Exploding into the scene, hopefully.

Well, after officially opening our studio, we had days where we were left thinking, "okay, what now?" and kind of wondered how to make a splash in the community. Then, suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, we get a phone call. I'm asked if we're free for a job the next day, and of course, I said yes. The job? Ft. Bliss' post-wide NCO of the Year Ball.

So, we scrambled to gather up all our portable studio equipment, charge up all the batteries, prepare outfits (what, it's black tie?!), which we had to scramble to find (thanks, especially, to the Men's Wearhouse), and gather our point-of-sale equipment. I usually like to plan things well in advance, but this was a classic scramble, albeit without the stress of a last minute wedding shoot. Well, as it turns out, we had an amazing turnout that evening, working well into the night and having a blast doing it. Our hosts at the Centennial Club were gracious and generous, offering to assign ushers specifically for us, providing drinks and dinner, and setting aside a room for us to set up. While most of the portraits done that evening were necessarily of the formal type, we did have some incredibly good, candid, emotional portraits that were captured throughout the evening. So far, the response from attendees has been positive, even fantastic. I'm hopeful that this event is the beginning of our explosion into the scene here in El Paso and Ft. Bliss.

So, if you were in attendance at the NCO of the Year Ball, we really, truly, greatly appreciate that you chose to get your portraits from us. Proofs can be viewed in our Client Galleries section of our main website. If you need access, or lost your password, please call us or e-mail us via the "Contact Us" page on our site.

Again, our sincerest thanks to SFC Edwards, the staff at the Centennial Club, and as always, to Gary for name dropping and believing in us. And as always, SDG, it couldn't be possible otherwise.

Elysian Photography Studio Opening

I know it has been a good long while since my last post, considering updates were supposed to come every week or so. Even the previous posts have been erratic and spaced quite far apart. Well, rest assured that the Elysian Photography team and myself are still here, and still very much active. So what's the reason for the online inactivity, you might ask? Online inactivity for us has meant real-world activity and goings-on, keeping us quite busy and quite frankly, a little neglectful of our internet presence.

What can possibly keep us this busy? Well, plenty of exciting change. First of all, we have finally formalized our business structure and status. We are now officially Elysian Productions, expanding our products and services somewhat to include other imaging and photographic services in addition to our existing photography services. Most of our branded products will still say Elysian Photography, although formally the company is now Elysian Productions. Let's look at this for a moment--we now have more to offer.

As I stated earlier, in addition to our studio, location, and event photography services, we now also offer corporate and stock photography, fine art photography, and sports photography. We can also do (limited, for the time being) small-scale design projects and photo book layouts. And, if you're out there and are still a film fan or have old film negatives, we now do film-to-digital conversions and archiving. Of course, along with our newfound ability to work with film scanners we now offer custom photo restoration. Our web page, too, is changing, as we will be upgrading to a much more dynamic and interactive flash-based page.

The biggest news, however, involves the evolution of our studio. Until now, we have been working primarily out of our photographers' home studios. But now we have the awesome blessing and privilege to move in to a brand new, 1400+ sq. ft. commercial store-front studio. We have also upgraded all our studio gear for much more control and customization, along with hundreds of new available digital backgrounds and templates for clients to choose from. We are still officially open and booking clients, but of course, we ask for your patience as our studio space receives its necessary face lift.

Hopefully, now you can see why we've been so out of contact with our blog, on Facebook, and on MySpace. Now that the age of Twitter is here, we may soon plant the Elysian flag there, too.

I hope that you'll come visit us soon, even if only to chat a while and relax in our cozy, comfy studio. We'll be glad to have you over, kick off your shoes a bit, relax on the sofa and share an Italian soda with us. And as always, we welcome phone calls and e-mail. I'm including complete contact information so that you may contact us any way you're most comfortable. Until then, have a blessed evening and days filled with joy.

Fern

Contact us at Elysian Productions:
4727 Hondo Pass Dr., Ste. D
El Paso, TX 79904
(915) 253-9085 or 202-9696
www.elysian-productions.com
MySpace: myspace.com/elysianstudio

Special offers for Military and Public Services

Elysian Photography is now offering great promotions and discounts for our friends in the military and their families, as well as all those who serve in a public service organization such as police, fire, and rescue departments. With the recent popularity of some of our photo packages, for a limited time we are extending our special photo package prices to those of you who selflessly serve others.
Our photo/portrait offers are as follows:

For military personnel and their families, we are offering the following family portrait packages:

Basic Portrait Package, includes prints in the following sizes and quantities-
1 - 8x10
2 - 5x7
8 - wallet size (2.5x3.
5)
for only $25.
00

Silver Package
1 - 11x14
1 - 8x10
2 - 5x7
8 - wallet
only $40.
00

Gold Package
1 - 11x14
2 - 8x10
2 - 5x7
4 - 4x6
12 - wallet
only $50.
00

Platinum Package
1 - 11x14
2 - 8x10
4 - 5x7
4 - 4x6
16 - wallet
only $60.
00

Session fees are included in the package price, and you get not one, but up to four poses per photo package.


If you have a loved one deployed overseas, you will also get either two 4x6 prints or 8 wallets free, to send them overseas.


Fire, EMS, and police departments, as well as other civil servants, will receive 15% off any photo package they order.
Prices will be published shortly on elysian-productions. com.


Call us now to book your photo session. As always, we continue to offer event photography, so book your wedding, quinceanera, office party, or graduation now. Remember, these promotional prices are good only for a limited time, so hurry into the studio or contact us whichever way you're most comfortable with soon.


We look forward to hearing from you!

