot of work and everyone had a good time. We would not be this far with out the help of our volunteers and we would like to thank everyone how came out to help this weekend. With race fans like this, it is sure to be a great racing season!

Click on the link to see some pictures on clean up day at Raceway Park. Raceway Park Clean Up Day Pix!

We get many wonderful opportunities to meet new, exciting people everyday but this week Eric went to Newport, NE, to assist a photographer taking farm family portraits for two very large magazines. Dan White of Kansas called and asked if we knew someone who could assist in a photo shoot and I suggested Eric because he is awesome and it would be good for him to get out of the studio and watch someone else work for a change. Dan is a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer. Eric enjoyed working with a photographer of that caliber.

Thanks for the nice comment, Vie! Your pretty awesome, too!

April 10 we will be taking portraits of the fabulous Della Reese along with the women who purchase tickets to the VIP party for the Women's Power Lunch at the South Sioux City Marina Convention Center. Last year Naomi Judd was the speaker.

For more information about the Women’s Power Lunch, click on this link and get your tickets now! http://www.unitedwaysiouxland.com/womenspowerlunch.aspx

I also volunteer for a special organization called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. I take remembrance and bereavement photography for parents whose babies are either past or with a short life expectancy. It is a hard job but it is something I feel is important. This past week was another session for a baby boy. While I won't go into the details, taking portraits for a baby that will not live long makes your heart wrench but the family was, once again, so gracious and kind, it makes you feel very glad you can help in this little way. If you know of someone who is going need rememberance and bereavement photography, please go to www.nilmdts.org and search for a coordinator in your area. The coordinator will locate a volunteer photographer and set up the shoot. For those of you who have not seen the recent coverage of NILMDTS, there was a sizable piece of coverage on NBC in March. I have the link here and yes, it is hard to watch but when you do, you will have a complete understanding of how important this service is to the parents. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23481435#23481435

On a happier note, weddings and senior portraiture continue and soon we will be in full swing, flowers will be budding and it will be spring! Here are a few photos of what has been happening in our studio and one to give you hope winter and its icy embrace will be gone soon! I am sooo happy to see winter almost done! Any guesses on when we will get warm weather?

We make a living from doing photography, portraiture and selling enlargements but this clients story is WHY we do what we do: A lady came into our studio recently with two photographs that her family had taken, one of her four sisters and the other of her other sister. Because of illness and distance, the sisters could not be all together for a photograph. This lady asked if we could take the two images and combine them so they could all be together. It was very important since one of the sisters had been very, very ill. Artwork of this type is something both Eric and I can do, and do well. It is great that we can create a portrait of five sisters out of their two images with a little know how and a bit of time. Yes, we charged this lady a minimal price because we have a business to run and our time is important but we got more than money! WE GOT HUGGED!! We love what we do because we can help people. No, it's not brain surgery. No, we are not saving the world but we are doing good, good work and working hard to please and help people. This family may not ever have the opportunity to physically be together again but in this portrait, they are together and we helped them get there.

So what tragedy, illness or death is going to make you regret that you did not have your family portrait taken? In my family, we never took the time to have a family portrait taken. There is not one professional image of us and it is something I wish we had done. Even after we were grown, we didn’t have either the time, or the money. Then one day, it was too late. My dad was gone. Cancer came, went and took him. There was time to take a portrait before he became too sick but we were so devastated by the illness, no one thought about it. So, take my advice. Think about it. It could be the most important thing you do. I try to live my life with little regret. I regret not having a family portrait with my dad and our family.