Spencer Photos

Come stop by our store and see our new photographic gifts and shirts. Spencer Photos sports a new look that should make your shopping experience more enjoyable.

Product Spotlight: Beautiful Zinnia Tote Bag

Today's product spotlight is this Beautiful Zinnia Tote Bag.

I'm totally in love with this zinnia photograph. Steven, Izzy and I routinely go to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens because it's such a relaxing place. Every time we go something new is in bloom.

I've been giving Izzy photography lessons and it's so fun taking her because she wants to take so many pictures. We go around and find different flowers and take lots of pictures.

Zinnias are a very beautiful flower. They tend to have color gradients. This particular floral photograph starts out a dark red, softens into a rich orange and then ends in a bright yellow. What I like especially about this flower is that zinnias seem especially favored by butterflies and for this reason many gardeners add zinnias specifically to attract them.

I like the decorative border or mask that surrounds this photo because it gives it a polished look. I recently ordered this item for myself and can't wait for it to come in.

To purchase unique zinnia shirts and gifts don't forget to shop Spencer Photos. We carry beautiful floral photography that is perfect for gifts.

Happy Shopping!

Flowers and Plants

I've changed around the sections at Spencer Photos to make the photography section make more sense so now there are only nine sections.

1. Flowers and Plants: This section has been filling out nicely. The flowers used to be grouped by color which was great at one point but quickly became hard to find the right flower. It is now grouped by flower type. I'm proud to announce a wide variety of flowers to include; columbine, daffodils, daisies, echinacea, hibiscus, hydrangea, iris, lilies, lotus blossoms (water lilies), pansies, poppies, roses, snapdragons, tulips, zinnias and two assorted flowers sections. I've been busy working on this section making sure the newest products are being offered and that the designs are updated. There are going to be some really fun floral prints here in the next couple of weeks.


2. Animals, Birds and Insects: This section has also changed quite a bit. It's now organized by animals, insects, birds and amphibians. For return shoppers this should provide a better shopping experience. Stop in the animals section if you're searching for tigers, turtles, prairie dogs, seahorses, lions, giraffes, cats and dogs, zebras, crabs, sharks and fish, jelly fish or some of our other animals. Only the beautiful bugs in our insect section. We have bees, ladybugs, dragonflies and butterflies. Eagles, owls, cranes and more are in our bird section and fun frogs in our amphibian section.


3. Nature and Landscapes: Is still a work in progress but still worth checking out. We have stunning cloud prints and lovely seascapes. Gazebos and waterfalls populate this section. Browse a bit and find something truly lovely.


4. People: This section will include baby girl - a lovely assortment of baby shower gifts featuring baby girl. We will also be showcasing people enjoying nature, and relationships.


5. Design, Details and Macro: A small section right now but with more to come.


6. Architecture and Transportation: Sailboats, airplanes and close ups on beautiful city buildings.


7. Digital Darkroom: Fun bursts of colors overwhelm this section. Most used to be floral prints but are now bright, fun patterns and are really stunning. If you want a truly unique gift shop here! This is also the home of the zelephant. It's a zebra elephant blend that Steven made years ago when discovering photo shop. It's funny, it's different, it's a zelephant.


8. Night Shots: Fireworks, sunsets and Pittsburgh at night. These night pictures are fun and beautiful.


9. Catch-All: We have statue prints, food shirts and photography for history buffs. Pumpkins, gourds and apples, some Indian corn too fill in the food section. Look for Jamestown and Yorktown gifts in our Celebrate History section. Cannons, James Fort, water-carrying yokes and more!

Lotus Blossom Shirts and Gifts

Nelumbo nucifera is known by a number of common names, including blue lotus, Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, and sacred water-lily. It is commonly cultivated in water gardens. In 1787 it was first brought into horticulture in Western Europe as a stove-house water-lily under the patronage of Joseph Banks.

The lotus represents purity of body, speech, and mind, floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. The Buddha is often depicted sitting on a giant lotus leaf or blossom. According to legend, he was born with the ability to walk and everywhere he stepped, lotus flowers bloomed.

To purchase unique lotus blossom shirts and gifts don't forget to shop Spencer Photos. We carry beautiful floral photography that is perfect for gifts.

Product Spotlight: Jelly Fish T Shirt

This Jelly Fish T Shirt is super cool and was fun to make. I started with a photograph my husband took of a jelly fish and then made a swarm of jelly fish using copy and paste putting them in almost in a tornado formation. I added text "Jelly Fish Hunter" and then put this fun design on t shirts, mugs, bags, posters and more!

Purchase this shirt or other photographic shirts and unique gifts at Spencer Photos. You are sure to find the perfect gift for everyone.

Happy Shopping!

