wen mcnally photography

MVHS Scene Magazine and Wen McNally Photography present ON THE MIC

We've had some really great opportunities to work with different groups at Mountain View High School (high school has definitely been more fun the second time around...) and now we've got another one

Mark your calendar for Friday, February 6 from 7-10pm. (doors open at 6:30) We're hosting the first ever Scene Magazine ON THE MIC night, featuring spoken-word, poetry readings, skits, dramatic monologue, and acoustic performances. The arts department at Mountain View is consistently amazing and the Scene Magazine is no exception.

Tickets will be on sale February 2-6 during lunch for $5 and will be $6 at the door (if the event isn't already sold out)

Wanna perform? See Ms. Renard in room 305 for an entry form or pick one up in the front office (deadline for submission is Wednesday, January 21st. Only MVHS students permitted to perform)

 

A Little Bit Of Family Time

When you grow up in Michigan, you get kinda used to having snow at Christmas (I remember snow on Halloween one year, but that's another story)

Well, it's been a couple of years since we've seen a white Christmas and I was feeling all Norman Rockwell, so I hatched a plan.

We've got a great friend who lives with his beautiful wife (expecting their first child in the spring) in Connecticut. I called, they had snow... ROAD TRIP! We piled the kids into the car at 4am the day after Christmas and headed North. I can honestly say that by New York we hadn't seen ANY snow and I was starting to get nervous. Temps were in the high 40's and thoughts of a 7 hour drive rewarded with muddy hills didn't really thrill me. Enter CT, looks like the snow is still here (melting fast, but we'll take what we can get.)

Thanks to the amazing internet, I had scouted out some possible locations and after a mind numbing trip to WalMart (okay, I'm the idiot who went there the day after Christmas...) we had our sleds and couldn't wait til morning. We had a great time sledding down the hill (you know, you've gotta walk up those things...) in the wet and melting snow, decided to switch to making a giant snowman (complete with grass goatee... McNally style!) and generally had a wonderful day laughing and being a family. The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out with our friends, eating, playing Monopoly (which I won, by the way!) and generally chilling out.

And just because that's how we roll, we decided that a detour into Manhattan on the way home would be fun. Statue of Liberty, subway rides and seeing Time Square during the setup for New Year's... pretty cool.

A few days later, Wen and I got a chance to head out to Vegas for a convention and ended up having our minds blown in just a few minutes by a tour of Zappos.com. (My cousin is the Mayor of Zappos...)

So now we're back in the studio, getting ready for an amazing 2009. Hope to see you soon!

It's easy to get caught up in the everyday race to stay ahead of the avalanche, but be sure to remember what's really important.

-sean

Gift Card Sale!

Okay all you last minute shoppers, here comes your favorite little photography studio in Hartwood to the rescue with a fabulous last minute gift idea!

Why not give that special someone the gift of memories that will last a lifetime.

We're offering $100 gift cards for $80. They can be used for any new studio purchases or re-orders and can be combined. Such a deal! They get the gift of amazing portraits and you get to save a couple of bucks... Hey, it might even be worth it to treat yourself to a little something special!

And to make the whole deal even that much sweeter, book your session in January, February or March and get an additional bonus!

We'll be here in the studio until Christmas Eve (and if you're one of those who likes to wait until the after Christmas sales, this deal will be good for a few days after too) so stop by, drop us an email or give us a ring.

BOOK ON BLACK FRIDAY AND SAVE

We Want Models!

WE WANT MODELS!

Monday, December 8 - 2:30 til ????

WOW! We have had an amazing year (and we've got most of you to thank for it. so thanks.) We've got a ton of new ideas and things we want to play around with for next year, so we've decided to see if anyone wants to come out and play. We'll get some pizzas, crank up the music and see what we come up with. It's hard to say what we'll do with everything, but you know we always take care of anyone who helps us out.

So how 'bout it? Wanna hang out at the studio and help us noodle through some things we've got swirling around in our heads?

Drop us a line to let us know that you're coming (that way, we know how much pizza and stuff to buy!) Tell a friend or two (we had over 45 kids show up for our prom dress shoot) and mark it on your calendar. If nothing else, we'll have a good time.

