On the 22nd, I joined in with 70+ other photographers worldwide to help spur the relief effort donations for Haiti as a participant in Helping Hearts. The deadline to forward documentation for a chance to win a complementary session and a disc of 15 high resolution digital files was Saturday night. Only a few entries were received … and the random generator chose … Dave & Amanda as the winners. Congrats guys — check your inbox and confirm that the 13th will work so I can notify Tara Winery as well.

Thanks again to the few who donated to the relief efforts in Haiti and to Tara Winery for access to the session location.

To book a portraiture session with Christina, contact us via email at christina@christinamccall.com or call 903.477.9069 today.

With Michele’s & Lyndsay’s basic plan in mind but some location and date differences — here’s how all of you can help the people of Haiti and get a sweet Valentine’s treat from CMP for yourselves …

Here’s the deal:

You and your sweetheart could win a romantic photo session to take place on Saturday, February 13th at Tara Winery!

• This session will be photographed by CMP (aka me) & will be held on Saturday, February 13th at Tara Winery — located just outside of Athens (thanks so much to Patrick & Susan Pierce for their generosity!).
• Session is for up to 2 adults and will last between 60 and 90 minutes.
  Updated to add: by popular request, yes, this can be a senior/adult individual session too.
• Winner will also receive 15 fully processed, high resolution images on CD. Print to your heart’s content!
• Value of session and digital files (if purchased a la carte): $1,650.

How to win:

• Make a MINIMUM donation of $10 to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund, Doctors Without Borders, Compassion International, the Humane Society of the United States’ Haiti Relief Fund for Animals, or Hope for Haiti Now.
• All donations MUST be made between Friday, January 22nd and Saturday, January 30th to qualify.
• Forward a copy of your receipt(s) to christina@christinamccall.com. Screenshots of receipts w/ confidential info blacked out is okay — I won’t be keeping these emails other than to record your name and email address — as soon as I copy and paste those two pieces of info into my contest entry file, the emails are deleted permanently.
• All entries must be RECEIVED by midnight (Central time) on Saturday, January 30th.
• Winner will be drawn at random and announced on the blog on February 1st.
• This will give you nearly two weeks to shop and find a babysitter, if need be.
• You can enter as many times as you’d like, but each entry must be the minimum $10 donation.

Other details:

• Session participants must sign a model release.
• Session must be held at Tara Winery on Saturday, February 13th.
• If the winner does not claim his/her prize by Thursday, February 4th or cannot claim the prize, then another winner will be randomly drawn.

But wait! There’s more!

If you are a photographer and would like to hold your own Helping Hearts event to help Haiti, please contact Michele ASAP so she can send you everything you need to get started!

The fine print: This giveaway is not sponsored or promoted by the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, Compassion International, the Humane Society of the United States, or Hope for Haiti Now.

You know someone. You know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can’t afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family’s spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography — $1200 worth, to be exact.  A 90 minute to two hour customized portrait session and a cd of the digital negatives with a print release will be awarded to the deserving winner.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a $250 print credit. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely and honestly be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in Henderson, Kaufman, Smith, or Van Zandt Counties in East Texas. Tell me who you know, what they’re experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story no later than December 31st at midnight : christina@christinamccall.com.  

The winner will be announced on Sunday, January 3, 2010 — get nominating! I can’t wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season — and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

XOXO,
Christina (and the Elves)

If you know of someone deserving that’s not local to east Texas, visit the Giving is Awesome website to see if a photographer local to them is also hosting a Giving is Awesome giveaway.

Before I go further, I’d like to thank each individual that entered their own family or nominated another family into the Giveaway — a small thank you should be arriving in your inbox soon

Over the weekend, The Committee sent me their votes … and after tallying them up, the winner is … the Till Family of Athens. I heard about this family recently from multiple sources, but one individual who asked to stay anonymous nominated them for the Giveaway …

I would like to nominate Kevin Till and his family for your contest. He was a student at Athens High School. He is a very fine young man and was full of life every time I saw him, a people person. He has had a brain tumor, but has taken a turn for the worst as of late. I recently found out he has lost some use of one side of his body. So time is precious for him and his family. Since photos capture a lasting memory that can be treasured for a lifetime, I think your contest would be one of the greatest gifts that could be given to him and his family that they would treasure for the rest of their lives. Please help this family capture some wonderful memories while they still have time.

