Samuel Barr Photography has a new blog!

Well, God has blessed me again and I'm so excited to share with you the 2nd of the 3 big announcements regarding Samuel Barr Photography. I am happy to announce the new blog for Samuel Barr Photography:


www.samuelbarr.com/journal


Please update your bookmarks and c'mon over - there's always a hot meal and a warm seat waiting for you (well, maybe not a hot meal but definitely a warm seat just for you)!

Thank you for visiting my old blog and I look forward to seeing you at my new online journal. :-)

New Availability

Happy Thursday! Just wanted to share that I have a few "choice" dates available in 2008. This is a perfect time to book an autumn family portrait session or engagement session. And, with the holidays just around the corner it's also a great time to book now for that special Thanksgiving generational portrait and Christmas party. To learn more simply send an email to sb@samuelbarr.com.

PS

I have two big announcements to share with you and I promise it won't take as long to reveal. :-)

Look at what The Lord has done!

Well, after months of teasing I'm finally getting around the sharing the BIG news. Thank you for being so patient. :-)

Last year the Lord started dealing with me about a studio. My business model doesn't include a studio as I work out of my home. And, after speaking with a myriad of photographers who own studios it became clear that right now my business doesn't need the overhead associated with a photography studio.

But, the Lord kept leading me to different locations and asking me "do you want that?" Deep down, if cost wasn't an issue, I'd like to have a nice and trendy space to interview clients and showcase my work. My home is cool and trendy, and I have my work mounted everywhere, but it is too small to really make the "presentation" that I desire. So, I would always answer God and say, "I can't afford a studio."

Still, God kept leading me to different places and I would experience the same prompting over and over again. My Pastor is always telling us that God will always show you something that is more than you think you can handle because He is going to do the work, not you (I probably jacked-up that statement but you get the idea). It's by His might, not mine. So, I finally reached the point where I answered the Lord and said, "OK, it's too expensive for me right now but if that be your will then I receive it."

Well, in May of this year something very special happened - I now share a facility that includes a hallway with marble floors, an elevator, a meeting area, full-size kitchen, fireplace, espresso machine and vaulted ceilings all surrounded by rich redwood paneling. And, it's WiFi! I am very comfortable interviewing couples regarding their destination weddings and family portrait sessions in this space.

But, that's not all! I now have an "office/studio" without all of the expensive overhead that I didn't want. Isn't God good? No, I don't own it. And "yes" I share this space with other people and business owners but that isn't a problem. When I'm there I feel like singing the Jefferson's TV theme song "Movin' on up."

So, there you have it. That's the big news I've wanted to share with you. All I can say is look at what the Lord has done!


This is one of the facilities I looked at. This one is significant as this became available right around the time I stop fighting God and said "...I receive it."


The Hallway


The corridor to the elevator


The view looking over the balcony


The fireplace as seen from the upstairs balcony


Dinning facilities off of the Kitchen


The Kitchen


The Conference Room


View looking out of the conference room


The Conference Room

So, who would like to be the first couple that shares their wedding photography desires with me in my new "office/studio?" Drop me a line as I'm going to do something special for the very first couple. :-)

New Collection of Prints

Happy Sunday! I'm in and out today but couldn't wait to share my newest fine art prints with you. I'm working with my printer on the various sizes and will provide a link momentarily. I'm really excited about this group of images as they represent a new artistic direction I've taken with my abstract art. I hope you like them. Have a great Sunday!

Meet Alijah

Happy Saturday! Yesterday, I had the opportunity to photograph my friend's new baby boy Alijah. And, what I thought would only take thirty minutes took a good hour+ as we had so much fun playing with him. Yes, I probably spent just as much time playing with him as I did photographing him. I love children so I can't help but want to see them laugh and play when I'm around them (blame it on the big kid inside of me).

What was also special about this session was the care and attention Alijah's father gives him. Unfortunately, in our society men get a bad rap as not being affectionate and that simply isn't true.

