First Contest Winner's Logo - Cider Press Studios

Julie of Cider Press Studios was one of the winners of the new logo contest...so without further adeiu here is her new logo

Julie was quick to get me her answers to my branding questionnaire and her thorough answers allowed me to quickly deduce what she wanted her brand to be about.

So let me know your thoughts! And I still need the branding questionnaires from you other two fab winners!

1000Markets Staff Pick!

I just was informed that Matt at 1000Markets made Anita Roach Studios his staff pick and featured me on the site. So go on over there, peek around and see if you agree with Matt that "my photos are a joy to view."

New Online Shop at 1000markets.com

I have launched a new online store for my fine art photography at http://www.1000markets.com/users/amrstudios.

This online store will be growing over time as I include all my fine art photography. For now I will be concentrating on my remnants work of old barns, dilapidated signs, and other rural scenes as well as my macro flower work and my urban landscapes collection which features a lot of windows and walls from Italy, France and the United States.

11 Years in Business!

UPDATE: Here is the email address to send to anita at anitaroachstudios dot com

past and that I am still lucky enough to work for myself. When I started out I was under contract with my old company, Turner Construction, and little changed except that I had a little more power over my schedule and I could work from home. Which was extremely important since my daughters were still young and I often worked 20 hour days. Today, TriadDesign is part of Anita Roach Studios and I have added photography to the mix -- everything from product photography and headshots to weddings and newborn portraits, and of course my fine art photography. I love design, I really do, but photography is a passion so I am thrilled that it is now part of my business!

There have been ups and downs of course, and once I even took another marketing job out of fear that the business would not survive...only to quit the day before I was supposed to start! I just knew that I need to keep on going and after considerable prayer knew that I couldn't let my dream die...and I'm so glad I trusted God on this one!

So as promised, I said I would announce the winner of the logo contest...and because each woman has a dream of her own to start her own thing...each of the commentors is getting a logo! (Good thing there aren't a lot of readers to my blog yet :))

So ladies, send me an email and I will send you a questionnaire that I use for my branding clients and we will get started on designing your logos which is a great building block for making your own dreams come true...and hopefully in 2020 we will be celebrating your 11 year anniversaries of being your own boss!

Remember this little Guy

I have had the honor of photographing Jack since before he was born (I did his mom's maternity pics and his newborn shots). These are his 3 months photo, its so fun to watch him grow. Shooting an infant can be a challenge as you have to just go for it since you can't ask them to pose and there is no control over their emotions or facial expressions. But it can also be so much fun, as long as you are open to whatever the little one offers up and also have parents who see the memories and cuteness in even the grumpiest of faces. I highly recommend shooting the session in their home so that they are as comfortable as possible and so that the shots truly reflect what was going on in their lives at the time.

When doing a "first year" progression I always try to recreate certain poses so that the growth and changes are even more evident.

Here is Jack at 3 months...I love the "bear papoose" that his mom puts him in when he goes outside in the cold. So adorable.

Remnants

I am working on a personal project that will eventually take me all over the country to photograph the remnants of life in the small towns of America. This weekend I started with a trip from Denver to the Kansas border along Highway 36. A couple of towns made me cry, a couple made me angry for the people who owned the now defunct business but in each place I found beauty in the remains. I am grateful that big business has not come into these places and bull dozed away these important monuments of what life used to be like. You can view more photographs from this trip here.

New Brand Official Launched!

Today TriadDesign and Anita Roach Photography officially become Anita Roach Studios - Design + Photography! The new brand features a new logo, website, and future for my companies.


TriadDesign began in February 1, 1998 and is celebrating the end of its 10th year so a new look is more than perfect for its 11th birthday! I think its also appropriate to inaugurate my new brand while we inaugurate our new president!


I am excited to see what 2009 brings to my business and to see how the new look impacts it!


As part of the launch I am giving away a prize or two. You can choose from the design of a fresh new logo for your own endeavor or a set of my photo magnets. Just leave a comment about what your goals for 2009 are and what excites you about them! I will post the winner on TriadDesign's anniversary, February 1, 2009.