JUST TO LET YOU KNOW...

SURPRISE GUEST

What little girl doesn't dream of being a princess.

Well, there's somewhere here in Atlanta that it can

happen.

Four years ago I met a very energetic and charismatic

young woman at a charity auction.  It was at her patisserie

called the Pink Pastry Parlor.  It was a unique little place,

specializing in cupcakes, no, dream cakes.  One of the

yummies was from a recipe passed on to her by her

grandmother.  Her photo hangs on the wall.

Two years ago she opened a new place in Alpharetta.  It was

going to be bigger and better.  That it was.  You see, she 

needed more space to expand an idea she developed at her

previous location.  Parties. Yup, parties.   

You can rent the Pink Pastry Parlor for themed parties.

I witnessed a "Princess Party" in person.  Tiffany asked me 

to shoot her new place for a special party she was having.

This would happen before her grand opening.  Her old

location hosted parties for everyone, including Atlanta

celebrities .  On this day, she went global.  

Guests would be treated to the most amazing experience.  Shopping

sprees, fashion shows, anything you could want.  The adults

seemed more excited for their children than their children themselves.

The kids were dazed that all of this was for them.

 The guest of honor arrived in a pink limo, shortly after her guests

Happy Birthday, Chance

Chance and Mom, Sarah Chapman

Sarah, Chance, and Dad, Sean Combs

Cupcake Parlor

Cotton Candy

Arrivals

Tiki Bar

"Cocktails"

Passage to fun

Lavish rooms for slumber parties or fun

Spa and Beauty Treatments

Makeovers

Manicures 

Fashion Shows

Expert advice

Baking Class

Tea Party

Popcorn Shower

Games and Playrooms

Not just for girls

Shopping Spree

Fun filled but exhausting 

Reward at the end of the day

All of this brought to you by Tiffany and the gang. 

I had a good time at this shoot.  If I had a little girl,

I'd book this, let them do all the work, and take

the credit.  So if you've run out of ideas on your next

party, check this out at ...

www.pinkpastryparlor.com

2013

PS. This is not a paid advertisement...

PA'I KI'I WA'WAE

PA'I  KI'I   WA'WAE

(TO PHOTOGRAPH  FOOT)

Living in Hawaii isn't cheap, but there are ways to make it.

As I've mentioned in my previous blogs, I've always tried to

do it "my way".  I used to troll the beaches on the weekends 

with my camera.  There's always baby luaus, parties, and family

gatherings all around the island.  I would find the person in charge

and ask to shoot candids.  Within an hour, I'd be back with the 

photos in 5x7 photo jackets, to sell at five bucks each.  You'd be

surprised at the response from everyone.  Even those who turned

me down.  Their memory is there before the party is over.  Just

remember, this was film, before digital.  

I also had a contract with Coral Creek Golf Course.

A lot of free lance photographers had courses where 

we took tee shots of mostly Japanese tourist.  A percentage 

of our sales would go to the golf courses.  For extra cash,

I did golf tournaments and a percentage would go to

whatever the fundraiser was.  We all did weddings, 

conventions, whatever it took. 

None of this could have worked if it wasn't for

Sam's Club.  Sam's had a photo lab that serviced

just about all the photographers  from whatever

field.  They gave us a business account and they were 

fast and blessedly cheap.  We were top priority when

we came in to the lab.  Mahalo, Sam's.

One of the managers at my Pearl City lab was

Jerry Omo Jr.   He was a big help and often gave 

me photography tips.  He taught night classes at the

University of Hawaii, which is odd because UH didn't

have a photography department at that time.  I jumped

at the chance when he invited me to sign up for the

next semester.  

It was a six week course.  At the beginning, he asked

us to pick a genre which we would use throughout

the course.  Each week he would assign a subject and

we would have to apply our genre with each subject.

My classmates picked architecture, children,  etc.

Ho hum.  I picked feet.  No, it's not a fetish.  

A golfer

Tribal tattoo

Rinsing off

Evolution... Shoes to flip flops

Freedom

Keiki Hawaii

Veterans Day

Downtown traffic

Accident or murder?

Outrigger

Lifeguard

A day at the beach

Memory

Guess who?

Self portrait

I still keep in touch with Jerry.  He has his own photography 

business now.  If you're ever in Hawaii, look him up at

Hawaiianpix Photography,  Jerry Omo Jr., photographer.

2013