What is “With This Ring“…..and How could my ring really save a life?

Thanks for asking, I am going to tell you. About 4 years ago, Ali Eastburn started WTR when one night she had a vision much like Oscar Schindler. She imagined him in the movie looking down at his lapel and weeping because his gold lapel was worth 2 more lives, his watch worth 5 more lives….these things of value really equal life. Today….that is still the case!!! When Ali looked down at her wedding ring retailed at over $20,000 she knew she was being called to give it up, to start a charity through radical giving, and to give life to people in need of clean drinking water.

When Ali called me to tell me she wanted to start this charity I thought it was a wonderful idea, until she asked if I would give up my wedding ring. I laughed and replied “Heck NO!” However after hearing her story and realizing the value of my jewelry, I looked down at my $10,000 ring and Movado watch and new I had to do something as well. I told her she could have my first wedding ring, and I took the diamond out of my newer wedding ring and replaced it with a man made diamond. (nobody could tell the difference) I felt really good about it, and have not missed my diamonds since. To date, With This Ring has dug over a dozen wells in Ghana Africa, and is supplying clean drinking water to hundreds of African tribesman. The women of these tribes walk up to 7 miles a day to get un-clean drinking water. The water is infested with parasites and kills their people. The young girls cannot go to school as their job is to fetch the unclean water. Now through the efforts of WTR, hundreds of women and girls days are freed up for education, parasites are gone, and lives are being saved and transformed.

The wonderful part of this charity is the full circle effect it has on everyone. To radically give changes you and to radically receive changes them. The rings and jewelry that are donated are put up for auction at Bidding For Good, thus having a story and great meaning behind them. You can buy the jewelry and know that you are helping an amazing cause, and that someone gave up that ring making it that much more meaningful for the buyer. It is a great charity, and I encourage you to check out their website, follow their blog, and check out their auctions. Also, if you feel led, consider radically giving yourself. Do you need your diamonds, would fake ones make a difference to you? Real ones make a difference to them! You could even consider gold, other jewelry or a cash donation as well. You have more power to help then you think.

The pictures below are from the WTR Charity Gala held at the Disney Hotel, where more then 300 people were in attendance and over $30,000 was raised. Natalie Good with A Good Affair coordinated the event and did a great job as always!  www.agoodaffair.com

With This Ring Website:
http://www.withthisring.org/

Living Water Internationals Website: (find WTR on the homepage)
http://www.water.cc/

A picture taken by Ali of the drinking water used by a tribe in Ghana that she visited, they now have clean drinking water!

This women bought a ring and loves to tell the story, she also donated enough money that night to finish digging the well that her ring was supporting and is planning a trip to Africa to visit the well! AMAZING!

Thank you all so much for participating in my Yosemite Wall Portrait/blog contest. I just put all the names of all the entries in a bowl and had my hubby pull a name. And the winner was Katherine Ellis! Yay Katherine! Just pick your favorite Yosemite image and I will drop ship your 16×20 in the mail to you this week! Thanks for playing and for your support everyone, it really means a lot to me. I will hold more contests in the future so watch for them.

I love Spring time shoots for families and little ones especially! Most families in Orange County reserve the end of the year (Oct-Dec) for family pictures, mainly for the annual Christmas card. However, I a must say Spring time is actually more colorful and alive. All of the blossoms come out and the grass is vivid green. Plus, I love the idea of sending Spring Cards instead of Christmas cards as well…..why not be the “trend setter” in your group?  I do mini shoot days for families in Spring as well as fall, these are days when you can get a photoshoot at half the price and still get full editing and full copyrights on hundreds of images! You cannot beat the 50% off price so take advantage of an upcoming Family Shoot Day! I also linked a few examples below of recent family shoots done in different locations.

