Eat Lots lately? I sure have and already looking forward to my new year resolutions, well looking forward to 2010 because I have a feeling it is going to be one of the best years of my life and I sure hope to have more days like almost 2 weeks ago in Connecticut when I got a chance to go to shoot with the Youngrens as I mentioned in previous post. Now here are the pixs of our models Max and Jesse, oh yes another Max, here are my favs and check the SLIDESHOW***
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I had randomly found Jeff and Erin’s Photography Blog almost a year ago and I loved what I saw, clean, fresh and beautiful images. They are a San Diego Wedding Photographers and I did not for say stalk their blog as I do some others but they were always on my mind and I would check in once in a while. Last week I saw a tweet from Jeff saying they would be in CT on Thursday and there would be a free shoot and that got me wanting to drive up to CT. I did not follow up on the details right away, waited for very last minute as I so do very often with my personal stuff and I contacted fellow FEO ( FEO means FOR EACH OTHER- a great concept taught at Dane Sanders workshop) Hildi Todrini and since she lived in CT I figured she was in the loop of the shoot. I had also seen they would be speaking on Wednesday at the New Haven, CT PUG meeting which is led by my the lovely Justin and Mary Marantz and then that made me want to go the day before so I asked my friend Hildi if she lived close to there etc, by the time we started really talking about me going up there it was already Wednesday afternoon and there would be no time for me to catch the talk but I still wanted to go to the photo shoot but faced many many obstacles with the car, the kids and so on. Luckily Hildi kept persisting I went, she offered train options, offered me to stay over her house and all of this stuff and I was sold but I decided to face the crack of dawn commute and I drove to her house in Stamford, CT to meet her and her husband David so we could drive up. I also had the chance to meet their beautiful daughter Maya and we dropped Maya off at her school and proceeded to our commute to New Haven. I had read the photo shoot would be at a light house and it was one of the coldest days of the year and I was bundled up but had no gloves and Hildi to the rescue again hooked me up with gloves, she was so good to me, can not thank her enough.
We were a bit late and did not know exactly where the group of around 25 photographers would be and we drove around and followed signs to the Carrousel park. We saw a parking light and there were about 18 photographers standing in the cold trying to keep warm underneath a lot of clothes, funny hats, gloves, scarf and coffee. As we waited for the models to arrive, Jeff began just telling us how the photo shoot would be and some really cool tips. We walked towards the water which happen to be less windy since it was right in front of flat building and we stood in the sun. 10 minutes had gone by and I could not feel half of my fingers, and I was in so much pain and I thought to myself I can not believe I will have to bail out, I came all the way from NJ but the pain got worse and I was about to ask Hildi to go grab her other gloves in the car. We all stood there drooling over the building in front of us which had a carousel inside, big open area, white curtains and lots and lots of windows. I so wanted to go in and the pain kept getting worse and that was when someone found one of the doors unlocked but then the craziest thing happened, an alarm went off, oh oh would we have cops? Naha, just one of the park guys and Justin ran over to speak to him and worked his charm and the guy allowed us to go in the building as long as we did not cross over the carrousel. I heard angels singing and my prayers were answered because I really was about to bail out, I mean how can I hit that shutter button if I can not feel my fingers? Come on, I am Brazilian you know, we can only take so much cold. Now inside, Jeff and Erin do a run down of how they handle their customers in shoots and I loved how they interacted taking turns explaining different aspects of client interaction, posing, trust, pre visioning,settings and of course lighting. They said we would get turns directing the models and I just wanted to hide and pretend I did not hear that until about 3 people had gone and I was running out of ideas and spots and so many cool shots had been taken already. I was standing in front of Erin and Jeff was about to show us some shots he was getting when Erin turned to me and said okay now you go. PANIC MODE WAS ON, but I stepped up to the plate, introduced myself to the couple and stood in front of the carrousel for my shots, I asked the lovely Jess to take her gloves off if she could bear the cold because it was still cold although we were inside and she graciously did. I showed her what I wanted her to do which was just put her chest on model Max which happens to be my husband’s name so that was a good ice breaker and Jess told me the first pose was awkward and we immediately changed it, I took some shots and was like okay I am done. Our time in the building was up and we had to head to the bitter freezing cold and wind.
We tried taking some shots by the lighthouse when I heard some magical words, let us go to Star bucks for some coffee to chat some more. YES PLEASE, no more cold. I was starting not to feel my toes by then but do not get me wrong, the shoot was so worth driving from NJ to not only meet the Youngrens but to connect with some other photographers and to catch up with Hildi and her husband as well. At Star bucks, I got a chance to talk Nikon with Justin and to get great blogging tips and client meeting advice from Jeff. I loved all the talks that were going on at the same time. I must say that Jeff and Erin are the nicest, most down to earth, generous photographers I have met, they are all about keeping it real and had incredible practical advice to share. Thank you guys for coming all the way from San Diego and thank you for being authentic leaders. Here are some pixs and behind the scenes stuff.
