Looking for new ways to showcase your photographs?  We are now offering Canvas Thin Wrap, a stylish and frameless way to display your favorite pictures.  Your image is printed on a canvas material and then laminated over with a satin or glossy laminate.  This beautifully mounted and finished print is available in a wide variety of sizes.  A 1/2″ spacer mounting block can be attached to the back of the print to provide a contemporary float effect when hung on a wall or an optional easel stand can be ordered instead.  Please contact us for more information and/or if you’re interested in ordering one of these!

Closer-up of the canvas texture.

Optional 1/2″ spacer mounting block.

For this client, we ordered the 8″x12″ Canvas Thin Wrap w/satin laminate and got both the mounting block and easel stand.  This will give the client the option to hang the print or display it in a variety of locations such as on a table, mantle or shelf.

Happy Labor Day!  About a year ago around this time I put myself out there.  Nara Photography Blog was born on Labor Day weekend of last year.  I really had no expectations for what I was about to get myself into.  All I know was that I wanted a platform to share my love for photography.  Friends and co-workers who knew about my growing passion for photography referred me to their family and friends.  It was such a honor when I started getting inquiries for photography services especially when I didn’t have a real portfolio or a website.  Starting a photography blog seemed like a great idea because it was a nice way to share some of our recent work as we continue to build our portfolio.  In light of the one year anniversary mark I decided to give the blog a little blog-lift.  Nothing major.  I contemplated about getting a custom blog made, but personally didn’t feel the need to spend the extra money and thought it could be put to better use elsewhere.  This $30 blog template from Tofurious still works just fine for me as a year ago.  There’s a free version too for anyone who’s interested.

One year after the birth of this blog my mind is running crazy with a list of “to-do’s”.  Like I mentioned earlier, I had no expectations whatsoever when I started this blog.  The road Seung and I went down on as a result was more than what we both ever imagined.   This summer was a busy one for us (on our own standards) and we’re actually glad it’s coming to an end (in terms of the wedding season).  We’re excited to finally set some expectations and goals and focus more on the business side of things.  I must say that it’s probably the toughest challenge so far.  A few items at the top of the “to-do” list is to put up a website and start marketing.  We have a lot of work ahead of us, but happy to be doing what we love.

Stay tune for some blog posts with pictures!  We have a couple weddings and lifestyle portrait sessions to share.

Today, Seung and I attended the WPPI Roadtrip here in Seattle at the waterfront Marriott.  I’ve been looking forward to this event since I found out about it.  To think just a few days ago I was about to skip out on it because 1) Seung couldn’t get the day off work  2) I really didn’t want to go alone and 3) I was swamped with my 9-5 day job.  To take the day off during the busiest time of the month would just create more stress than I wanted.  Fortunately, Seung was able to get off work and I was happy.  Gosh, I woke up earlier for the conference than I normally do for work.  Today’s event was so worth the stress and pile of work I’ll be facing when I return to work tomorrow.  The great thing about attending the WPPI Roadtrip is that we’re automatically registered for the 2011 WPPI Convention & Tradeshow.  We were able to get a taste of what’s to come in February and I can’t express how excited I am for it.  Did I mention it’s going to be in Vegas?  FUN!  Now, we just need to make some more (a lot more) photog friends before we go so that we don’t feel like such lost little people at the convention.  I hope a couple of months will be enough time to do that.

Anyway, even more exciting than WPPI coming to Seattle was the fact that the AMAZING Jasmine Star was one of the speakers/presenters.  There are only a handful of photographers who I feel “keeps it real” and who I find inspirational and most importantly relatable.  I’ve never met Jasmine until today.  I never in a million years think I’ll meet her in person.  During the coffee break before Jasmine was scheduled to present I went up and introduced myself to her.  I told her how I’ve been following her blog almost every night for the past two or so years and how I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to catch her 5-days CreativeLive workshop online the past five nights.  So yes… I’m exhausted and sleep deprived at the moment.  I then introduced Seung to Jasmine like she’s a friend of mine or something… LOL.  That’s how Jasmine makes you feel.  You either love her or get annoyed by her (her own words) and if you can’t already tell I really LOVE her!  Well, Seung made a comment to Jasmine and guess what??  It made it into Jasmine’s intro of her presentation.  That was our two seconds of fame, even if the other 400 something attendees didn’t know who Jasmine was referring to.  Oh well.  Jasmine made it clear at the beginning of her presentation that she’s not a professional speaker.  I’m glad that she’s not.  I’m glad that she spoke from the heart,  shared her story and her ways of doing things that work for her.  Jasmine was such a nice breath of fresh air.  She’s amazing and inspirational.  For us just starting out with our business we’re faced with so many barriers and negativity of being a “newbie” in an over-saturated industry.  We’re doing this more because we love it than it is bread and butter.  We understood the risks and time required and took it to the next level anyway because we love it that much.  It’s definitely not as easy as it looks and it’s nice to have someone like Jasmine who’s generous in sharing what she knows and what she’s learned in just four years.  She’s someone who favors and fosters a sense of community rather than competition.  I know I haven’t really made the time, but I’m really looking forward to finding that community we want to be a part of.  This will be step one of many to come. Oh and Jasmine, she’s such a beautiful person all around and so gorgeous too =).

I’m leaving to Cambodia for two weeks and will be celebrating New Years for the first time in the motherland.  Talk about exciting!  A trip back to my roots always brings out mixed emotions in me.  It’s like a vacation, but not really.  It’s  more a homage to my family and heritage.  It’s time to step out of my bubble and into a different perspective.  Holiday in Cambodia, please treat me good.  I’ve missed you!

Please note I will have very limited access to the Internet so I will respond to any emails and messages when I return.  Wishing everyone a happy early Khmer New Year!

I’m happy to share with you one of the products that we offer.  We received our sample image box recently and I just now have the chance to post about it.  The cover of the box is customizable and is individually designed with custom images, graphics or text.  It is beautifully made with a silky canvas-like finish.  The pictures don’t do it justice at all.  It’s a unique and alternate presentation for your 4×6 print photographs and it holds up to 150 of them.  Currently, the image box is included in selected wedding packages along with our favorite images from the wedding.   The image box has other practical uses as well and doesn’t have to be used to store or showcase photographs.

Note:  The spine will not say Nara Photography on it (unless you want it to).  The image box will be completely customized for you!  The image used on the sample cover is one of our favorite pictures from our wedding and the credit goes to our wedding photographer Mikal Lok of Lok In The Moment Photography.