Santa's Little Helper

It's hard to believe that Christmas is just a week away! I've been a bit distracted from the blog, with last minute shopping, holiday parties, and of course sessions.

Anyways, I wanted to share an image from our Christmas card this year featuring our dog Max. We usually feature our girls on the cover, but this year Max won the honors (don't worry; the girls are on the inside of the card). My daughter Megan was playing around with putting the red antlers on Max, and to our surprise, he actually kept them on long enough to snap a picture.

Happy Holidays to everyone and a very prosperous, healthy, New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone has a great day and enjoys

celebrating with family and friends.

Save some room for pie!

-Scott & Barbara Sylvia

Toys for Tots

Here's the first couple of days worth of our Toys for Tots collection. The Toys for Tots promotion is going on until this Friday, November 7th. To get your FREE session, all you have to do is have your portraits taken by November 7th and bring in a toy valued at around $20 per child. Call now while appointments are still available!

Warren Walk About

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi this past Sunday. Everybody seemed to enjoy visiting the new shops and studios around Water Street and around Warren.

Visitors were able to check out some of our new products, including our sensational new gallery wraps. If you are looking for a piece of art that will complete your home, please give us a call and we would love to show you this modern take on a classic portrait.

In the coming months, we will be introducing you to some of these new products that are all a part of our new S Gallery line of fine art products. Please check back for more information.

Autumn Splendor

I don't know about you, but fall is my favorite time of year. The cool, crisp air, the beauty of the turning leaves (although raking isn't too much fun), football games, and fresh apple pie. It doesn't get much better than this in New England.

This photo was taken last year in Barrington on Kent Street. I was driving by when the empty bench surrounded by the colorful trees caught my eye.

Missing in Action

Wow, where did the summer go? It's been a busy summer, which is great, but I just kind of lost track of the blog. I did however put together a proper newsletter that all past clients will receive at the beginning of October. I hope to publish it twice a year. If you are not a past client but would like to receive our printed newsletter, just leave us your contatct info at scott@scottsylvia.net.

We also just updated the specials page, so check it out here.

Vacation Time

We took a little break last week to recharge and relax in New Hampshire. The summer is definetely a busy time for the studio but summer is so short in New England that you really do have to schedule some family time or it just slips by.

Anyway, we had a great time and I hope everyone gets the chance to get away and enjoy this great weather with family and friends.

Summer Movies: The Dark Knight

Every summer I always plan on making it to the movies and seldom do. But with the heat this past weekend, it seemed like the perfect place to spend a couple of hours.

Saturday, the family ventured out to see "The Dark Knight". We figured it would most likely be sold out, but to our surprise, we got in and got good seats. (it did fill up a few minutes later).

The movie was excellent. It was definitely the most complex superhero movie to date. The film is dark, gritty, and intense.

P.S.: This movie is certainly not for children, at 2 1/2 hours and with it's violent content.

P.P.S.: Hopefully, it will not be an entire year before I get to the movies again.

Breakfast of Champions

Ah, nothing like coffee and donuts. But these donuts are not what they appear.

As soon as I took these donuts out to photograph them, Max (our dog) knew something was up. He didn't let this plate out of sight! Pretty smart dog, as the donuts pictured are actually all natural dog treats from a new dog boutique in Warren called Uptown Dog. Uptown Dog has a dog pastry counter with natural treats that look like canolies, donuts, and other delicious pastries, as well as dog clothing, jewelry, and other accessories. It's located at 7 Turner Street in Warren, RI.

P.S. In case you were wondering, Max loved the donut.

Happy 4th

Hopefully you have tomorrow off and can enjoy the day with family and friends. It's been many years since we've gone to the Bristol parade, as the 4th of July is a pretty busy day for us because it's my wife's birthday and my parents anniversary (this year their 50th!). If you are going to the parade or another celebration, have a good time!

Here is a little something to get you ready for the 4th.

Life Comes at you Fast

Over the past months I've felt a little like the Nationwide commercial where the dad is pushing his young child on the swing and a few pushes later he's knocked down by a large teenager. Lately we've been photographing many high school seniors that we photographed five, eight, or even ten years ago.

It's hard to believe that so much time has passed so quickly! Some of the seniors are still recognizable, while others have changed so much I would walk right by them. It's a lot of fun seeing them again and we're happy to have the honor of documenting this momentous occasion of their senior year.