The very high profile amazing photographer I so look up to Mike Colon is giving a scholarship to his next Seven Workshop which will be in Hawaii next month. I am asking you my blog readers and friends to vote for me. You can only vote once. Please visit http://www.mikecolon.net/blog/ and scroll about 1/3 way and vote for Feuza Reis, thank you so much for your support with soar, if you want to know more about soar, just visit www.soarwithmera.com. and thanks in advance for you vote. and here is sneak peak of baby Stephen Holiday Session~
As promised here is my fusion attempts, still not using the software I wanted and preety much just having fun playing around with this since my camera does do this. Here is a little fusion video I did for Melissa’s 1st birthday party; the song is in Portuguese but you get the idea. In other news I have applied to Mera Koh’s Soar Scholarship and I had to be in front of the camera and it was scary, I was really nervous but I had to try, nothing to loose and a whole lot to gain. If you have a passion for photography and lack the tools you really should check out Mera Koh’s Soar Project- go to the website and see how you can apply. www.soarwithmera.com. Follow all the action on twitter with hashtag #soar.
Today Lucas turns 5, it was five years ago that my life would forever change and when I look back, time sure does fly, just the other day I was sick in the hospital after giving birth to him, just the other day I was rocking him to sleep, teaching him first steps. When he turned 3 I took away his binkie and 2 weeks later his blanket, I though that would be the hardest thing to do but he cried only the first day and then he was fine. We recently found old video tapes and the one that really struck me of was of me at the hospital when Joshua was born, Lucas was still very much a baby, so little, cute, funny, he would point to Josh and say baby and today he is 5. 5 is a big one, I remember my fifth birthday. Yesterday he woke me up so early wanting cartoons, begging for t.v. You see Lucas loves t.v and I have been trying to do different thinks to get him off it well I have not been trying very hard. I got up and told him no then I said how about we look up some learning stuff for you online. At first he was still mad at me and said an ok with a sigh. Soon his big wet eyelashes starting blinking and blinking and his bright smile started showing. We printed shape worksheets and #’s and I gave him an envelope to put his paperwork. Then to my surprise he began calling me teacher and yelled at Josh for calling me mom. We took a snack break then I said we had one more activity to do and Lucas said, then we get to go home and I laughed for he was taking the school thing very seriously but that one gesture, simples stuff I was doing with him, made him feel so happy made him feel important and loved. He would not stop hugging me and he said teacher, I like you then he said teacher I love you then he called Mrs. Reeks again, which is his attempt of pronouncing reeks. I love his big smile, I love his laugh, I love how smart he is and how he loves to study and I love when he acts like a nice big brother. We will be celebrating Lucas birthday and Joshua’s birthday ( very belated) in two weeks at the movies when the Chipmunks 2 movie comes out, the boys already know some lines from the movie and get really excited every time they see the commercial. Here is the final end result of my crazy idea for invitatio ( i am a big sucker for invites and favors, that was my first shot at wedding stuff, big fail because I can not even cut a straight line but I think this came out okay and here are some photos of my Lucas Enrique Tomaz. Lucas I love you so much and I pray for more days like these, days of quality awesome time together. God Bless you and remember you can learn anything and do anything you wish for.
Okay so I really should be sending this out for my newsletter and so this is just a summary of recent happenings in my life. First and foremost I did a scary thing today, you know when you want something so badly but you have second thoughts because oh I do not know, you do not want to make a fool of yourself and then your desire is greater than your shyness or embarassment level? Or maybe not but you do it anyway? I have always been an outspoken person, liked public speaking, I am friendly, outgoing and communicative but to put myself totally out there, well that is a lot to ask of a girl. After watching the ladies who have already applied to Mera Koh’s Soar Scholarship I was inspired and made sure I was able to apply. The wonderful talented and inspiring photographer Mera Koh back up by Sony, Smugmug, Shoot Q and a few other sponsors to give 3 women the opportunity to soar in 2010 and get tools, support, coaching and lots of cheering in order to fully launch a photography business. You might be reading this and say Feuza but you are launched and my friend you are wrong, I have been trying to live this dream for the last year and a half and it is still not a career, it does not pay the bills nor puts food on the table sadly to say but I have been persistent and I am a believer and I have been extremely blessed lately by getting listed as a wedding vendor on the fabulous Wedding Chick blog as as well as been interviewed by the Bridal Crate Magazine which I still can not believe! But I need to soar for me and for my family, the way it is going right now, I need to go back to a 9-5 p.m to help at home. Passion alone does not carry out the dream so I put myself out there today completely, nervously, scaringly for a chance to Soar. My video is still not up but I encourage other women who have this dream to apply and to watch the videos, the stories, the dream and in advance thank my family and friends for your love and support.
