Factual Friday

Tampa Engagement Photographer

This Friday snuck up on me.

Here's my fact:
I started really loving photography when I was at Sebring High School. I liked it before, but the only camera I had access to was an old Polaroid that my Grandpa bought me at a garage sale, and $10 was a lot for a fifth grader to spend on film!

So, in high school, when the school started paying for film, I really liked playing with cameras. I had to do a scrapbook for FFA, and I helped out with the yearbook. That really got me hooked. I bought myself a Canon Rebel (film) for graduation from high school and that started the era of my family giving me dirty looks and saying, "Ellie, really, put the camera away." =)

I took a couple of black and white film photography classes at Florida Southern College, where I met this fun guy named Drew. I even got to be the lab monitor in the darkroom my senior year.

I swore that I was never going to go digital because I loved developing my own photos so much, but then Drew got a Digital Rebel during our engagement and I saw how great it was to see the results of your shooting quickly, instead of waiting for weeks.

When we moved to Tampa, I decided to give wedding photography a try and Kurz Studio Photography was born!

Have a great weekend!

Engaged! Casey and Matt

Tampa Wedding Photographer

I got to mosey on down to Clearwater Beach on Saturday and take photos of Matt and Casey. Casey is the sister of Danielle, whose wedding was done by Kurz Studio Photography last summer. This couple is crazy fun.

Casey wanted some good jumping shots. This was my favorite. Didn't you guys read the sign?

You probably can't tell from looking at the pictures, but Saturday started off cold. It was kind of like sticking their feet in snow, not sand. Casey and Matt, you are crazy and brave. =)

A snowball, er, sand fight broke out...

Thanks for keeping me entertained, guys!

Factual Friday #1

Tampa Wedding Photographer

I (Ellie) am starting a new blog tradition.

Fridays are going to be factual here at Kurz Studio Photography in Tampa.

"Are you normally lying, then?" might be your query...

No, I'm not normally lying. I just want to share more about who I am, so that you get a feel for me as a person not just me as a photographer. =)

So, I'm going to share a fact about myself. This week, I'm going to share a fact about my other half as well. We'll see if he's reading.

Okay, here I go!

I am, at heart, a teacher. I taught pre-kindergarten special ed before I became a mom. I love working with kids. Especially the ones who are the biggest underdogs. I even got a masters degree in special ed, in hopes that I would do a better job of helping.

Drew is a web designer, at heart. He likes working with code and making beautiful pixels. He's good at it. He made the Kurz Studio Photography web site.

So as not to make anyone feel left out, I'm going to include Eli this week. Eli sucks his thumb. The left one. Does that mean he'll be a lefty?

Tampa Ices Over!

Dade City Wedding Photographer

We had a cold night last night. Very cold for Tampa! By 10 pm we could already see ice on cars out our window. Brrr! Eli and I got out early this morning to catch some photos of the pretty white stuff.









I bundled my helper up in two sweatshirts. I don't think the child could move.

Engaged! David and Caylee

Tampa Engagement Photographer

I got to meet the cutest couple yesterday. They suggested doing their engagement shoot in the backyard, and it really turned out great. Caylee and David make for the BEST pictures!





















See what I mean?!

Add a Little Texture

I've picked up a new skill. I've seen some fun, artsy pictures floating around lately. So I did a few myself. If you like the look, I can include some of these in your photos, too. =)

Let's Eat Cake!

Melissa Margarita-DiStefano of Masterpiece Weddings is working really hard to put on an amazing fundraiser in February called Let’s Eat Cake! - which will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital - an incredible organization that’s dedicated to treating children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

Let’s Eat Cake! is a wedding cake competition, featuring Wedding Cake confections from all over the United States. Bakers will feature their cakes to be judged by Local and National Culinary Celebrities. In addition bakers will be asked to make enough cake to feed the general public, so that they may judge the cakes as well!

This event will be held on February 17, 2009, 6:00PM at the Paramount Plaza Resort. Visit their site to see how you can contribute!

Engaged! Chris and Jess

Tampa Engagement Portraits

Kurz Studio Photography met up with Chris and Jess in North Tampa to do an engagement shoot. You can really tell how much these guys enjoy one another. We can't wait to be their wedding photographers when they get married in ROME! =) =)

Kurz Studio Child Photography: Clearwater Beach Family Photos

Tampa Child Photographer

I got the chance to catch a couple of families in action at the beach at Sand Key, just south of Clearwater Beach. BRRRRR. Still lots of fun, though.

None of these kids had ever seen a beach before.















We found a neat, bright red lifeguard stand to take a few family portraits.