Maybe it's a "guy" thing but yesterday his uncles were there and all of us were happy, laughing, and just joyous watching little Alijah. I was so focused on capturing all of Alijah's moves and expressions that I didn't photograph his uncles. But, they were laughing and playing with his toys to get him to smile and you could tell that they are in love with their new nephew. The love was so thick that you could literally cut it with a knife. And, it was great to see!

So, here's a few images from our afternoon photo session that I thought you'd enjoy. Ladies and Gentlemen may I have the privilege of introducing you to the next President of the United States (or whatever else his heart desires) - Mr. Alijah Walter Brown.
















When we first arrived at the park this young man was playing with his parents about 50 feet away. When we first set up he saw the basketball and came right over, picked it up, and started playing with it. Well, about 10 minutes later as I was shooting Alijah with the basketball he came over again to play with it but we weren't finished. That's when I snapped these images as this moment was just too cute to miss.






As we were finishing up this young lady walked over and informed us that the park was closing and we would have to leave. So, I thought she was cute and asked her to take a picture with Alijah. At first she seemed taken aback and when she started to walk away Alijah started crying. Immediately, she rushed over to see why he was crying and as the saying goes "the rest is history." Her face lit up like a Christmas tree and she was "oohing" and "awwing" all over him.

Isn't it interesting the effect babies have on people? I've seen babies bring together people who had refused to speak with one another, never mind be in the same room with each other. And yet an infant, with one gesture, can melt even the hardest heart of stone and turn it into jelly. All I can say is that children are a gift and a miracle. Have a great weekend!

The End of Times

What is going on here? I had to work late last night and when I walked out of the door headed for my car this is what I saw. This humongous storm system swept though from nowhere. The clouds were moving very fast and rolling into one another with lightening everywhere. What was strange was that there wasn't much thunder. Call me crazy or "you've watched too many horror movies dude" but it looked like the end of life as we know it. And, as soon as I returned to my car and closed the door the heavens opened up and it began to rain like crazy.

Here's a few more images from tonight's incredible sky show. The image above is straight-out-of-camera, all I did to it was remove the digital noise and add contrast. I have to admit that I did "play" around with the light and colors in the images below.

All I can say, especially after tonight, is please get your life together (if you know what I mean).






OK, besides horror movies I've probably seen too many Sci-Fi flicks as this looks like a portal to another universe. Do you feel me on this one?




This was a big storm system as I have at least an hour commute and this was the scene on my end of town. There was this really cool magenta color to part of the sky as the setting sun was being swallowed by the storm clouds. Again, call me crazy but I have never seen anything like this before. I think Jesus is coming back soon, real soon. Be blessed!

A truly remarkable man

With all of the world talking about the game of Tennis I wanted to share something special with you. After his retirement he never returned to the game. But, one of the greatest, least known, and (outside of the tennis world) least respected players of all time - Mr. Bjorn Borg is finally getting the respect he deserves.

If you watched last year's or this year's Wimbledon finals then you heard John McEnroe talk about how disciplined Bjorn was and how great of a player he was. And yet, even the man the greats are calling "the greatest player to ever play the game" couldn't top Bjorn's record.

Here's a short interview with the player who forever changed the game of tennis, both inside and outside of the court. Bjorn, you truly are one remarkable man.

(Part 1)


(Part 2)

I've just witnessed the impossible!

Yelp, he did it. Two rain delays, almost five hours later and in almost complete darkness he did it. Rafael Nadal has just defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in what has to be THE greatest match in tennis history. Nadal defeated Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 in what is now the longest final match in Wimbledon history. Even the legendary John McEnroe, who has played in some of the greatest matches in Wimbledon history, called today's affair the greatest he's ever seen. In fact, he looked like he was in tears towards the end of his post-match interviews. And if you know anything about John McEnroe you know that he ain't the cryin' type.

I've been a tennis "nut" for at least 20+ years. At one time in my life I wanted to become a professional tennis player. I started playing too late to be a pro but if I was good enough I would have tried my hand at the ATP Tour. Being involved in tennis for that long I've been blessed to witness some of the greatest players to ever play including (in no particular order):

Borg
Connors
McEnroe
Lendl
Everett
King
Navratilova
Graf
Becker
Cash
Agassi
Sampras
The Williams Sisters
Edberg
Wilander

...just to name a few. And I have to admit that what I saw today was the finest match I've ever seen.