Please Visit www.soarwithmera.com
and here is some sneaks of a Holiday Session I did last Sunday with Baby Justin and his family.
So last Thursday I was given the honor to attend Liz Claibourne’s ” It is time to talk day” which was a day of gathering different people to discuss teen dating abuse and domestic violence. I knew I would be with other mom bloggers and we would be interviewing different experts and possible victims but I had to idea of how this would impact my life as a woman, as a sister, as a mom. I arrived in the very cool warehouse style headquarters and immediately saw Liz Clairbourne clothes, accesories, then to my left there were sofas, people talking, people standing and then even more over I saw a bunch of tables with microphones and headsets and those were for the Radio Talk reps who would be interviewing the experts. I was taken to another room by Allison Parker from momcentral who was the one who invited me and was given a table to set up my laptop and stuff. I grabbed a coffe and a oats an honey bar and I sat down feeling so rushed because I arrived a bit late. Soon I was given my first bio sheet which I heard were “The Mitchells”, Allison mentioned they had lost their daughter to Dating Abuse a few years ago and I almost spit out my coffee in mere panic for I thought I was going to break down and cry. I am a very sensitive person and so I began to pray and ask Jesus for me not to cry in front of them because what do you say. I glanced over their Bio sheet teary eye and I saw that they have been helping promote awareness on the issue, their created the Kristin Mitchell Foundation in honor of their daughter as well as have been trying to help laws get passed in states so this can be talked in schools which I was shocked it is not. This is a great topic to be taught along with sex education and it is more about relationships, how to treat others, what is respect, what are signes you are being manipulated and controlled. As a mom I know I am suppose to teach my boys good manners but what I learned at this event is that I need to teach them what is a relationship? how to treat others? how to treat women? What is Love? What is to have a boyfriend and girlfriend? Seems obvious but it is not and this information needs to get into our kids curriculm because it can save lifes of girls who are going though this and boys who have learned the wrong way of howto have a relationship and if he hears it early enough, it can be changed.
As they sat down I greeted them and asked about their efforts with their fund, Mrs. Mitchell had a deep sadness in her eyes but they all showed such strenght, including her younger brother who is also doing talks and speaking to young men. I was inspired. The main point that they discussed was they had no idea that this could happen to them as a white middle class family and that most of the folks they spoke to even at the event still did not understand what it is all about, that this is so new to them. They had not known the signs of some one being emotionally abused and manipulated and what shocked me was the brochure they handed me had the picture of Kristin’s phone and a text message Kristin sent to her boyfriend saying ” You are being ridiculous, why can’t I do something with my friends” a few hours before she was murdered by him which was 3 weeks after she graduated college and the last time her parents saw her alive. Mr. Mitchell said three things to be done step 1, to talk about the issue at events like this, step 2, educate people, step 3, pass laws to have it discussed in schools but there is still so much to be done and many older generations really do not understand that there is a problem in teen dating. Mr.Mitchell also stated that it is best to be taught 6th or 7th grade, because experts say by 18 it is very difficult to change the mind and mentality that this kind of behavior is wrong for both parties.
If you have a teen or preteen daughter or son and you are reading this, I would pay attention and consider speaking about this to your teens, also do as the Mitchells and join MADE - Moms and Dads for Education to stop teen dating abuse- please visit their site http://www.loveisnotabuse.com/made/ . If you are a teen or preteen and your boyfriend tries to dominate you like this not letting you see your friends, nor wear certain things and just be with him all the time, that is not love, it is abuse. He may say if you do not do this then you do not love me and that is a lie he wants you to believe. If you are unsure if this pertains to you still visit the site, get some info, talk to your friends and see if this is sounds like normal relationship to you.