Product Spotlight: Rude Giraffe Hat

This rude giraffe hat definately makes me smile. This animal has attitude but that's okay. My daughter loves animals and we are always reading books about different animals. It's funny when she doesn't know the sound an animal makes because she says in a cute, high pitched voice the animals name twice, ex "giraffe, giraffe".

I cropped this photograph and added a decorative oval border.

If you enjoy this giraffe photograph as much as I do it is available for purchase on giraffe shirts, mugs, framed prints, giraffe hats, magnets and more!

Happy Shopping!

Remember: Smile, shoot, print and you will be happier for it.

Photography t shirts and photographic gifts are available for purchase at Spencer Photos: our online store.

More product spotlights coming soon.

Product Spotlight: Apples Infant Bodysuit

Basket of Apples Infant Bodysuit reminds me of crisp fall mornings back in my home state of Pennsylvania. PA is a beautiful state especially during the fall months because everything is so bright and colorful. The air also smells so good.

This nature photograph is of a basket of bright red apples that were sitting on a porch. They were collected with the intent to turn them into a warm apple cobbler. The strong aromatic fragrance of cinnamon would soon fill the air mixed with the tart smell of freshly picked apples.

I can imagine our family pulling on our jackets and grabbing the rustic wooden basket to head out to the apple orchads looking for the juiciest fruits while admiring the multi colored fall leaves from the trees adorning the hills and mountains.

This basket of apples photograph is available for purchase on magnets, buttons, shirts and more unique gifts. Enjoy the beauty of fall with this lovely gift idea offered to you through Spencer Photos.

Happy Shopping!



Remember: Smile, shoot, print and you will be happier for it.

Photography t shirts and photographic gifts are available for purchase at Spencer Photos: our online store.

More product spotlights coming soon.

Product Spotlight: Metallic Rose Magnet

Metallic Rose Rectangle Magnet is a lovely floral design that is a stark contrast to nature's soft and delicate floral bloom. This particular image was created with a simple layer that gave it a metallic coating.

It is available for purchase through our online store: Spencer Photos.

Happy Shopping!

Remember: Smile, shoot, print and you will be happier for it.
Photography t shirts and photographic gifts are available for purchase at Spencer Photos: our online store.

More product spotlights coming soon.

Store Update: Spencer Photos

For those of you familiar with our store you may have noticed that we've undergone a color change. I've given Spencer Photos a spring lift with a lovely pale green.

What may be of interest to you is that we have a new additions section. The thing that makes this section so special is that this is where we feature all of our new t shirts and unique gifts before they get shifted to their permanent location at Spencer Photos.

How does this relate to you? Everything that arrives at our new section comes in at a discounted rate giving our shoppers a chance to purchase these lovely designs cheaper for a limited time only. I keep designs in this section until I've reached 18 new designs then I start the section over.

If you sign up for our newletter, you can receive updates about when the new items show up!

This lovely Yellow Flowers Tote Bag can be purchased at our store and this floral design is also available to purchase on shirts for men, women and children as well as note cards, hats, and mugs.

Happy Shopping!

Product Spotlight: Flower Heart T-Shirt

Izzy has a gift coming in the mail. This is one of my favorite designs that I offer at Spencer Photos. It's available in four different colors but I really prefer it in pink. Pink is such a friendly color and it makes me smile. The funny thing is I really didn't care much for pink before I became pregnant with Izzy.

I really enjoyed making this heart t shirt. The design started as a pink rose photograph. I opened it in Microsoft Digital Image Suite and decided to mess around with it. I distorted the image by applying a Kaleidoscope distortion. The effect was this interesting pattern.

After I had the pattern the way that I liked it I then gave it a heart shaped border framed with a pale pink color.

This Heart shaped explosion Infant/Toddler T-Shirt can be purchased at our online store: Spencer Photos. It's also available on t shirts for women and kids as well as a lovely mug.

Happy Shopping!

Remember: Smile, shoot, print and you will be happier for it.

Photography t shirts and photographic gifts are available for purchase at Spencer Photos: our online store.

More product spotlights coming soon.

Storybook Creations: Happily Ever After

Do you want your child to be the star of their own story? Steven and Heather of Smile Shoot Print meet with the family to discuss their child's likes. We come up with a unique story based on your child and it features a beautiful photo session of your child to illustrate the story.

What's so special is the flexible nature of Storybook Creations. Stories can include siblings, parents, pets, friends, favorite toys, and more!

Remember: Smile, shoot, print and you will be happier for it.

To book your on location photo session with Smile Shoot Print email us at spencer@smileshootprint.com

Photography t shirts and photographic gifts are available for purchase at Spencer Photos: our online store.

Upon request your portraits can be added to shirts, tote bags, mugs and more for a truly unique gift.

Cool Coffee Mugs

This mug's design is called Miscolored Flowers. I'll tell you a little bit about how I made this. I took 9 of my very favorite flower photographs and cut them out of their picture using Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006's magic wand tool and the edge finder. Once I had only the flower head left I put them all together in this arrangement.