What made it so special was not only the history and drama but the level of play was remarkable. For example, one of Federer's forehands was clocked at 101 mph. Both of these guys serve around 120 mph and they hit that hard for the entire match.

Today's match was more like a Heavyweight Championship Fight between the world's best sluggers. They entered the ring, both champions, and hit each other with everything they had, standing toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring, both refusing to quit.

Believe it or not, despite admitting that this loss was hard, there were times during the trophy ceremony where Roger seemed happy for Nadal. But, given his level of professionalism and sportsmanship I'm not surprised. As we say in martial art circles, "they both fought with honor."

Even if you're not a fan of tennis I hope you had an opportunity to see today's historic match. It went back and forth with both men fighting to the bitter end. And because of their respect for one another and high character as athletes, it was also a great example of how to conduct yourself with class in winning and in losing. Wow, what a match!

Rain Delay...

Not quite the view from Wimbledon but you get the idea. This is a big development as Rafael Nadal was on the verge of possibly winning in straight sets and finally beating Federer. Last year, when he was even closer to possibly beating Federer he injured his knee, took an injury time out, and that was enough time for Federer to pull himself together and win his 5th straight title. So, will history repeat itself? Only time will tell...

Breakfast at Wimbledon

Today is a great day for Tennis fans all over the world. I'm up early to see if the world's No. 1 player Rodger Federer can win his 6th straight Wimbledon title against his arch nemesis and world's No. 2 player Rafael Nadal. According to the official Wimbledon website:

"This will be the third straight Wimbledon final between the two, with Nadal getting closer and closer. In fact, last year's five-set classic was the only time Federer has been taken the full distance on grass in his 65 successive victories on the surface.

If he wins, Roger will eclipse Bjorn Borg's Open era record of five Wimbledons in succession, set between 1976 and 1980, and he has certainly made impressive progress this past fortnight, winning all six of his matches in straight sets and only dropping serve on two occasions.

Federer is also still hot in pursuit of the holy grail of the men's game, the record of 14 Grand Slam titles held by Pete Sampras. Victory today would lift the Swiss to 13, with another of his favourite tournaments, the US Open, looming over the horizon late next month."

Here's a quick testimony - I don't have cable as I don't watch much television. So, my "Rabbit Ears" could never really tune-in NBC that well so I couldn't see any of these great matches. But, God has blessed me and this year I'm watching the finals on a wide screen in High Definition. God is good!

This should be a great match. Now, where's my cup of coffee? Hmmm, I wonder if Starbucks is open this early?

I must be losing my mind!

Yes, I wasn't thinking.

I went to see Will Smith's new movie Hancock at my local 30+ megaplex. What in the world was I thinking? School is out; it is the weekend; it is the July 4th Holiday weekend; and I went to a see a Will Smith movie during its opening weekend. Will's July 4th holiday movie openings have been some of the largest grossing holiday movie openings of all time.

To top that off, I decided to get some movie popcorn and a drink. The smallest combo they had was $11.00. You gotta be kiddin' me? You see, I never buy snacks at the movies so I was surprised at the prices. To keep from consuming all of the sugar and syrup in the soda I asked for water. $11.00 bucks for a small popcorn? I must be losing my mind...







If you haven't heard about "Hancock" check this out!

Happy 4th of July!

Today, we celebrate our independence as a nation in the US. July 4th is full of cookouts, friends, music, fun and fireworks. It is one of the high points of the summer for us. I wish everyone a safe, joyous, and fun 4th of July holiday!

Crazy Clouds

Wow! We have had the most bizarre weather this summer. Lots of thunder storms that sometimes show up and at other times pass over but make the sky look like it's Armageddon.

But, one of the bonuses of having so many strange weather systems in our region is that they produce some of the most beautiful night skies you will ever see. So, here's to a Happy Wednesday and the beauty of the crazy clouds!