After my talk with the Mitchells which was intense for my first one, I was given the chance to speak to psychotherapist Dr. Jill Murray author of 3 best selling books on the subject and she is an international leading expert.Some of the signs of someone who is being manipulated or emotionally abused
always crying for no apparent reason ( usually because she feels like she can never please her boyfriend, she is not good enough)
seclusion- always texting and not interacting with family activities, alieniating herself from family, friends and even activities she likes
using words like he does not allow me for example to wear something or go out with her friends
as per Dr.Murray, another big sign is worship abuse and I asked her what that means and she explained that the abuser does not want the abused to believe in God or have a sense of morality, in a way he wants to be her god and does want to initiate in sexual activity so any feeling of morality or sin will get in his way. He will usually persuade her not to attend church or synagogue anymore and you will start seeing dramatic change in her beliefs. She explained that she an overall trait was many girls raised in religous families all of sudden saying I do not believe in God, only stupid people believe in God and she also said that many teens do go through that phase of not wanting to attend church any more but that this was more than that and that the boyfriend usually tries to get in the way of her going to church by planning something at the time she is suppose to go or by saying something to her feel guilty and just think about him during the church service.
I was so shocked in discovering that this was so common an in a world where texting can alienate people we really do not know who our kids are talking to. So parents a good tip is take your kids phones at night, go through it, ask questions, watch out for the signs and please visit so you can educate your self and prepare your self.
Two highlights for me were number 1 meeting Redbook’s Magazine Editor in Chief Stacy Morrison who broke the ice a bit with her upbeat attitude and eloquent speech. She also gets brownie points for having a Brazilian Assistant and to have visited Brazil and knows some Brazilian food.I was like a sponge listening to her. Since Redbook caters to over 10 million women a month, it has always dedicated time and space to discuss domestic violence and they do a big feature once a year and have been involved with Liza Clairbournes’ It is Time To Talk Day, which makes them even cooler. Our talk began with the statistic that the domestic abuse hotline has had a 264% increase of calls unfortunately due to economic recession and men have lost a bit of their identity where the woman is the bread winner and also the home-keeper. Interesting enough Stacy discussed how so many people want to push the subject away from them and just blame the bad guy instead of trying to understand why does this happen, how can we avoid it and what is healthy versus unhealthy. The incident with Rihanna also came up a few times as well as with Stacy and how this has opened up some talk on the subject and the one quote I loved was that Redbook is about getting you “off your to do list and on tour to be list”. Stacy was so down to earth and cool, the kind of person you want to grab some coffee with and talk for hours on so many topics! I loved meeting her.
Kacey Jennings who is widow of one of my favorite journalists the late Peter Jennings and who is a journalist if shows like 20/20 as well as producer of oh shows like Nightline. I was intimidated and stuttered and stumbled on my words, and really have no idea what I said to her. it was such an honor to meet her and was impressed in her involvement with homeless shelters in the city and with “Women in Need”. I expressed my interest in donating photography to a domestic shelter, hopefully soon and she thought it was a great idea.
Overall it was an insightful, inspiring and moving day. It was also a pleasure to meet other mom bloggers (mochamanual,sagansuniverse,mamascup,nycsinglemom) Been trying to test out some fusion of photos and video, bare with me on this first attempt, no editing in video, very simple presentation.
“I received a $50 Juicy Couture gift card in conjunction with participating in Liz Claiborne’s “It’s Time To Talk” day.” And oh I forgot to mention that all the interviews gave mad props to Liz Claiborne for doing this and I was so impressed myself!
I had met Melissa at her friend’s birthday party back in September and all I could remember was how much little Melissa cried and was a bit worried she would be in tears for her own party. Luckily she was cute as a button, happy, smiling, playing as best she could. Her birthday theme ( Brazilians love birthday themes and go all out) was dolls. It was decorate by Ipanema Decorations and took place in Long Branch, NJ. I always like capturing details in these parties and I end up getting some surprise moments which I love to get! I also busted out a little fusion in using my new D300S s ( stay tune for my fusion slideshow)! Here are a few of my faves!
Loved the interaction between the kids, greeting each other as if old friends, playing and being kids!
When I first started using twitter, I would reply and start following so many people and no one was talking back to me so I was like, this sucks. I really did not get at first and I guess I am not the only one but I did have some goals in mind. I stopped adding hundreds of people and I focused on my goals and interest groups. The number 1 was of course all things related to photography but also found myself very interested in mom bloggers because I am a mom and I blog and then when the lists came, that was perfect to separate and organize the different groups and interests. I thought for a moment that I would just be a wedding photographer but as a mother, I can never not photograph kids they are so fun and anything they do is really a great shot especially the unexpected ones. In Dane Sanders weekly program, Jennifer Ye, former goggler turned photographer said that you should use what you have and your expertise in a certain area to help your photography business and I immediately thought I am a mom and this actually helps my business in interact with children, families and other moms trying to launch their dreams like me and in turn learn a lot about myself, my business and about being a better mom.
