We don't have room for a horse, nor the knowledge to take care of such an animal.  However, given the recent issues with my '94 Ford Thunderbird and the rising cost of fuel, a horse is beginning to look more and more like a better option!

At the beginning of the month, I had to have an emissions test on my car so that I could register it.  The first test failed because the gas cap allowed too much pressure to pass out of the system.  I put on a new gas cap and passed the test.  About a week and ...<< MORE >>

Hello again,

I have had my final knee surgery!  At least I hope it is my final knee surgery for a VERY long time.  Other than getting started about 2 hours late, it went very well.  I have been able to get to and from the restroom without crutches.  Praise God!

If you EVER need an orthopedic doctor, no recommendation that I could give Dr. Keller would be high enough.  Part of it could be that he is also a photographer but working with him has been outstanding.  He is willing and able to re-phrase complex medical terms and procedures in terms ...<< MORE >>

WPPI, as I have written before was an awesome experience.  One thing I learned at a recent Arizona Professional Photographers of America (AZPPA) meeting, is that I should have gone with a photo buddy.  This is a good friend who you shoot with, bounce ideas off of and hold accountable for their goals and they for yours.  One of the other responsibilities of a photo buddy is to go to conventions with you and hold your credit cards so you don't spend just because you see something you want.  So Jim, next year you and I should go ...<< MORE >>

Today I had the honor of capturing Alex.  It is getting kind of late to be photographing the class of 2008 but life happens and things get put off.  For a recent example of how things get put off, just look at what happens every April 15th.  The Post Office staff stay there until midnight taking tax returns.  I strongly believe that if the date were March 15th, or June 15th, the result would be the same. 

Anyway, I did some images in my studio including some cap and gown pictures.  Then we went to the Riparian Preserve ...<< MORE >>

Coming up on Mothers day, I thought I would give you an update on the various members of my family.  My son turned 19 today!  It is hard to believe that 19 years ago I was holding a little bundle of joy.  Now, thanks to my father, we have secured airline tickets to get him to his internship at Disney World starting in August.

Nothing really special going on with my oldest daughter other than she is getting ready for finals and to start her senior year of high school.

My middle daughter just got her cast off.  About 6 weeks ago ...<< MORE >>

The intent of this blog is to provide a way for Paul Rogers Photography, and myself in particular, to let friends, clients and potential clients learn a little more about the business and the people behind the business.

As of this post, there is one subscriber to this blog.  Every time I publish an entry it shows up in their reader or email automatically.  Even if no one subscribes, I know that there are people reading the blog because the company hosting the blog keeps track of how the articles read.

What you may not know is that if you agree, disagree, or want to ask questions, you can comment on any of the entries.  I will warn you that your comments will not show up automatically.  I want to ensure, that the comments are not some sort of spam and that this remains a family friendly blog.  Therefore I must approve each and every comment that is written. 

You have my word that provided the comment is relevant and family friendly (no profanity,  or anything else illegal or in bad taste), I will publish them.  I would like to encourage conversations rather than a "lecture" where I do all the talking, blogging or typing.

If you have any questions about photography, the photography business, or even about me personally, feel free to send them to questions@memoriesforalltime.com.  While they may not show up in a blog post, I promise to respond to each legitimate question I receive.  (No I don't want to get rich quick nor do I want to order ANY prescriptions over the internet).

Have a blessed day,

Paul Rogers
Owner Paul Rogers Photography.
Preserving memories for all time.

        

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To close the loop on the last session, mom, dad and grandma were all very happy with the images of Ava.  They had a hard time choosing which images they wanted.  They were thrilled with the fact that I captured Ava's full range of expressions.  I will be getting the images up online for all to see shortly.  I will post a link when they are there.

I will be photographing another little girl on May 10th.  Her name is Quincy and she is 9 months old.  We were supposed to do the session on May 3rd but they had to ...<< MORE >>

One week and counting....

On May 12th, I will have my left knee operated on....finally.  It has been causing me so much pain.  It is probably worse now that the right knee doesn't hurt.  Well once in awhile but not too bad.  Usually when I do something I shouldn't.

After the surgery, I will probably spend a couple of days on the couch like I did last time.  It wasn't too bad.  Though I won't have my "nurse" to take care of me the first day.  Last time my oldest daughter had the day off of school, because the sophomores had the ...<< MORE >>

I am excited about the images from my first baby session.  I am even more excited that I have three more in the works.  I haven't shown the client these yet.  I want them to come to my studio and see them in person.  However, I just can't contain myself so I am going to post four of my favorites.

