FREE RESTORED PRINT CONTEST !!! Enter Your Old Photo!!!

To kick off spring I am offering a free photo restoration to the person who submits a challenging old photograph that they want to see come to life!

How to Enter: Submit your digital negative by e-mail to Autumn@PriestLakeImages.com in jpg format.
Or send a copy of the original to Autumn Oscarson, 57 Shady Pines Loop, Priest Lake, ID 83856 (photos not chosen will not be returned, so don't send your original).

Include: Explanation of the photo (who, when, where), what it means to you and why you would like it restored. Please include your contact information... snail mail and e-mail.

Details: Anyone may apply. I will digitally restore the image I find most interesting... removing red-eye, repairing scratches or tears, erasing water spots or moisture, removing people (if you wish) and professionally jazzing up your image to acid free paper so it is enjoyed for years to come.

Prize!!!: Winner receives their restored image as one 5x7 or 8x10 photography print on professional kodak halide paper, in an acid free black display folder. Worth $89.

Deadline: All entries must be received by May 31st and winner will be posted the first week of June.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Guess I'm just a holiday blogger. I would really love to post some of my latest favorite shots, but between running after Miss Clara who is turning 1 year old this week, and keeping up with the business, the day just goes by way too fast!

This morning on The View they had some great environmental companies to look at if you are trying to "Go Green" with your purchases, house remodels, etc. My favorite was the organic soft cotten sheets at http://www.target.com/ , natural baby products at http://www.californiababy.com/ and the bamboo flooring that can replace linoleum (since bamboo is a renewable resource growing a few inches a day). You can find toxic free flooring at http://www.calibamboo.com/bambooflooring . (So those are my name drops for today.) As far as "Going Green" is concerned I'm really glad that my parents have taught my brother and I how to recycle/reuse/and go nature all before it was popular. Our Oscarson family tree farm has been turning the dead timber into products for over 30 years! You can check out some our latest wood designs all locally created by my parents at http://www.autumnsloft.com/ . Back to photography...

Another interesting product that is coming out next month that I'm really excited about is Canon's new 48x zoom FS11 Flash Memory Camcorder that uses internal hard drive storage AND flash cards (similar to what you might use for your digital camera). Retail is $599 + and more with having to purchase the accompanying storage cards plus accessories. But the optical zoom on this is amazing and has just one the 2008 Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice Award. Downer is it records in standard definition rather than HD (which we are being told that "everyone" must switch over before Feb. 2009 which seems to me like a force to get us consumers to add to the economy and spend money in technology upgrading our TVs etc.) If HD really matters then the next best product I'm looking at is the Canon HDD (Hard Disk Drive) HG10 High Definition Camcorder which has internal storage and no need for carrying around cards or tapes. If you don't mind recording to mini tapes then look at the HV20. Anyway back to the day of the Irish...

If you live at Priest Lake, then tonight you might enjoy my main man's favorite corn beef and cabbage 6:30pm dinner at the Nickleplate in Nordman. A good day to you all and wear green TODAY but try to GO GREEN EVERYDAY. :)

p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIGI !

Happy Leap Year!

Yesterday was like an extra day! Not really. I still don't understand how some years there is February 29th and other years there isn't. Does anyone out there know?

Well, the snow is finally melting and ground is beginning to appear on driveways and some county roads. The old white Bishop's Marina that marked the south end of the lake has now disappeared. If anyone clicked on the Coolin Bay web cam from the Leonard Paul store you could watch it in real time. It's absence follows the removal of the old barn in the field on Hwy 57, that was torn down last year. Many of us watched as the years went by using it as a landmark, signaling the halfway point to the lake. At least you can still see the remnants of it (wood ladder and boards) at the new lodge style Priest Lake Realty on Hwy 57, in Priest Lake. Terrene Mack and her husband, Dan, used many of the character boards to enhance the interior of their new office just past mile marker 28.

