Earlier in January, we went to Vermillion, SD and took this couples wedding photography. Here is a collage of several images I like. What do you think?

We were on KG95 yesterday discussing our photo booth! The folks down there are really nice! We appreciate being treated so great. Thanks, Mark, Rita and Kevin!

January is almost over and February is just around the corner. I will be very busy with meetings involving the Sioux City Museum and participating in the public announcement of the United Way of Siouxland's 8th Annual Women's Power Lunch. iZZon photography will be taking portraits of the guest speaker and people who purchase VIP luncheon tickets. If you live in a community, you have got to be a part of that community. I can't think of a better way to help our community than to volunteer. Go spend some time at your local charities and find time to give of yourself. You will never feel so good!

For those who really know me, you know I like to wax philosophically at times and something recently happened that makes me want to reflect on the goodness of people. I won't tell you the meaning of life, because I don't know, but I will share just one of the many, meaningful experiences that I have had the opportunity to experience.

I feel that if you put yourself out to the world, the world will present itself to you. It's not always pretty or nice, but most of the time it is complacent, uneventful and benign. Sometimes, however, the world is a magnificent place and it's energies, amazing. Some call it God, Allah, nature, humanism, whatever you choose to call it; it is goodness that resonates through the human spirit like a song. I find I can "fill up my cup", or renew my spirit, by getting in touch with nature and doing something good for someone else.

While we were on our vacation, we were asked by a family if we would take their photograph for their Christmas cards next year. They did not know we were professional photographer's until they had asked. We took their photo cheerfully, they thanked us, they took a photo of us, too, and we visited for awhile. The sun set. It was time for us to leave. End of story, right? No. Last week, Eric and I received a very nice print of the two of us, watching the sunset, that one of the family members, (mom, I think) had taken of us on the sly! What a nice surprise! It feels the heart with joy and restores faith in humanity for someone to do something so sweet...and so to the family from San Antonio, Texas-Thanks! We don't have many photos of us together because we are always on the other side of the lens. It was a pleasure to visit with such a nice family and a true surprise!

That brings me to the text below. You may have received it in an email or on the web. I don't want to infringe on a copyright but I think that these words are priceless, definately worth sharing although difficult to do daily, something to strive for and obtainable.

I N S T R U C T I O N S F O R L I F E 1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk. 2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson. 3. Follow the three R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions. 4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. 5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly. 6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship. 7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. 8. Spend some time alone every day. 9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values. 10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. 11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time. 12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. 13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past. 14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality. 15. Be gentle with the earth. 16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before. 17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. 18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. 19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

And I would add: Give of yourself fearlessly, honestly and openly without reservation. Little things mean a lot so start by do what you can for others unselfishly and life will give back without hesitation. I don't know much, but this I know for sure.

It's that time of year where the bridal shows are going to start popping up around the area. We don't typically participate because we don't have a large advertising budget and wedding shows charge a premium price for participating in their event. Most people who attend the bridal fairs are comparison shopping. When they are done looking, they will continue to shop more. Usually most of our clientel find us through referals and the internet, although we do have an ad in the telephone book. Most of the time, people look at our website, see our quality of work, call us, meet us (fun, fast, not the photo nazi's) and find us to be the photographers they would like to have at their wedding. We are honored to be a part of such an important day.

These are some images we took this summer. This is a combination of traditonal and photojournalistic photos and a sample of what we create. Let us know if you have any questions, we'll try our best to help you!

OH, don't forget to check out our photo booth. We have an introductory offer but it won't last forever! Add something different to your wedding day!

This is Eric being silly but your wedding guest would get a print like this with your wedding information to personalize the momento and you two would get a CD of all who participated! It's a party in a box!

It's snowing again here in Sioux City, Iowa. It is a lovely white, light, fluffy snow and it is very cold but I still like days like this! When the weather takes a turn for the worst and clients have to reschedule and we can't get out, I like to stretch my artistic arm and come up with some fun collages. I like a grouping of portraits that include different facial expressions of the subject. Sometimes, I join sisters, brothers and other family members so they can have a collective gallery in one print. At anyrate, they are fun to create.

Although it is cold outside, for those of you who have a warm heart, I take boudoir portraits to heat things up for Valentine's Day. It is a series of images in different outfits, using various artistic lighting and posing, I take images for your sweetheart or maybe you just want to capture your image in a romantic, glamorous way. I remember I did a setting a few years ago for a young bride whose husband would spend their first year anniversary in Iraq. She could not think of anything else he would like as much as these sexy shots. Boudoir Portrait Sessions usually last about 2-3 hours, depending on the number of outfits and studio changes.

Someone recently asked if we have a bridal registration. While we do not have a formal registry if you would like to give a gift to someone's wedding portrait purchase, we can certainly do that. All you need to do is purchase a gift certificate and we will send a receipt to you and the gift certificate to either you or the couple. This works for weddings, family gifts, seniors, any type of service or product we offer can be purchased with a gift certificate.