Urban Family Shoot in Downtown Fullerton….Click Below!
http://jaimeehubert.blogspot.com/2010/11/family-shoot-in-downtown-fullerton.html

Horse Lovers Family Shoot at Family Home…Click Below!
http://jaimeehubert.blogspot.com/2010/10/family-shoot-day-urban-kids-in-downtown.html

Urban Kid Shoot in Downtown Brea…..Click Below!
http://jaimeehubert.blogspot.com/2010/10/family-shoot-day-urban-kids-in-downtown.html

 

 

You are typically used to seeing me blog pictures about weddings, engagements, and family work, but the great part about being a photographer is there are a lot of reasons that people hire me, so I get to shoot a lot of different and interesting things. This client happened to be a former bride of mine. Love her, Jen is so relaxed and funny to be around. She was such an easy going bride, and she wanted a shoot now a few years later showcasing her yoga moves as she has many reasons she need them. She also wanted headshots as well for upcoming business opportunities, so she changed up her tops for different looks. Business always requires some sort of images for design purposes on business cards, promotional materials, website, social media, etc. If you need a new headshot, want to update your website, or even just update your profile pic on Facebook, then book a shoot on one of my shoot days and get it done! This shoot was actually done as a “mini” shoot and we were still able to get a lot. Get ready for Zen with Jen! 🙂

 

So I tried my first underwater shoot and I must say it was way trickier then being on solid ground. I thought I would just jump in and snap some amazing images! The subjects move and can’t stay still underwater, me the photographer moves, upside down and all around. Water up the nose, spinning, swimming, need a breathe…..trying to click as the subjects pass by…..”oh, I got a picture of a toe.” It was challenging to say the least. Next time I need to splurge on an underwater housing system for my Pro camera. I used a small 12.1 Pentax HD underwater camera, and it was hard. However, I do like a few of the pics considering the camera used. It was a fun experience and we laughed a lot. Have not had that much water up  my nose since I was a kid. The couple had a lot of fun and they took a lot of funny and naughty pics that I cannot share here. They have some great memories from this day and the beachfront resort was amazing! Check out my other Costa Rica blogs from previous trips below!

Costa Rica Wedding 2011
http://jaimeehubert.blogspot.com/2011/03/costa-rica-wedding-2011.html

Costa Rica Family Shoots 2010
http://jaimeehubert.blogspot.com/2010/02/costa-rica-landscape.html

Costa Rica Coverage 2010
http://jaimeehubert.blogspot.com/2010/03/destination-vacation-to-costa-rica.html

For New baby shoots I prefer going to the families home to do the shoot. I find kids and people in general are more comfortable in their own homes. To get a family ready with a new baby and drive to a studio is also a lot of work, new Mom’s and Dad’s love the convenience of not having to leave the house and have a “no stress” shoot in their own setting. I bring a portable studio for a studio feel, and then also shoot in the clients home or yard for a natural light look. I love candid moments, semi-posed shots, and the artsy details! I like the contrast of this shoot as well with the choice of the studio look in black and the natural light with the white background. This family looks so happy! They are welcoming their 3rd child and first son to the family, and you can see how ecstatic they are. Consider doing your next family shoot at your home, they are priceless images!

I Love this couple! Congrats Ariel and Fed on your first baby! I shot their wedding just last summer at Via Del Sol in Fullerton and now they are expecting. They had one of my favorite weddings from last year. I went ahead and linked the blog from their wedding below. I love following up with my wedding clients, I am the only wedding vendor that gets to see their clients for years and years to come. It is very special to me to be able to watch my couples start their families and become their lifestyle photographer. I get to do my clients engagement shoot, wedding, pregnancy, new baby, and family shoots! It is exciting to see them start their lives and i get to be a part of the happiness from the beginning. It is great balance for the Marriage Bootcamps that I do as a trainer, where couple are trying to salvage and strengthen their marriages. 🙂 I love this park for pregnancy, it is rustic and was different then the studio shoots which is what you typically see. Enjoy your new baby Ariel & Fed, you are going to make great parents. Hold on to your seats, it is going to be the ride of your life!