I converted all the flowers to black and white. You can see what the black and white flowers look like with my field of flowers mug. I then took each flower and adjusted the color balance using different levels of cyan-red, magenta-green, and yellow-blue until I had a color that tickled me. I love having a purple daisy, a blue zinnia and daffodil and just off the wall colors for the flowers. I was really happy with how the zinnias, roses, daffodils and other flowers turned out.

The final thing that I did before applying this floral design to the 3 different mugs was add a quote. Gardeners and nature lovers are sure to appreciate this quote. "Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine to the soul." - Luther Burbank. I love this quote because just thinking about flowers makes me happier, better and more helpful.

Miscolored Flowers Large Mug can be purchased along with several other designs on our mugs. Cool Coffee Mugs is a newer section in my online store: Spencer Photos. I really enjoyed making these mugs. All of the designs in this section was made especially for mugs. We offer three different sizes. The featured image is our large mug. It's a beast of a mug at 15 oz. We also offer a regular sized mug and a stein.

Happy Shopping!



Remember: Smile, shoot, print and you will be happier for it.

Photography t shirts and photographic gifts are available for purchase at Spencer Photos: our online store.

More product spotlights coming soon.

Beach Scene Jr. Spaghetti Tank

I had fun creating this image. We took a family trip down to the outer banks. It was windy and the air was crisp. The sand bit at our ankles as we walked due to the wind.

What was really nice though was that we were the only ones on the beach this day. My daughter was running along the sand picking up the shells that she found. My husband's pockets were filling up with those shells. I took some beautiful pictures of both of them spending time together and I took some photographs of the water.

I like this particular photograph as it really shows the beautiful colors that one sees at the beach. The vivid blue sky, the foamy white of the water and the cool brown sand.

I added a lovely floral border to this image because I liked how pretty it looked. This ocean design looks especially good on this Beach Scene Jr. Spaghetti Tank in light blue which can be purchased at my store: Spencer Photos. It also looks really good in white. This lovely image is on several different products and apparel.

Happy Shopping!

Remember: Smile, shoot, print and you will be happier for it.

Photography t shirts and photographic gifts are available for purchase at Spencer Photos: our online store.

More product spotlights coming soon.

New Journals!

I had so much fun making these flower design journals! You can buy them at my store: Spencer Photos in a section designated just for journals!

This particular one is my favorite. It has bright orange zinnias that are so warm and welcoming. It has a very fun font that says Journal and two beautiful butterflies: a monarch and a variegated fritillary butterfly.

There is a journal that has all pink flowers: a rose, zinnia and another beautiful pink flower.

I digitally altered three black and white flowers (2 daffodils and a wild rose) to add color. My primary colors journal are of course colored red, yellow and blue. Purple Flowers Journal of course has been colored, you guessed it, purple.

These are so much fun to make because I took parts of some of my favorite photographs and combined them together for a beautiful journal cover. These journals are a perfect place to jot down poems, keep a diary or write out to do lists.

Scribble important stuff - lyrics, recipes, addresses, and more. The journals are Wire-O bound with 160 pages to journal away in. The pages are unlined and measures 5" x 8", a handy on-the-go size to fit in your backpack. Go creative and let the muse flow.

Coming soon - journals with more pages and lined!

Photography Posters

I've recently added a new section to my store: Spencer Photos.

Photography Posters will have a selection of some of my favorite photographic prints. Lovely Rose and Curious Meerkat are the two posters currently displayed in this section.

Lovely Rose is one of my favorite floral prints. (If you hadn't noticed, I really enjoy the floral prints). I've edited this image in photoshop. I darkened the background and enhanced the rose so it would have a very bold, artistic feel to it. I've added a black border around the image and then at the bottom added the title and the by line.

The other image in this section is Curious Meerkat. This friendly animal was a joy to photograph. The meerkat stood right up on the rock. I think it was trying to get a better look at us. Every time I see a meerkat, I am reminded of "The Lion King" with Timon the meerkat.

Enjoy!

Abstract Yellow Rose

Here is an awesome yellow rose abstract that can be found in my store: Spencer Photos. I've named it Abstract Yellow Rose. It is very similar to my other Abstract Yellow Rose but this one doesn't have the geometric layer. I love the warm yellow and red that makes up this design.

I think this design looks interesting on a tote bag. I use tote bags all the time as they are an Earth friendly solution to plastic bags.

I use tote bags for our trips to the library, trips to daycare and trips to the grocery store. One of the grocery stores by my work no longer packs groceries in plastic bags. If you want a bag to pack your groceries, you must buy them. Wouldn't it be better to purchase a fun canvas tote bag like this to carry your groceries home in?

More designs coming soon!

Orange Rose - Chalk

I just finished adding a new design to my store: Spencer Photos. This is a fun artisic version of one of my favorite floral photographs. I've named it Orange Rose - Chalk.

