Senior Memory Albums

So, if you haven't heard about the latest craze in senior photography, listen up! These coffee table style books are so fun and a wonderful way to preserve your memories from your senior year. Senior books from Four Seasons are designed by a professional graphic designer and are bound in a black leather cover. The book includes all the pictures from your senior photo session (that's a lot!). It even has space for friends to leave personalized notes in the back and has a "FAQ" page with all kinds of info on you. It's like an super cool, personalized, way-more-awesome-than-a-yearbook book!

Check out Natalie's book:

These books are included with our "Pomp & Circumstance" package but are also available for purchase a la carte!

Megan Franks of Four Seasons Photography specializes in on-location photography for seniors in western Oklahoma including Elk City, Clinton, Weatherford, Woodward and all areas in-between!

Just a Few

WHAT???? Two blog posts in one day? I know...unbelievable (but I have a very busy week coming up, so I thought I'd get things in while I can)!

More "this-n-that" of my own little family from back in December:

The Heart of the Matter

I know...I know...you're not supposed to talk about religion or politics. Don't worry, this blog is not about to become a political soapbox, but I did want to pass on an interesting link for anyone who's having trouble getting to "the heart of the matter" (a.k.a. "the issues") in this year's presidential election trail.

Want to know which presidential candidate best represents your views on the hot topics? Check out Glassbooth.org. It can be really helpful and it only takes a few minutes.

Year in Review ~ The Slideshow

I prepared a slideshow with a variety of clients and images from 2007 to show on the blog....but I goofed up when uploading it to YouTube & I can't imbed the video here. Feel free to check it out anyway! You can see Four Seasons Photography's 2007 Year in Review Slideshow by clicking HERE. Enjoy!

January Blog Special!

Yea, I know....I'm a little behind! But without further ado, behold the January Blog Special:


IF YOU HAVE A NEWBORN BABY (0-2 WEEKS OLD), CALL NOW TO BOOK A FREE PORTRAIT SESSION!


{Limited to photographer availability--for Leedey, Hammon, Vici, Elk City, Woodward, Clinton Weatherford and surrounding areas only. You must mention that you saw it on the blog in order to have the session fee waived. Offer good until January 31, 2008.}

The best time to get photograph your new baby bundle is during the first two weeks of life. We want to get them while they are still nice and sleepy!!

How can you resist a FREE session? Call me: (580) 705-0054




P.S. Happy Anniversary to me! Tim & I celebrate 11 years together today!

The Old Church House

Just a random image I found stored on my hard drive. I have a thing for old run down buildings, especially churches. I've always dreamed of buying an abandoned church and turning it into a studio or a wedding chapel. Of course, the cost of moving an old building on top of renovating an old building is astronomical. Leave it to reality to kill dreams! :)

What I Did on Christmas Vacation: Part Three

Skiing!

The Franks family delayed our Christmas celebration until January so that we could journey to the mountains of Red River, New Mexico for some fun in the snow. I've been to Red River many times over the past eleven years, but I think this was the best snow and the best weather I've seen since I first started going there.

Without further ado...



A view from the top. Not bad for a little point-n-shoot camera! (I had to borrow Hannah's camera--I saved my camera for tubing and candids. My camera wouldn't fit in my pocket anyway!). By the way, that tiny little person is Tim skiing ahead of me...





Lauryn snuggles with Aunt Sherry.




Me and my ski school drop-out took a few runs on the bunny hill before we retired her skiis and boots.





Brittany and her coolest aunt (me!) on the lifts.





Check it out: Grandma on the snowmobile! Go Grandma!





Gang's all here (minus the adults)!


This concludes my presentation of "What I Did on Christmas Vacation." Please join me next time for "What I Did on Spring Break"-lol!

What I Did on Christmas Vacation: Part Two

Hanging out with the family!

We headed to Kansas for a Christmas celebration with my family: the Wisdoms (I know, it was an awesome maiden name. I should have kept it--just kidding!).

We were only there for 25 hours (because we suddenly were in a blizzard warning and decided we had to high-tail it home), but we managed to pack in a lot in a short time.

My dad made these....

along with ham and (my personal favorite) cheese grits!

Here's a picture of Tim and Scooter, "the Christmas miracle." Scooter never had been very adventurous....until we let him run free in the Kansas wilderness...um, I mean, plainsland. We spent over an hour scourging the surrounding roads and cornfields by foot, car and four wheeler to no avail. Later, Tim went out to check his phone messages and made one last sweep in the car. He spotted tiny brown puppy ears in the neighboring field and Scooter was rescued.



Monkey see, monkey do! My sister discovered that her daughter, Sophie, likes to walk around the house humming, like her Nana. Seems like she is taking on more of her characteristics in this picture!



We played a little Bingo before heading out.



Scooter bonded with the newest addition to the clan: baby Callie. Stay tuned for pictures; she'll be here soon!



Meet the parents...



...and the whole herd.

What I Did On Christmas Vacation: Part One

Sledding!



My best friend wheeled into town with her family just in time for a nice December snow. Being Texans, they aren't really used to seeing much of the white stuff, so we took advantage by heading to the hill of our local park for a fun--but chilly!--afternoon excursion.



Poor Coop...he wasn't prepared for the western Oklahoma weather. We had to hook him up with some high dollar snow boots (a.k.a plastic bags to cover the tennis shoes). Not very stylish, but they got the job done!






Tim showed us his acrobatic skills.




We took a few spills...but it's not fun unless you get all snow-covered!




