.goodness, i really have been a bad blogger! i’ve been busy catching up with client orders, meeting new clients, preparing our house for the arrival of baby M and feeling pretty tired in the process…i don’t know how i am able to muster up all the energy to get it all done, but somehow it’s getting there.  i am truly looking forward to having this baby and feeling like myself again :)

.in other news – i have a new website! I have been coveting a Blu Domain site for quite some time, and they came up with a template that I love so I snatched it up while the getting was good! i am still adding photos and information to the site, and tweaking things here and there…evetually I will have some cool videos to add as well, but that will be a bit further down the road, but lots of goot stuff to stay tuned in for. Don’t get used to the squares or logo…all is changing, i just needed something to post up quick :) Be prepared here too for a few changes in the look of my blog. Oh, and the fabulous Blu has featured me in their Daily Life section on their blog!!! Go check it out…i’ve heard some bad hype about Blu, but I must say my expereince with them has been nothing but wonderful, i am soooo happy I made the switch!

.my webstore for my actions and textures is temporarily down.  it was on my old server/host which i cancelled and i am in the process of making it look new and fresh as well as adding some cool new products.  i will be sure to post an update when it is offically ready, though if you are interested in purchasing an action or texture set you can still do so by emailing me your order and I will send you an invoice via PayPal and email your order to you ASAP.  i am also trying to figure out if there is a way to make the downloads automatic so my fabulous customers don’t have to worry about remembering to check that darn download button before adding a product to your shopping cart. the news address to the store though is going to be www.sarahsmithphotography.com/store  …yeah…much easier :)

.i am currently looking for a graphic designer to help me figure out who i am…in terms of branding my image.  right now i am basically looking for that logo that will help define my overall style that will eventually spill over into other apsects of my business.  if you know someone who has worked on your logo or graphics or someone you have seen around the web that you would recomend, please email me or leave me a comment with a link to their site.  i have tried to figure it out myself and realize that sometimes you just have to outsource :) i would also love to hear your suggestions about my site, design and blog…what would you like to see more or less of, what design elements work or what would you suggest i change? Feedback from clients and fellow photogs is important to me and i would love to hear what you have to say….so long as it isn’t too harsh ;)

. i have lots and lots of pics and sessions to post…i have this thing where i am really anal about posting things in order which is why i haven’t gotten around to it yet, but i realize i need to get on the ball with keeping this blog a bit more updated not only with session sneak peeks, but with more personal info so you have the chance to get to know me a bit better too! i also have photo tips and info to share and lots of good stuff coming in the future as soon as things slow down a bit…i hope ;)

.in pregnancy related news…all is well, the little one moves around like crazy…you would think there was a miniature performance of Cirque Du Soleil going on in my belly! i have about a month to go, though my doctor said i could be two weeks early since my daughter was a bit early, so you could be seeing a ton of newborn images here pretty darn soon.  we have been working on rearranging our house to make the best use of our space when the little one arrives…it is amazing the amount of junk one accumulates without even knowing it…i had no idea how much stuff i had until we decided to rearrange rooms…i must have either thrown away or donated close to 20 bags of clothes and knick knacks…seriously, it was quite a liberating expereince to just get rid of the clutter! but all is well and i will be sure to update on the progress :)

.dont forget you can stay updated with my blog automatically through Bloglines.  I adore bloglines and use it to stay updated with all of the blogs i love to lurk around.

.ok…so back to work so I have time to write again tomorrow…hope all of you are doing well and that you have a fabulous week should I happen to slip off the blog wagon again ;) Cheers!

Get them HERE!

.i am happy to announce a new product with several others like it on the way! 

6 unique overlays

The Written Word overlays add artistic interest and depth to your images. Each overlay is a fully editable .PSD file, each layer can be edited to work with each image you apply it to. These overlays are perfect when paired with textures to give even more depth or along on a photograph. These are great for custom cards and print press products, canvas wraps or various other portrait products. A tutorial with tips on how to edit and apply your overlays is included in the download.

Below is a sample photograph using just the overlays, but they are also awesome to use over my textures as well!

You can also view a larger sample of the overlays HERE

PhotoSmith Photographer Resources

Finally, i have gotten around to posting some new products I have ready for my resources store.  I LOVE these new textures and will be playing around with some photos using these soon :)  I have another product to launch later this week i think is pretty cool and hopefully you will too :)

Ok, so my update took a little long than planned to post here.  So without further adieu, i am happy to announce the following!

           ♥  My new photography site is up and running! I created this site from scratch all by my lonesome. It evoloved from a blank page to what it is today…i now fully understand why people shell out big bucks to have this done for them :) Pending any minor bugs and some last minute additions to the galleries and such, it is finally finished!

        Take a peek at PhotoSmith Photography

Please note that the homepage is currently under www.sarahsmithphotography.com while the content pages still have my rusticrelics.net address, this is currently correct and everything will be changed over to sarahsmtihphotography.com in a few months when I renew my site. (888update888 ijust found out i can have eveything under the new web address so pardon the site if you dont seem images or links while i transfer everything over, this probably wont be completed until next week…)

I have also set up a sample client area for you to view, so if you book a session you will be able to see where you will view and order your photos online. The username is: visitor, the password is: sample. Also, please let me know if you encounter any problems on the site so I can figure out how to fix them!