THE MISER - MVHS Drama Does It Again

Ever since the first time my skepticism over watching high school students do Shakespeare was replaced by amazement, I've continued to look forward to each and every drama performance put on by Mountain View High School's drama department.

This weekend was no exception. We caught two versions of "The Miser." I say two versions, because the lead role is double cast and the leads each bring their own style to the role. Friday night was Chris Embrey's full speed ahead, physical comedy version of the stingy old skinflint. If Chris doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will. Saturday night was Josh Brandt's brooding and sinister portrayal, complete with diving into the audience in search of the thief! The depth of emotion Josh consitently brings to his roles is amazing.

We've had a chance to hang out a little with both Josh and Chris, as well as meet members of their families, (we've also had the pleasure of getting to know many of the other cast members and the teachers in the drama department) and I've to tell you that if you haven't taken advantage of the shows being put on at MVHS, you got to remedy that situation and quick! Lucky for you, there's one more performance this Friday night at 7pm. You can be sure that I'll be there!

We'll be posting a gallery of images from both nights (Wen' won't make the last show... she'll be deep in the heart of Texas... but that's for another post) and then it's waiting anxiously for the next production.

-sean

Chris Embery cleaning house as "The Miser"

 

Josh Brandt suspicious of everyone as "The Miser"

Sofa Pictures & Winner!

The refurbished sofa made it's return during Mountain View's football home game on Halloween. We had a great time, were able to debut our recently tricked out van, hand out some "Libby Didn't Do It" t-shirts and they guys won the game too, so it was a great night overall. If you came by and had your picture taken, they're now up on our website

We also had a drawing for a free friend's session, which was won by Stephanie Mencia. Congratulations!

Keep an eye out for the van around town and some special offers if you do...

-sean

Libby Didn't Do It!

Rumors of the demise of the sofa are greatly exaggerated!

But before that, be sure to grab a couple of bucks and your friends and show up at the last Mountain View Home Game this Friday night... the SOFA is back!

Okay, now onto the business at hand. There was a great little write up about our now nearly world famous sofa (okay, maybe not THAT famous) in the October issue of the Mountain View newspaper. I had been sent a quick little note with some questions regarding what had happened to the sofa I made a silly comment that we all saw Libby break the sofa... and that's when Libby's downward spiral began to take shape. She nearly became an outcast, shunned by friends and foes alike. And that's not cool, because we really like Libby... (oh, and for the record, it really looks like it was Kawnr who broke it, which is kinda funny because he ways what like 95 pounds?)

So, here's my official apology to Libby for nearly ruining her life with my uncaring comment, and your chance to get something FREE!

Be one of the first 10 people to stop by the van on Friday night and tell me that "LIBBY DIDN'T DO IT" and you'll get a free, limited edition "LIBBY DIDN'T DO IT" t-shirt! Just think, when KatiCo. is all famous and stuff, you'll be able to say you knew Libby Didn't Do It all along!

We love you LIBBY! See everyone at the game!

(the information in this post may or may not have been exaggerated for dramatic effect...)

SENIORS - BOOK NOW AND SAVE!

HEY SENIORS! CHECK IT OUT!

October 29, 2008 - 8am session

A great friend of ours once told us "If you don't have time, you can spend money. If you don't have money, you can spend time. If you don't have time or money, you're doing something terribly wrong!"

It's the advice that ultimately tipped the scale and helped us to dive into the photography business on a full time basis.

In the spirit of that advice, we've decided to offer up our own little special.

From time to time, we'll look at our calendar and see an opening (maybe someone had to re-schedule unexpectedly, or the date didn't get filled, whatever...) We'll be posting that date on our site (and in the blog if I remember it...) and offering 50% off the session fee*. You'll have to be able to move quickly to take advantage of it and we won't know when it's going to happen, so you'll have to keep your eyes peeled. These will be extremely limited time offers and once the date has been booked, it's gone.

* offer valid for Senior Portrait Full Sessions only (normal price $200 - dicounted price $100) Session fee is due at the time the session is booked.

PIMP OUR VAN!