It is sad to see these old relics go. But most melancholy of all, is my grandpa's old "Lilac Homestead" that finally crashed to the ground from the weight of the snow this winter. Over the years I've photographed the many seasonal phases of the old barn-looking homestead. It has been one of my best sellers at Autumn's Loft, as a postcard and a 4x6 blank photo card. Like a passing era, it has evoked an emotion in some of us... a lingering sweet smell that we don't want to let go.

I'm so glad to have this photo in remembrance of summer days gone by... my grandpa and all the hard work spent caring for the surrounding Forest land... the horses that grazed behind the homestead as our 4th of July fireworks began to light up the fading sky... the potluck of potato salads, BBQ hot dogs, beans, chips and cold pops. We'll never see the lilacs the same again.

Happy Valentines!

Been awhile since I posted! Anyway, I would like to shout out a big I LOVE YOU to all my friends and family who have supported me the last few years with Autumn's Loft and endured my craziness as I was going between my artist's Loft and managing the Old Northern Inn Bed & Breakfast and shooting weddings, reunions, and nature photography! I so appreciate your patience with me as I never knew if I was coming or going! Obviously I'm still recovering from those super busy summers, and am just now really starting to slow down and enjoy my surroundings. When you're on the go go go so much, it's hard to start living in a different way.

This winter, with all the snow we've had (I'll include current picts as soon as I can) I've felt like I'm in a winter wonderland snow globe. You know the glass ball that you shake to see the snowflakes get all mixed up inside then wait as they gently fall to the base? Well that's what Priest Lake feels like right now... it's own little world (but then when doesn't it?). When the snow puts a heavy coat on all the pine trees, their green tones really stick out. The sun shines bright on these nice blue days and the trees' white coats sparkle with their own brilliant bling-bling. Don't you wish you were here? Anyway, the untouched snow on either side of our driveway is over 4 ft tall and the plowed snow is higher than the roof! This adds to my feeling of living in a snow globe and the silence of winter in the mountains definitely helps me to feel refreshed. Not that Priest Lake is a "cure all" but anytime you can get in nature can definitely help to slow-you-down. So here I am still getting settled in our little home that we moved into last May, and really enjoying my little valentine Clara who is now on tooth #7! And for those of you who read my last blog, yes, I did learn to drive the skid steer cat... very exciting... though it did take me a bit of practicing to get the whole go forward, lift bucket, and dump at same time thing. But I definitely think with more practice I could go pro and plow you out if needed! :)

Happy Valentines Day to YOU and enjoy your surroundings wherever you may be!

Winter Wonderland

The last two days at the lake has been O degrees, but very beautiful!

First Blog Ever !

I'm so excited to finally get my photography site up and going again! Right now it is just bare bones, but will be added to on a regular basis. This blog is an extension of http://www.priestlakeimages.com/ and is half business, half personal and will be mostly about photography and life at Priest Lake. Of course, since I'm a new mom I may have to show off my little one occassionally. Anyway, if you're familiar with Priest Lake you know we have a ton of snow and just this morning had to plow AGAIN! This week I will be learning how to drive the skid steer so I can plow and have some fun with that! Ya! Charlie Brown, my wonderful Ibizan Hound has moved back in with us and is adjusting to life with Abby (blue heeler). And I have been busy packing up Autumn's Loft in Priest River... which has been bittersweet, but definitely time for me to move on. Not only is it "out with the old, and in with the new" but I made the decision to close my artist loft location because I believe if we can't let go of some things in life, then we don't open ourselves for the new blessing that is possible. And just like my name, I believe that the good Lord has a season for everything. Ecclesiastes 3:1 (Whole Chapter) [ A Time for Everything ]
Well I hope you enjoy my site and blog. Feel free to comment on anything! And look for my regular photo contests. More on that to follow. Anyway may you be blessed this new year and enjoy 2008 to it's utmost possiblities! Also, THANK YOU to all of my clients who have been waiting to view their images. I really appreciate your patients! Thanks!