Please bear with me as I continue to post more photos in the galleries, all of my spare time has been sucked away by developing this site that I have not had much time to do any editing.  There will be more in the galleries over the next few weeks.

Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of the site! :)

♥ You will also be able to find my new shop on this site that lists all of my actions,presets, textures etc. for sale (and you will no longer receive error messages – better yet the products are available for immediate download as soon as your payment is processed). Check it out here:PhotoSmith Photographer Resources

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♥  In celebration of my new site I am holding a Viewers Choice Photo Contest! The prizes are my PhotoSmith Cross Processed Actions Set 1 and 3 amazing textures by |ASH|!  Here are the rules: The photo must be of you ( it can be the whole you or just a piece of you – kind of like the photo above), you must incorporate an element of autmn in the picture, and the colors must be subdued, not super saturated.  Photos must be taken between October 25th and October 28th and entries must be in by October 28th at midnight.  I will nominate 3 photos and post them up by noon on Monday Oct 29th for you to vote on! Final winners will be announced on Halloween. Send your entries to sarah@rusticrelics.net

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♥  For those of you who have followed my journey from my art, jewerly and mixed media and who know how i could never settle on just one thing…well, i can happliy say that i have finally settled on a medium that truly brings me creative satisfaction in every way.  Photography has enveloped every ounce of my creative desire, and since I really no longer have time to dabble in other creative mediums I am having a “garage sale” of sorts on RusticRelics.net. I have set up under the ‘Sale’ section the garage sale where I will be selling all of the art and craft supplies i have stored around here that need good homes :) Be sure to check in often as I wil periodically post new things as I come across them, and the prices will be great as I need to move this stuff out of my home (it’s amazing how much stuff you acumulate and how much room it takes up!)  You can visit the Garage Sale here: Rustic Relics Garage Sale

♥  I am also holding the biggest sale on Rustic Relics! EVERYTHING ON THE SITE IS 50% off! (with the exception of the Garage Sale Items). Because I have had such a problem with shipping errors on the site, please email me your order and include the product(s) name and item number.  I will send you an invoice via PayPal for payment.  I will respond to email orders on a first come, first serve basis and I will keep the site updated to reflect what items have sold. Once it is gone…..it’s gone! Take a look to see what’s for sale here: Rustic Relics

♥  I have also set up a new Flickr account to post images that aren’t portraits and such like you will see here. I will have a link to it in my sidebar, but you can visit it here: .moon lines, apple pathways.

♥  I still have some fine are photographs for sale on ETSY, check them out here: PhotoSmith on ETSY

So that about covers it.  Going forward this blog will serve as a place where I will post sneak previews of sessions, contests, new photoshop resources and general photography stuff.  Please subscribe to my blog via Bloglines (i have a button in the right sidebar you can subscribe with)to stay up to date on my current offerings.  Leave me a comment to let me know you signed up as occasionally I will draw a name from my subscribers and send them a surprise :) Thanks again for your interest in my work and for following me on this crazy creative journey of mine.  Photography has truly become my passion and I hope to reflect that here for you all to see :) Stay tunes for a slew of new posts this coming week! Cheers!

.my guy.

Playing around with my new Canon 430EX flash…this was taken in an almost completely dark room…gotta love bounce flashes ;) The post processing was done using my ACR Rawganic presets (Thunderstorm) and my Cross Process Action #1.  Have an awesome weekend!

Enchanted Actions Set : View Larger HERE

For some reason my website is acting up when  people are trying to order the actions sets I’ve posted….it’s asking for a shipping method, when obviously there in not one needed and not letting you proceed with your order from that point. I’m sorry for the difficulties it is causing and  I’m in the process of trying to figure it all out.  In the mean time, if you are interested in purchasing my action sets, you can pay via PayPal (you dont need an account) by either emailing me your payment directly (through the PayPal service) to sarah@rusticrelics.net and specifying which actions you are purchasing or email me your email addy and what set(s) you are intersted in and I can send you an invoice.

Sorry for my site being such a pain in the butt with it all, i hope to have it all corrected soon.  Thanks to those who have already purchased my sets, hope you are having fun creating unique photos with them!

View Larger HERE

Well, i finally updated something in the store! At long last i got some Photoshop actions available for sale on the shop.  There are many more sets to come, but I figured I would start with the Cross Processed set since that effect seems to be pretty popular.  There will be a more subdues XP set in the future, but I just loved these bright colors! There is more info about the sets in my store and I hope to have atleast one if not two more sets up tonight.

The new jewelry will be up this weekend.  Most of but not all of the new line will be up, and there will be some changes in store for the way the site is updated, so I will keep you posted (for those who do indeed visit)

Hope you all have a fabulous holiday weekend! Should you need any info on the actions please dont hesitate to leave me a comment or email.  If you should decide to purchase them you will receive them by email within 24 hours.  I’ve also set up a Flickr group to showcase my actions in use… RR Actions on Flickr.  Cheers~