A little bit about how I made this design. I took the orange rose photograph, cropped it into a circle. I then added a chalk filter and added the word rose in an orange color.

This floral image is available on shirts, mugs, bags, children's clothes and more!

I had fun making this design and I hope you enjoy it.

I'm interested in knowing what you think of this design. If you love it or hate it, leave a comment.

Abstract Yellow Rose

I just finished adding a new design to my store: Spencer Photos that I absolutely love. It's called Abstract Yellow Rose. What I like about it is the bold yellow and red colors, the orderly geometric pattern combined with the messy but still patterned swirl of the brush strokes. This fun design was made using filters, masks and slight alterations. I started with one of our photographs of a beautiful yellow rose.

Yellow flowers seem to be very popular right now. I love yellow flowers because they remind me of the sun and of summertime. Winter can be a hard time for people because the sun hides away as do the flowers. I use this time of year to go through our floral prints and alter them for new and unusal designs.

It's shown here on a pillow that is available for purchase. This design is also available on t-shirts, mugs, a teddy bear, bags and more.

I'm interested in knowing what you think of this design. Comment on whether you think it's bold or blah.

More designs coming soon!

Helping the homeless

I've added 24 beautiful stars with a stained glass feel to them. Don't Fear the Darkness came to be because I was inspired by a very motivational quote.

"To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest” ~Unknown

As a case manager for a homeless shelter I see people go through so much. Being homeless is hard, especially if you're homeless with your children. The parents are under so much stress as are their children.

I've also seen people gather enormous amounts of strength while times are their darkest. When I found this quote I really felt it was the perfect one to describe the parents that I work with.

These beautiful star designs are a reminder that even in our darkest of times there is strength, hope and beauty. Profits will be used for an emergency fund to help families who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless.

Here are some information for you that I learned from The National Alliance to End Homelessness. Most Americans underestimate how the problem of homelessness affects families. About 600,000 families and 1.35 million children experience homelessness in the United States. Family homelessness is more widespread than many think, but it is not an unsolvable problem. Across the country, hundreds of communities are planning to end homelessness, and a handful of communities and many local programs are making progress in ending family homelessness. I also learned that over 5 million low-income families pay half of their income for housing or live in severely substandard conditions.

The fact of the matter is many of our families cannot afford housing. Lack of education, lack of job skills and lack of daycare bring about this problem. Many of them are single moms struggling to just make ends meet while living in unsafe communities.

Moving into housing takes money. Money for first month's rent and security deposit, utility bills, moving expenses, furniture and household items. That is just a small sample of what is needed. I will use the money earned from Dark Fear the Darkness to help homeless families secure housing.

Spencer Photos Categories

1. Photographic Prints and Gifts
With 15 different categories to choose from you are sure to find a photographic print that will add beauty to your life. New photographs are being added on a daily basis. Ever expanding is our floral prints as we continue our journeys through the botanical gardens in Norfolk.
Link: http://www.cafepress.com/spencerphotos/3830955

2. Artistically Altered
Come see the fun designs we now offer! Currently there are 11 categories full of designs made from our original photographs. Flowers take on an interesting green glow when converted to a negative image in our Alien blooms section. Borders and masks add charm to several of my favorite images. All of our photographic cut outs can be customized! If you find a design that you like and would like it customized with a name, saying or other text, let us know and we will create a custom gift for you!
Link: http://www.cafepress.com/spencerphotos/3833144

3. People Matter!
As a case manager at a homeless shelter I know that one person can make a difference in the lives of others. Every year 600,000 families with 1.35 million children experience homelessness in the United States. What are you doing to make a difference? When you purchase any item from People Matter!, money will be donated to an emergency fund to help families out of homelessness and into housing. Our breast cancer designs will also make a difference in the lives of women everywhere. With the purchase of our breast cancer designs, money will be given to charity with a specific focus on Breast Cancer health, education, and awareness.
Link: http://www.cafepress.com/spencerphotos/3831383

4. This Nerdy Girl
We’ve had fun adding designs to this section. Come browse through our fun text based designs for mom to be, gamers, bitter wives, and more!
Link: http://www.cafepress.com/spencerphotos/3831533

5. 12 Months
We are busy adding designs for the upcoming holidays! In our Christmas section you’ll find a cute snowman with some fun sayings, a lovely green Christmas tree decorated in yellow and red and some trees at night. Our tree lovely frogs are also dolled up for Christmas with Santa’s hat. We have a section with gifts for her. Some of our beautiful floral images have had wonderful sayings about motherhood added to them to create a gift that mom is sure to love!
Link: http://www.cafepress.com/spencerphotos/3831455

Thank you for your interest in Spencer Photos! We hope you enjoy the changes to our store and we look forward to sharing our newest additions with you again soon!