I hope you all stay warm and safe!

Last month there was a huge fire in our neighborhood. We live right up the hill from this old nursing home and Eric ran down there and caught some amazing photographs. This is an image of a fire truck and fire station where our brother in law works. It was a tremendous fire with heat you could feel a full block away albeit very cold that night. Thank goodness for firemen and women!

Well, here it is two weeks into the New Year and I still have not caught up on blogging. Eric and I had such a busy year last year and it was fantastic meeting you all and working with you. I know I can speak for Eric in saying we hope you have enjoyed the iZZon experience as much as we did having you as clients!

Here are some folks we had in our studio in the later part of fall and winter. I want you to notice how wonderful they all look with our outdoor studio! Now mind you, I’m not bragging but the back yard looks great all year long! It may not feel the best (welcome to the Midwest) but we can always find interesting places in our backyard studio to take fabulous portraits.

Families come when they find the time and time is always the enemy it seems. Moms have to get to work, clean house, be the family taxi, etc. Dads have work, kid stuff, and more and more obligations to contend with beyond the “Lucy, I’m home!” days of yore. Kids, my gosh, they have a schedule like a rock star! Gymnastics, soccer, dance, baseball, swimming, Scouts, Brownies, Girl Scouts, church and band are just a few things kids try to cram into their schedule. With schedules like those that we all have, it is very difficult to find time to take a family portrait. There just are not enough hours in a day. We are flexible with our schedule so we can get you in when it is convenient for you. We work 6 days a week, usually about 60 hours a week to afford you the possibility to get those family portraits taken with your schedule in mind. Think about your yearly schedule. When is a down time? We will take the time for you! Give us a call and find out what we can do for you! Here are a few of our fun loving families. If some look familiar, it’s because they are! We have many families that have been coming to us for years now.

We took Tonia's senior photos about 7 years ago and her whole family has been back several times since. The family keeps growing so they have to keep the portraits currant. Super nice family!

Who says portraits can't be casual and fun?

Another loyal client, this family below is just a hoot to work with. We always try to come up with new ideas for clients who return year after year.

This family below came to us for family portraiture after we took their sons senior portraits. The second image is made from the first. I couldn't choose which one I liked the best.

All of these families and kids had such great ideas and were soooo much fun!

This family came here for some fun but they came here because we had taken senior photos of their youngest son, Travis. Travis is overseas, serving our country. Take care, Travis!"

Who can resist a baby this pretty?

While weddings are big in the summer, winter weddings can be beautiful, too! We just went to Vermillion to get this couple hitched. It was a great day, albeit a little cold but the bride and groom look stunning! And check out this cake! Pretty neat and the bride designed it herself!

Did I mentioned we did some photography for The Dowry? Gotta love those folks! Here is an image Eric enhanced of some girls in fairy costumes. The back ground is our back yard. Like it? If you need any costumes or props, contact The Dowry, they are great to work with!

Are you listening to us on KG95? We are going to be on at 7:45 Wednesday mornings for the next couple of weeks. Let us know what you think! We have been receiving lots of calls about the photo booth!

On a personal level, we have a photo of our granddaughter we would like to share and some photos we took on a very cold day in Iowa, just after the holidays. Hope you enjoy! And Christi V- you rock! Thanks for the comment on the blog! If you have something to say, comment on, bitch about, give praise, just a shout out, drop us a line on the blog, email us, give a call or stop by! Let us know what you think of the slide show of the keys, too. As Rachelle and Jake would say, “We love you best!”

Hello All
Got a little slide show so you to see some of the places that we visited during our stay in the Fabulous Florida Keys. The keys are beautiful and if you get a chance to go, do! It was the best vacation that I have ever been on. We spent most of our time on secluded beaches and wasted as much time as we could. The days were slow but the week went fast. It was amazing and I wish I was back there right now.

Enjoy

Hey there, gang we are back from a vacation and took some cool images of the Florida keys. Here is a fantastic rainbow we were lucky enough to see. Getting an image like that is being in the right place at the right time, having great equipment, a little artistic ability and a big bunch of luck! Anyway, it was the honeymoon Eric and I waited 25 years to take. Everyone should go to the keys once. When we get some time, we will get some more images on the blog for you. Mind you, we are not gloating and I hate it when people want to show you vacation photos for hours but if you want to know what the keys are about, we will show you what we found and enjoyed. Oh, we are going to be on air on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. on KG95 for the next 3 weeks! Tune in and tell us what you think! OMG, I hope we don't sound bad!

Happy New Year to all of our wonderful friends, family and faithful clients. We wish you all a memorable new year, with enough of everything to keep you strong, healthy and happy! May this year be filled with peace and joy for you all! Happy memories for the whole year and beyond! Sincerely, Denise and Eric