Once I had the votes in, another individual who has been closer to Kevin and his family as of late helped me faciltate contact with them over the weekend. I wanted to make certain that their session is completed sooner than later as he has so many dreams he wants to accomplish already. So please leave the Till Family some congratulatory comments and remember them in your thoughts and prayers as they need every one they can get right now.

Wait a minute.

As hot as it is, I know y’all have to be anticipating cooler weather – and around here, that doesn’t hit (much of the time) until November and December — but at the same time y’all are all avoiding thinking about the holidays until the cooler weather arrives.

So — a quick reminder — Christmas is only 134 days away! Thanksgiving is only 105 days away! And — most importantly — if you’re considering a portrait session in time for images to send out with holiday cards, you only have 94 days to schedule and capture them (less if you consider the fact 99% of CMP’s portrait sessions are held on weekends)! 

Our ‘re-grand opening’ special expires in 18 days — details are here! And remember, if you schedule your session before August 31st, you also receive 10% off your custom designed Christmas card order. A few of the gorgeous card samples + details are available here.

(for the VIP’s who’ve received an email about a week and a half ago with a really awesome offer — remember, you have only 18 more days to take advantage of it!)

Additionally, the deadline to enter the Christmas in August Giveaway is less than 12 days away! If you’re still working on your entry or trying to think of a family to nominate — do NOT delay! Enter today

The CMP Fall/Holiday 2009 special will be announced on September 1st — so keep an eye out here for the details.

Of course, I can’t end this post without an image — and while I’ve shared this one while on the road during The Roadtrip, I think we all need a nice cool-temperature image to help us cope with this heat, right? That white stuff — that was snowplowed onto the shoulder of the road at Yellowstone in mid-June.

Something about this tree makes me think of A Charlie Brown Christmas …

Around this time last year, we (CMP aka ROLP — our former business name) held the Sweet Summer Faces contest, with a complementary session being the grand prize. Well, we’re at it again this year — although with a new business name, we’re also changing up the contest a bit …

This time around we’re focusing on families! Why? Well, to be honest, I got to thinking about the contest and in the process, realized that other than setting my camera up on a tripod and running back and forth setting the timer, the last time my family had a portrait was when I was 10 years old. Approximately 18+ years ago. So — I know my family cannot be the only ones who haven’t had professional portraits in years!

Why the essay, you ask? Simple — I want to see a family truly deserving receive a full portraiture session — one they otherwise wouldn’t have, whether due to financial setbacks, all the children growing up and going off to college, a parent in the military, health setbacks, or maybe they give all they have to help others and just don’t think of spending that money on themselves instead.

The Details:
So, tell us about your family — or a family you know that is deserving — 500 words roughly. To make it easier, you can fill out this form and copy and paste your essay in the essay section. After you fill out the form, attach a snapshot of your family (no old professional portraits — we can’t post those due to copyright restrictions!) so we can feature you if you’re the winner! If you have any problems attaching/uploading snapshots to the entry form, you may email them to christina@christinamccall.com.

The Deadline:
Entries and snapshots are due by midnight on Monday, August 24, 2009 — CMP will post the winner on Monday, August 31, 2009. Judging will be conducted by a committee of individuals I’ve selected who are not local and are unlikely to know any of the families entered.

The prize:
– A complementary 90 minute to 2 hour custom lifestyle family portraiture session (maximum six people) with one outfit change (total of two outfits) at two locations within a 20 mile radius — sure, we’ll get a handful of formal portraits, but we’ll also photograph your family as you are — location to be determined by CMP within Henderson, Kaufman, Smith, or Van Zandt Counties.
– Full editing of 30-50 photographer selected images with blogged sneak peeks, an online gallery, and an online slideshow
– A 10×20 luxe mounted storyboard featuring images from your session (photographer selected)
– A 2010 Computer Desktop Calendar featuring images from your session on cd (photographer selected)
– CD with web quality watermarked proofs of all color images from your session
– (1) 8×10 premium print of the family’s choice
– 10% off any additional collection or a la carte purchase
Prize value: $350

What are you waiting for? Submit your entry + email me your snapshot ASAP!!!