If you have comments, please feel free to let me know what you think.  Also, if you want to take advantage of my offer of a free session and $75 image credit, you need to contact me NOW.  Almost all the ...<< MORE >>

Hello again. 

I though I would write today from the bowling alley.  Yes I am bowling as I blog.  I have two occurrences of something that just annoys the heck out of me.  I don't know how you feel but when I walk into a store, I expect to be rung up by a real live person.  I understand that from a purely dollars and cents standpoint it is more cost efficient to have one person monitoring 4 or more registers than it is to have people managing each one. 

However, that doesn't make me feel any better to know ...<< MORE >>

Two posts in one day!  What is going on?

A few days ago I told you about my first baby portrait session.  I have made it through the first round of culling and am down to 93 images!  Remember I took 283 images so more than 2/3 have been deemed to be duplicates or are flawed in one way or another.  I hope to have some to show you by the end of the weekend.  However, I have two senior photo sessions before the weekend so I will have to see how much time those take up.

This baby was so expressive ...<< MORE >>

I received an email today that intrigues, scares, fascinates and challenges me.  No it isn't some long lost relative who died with lots of money in a foreign country.  Those I just delete.  No this email came from the city of Phoenix.  Apparently  they are looking at starting a photography class for baby boomers and they are looking for instructors!

I have been told by many people, including my high school physics teacher, that I would make a good teacher.  My physics teacher was trying to explain how a zener diode worked.  I was able to explain it to several of ...<< MORE >>

In case you didn't know, Paul Rogers Photography was chosen to do the school portraits for two different schools for the 2007-2008 season.  The first one came about after a successful effort at photographing the 2007 graduation ceremony.  The second came about because the parent of a student at the first school works at another school where the yearbook photographer didn't show up!

These were both learning opportunities in creating forms, handling lots of orders and getting it all turned around in fairly short order.  Happily there have been no problems reported.  In fact, folks who worked with Paul Rogers Photography ...<< MORE >>

Hello again.

It finally happened.  I had my first baby photo session, not including my kids.  Ava, her mother and grandmother arrived on time and after a little getting to know you time, we started taking pictures.  I try to interact with the kids so they don't feel scared.

It went very well.  I took 283 images in about an hour.  Or roughly 5 images a minute!  Was that overkill....well probably.  I have to look through the images and cull out the ones where she blinked or are obvious duplicates, or maybe where the focus was off.  I have another high priority ...<< MORE >>

Welcome to another entry of the Paul Rogers Photography blog.  I have
made the decision to try to expand the business to include baby
portrait sessions.  It is only logical that after a wonderful maternity session, the parents will want pictures of their miracle.

I must confess that I am a little behind in letting the general public know about this.  I have alerted several friends and already have a newborn session set up.  Actually it will follow an extended maternity session.  If you are asking what an extended maternity session is, no it doesn't mean photographing a lady in her 38th ...<< MORE >>

Several people sent me emails wanting to know more about the Disney internship my son is embarking on.  So, here is what I know. don't blink there isn't much I know on this topic <grin>.

Disney provides working internships to college students.  The one he will be going on is 4.5 months.  If memory serves correctly he will need to arrive in Florida before noon on the 20th of August and be leaving Florida on January 9th 2009.  Yes that does mean he won't be home for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years.

I am a little fuzzy on this but there is ...<< MORE >>

Good evening,

At least it was when I wrote this.  My 2007 business and personal taxes are done!  Not quite the last minute but close.  I managed to wait until April 14th last year too.  Now that I think about it, that is a disturbing trend.  Especially since we got (last year) and are getting (this year) money back.

For those of you following my knee surgery, I stopped using crutches on Saturday.  It was only the Monday prior that my right knee was operated on.  I don't know if that is typical, or atypical but I am happy with my progress ...<< MORE >>

Hello,

A week ago I mentioned that I was looking for some pregnant ladies to help build my portfolio.  I still have two opportunities available.  If you are pregnant, or know someone who is, this offer is for you.  Basically, I am looking to do a maternity session with two different ladies, preferably with their husbands.  The ideal lady is due in the June or July time frame.

