Christmas is tomorrow and I am now preparing all the toys and Teddy Bears given by friends and members of the Thursday "A Course In Miracles" group I teach to present to children at Tampa's Metropolitan Ministries. Each year members of my staff and me go to the charity and photograph families who find themselves living there temporarily because of a need during the holidays.
Doing the photos is one of the most fulfilling things we do at Pepito Masterpiece Portraits and even though we fore-go the traditional Christmas morning with our families, we get great satisfaction out of putting smiles on the faces of so many families during this giving season. I've got to be there at 7:15a.m. to set up the camera and lights to be ready to begin shooting at 8. We usually go on until early afternoon but the time spend is well worth it.
It's never too late to donate food of any kind to Metropolitan Ministries. They feed needy families year' round and are a wonderful and respected organization. We are so proud to help them serve the community.
Watch Us On WFLA-TV
Gayle Guyardo of WFLA NewsChannel Eight was at our studios last week and did a taping of me for a series of segments about those who give to the community during this Yuletide season. She interviewed me and her photographer taped a portrait session in progress. We were humbled to be selected for this honor.
Well folks, two segments will air separately between now and the end of the year. This morning's (Friday's) Tampa Tribune contained an ad that said one of the segments would be broadcast during the news this Monday at 4:30p.m. Normally, the Oprah Winfrey Show is on at that time and I seriously doubt they would preempt the great Oprah for a story about me. So either there has been a programming change or my segment will be on around 5:30p.m., a time when the news is normally on. Please check the newspaper listings and watch for me.
For more details about the upcoming television news feature, see my December 15, 2010 blog entry below.
All of us at Pepito Masterpiece Portraits extend to you the greatest wishes for a grand and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!
The holidays are always a busy time for the studio.
Last week I photographed 19 members of the Tampa law firm of Danahy & Murray P.A. Pepito Masterpiece Portraits had previously done work for someone in the firm who, in turn, suggested that we photograph all the attorneys individually.
Not only was it a great session, lasting about three-and-a-half hours, but it was combined with a little holiday get-together with the members exchanging gifts. Chef Stephan and his partner, Barbara, prepared some delicious hors d'oeuvres for everybody to munch on during the session.
It’s always a great affair when office groups come to the studio to have individual portraits taken. It’s a social event with no comparison. If your office or group would like to have us make a very special photographic experience for you and your office or organization, please call us to schedule a portrait session.
Florida’s New Attorney General
Pam Bondi, a Temple Terrace native and former prosecutor with the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, came to the studio last week to have her official portrait taken. Yes, Pam will be sworn in next month as Florida’s new attorney general, having won that post in a statewide runoff election last month.
We are very proud to have been selected by her representative, Adam Goodman, to make the portrait. We had taken portraits of Mr. Goodman’s family recently and he was so pleased with them that he brought his client, Pam, to us for her official photographs.
We spent several hours working to get the best images possible. Chef Stephan was once again on hand to keep everybody in fancy finger foods and delicious beverages to make the portrait session a relaxing and memorable experience. We salute Pam and wish her luck in her new, very important office and that her and Adam for selecting me to make her official portrait.
Featured on WFLA NewsChannel Eight…
Gayle Guyardo and her cameraman, Scott, stopped by the studio this morning to work on a feature for broadcast later this month on Tampa businesses that do special things for special people during the holidays. The station learned of our work with the Pediatric Cancer Foundation for photographs taken of children who have the debilitating disease. One woman, who lost a photograph I had taken of her daughter who had since passed away due to cancer, was interviewed. We replaced the photograph which was destroyed along with her home four months ago.
Some scenes of a portrait session will be featured and I will say a few words about the worthy charities I work with during the year. Of course, as every year we will be taking holiday portraits on Christmas day at Metropolitan Ministries of Tampa. The organization provides temporary housing for families in need and we photograph individuals and families staying there who wish a holiday portrait and provide them at no cost to them.
The executive director of the One-Voice Foundation, Mary Ann Massolio, was also present while the story was being taped.