Ariel & Federico’s Wedding blog at Via Del Sol:
http://jaimeehubert.blogspot.com/2010/07/downtown-fullerton-wedding-at-villa-del.html

So maybe my blogs are being read, because here is another simple and awesome backyard wedding! I LOVE backyard weddings, especially daytime weddings. They are always so calm and easygoing. They have a feeling of it being all about the couple. Backyard weddings are not about the venue or putting on a show, they are about the unity and love of the couple. Usually everyone there is special and important to the couple so it is always a meaningful day. This wedding in particular was very meaningful because the groom is like family to me. Joe & Sandy met at our home church that we all belong to called, The Well. It was a special wedding and God has brought them together after all of these years of knowing each other. The wedding was set on top of a small creek in a great backyard. They rented tables and chairs, and surprisingly the food was done by the grooms twin sister. I was worried since the catering was not done by a company, and to my surprise it was better then any catering company. Natalie, with A Good Affair, was hired to do day of coordination for the event. She was there to oversee the day, timeline, put out small fires, help with everything, and she did the florals. Natalie is great to work with and ALWAYS does a great job.

I have had more and more couples every year have a simpler and smaller wedding. Many couples are spending a majority of their wedding budget on me (a seasoned photographer) and opting to have a backyard wedding, a beach or park wedding, a destination wedding, or something smaller or simpler then originally anticipated. Not just to save on money, but also to save on stress and to do something a little different. Backyard weddings can be a bit more themed or personal and you can do something less cookie cutter then an already themed venue.

Congrats Joe & Sandy……may your lives together be better then even God could have dreamed! I am very happy for you!

I am having contest and giving away a 16×20 wall portrait from one of the Yosemite images featured below. Just follow my blog (on upper right side of blog page), leave a comment on this blog (to track entries), and share this blog on your Facebook page. If you are not my Facebook friend please find me at “Capturing Moments.” Just 3 simple steps that will take less then one minute and you are entered to win. Your chances are good considering I am not exactly Van Gogh. 🙂

One lucky client who follows my blog, shares this blog on their Facebook page, and who comments on this blog will receive their favorite image for their home! If you already follow my blog then just share on your Facebook and leave a comment, it is that easy! The contest is for the month of April! Winner to be announced first week of May. If I get a lot of new blog followers I will give away more then one print, so encourage your friends and share on your Facebook.

What can I say about this wedding in Costa Rica other then it was AWESOME! I love to do destination weddings, especially in Costa Rica. This was my second trip shooting there and it is so much fun. The lifestyle is amazingly tranquil and much slower then the US. Suzanne and James’ wedding was super unique and unlike most weddings I do. I had a lot of “firsts” at this wedding. This is a very non-traditional couple who wanted a super simple wedding, which I love. The day was all about their love and enjoying it with their guests. No pressure and so stress, my favorite! 🙂

Suzanne and James planned a very simple wedding Costa Rican style. Suzanne chose a very casual traditional Costa Rican style beach dress. It was the smallest wedding dress I have ever shot! James lucked out getting to wear a T-shirt and shorts and sported bare feet. The couple reside in Northern California but own property and spend a lot of time in Costa Rica. The property that we stayed at in Avellanos (North West Coast) has 7 houses or casitas, each casita took on a wedding job as a vendor for the day. One home made authentic looking Costa Rican cake, which was amazing. One house did all of the flowers from the bouquet to the ceremony pieces. A few of the men went down and dug holes in the sand to make a walkway of palms, made a ceremony site, and laid an isle. It was great to be able to see it all happen and document it during the getting ready’s. The actual ceremony was private and took place on a wooden bridge over a Mangrove Swamp. It was gorgeous, hot but gorgeous. It was just the couple and their children and me! 🙂 I always get to be in the cool places. After the private ceremony the couple walked down to the beach where they were greeted by their guests. They then continued the ceremony with their friends by reading letters from guests that could not attend, and a few other cool wedding traditions from different cultures. A great classy reception followed which was laid back and tons of fun.

Past Costa Rica Blogs 2010:

Pics from Travels in Costa:
http://jaimeehubert.blogspot.com/2010/03/destination-vacation-to-costa-rica.html

Family Shoots in Costa Rica:
http://jaimeehubert.blogspot.com/2010/02/costa-rica-landscape.html