So back to to twitter talk, I felt a lone, unnoticed and thought it was beginning to be pointless and almost gave up on it BUT I persisted and updated it regularly and I did not give up. So fast forward a bit and I connected with someone from Mom Central and they asked for some moms to help promote events and I did and in return got some mad hookups and was so happy and then to put the cherry on top they invited to participate in a very important event for parents which will take place tomorrow December 4, 2009 at the Liz Clairbourne Inc headquarters in Manhattan.
I, Feuza Reis will bes participating in Liz Claiborne Inc’s sixth annual It’s Time to Talk Day a day dedicated to ensuring that Americans speak-up about a subject that most people simply prefer not to discuss — domestic violence. It’s Time to Talk Day events will be held nationwide, including at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC with Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. I will be participating in a “Talk Radio Row” on domestic violence at Liz Claiborne headquarters in New York. Major partners for this year’s event include The Department of Justice, CBS Evening News, REDBOOK, Seventeen, DoSomething.org, one, MTV, the Joyful Heart Foundation, Talkers Magazine and Talk Radio News Service. For more information visit www.loveisnotabuse.com <http://www.loveisnotabuse.com>
This is so serious and so important and I would love to other mom bloggers that will be attending so come and say hellow.
And since we are talking about kids, here is a sneak peak of one of a holiday session of Maria Eduarda, she is so cute.
Do not forget to sign up for Fuse News under Contact me in my blog. sending a newsletter out today with latest, info and more.
I have a theory about men which has many proven experiements and facts, men just can never find things. If you tell a guy, go get the red coat in the bedroom before he even proceeds to lift his foot off the ground and carry it as to do what we call walking, he first asks ” Where is it”? and you say the bedroom. He then does walk over and stands at the doorway and a lazy attempt to look for something is eyeballing the room from right to left then he will ask again. Well at least that is how it is over here and every time it is the same thing, sometimes you just go over and it is right there and he can never find it. So we ladies must be very exact with our instructions, an example, do not say please go get my purse for me. You must say please go get my purple and white purse which is in top right dresser in our bedroom and if it is inside a closet you must address exact coordinates. We women, love details and men do not seem to care to notice the small thinks. I always think my husband doe snot listen or does not notice. Any one out there can relate? til one day oh maybe a year ago or a bit more, he surprised me with coffee and it had 2 red stirs and a dome lid as I usually would get it at our local Wawa (which is not very normal to drink your coffee using your stir as a straw) I stopped for a minute and thought OMG, you actually noticed and remembered? I heard fireworks and I think I saw them at least in my head and l fell in love all over again that day. lol because learning each others likes and needs takes time and experience and I felt that he had grown, that we had grown. This birthday way weekend he did so much repairing around the house and little surprises, he served me and I am so thankful to him. As my husband and I are so differant, think of Brazilian Cowboy meets Brazilian Urban Beach girl and you get a sneak peak over here but he impressed me that day and I understood as we grow in our relationship how much of each-other we learn from, we see and notice and lately we have had some very bumpy roads where we felt very a lone and we both realized that we had each other, that WE are a TEAM, and we are a family and we must be there for each other at all times and be there for our children. It did not matter if there was not anyone else to lend us a hand, to care for us or even to pray for us but we have each other and each other is pretty awesome and as we grow our business together may we notice and learn from our clients because being a wedding photographer is about serving, about anticipating moments and needs and making it a whole lot of fun and giving people something to miss. I am very excited about 2010 as Max Productions and Feuza Reis Photography fully launches as a Husband and Wife team.
and for a new blog segment I will call Fuse News: I am so excited about Jill and Rich’s wedding being published in Bridal Crate Magazine! Woo hoo!!! love their quote about me!
Their online launch is today so check the out, send them some love, and follow them on Twitter.They are a brand new online and print magazine based out of NY City but catering to the world and they are bringing brides to be as well as vendors a crate full of great stuff, info, stories, inspirations, ideas, and much more and I am more than excited to be a part of their first issue! I am so humbled and still picking up my jaw from the floor and thankful to GOD because many might look and say who is this girl to be published anywhere and many do think that, maybe even some of you reading this right now, and that is okay, I am too excited to be upset or saddened by that because God is so awesome and I am just trusting on Him and believing in all He has got for me, and dreaming big, and working hard and failing and learning and taking baby steps, very little ones sometimes but believing. A big special thanks to my mentor David Toth who was the Cancun Wedding and coached so well during our Cancun weekend adventure and who took some preety out of this world shots and other half Max and my boys Lucas and Joshua who are always supportive for when mommy has to go away . And of course we need some pictures. Voila! Also do not forget to sign up to my Fuse News Newsletter under Contact me Section in my blog.