Above all, we were sure to obey all local ordinances. {lol}

Come back soon, Coopers! We'll put in a special order for snow if we need to! :)

New Year = New Homepage

Give it a glance sometime. And if you have DSL but the page still takes a long time to load, would you please drop me a note in the comment section? Thanks!

Happy 2008!

May your new year be blessed and full of happy memories!

~The Franks Family

Merry Christmas!!

From our family to yours...hoping that your holidays are merry and bright!

How Did I Not Blog These Beautiful Gals?

Remember how I said that I would be digging out photos to share. Well, I found some!

I can't believe I never got around to posting all of these. Here's more Texas bridal sessions from wa-a-a-a-y back in May (see the June archives for the first previews)!

Megan On Christmas

So, my friend Harrison had this questionnaire on her blog, so I thought I needed to join in on the Christmas fun. Here ya go...everything you ever wanted to know about me and my Christmas traditions (or not):

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I used to be a bag kind of gal, but now I'm all wrapping paper. It's just more fun to get to rip paper off of a gift, don't ya think?

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial because 1-it's less expensive 2-there are few places to find a real tree in our part of the country 3-my allergies would be killing me with real greenery indoors! Just as a side note, did you know that upper respiratory infections hit a high at this time of the year? The reason: everyone dragging in their artificial trees that are filled with dust and who-knows-what from being in storage for a year. My pediatrician recommended that we vacuum, hose down or use a leaf blower to blow off all the yuck & muck before hauling the tree indoors every year.

3. When do you put up the tree? Throughout my childhood, it always went up ASAP after Thanksgiving. Now that I'm an adult, I'd be glad to put it off as long as possible. Between the kids pestering me & the holiday party I usually host during the first week in December, I always get it up the week after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? That's the worst part. I try to get it down after New Year's Day because I don't want it sitting in my living room taunting me.

5. Do you like eggnog? Absolutely...but I try not to buy it 'cause I could down a half-gallon on my own!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A telescope (I had ambitions of becoming an astronaut when I was in grade school). The cedar chest that I still have to this day.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Of course! The nativity is what Christmas is all about!

8. Hardest person to buy for? I think EVERYONE is hard to buy for...especially adults.

9. Easiest person to buy for? My oldest daughter, Hannah. She has a lot of different interests.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? No comment.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail!!!! I love catching up with old friends at Christmas.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? "It's a Wonderful Life," of course. I also like the old claymation cartoons of Rudolph, etc. because it takes me back to my childhood when we actually marked the calendars when those shows were going to be on television. Now, with cable, they repeat them constantly throughout the holidays and it's just not the same.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I used to start in October, but life has gotten so busy that I'm quickly becoming a last-minute shopper (but at least I have a list).

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Um...yea. Admit it...you have, too!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I'm an equal opportunity eater--I welcome all foods no matter what time of the year. LOL! (But I do always request my mom's cheese grits even though my husband just can't learn to love the southern treat).

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? clear

17. Favorite Christmas song? Anything that Bing Crosby sings. Or "Silent Night" accapella.

18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home? Usually we are traveling every day up to Christmas Eve & back on the road immediately thereafter. This year, we are actually going to be at home!

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yep. Don't forget, I have children who like for me to read Mary Engelbright's "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" over and over again...

20. Angel on the tree top? Nope--A bow (although I would consider a star).

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Usually Christmas Eve. After all, Santa brings gifts on Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Obligation. Being obligated to give gifts or go to a thousand different events takes the joy out of giving/enjoying the season, KWIM?

23. What I love most about Christmas? Laughing with family. Trying to keep my husband from figuring out his gifts (he has an unnatural ability to guess every wrapped gift even if it has been disguised or weighted). Passing on traditions. Watching kids get giddy when they unwrap a gift. Most of all, celebrating Christ's birth!

Cameras: Never Leave Home Without 'Em!

Yesterday, I had to drive to my college classes in what was left of the ice storm. Oh, how I wished I had my camera in the passenger seat!! There were so many wonderful things that I saw...cool ice patterns on the field irrigation systems, trees sagging from the weight of their frozen limbs, the irony of green fields when everything surrounding them was white (yes, we have green fields of winter wheat).... Best of all, the sky was beautiful! The grey clouds were hanging very low and it was as if the sky was trapped between the earth & clouds. The colors were amazing--very azul (I have to use the Spanish word because just plain ol' "blue" doesn't quite do it justice), almost purple. Plus, the dark greens, browns, rusts and reds on earth were very saturated colors from the wetness. It was gorgeous!

What can we learn?

#1--Always have a camera nearby--you never know when you might stumble upon something picture-worthy.

#2--Though it's not really fun to get out after a thunderstorm or ice storm, it is an excellent time for taking photos. Anytime the sky is completely cloud-covered makes for excellent, evenly lit photos and whenever the ground is wet, the colors of the earth are amazing.

Winter Wonderland

Well....kinda. There's no snow, only ice!

The view from my glass door...

I tried this for fun: the view through the screen on the glass. Looks kinda cool!



No snow....no problem! These two little critters are lovin' it anyway. They decided to take up ice skating...with no blades!



Sorry, bud--there's no snowflakes to catch on your tongue right now!

This one reminds me of Dumb Donald off of Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids--he always had that pink hat that covered most of his face. :)

We're supposed to get more moisture today which means re-freezing on top of the ice we already have. We're just hoping the electricity stays on!!!

I hope you & yours are staying warm!! :)