Leila the Ragdoll

We are happy to give cats some equal time on the blog. We wanted to share some images of Leila; she is an incredibly beautiful Ragdoll cat. He big blue eyes are mesmerizing and is coat is soft and full. She is larger than many of the cats I've seen and she definitely has a presence in front of the camera.

Leila's mom Roxanne has had many cats in her life, but this is the first one she's had since a kitten. She rescued all of her other cats from shelters.

If you're interested in finding out more information on these amazing animals, check out Kasseldolls Ragdoll Cattery here or email them at Kasseldolls@cox.net. This the award-winning breeder that Roxanne got Leila from, and they're located right here in RI.

Life = Risk

Congratulations, Class of 2008! Best wishes with your future plans. May you always follow your dreams. I found this motivational video. Let us know what you think.

Max's Family Reunion

A few weeks ago, Steve & Susan Swartz were heading down Water Street to Three Rivers for breakfast (great food by the way) when they saw a familiar face hanging in the window of our studio. That face looked exactly like Ruby, their Airedale Terrier. They stopped in to ask about the dog on the poster, and we told them it was our dog Max. After talking for a while, we discovered that Ruby is Max's big sister!

As it turned out, Ruby was waiting outside in the car, so they brought her inside. We couldn't believe how similar the two dogs' appearances and personalities were.
The Swartz's then decided to schedule a session for Ruby. Here's an image from her session. Max and Ruby are also featured in the Pet Gallery (click here to see it). Can you tell them apart?

Ruby^

Ruby ^

Travel Photos

While organizing some of my digital photos, I came across some images from a cruise we took in 2006.

The first image here is from a village in the Dominican Republic. I like the vibrant colors of the flowers against the clay pots, the weathered stones of the building, and the stone work of the streets. The many pots grouped together add interest.


This next image is from a rainy day touring around Puerto Rico. At first it was disappointing, touring the old fort in the rain, (wearing plastic ponchos), but at the same time the stormy skies added a certain mood to the surroundings.


The detailed image below shows the rain slicked streets through the window. The tail lights reflecting on the wet tar shows a subtle glimpse of the modern world beyond the confines of the fortress.

Digitizing

Recently, in my spare time (which there's never enough of), I've been trying to organize my personal negatives and Kodak Ektachrome slides (remember slides and carousel projectors?) so that I can convert them to digital. I remember the anticipation of waiting to get my slide film developed, and getting the images a week later. Now, all I have to do is look at the camera screen to see the pictures. Which is pretty cool.

I have boxes of images of things I used to photograph, mostly architectural details, landscapes, abstract designs, etc., and of course family photos. I even have old movies of the kids on VHS to convert to DVD.

photo from flickr.


Anyways, I hope to share some of my old images with you in the upcoming months, so be sure to check back and see them.

-Scott

1st Communion

Congratulations to all of the girls and boys who made their First Communion this year! This weekend is the last big weekend for communions.

Scott and I really look forward to the communion season each year. Its amazing how even the most talkative children become more serious when they change into their communion clothes, but of course that didn't last long.


The suits and gowns this year have been absolutely beautiful (check out our Milestones gallery here). The selection and styles available these days are incredible. The clothing from Baby World and Ritz for Kidz have been especially great.

P.S.: if your child has made their communion but has not been professionally photographed, its not too late! Call to schedule a session for your child today at 401-245-5713.

-Barbara

Pets

The past couple of months, we've been having a great time photographing dogs.
We've met many beautiful dogs, big and small, all with their own personalities.

It all started out innocently enough photographing my own dog Max, an Airedale Terrier. He has a tremendous amount of energy and occasionally gets himself in trouble, but he's so funny that it's impossible to get (too) mad at him. Anyway, we soon discovered that there were a great number of people that really wanted a portrait that captured their dog's personality too.

To see some of the dogs we have photographed, check out our pet gallery here. Also, if you book a pet session (any kind of pet is welcome) before June 20th, 2008, we will donate $25 to the Potter League animal shelter in Middletown, RI. It's a remarkable place and they've helped so many deserving animals find homes.

Max.

First Post!

Welcome to our new blog!
I plan to post the latest studio information, special promotions, stories, etc. on this blog. I'm hoping to post at least weekly. We also have our own senior blog, so seniors click here to check it out. Don't forget to look at our galleries on our website, www.scottsylvia.net. They are constantly updated with new pictures. You might even see someone you know!