Friday, February 27, 2009

Don't Forget to LIVE!!!

So this is my life right now... I've gone from wanting to find things to do, to having to schedule time to sleep. If my body didn't require sleep I would stay up all night doing stuff that needs to be done.

But in the middle of going through the motions... I forgot to actually enjoy life. Isn't it amazing that in the middle of existing we forget to actually live our lives and enjoy the journey. I can't put "living" on my list of things to do... it has to be something that I do each and every day... Especially now since I'm actually living my dream and doing something I love...

I have to keep telling myself "Slow down Rach... enjoy the sunshine and breathe in the rain (or at least the smell of the rain)." So here's to slowing down, enjoying the rain and sipping a quiet cup of coffee... enter contented sigh here.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

WE ARE LIVE PEOPLE!!!

Okay... so I can't contain my excitement... but really... can you blame me?

I seriously stayed up until 2am getting this site ready to go online. I was so stressed that my link didn't work from the newsletter I sent out before that I had to get this up asap. I also had a shameless plug on Matt and Ramona (107.9 the link) on Tirade Tuesday because of all the stress with the website. I was so mad! Okay... So thank you Carletha for helping me get back on track, otherwise it might have been weeks before I knew what was going on!

Check out the splash page:




Isn't it sexy? Make sure you visit! www.rfphotography.net

Sorry I'm all over the place today... but like I said... I was up till 2am!!!

Monday, February 23, 2009

And Miss Clavel turned on her light... Something is not right...

Okay... for all of you that have gotten my newsletter I completely and totally apologize!!


I received an email from a prospective client last night and she informed me that the link to my website was bad... So after investigating I realized that it wasn't the link that was bad, it was the site!

I just transferred website hosting services and the old server dropped my FTP files before they could be transferred to the new service... Basically, my website is gone... gone, gone, gone. I am in process of rebuilding it (from scratch!), but it will be up and running before the week is out.

For all of you that would like examples of my work please go check me out at: http://charlotte.perfectweddingguide.com/all/photography-video
and click on RF Photography. Unfortunately, the link I tried for my direct page doesn't work.


For all of you that would like pricing information - my all inclusive packages start at $700... yes, that's right... $700. That includes just about everything but travel expenses (not kidding, people... :) Please send me an email. if you want other packages that include bridal and engagement shots as well!!

Here's a quick preview of the new site:



I have to work out getting the logo redone for a black background, but it's coming along! I am so sorry for all the inconvenience! Please bare with me as I'm rebuilding!!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Up and Running!!

So... I absolutely couldn't wait... I'm on perfect wedding guide.com!!!



Isn't this fantastic? Yay for finally marketing! And I finally sent out my first newsletter! I'm in process of formatting a better one... here's the one I'm working on...




Website should be going live here in a few days so keep your eyes peeled! Love you all and thanks for you support!!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

13 Year Old Hero

Hello friends!

So... I finally braved the mountain this year and took 11 teenagers up to Ski Beech, NC. Talk about crazy times... no, not really... we have a good (no, great) bunch of kids we work with. My hero of the day was Amy (pictured below):


Let me give you some back story... Amy went on the ski trip with us last year. She spent most of the day in Ski Patrol lying on a cot. Amy even took a lesson, but because the conditions were less than favorable she slipped on an icy patch (and lets face it - it was mostly icy patches last year), dislocated her knee and spent the next few weeks being doted on by her friends and mother.

But this year... this year makes me want to cry (which I started doing just now)... We told the kids that we were going to offer "snow tubing" as an option to skiing and snowboarding this year. Because of Amy's fear of getting back up on the mountain, and how severe her injury was, most of the kids decided to go tubing. Last week we called to confirm with Ski Beech and they didn't write themselves any notes to remind them to give us the "group rate" on everything - even though we had half our kids tubing. So my husband and I spent the next two days figuring out how we were going to work this trip... and get the parents on board to help their kids switch from tubing to skiing/snowboarding and not only work through their fear, but their kids fear as well (talk about stress!!!). So we got (mostly) everyone on board and headed out to Ski Beech yesterday. I spent half of the day on the bunny slopes teaching the transfers how to snowboard, and the other half taking Amy down the mountain... yes, Amy.

She went from being the most fearful to the most energetic! And even when her BFF headed in the lodge out of frustration - Amy stayed with it... And not only stayed with it, but laughed everytime she fell down. What an example she was to me! I'm so quick to give into discouragement and failure, but I need to learn how to laugh at my mistakes get up and try again. Not just try - succeed. I told my friend Dawn today that I've always learned by making mistakes - like a child learning to walk. You only learn how to walk by falling, but it's in the falling and picking yourself back up again where real character is formed (at least in adults!). So here's to my new hero - Amy - Thank you for teaching me to laugh at my mistakes, enjoy the fall and learn by trying. You are amazing and I feel so priviledged to have you as one of my "kids."

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Day with the Kids!

I took some kids from my church that are extremely photogenic out to the playground for a day of fun and to get some great shots for my new website. Here are a few of them:













Aren't they adorable? If you're looking for a photo shoot of your kids feel free to contact me! rfesko@gmail.com.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Valentine's Day!

Yay! Love is in the air! I love Valentine's Day... maybe it's because I'm married and have a valentine forever! But I do remember the days of pouting, curling up on the couch and watching an old Cary Grant film.

So to celebrate my new found joy I made cupcakes for my hubby's team at work! If you look closely you can even see the sprinkles in a heart shape... I know... I'm super creative.




Sorry the picture is fuzzy! My digital died and all I had was my pinkberry (yes, pinkberry - not black or crack).

Oh! Did I mention that I only have one weekend in September available now? Now all I have to do is get the other 11 months filled up! Yay adventure! Sorry if you were looking for something deep and philosophical today... not gonna happen! More to come from the weekend!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Running to Catch Up

I feel like I'm running to catch a train... make that a bullet train! Ever since the expo things have been taking off exponentially, and all I can think is that there is definitely providence in everything going on around me.

I met the most wonderful couple on Friday - DJ & Andria - and lined up a whole mess of shoots from now until their wedding day in September. I am just amazed. And hopefully that will lead to more referrals and so on and so forth. Upcoming brides always know other upcoming brides for some reason!

This week is just all the more confirmation that I'm right where I should be, walking down the path I should be walking on... and the best part is that I'm living my dream!! More to come (much more, I hope).

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Start of a Journey

I was at a bridal expo over the weekend and walked away with the sense of, "Oh my god... I could actually do this." It was such a great feeling to have a sense of accomplishment and people genuinely interested in my work... I gave out at least 100 business cards and all my price lists, but then the phone never rang and my hope turned to "oh well." And then Tuesday came around, I walked in the door and my wonderful hubby surprised me with a brand new blackberry... or pinkberry as I would like to call it. He said that it was his "investment" into RF Enterprises and it would make it easier for this new venture I've set out on... Can we say "heart" lift?

And wouldn't you know... I got an email... and now I have a meeting... and that could turn into who knows what! But it's a start, and now that I'm actually serious about getting off my duff and doing what I've always dreamed of... I'm going to stop being afraid of what could be and start living the life that perhaps I was always meant to live... I took my hands off the pause button, and now it's time to start inhabiting this world I've called home.