Here is the offer. in exchange for a signed release, so I can show images from your session to potential clients, Paul Rogers Photography is offering a free session and a $75 credit towards ...<< MORE >>

Referrals?!?  Now what the heck does that have to do with photography.  Well.....quite a bit actually.  Most of my business comes by referral.  I provide outstanding images and service to a client and when one of their friends or acquaintances  needs a photographer, they give them my name.  That is how it is supposed to work. 

Now as a former client of Paul Rogers Photography, who do you turn to if you need, say a plumber, or a mortgage consultant, or even legal support?  Why Paul Rogers Photography of course.  Those of you still reading have probably come ...<< MORE >>

Hello again,

For the non-photographers reading this, and even some photographers, you may be asking what is WPPI?  WPPI stands for Wedding & Portrait Photographers International.  It is a yearly convention and trade show for photographers.  Where is the first place you would think of for a gathering of over 10,000 photographers from around the world....Las Vegas.  This was the final year at the Paris/Bally's hotels.  Apparently the convention has outgrown the space available.

Anyway, there were MANY classes on many different aspects of photography and the trade show was awesome too.  So many ways to spend money....and so little money.   ...<< MORE >>

Just a quick note regarding my surgery.  It seems to have gone well.  The tear was worse when they got in there than appeared on the MRI.  They also confirmed that I have the beginnings of arthritis in my knee.

But I am home and able to get around on crutches.  At the moment I am not in any pain.  However I am guessing there will be pain tomorrow as the drugs in my system wear off.


I will most likely be having the other knee repaired in about 4 weeks.  It was so much fun that I just had to do ...<< MORE >>

Welcome to another entry.  I am really excited today.  My wife, who is the business manager, met with a mutual friend who is going to do great things for Paul Rogers Photography.  Gayle is friendly, outgoing, easy to talk to and a great negotiator.  In short, she is the perfect person to make the initial contact with potential new clients.

It was an outstanding meeting with lots of ideas about the kinds of potential clients to meet and talk with.  Gayle brought lots of ideas to the meeting that we hadn't contemplated.  If she brings in half the business I think ...<< MORE >>

Good morning,

Well the date for my first knee surgery is coming up soon.  In fact it is on Monday the 7th.  I have "torn and scruffy" cartilage in both knees.  I am having arthroscopic surgery on the right knee on Monday to "fix" it.  It is possible that once the right knee is repaired, the left knee won't need to be.  I will probably end up having surgery on both knees.

What this means is that I won't be able to do what I was created to do, capture images, while I am recovering.  I may still pick up the camera ...<< MORE >>

Are you on the school yearbook staff?  Do you use Josten's for your yearbooks?  Are you looking for a new school photographer for the upcoming year?  If so, you might want to take a look at the Josten's certified photographer list.  There are only five Josten's certified photographers in Arizona on the list and only ONE in Gilbert.  That one is Paul Rogers Photography.

Last school year Paul Rogers Photography made a strategic decision to start offering school photography.  We started out with one school, of about 550 students and within a few weeks were doing a second ...<< MORE >>

Welcome to another day in the life of Paul Rogers Photography.  I have made the decision to try to expand the business to include maternity portrait sessions.  I did one last year with Crystal and Alan and I was really pleased with the results.  More importantly, Crystal and Alan had a hard time limiting their choices.  I will be putting those up in a gallery for all to see in the next few days.

I would like to get some additional maternity images to build up my portfolio.  To do that I need clients.  The problem is that people don't often ...<< MORE >>

I wanted to take a few moments to tell you that the wedding packages offered by Paul Rogers Photography have been updated.  Previously we had specific images, like a framed 16x20, 6 8x10 prints and 96 thank you cards, and specific albums for each package.  These have been restructured to be a credit amount towards and album and a credit amount towards images.  That way if you want a 30x40 framed image of the bride and groom, you can just order that instead of having to "exchange" some prints for the one you want.

Hopefully this will make it ...<< MORE >>

Welcome to the first entry of Paul Rogers Photography blog.  The plan is to keep folks up to date on what is happing with the photography business as well as items that will help you get to know me better.

I will be publishing photo tips and tricks as I come across them.

I make no promises about getting this updated on a daily basis.  I am going to try to accomplish that but I am not going to make promises that I cannot keep.  Integrity is a cornerstone of my business and me personally and I will not ...<< MORE >>