The television feature will be shown during morning Today Show cut-ins and the 5p.m. news programs on WFLA-TV sometime between Christmas and New Years Day. If we get an exact day and time, we'll post it on the blog.
A Star in our Midst…
Catherine Parks, a veteran actress who has been featured in numerous feature films and television shows, came to the studio to have some special masterpiece photographs taken for an upcoming episodic feature she’s pitching to the television networks.
Catherine, who was Miss Florida in 1977 and third runner-up in the Miss America Pageant that year, has been working nearly four years in writing and producing the initial pilot about Tampa and its colorful past, mafia and all.
We are so happy she was extremely pleased with the results of our photographic session and we’ll keep you posted on the success of her proposed network program.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Too all of our clients and friends throughout the Tampa Bay area and the country, we wish you the grandest of holidays and send our very best for a joyous and prosperous NEW YEAR!!!
Last week I photographed 19 members of the Tampa law firm of Danahy & Murray P.A. Pepito Masterpiece Portraits had previously done work for someone in the firm who, in turn, suggested that we photograph all the attorneys individually.
Not only was it a great session, lasting about three-and-a-half hours, but it was combined with a little holiday get-together with the members exchanging gifts. Chef Stephan and his partner, Barbara, prepared some delicious hors d'oeuvres for everybody to munch on during the session.
It’s always a great affair when office groups come to the studio to have individual portraits taken. It’s a social event with no comparison. If your office or group would like to have us make a very special photographic experience for you and your office or organization, please call us to schedule a portrait session.
Florida’s New Attorney General
Pam Bondi, a Temple Terrace native and former prosecutor with the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, came to the studio last week to have her official portrait taken. Yes, Pam will be sworn in next month as Florida’s new attorney general, having won that post in a statewide runoff election last month.
We are very proud to have been selected by her representative, Adam Goodman, to make the portrait. We had taken portraits of Mr. Goodman’s family recently and he was so pleased with them that he brought his client, Pam, to us for her official photographs.
We spent several hours working to get the best images possible. Chef Stephan was once again on hand to keep everybody in fancy finger foods and delicious beverages to make the portrait session a relaxing and memorable experience. We salute Pam and wish her luck in her new, very important office and that her and Adam for selecting me to make her official portrait.
Featured on WFLA NewsChannel Eight…
Gayle Guyardo and her cameraman, Scott, stopped by the studio this morning to work on a feature for broadcast later this month on Tampa businesses that do special things for special people during the holidays. The station learned of our work with the Pediatric Cancer Foundation for photographs taken of children who have the debilitating disease. One woman, who lost a photograph I had taken of her daughter who had since passed away due to cancer, was interviewed. We replaced the photograph which was destroyed along with her home four months ago.
Some scenes of a portrait session will be featured and I will say a few words about the worthy charities I work with during the year. Of course, as every year we will be taking holiday portraits on Christmas day at Metropolitan Ministries of Tampa. The organization provides temporary housing for families in need and we photograph individuals and families staying there who wish a holiday portrait and provide them at no cost to them.
The executive director of the One-Voice Foundation, Mary Ann Massolio, was also present while the story was being taped.
The television feature will be shown during morning Today Show cut-ins and the 5p.m. news programs on WFLA-TV sometime between Christmas and New Years Day. If we get an exact day and time, we'll post it on the blog.
A Star in our Midst…
Catherine Parks, a veteran actress who has been featured in numerous feature films and television shows, came to the studio to have some special masterpiece photographs taken for an upcoming episodic feature she’s pitching to the television networks.
Catherine, who was Miss Florida in 1977 and third runner-up in the Miss America Pageant that year, has been working nearly four years in writing and producing the initial pilot about Tampa and its colorful past, mafia and all.
We are so happy she was extremely pleased with the results of our photographic session and we’ll keep you posted on the success of her proposed network program.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Too all of our clients and friends throughout the Tampa Bay area and the country, we wish you the grandest of holidays and send our very best for a joyous and prosperous NEW YEAR!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)