Film Noir and Classic Hollywood Glamour

I don't often get a chance to sit down and watch a movie on satellite, but today I was doing some bored channel surfing and came across a showing of Casablanca. Having been a photographer for some time now, I now view the cinematography and the artistic way of filming and lighting with a different twist. I thought, now these guys knew how to compose a shot, how to light a set, and how to make these actors/actresses look stunning. I mean, just look at photos of Humphrey Bogart or Ingrid Bergman. Classic. And they don't look much better than they did in that movie.

I thought about some of my previous projects, such as the classic film noir session I did with my sister and brother-in-law. There was also a private party done in the Roaring 20s theme. The feedback and input on the prints made from those sessions has been overwhelmingly positive. Now, friends and clients alike are asking for the ubiquitous low-key, chiaroscuro "Film Noir" look for themselves. And they're loving it. So many people love the vintage black and white look, but are completely dissatisfied or turned off by the abundance of badly posed, badly lit, sepia-toned novelty portraits turned out by the gross at the local mall kiosk "studios" staffed by "photographers" still in high school who don't know their ISO from their f-stop and who think "faded and soft (blurry)" equals "vintage." I tend to agree with this dissatisfied demographic.

It is my goal to be the first in El Paso to specialize in Film Noir and Classic Hollywood glamour photography, and to be the best at it. I'm not talking about just regular black and white portraiture, or even low-key black and white. There are already plenty of photographers locally, and with great credentials, who do a great job at that already. No, I'm talking about film noir, the great and timeless look of classic Hollywood portraiture and films of the Golden Age of Hollywood, the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Remember Casablanca? Or Shanghai Express? How about The Maltese Falcon? All of those films had a great look, with dramatic lighting, shady characters, red fezzes, and fedoras. Of course you know the look. That's what I want to do here at Elysian.

If you'd like to take a look at some samples of past sessions done in this style, just check out our Film Noir & Hollywood Glamour gallery. We are ready to start booking clients for this type of portraiture, be it for a special event, anniversary, or just for fun.

So, if you're just not that into the cookie-cutter stuff at the mall, give us a call. It's always nice to feel like Bogart or Bergman for an hour or two.

Tutti Performs at Tork Bar & Grill

After a few lazy days of festivities filled with family, eating, relaxation, and (did I say eating?) generally being somewhat unproductive, it was nice getting back to work in a scene I am still very much a part of--live music. Having all the history that I do with live performance, shooting bands is still one of my favorite things to do. The day after Christmas proved to be one of the coolest live shows I've ever seen.

Tutti, a local indie band from El Paso, and longtime personal friends, had a rocking show on Friday night. It was great being so near my element again, albeit off the stage as opposed to on it, but having a camera in my hands made the whole thing that much sweeter. The band not only sounded great, playing an eclectic mix of '80s and '90s pop, Spanish rock, and some techno beats, but also gave me some excellent photo opportunities. The typical darkened stage with tungsten stage and mood lighting would have been a lighting and high ISO noise nightmare to anyone, but I'm quite impressed by my Canon DSLR and the new "Nifty Fifty," the Canon 50mm f/1.8. Low-light shots were amazing, the lens being as fast as it is, and the sharpness at even the widest aperture impressed me. This was the first time I've ever put the Fifty through its paces.

The photo gallery should be up pretty soon, for those of you who would like to see photos from the evening. Also, I'm pretty sure the band would appreciate some web traffic on their MySpace page. Just go to www.myspace.com/tuttis for more info on the band. Please check my website for photos of the band, and I'll post a link to the gallery as soon as it becomes public (waiting on permission from the band first).

As always, all of us would greatly appreciate any comments.

EDIT: The band's photo gallery is now public and available for viewing online, in the new "Music" section on Elysian-Productions.com.

Specialty Print Products from Elysian

First of all, let me take a moment to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas, and a wonderful holiday season. What better time than the holidays to get in touch with friends and family, and reconnect with our loved ones. There are not very many better ways to share those holiday greetings and wishes than with a thoughtful, unique, personalized gift. Elysian Productions is now offering greeting cards with personalized photos and messages. Perfect for sending your warmest wishes to your friends and family, wherever they may be.

Also, for the remainder of the holidays, we are offering our Christmas and holiday greeting card package to military families who are separated from loved ones by distance or deployment for half price. That's right, half price. What better way to send a special holiday gift to your soldier overseas. If you are a soldier, airman, sailor or Marine stationed on or near Fort Bliss or Holloman AFB, this is also the perfect way to keep in touch with your loved ones back home.

Since the holidays are quick to come and go, we are also pleased to announce that along with our greeting cards, we are debuting our line of personalized birth announcements.

All our specialty custom print product packages include the photo session, retouching, and photo CD with portraits from the session. For more information, please contact the studio.

We look forward to hearing from any and all of you out there, and may everyone have a wonderful Christmas season.

By the way, a very special thanks to Matt and Marie Shutt for their gracious permission to feature their Christmas card.

Attention all Bands and Musicians

Greetings all,

I was up late last night recovering from a day of work with my other job, a military training contractor, and had a marvelous epiphany. I realized I had no money, and our economy sucks. Then I realized, well, most of my clients don't either. SOOOOO. . . . .


For a limited time, I am offering photo sessions/packages to bands and musicians FOR FREE. Yes, you heard it, for free. The session can be a composed (set up) standard band portrait, at whatever location you choose, or it can be photos of a concert or performance doing what you do best. The photos are yours to do with what you will.


Please, don't feel excluded if you're not a band or in one. I am extending this offer to any musician, so if you are a classical performer doing recitals, chamber ensembles, or whatever, the same applies to you all. If you ARE a band, I'll take any genre or style, also. Praise & Worship bands, this means you, too.


So, if you or someone you know fits the category, please let me know when you'd like your free photo session. Spread the word, because even those of you that don't directly fit the bill, sure as heck know someone who does.


Any questions about anything, feel free to contact me here or at fern@elysian-productions.com

-Fern