Hello everyone!

I found this forum a few nights ago and proceeded to read almost every post until I fell asleep at the computer. I know a few of you from Santa Barbara, but everyone here sounds genuinely nice.

I'm the lesser half (on pretty much all measures) of Lumiere Imaging, based in Santa Barbara. My wife, Megan, is the other half (and much, much cuter, nicer and more talented than me!). We are both Brooks alumni (2001) and have been in business together since 1999 and married since November 2002. We have a wonderful dog named Nadine (Shepard/Rottweiler mix) and are expecting our first child this August.

What else does one say in an introduction?

At any rate, I'm happy to have to opportunity to get to know you all!

Welcome, we are glad that you have joined. I'm sure you have seen how wonderful this forum is. I hope that we can answer all your questions and we would love your imput too!!!
Blessings!

Welcome. This truly is an inspirational board....and congrats to the newlyweds and your coming child.

Thank you both! I was very impressed with the candor on this board, which was the primary reason I joined, and look forward to being a part of it!

Welcome Peter!

You shot my friend's, Josh & Cassie, wedding a couple of years ago. You guys did an amazing job. I have been watching your business grow ever since. Your photography was one of the factors that lead me to persue wedding photography.

I'm really glad you joined this remarkable group of people.

Kurt

Peter --- Glad to have you on the boards and I'm looking forward to getting to know you! I'm sure you will find this board very helpful and get to know a lot of great folks!

--- Gregg

Hey Kurt -- Thank you for the amazing compliment! I am extremely flattered. I will pass it onto Megan (I think if you look closely at our work, the only good shots we have come from her!).

I remember Josh & Cassie very well. Do you still keep in touch with them? They're in Missouri (Indiana maybe?) now, right?

Gregg: Thank you for the welcome!

This place is awesome! I keep trying to run out the door to a shoot and people keep saying hello! Thank you everyone!

Off to shoot now...

Welcome Peter!

The folks on this forum are absolutely amazing and I'm so glad you've joined!

Tam

Hey Peter, welcome to this great forum! I'm looking forward to seeing your posts/input. Your website is really nice - very inspiring. I'm sure I've seen it before and can't remember exactly where I've seen the link before - are you also a member at the Fred Miranda forum?

HI peter! Welcome!!! Awesome work you ahve on your web site... congrats on the baby to be! Just think of who you get to photograph next!

Tamalyn, Gregorio and Leanne: Thank You!

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are you also a member at the Fred Miranda forum?

Gregorio: Thank you for the very nice compliment! I am not a member of the Fred Miranda forum though I don't have the best short term memory -- perhaps I came across it sometime in the last few years! I checked it out just now (it definitely does not look familiar though!) and it looks pretty cool.

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congrats on the baby to be! Just think of who you get to photograph next!

Leanne: Thank you also for the very nice compliment! This is a little embarrassing, but we haven't upgraded our portfolios in a looong time. ...so I'm working on that right now and hope to have some new work up in the next few years or so.

We haven't started taking photos of Megan yet, though she is definitely showing at 6 months. We're taking a short vacation next weekend, so perhaps then.

Hey Peter!

Glad you're here! I've been to your site many times! You guys rock!

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...so I'm working on that right now and hope to have some new work up in the next few years or so.

haha...I know how you feel!

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Glad you're here! I've been to your site many times! You guys rock!

Thanks David! I think my head might swell from all of the compliments to us -- thankfully all I have to do is look at everyone else's work and realize just how much we can improve (well, just me -- Megan & Michelle definitely rock!). Seriously, you and everyone else I have checked out on this forum are pumping out some awesome work. It's incredibly inspiring!

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haha...I know how you feel!

...I am totally embarrassed now. I just checked our portfolios (for Megan and I) and discovered that the most recent wedding is from May 2003... Oh boy. I should be working on the site right now I guess.

QUOTE (peter @ April 24 2005, 11:18 PM)

I think my head might swell from all of the compliments to us

Let it swell away! You deserve it!

I agree - everyone's work here as well as their personalilty are so inspiring. I love it! I think I've turned into a forum addict (I have to get my daily dose) - you feel such love here and you can't help but want to be around such wonderful people... See my quote below:

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you feel such love here and you can't help but want to be around such wonderful people... See my quote below:

That's definitely true, and completely evident here!

...oh, and by the way, I was totally blown away by your photographs and website. Absolutely awesome work!

Peter,

I do still see Josh and Cassie once in a while. They live in St. Louis right now, but are moving to London this summer. I'm so jealous! They will be in SB at the end of May. Another Westmont friend is getting married.

Kurt

Hey Peter

Welcome! Your gonna find a great group of people here. I joined almost 1 week ago & I am very impressed with this forum. Glad your a part of it.

Cheers,

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Welcome!  Your gonna find a great group of people here. I joined amost 1 week ago & I am very impressed with this forum. Glad your a part of it.

Thank you! I look forward to getting to know you!

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I do still see Josh and Cassie once in a while. They live in St. Louis right now, but are moving to London this summer. I'm so jealous! They will be in SB at the end of May. Another Westmont friend is getting married.

That's awesome that they are moving to London -- I am very jealous as well. Perhaps they want to renew their vows out there...

Welcome Peter.

This forum ROCKS! I get more pumped everyday. The work on your website is fantastic.

Nice to hear your a Mac user too:-)

Congrats on the upcoming baby.

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Nice to hear your a Mac user too:-)

I like to think of myself as more of a Mac freak, but that might be understating things a bit...

That's not to say that I'm anti-PC (which I am most definitely not), just very pro-Apple.

Hey Peter,

Just love your dog! He has the most soulful eyes...

I am so sorry to hear that you and Meg lost your first baby..and so thrilled to hear that she is now pregnant again! What a blessing!! We want to see some pregnant pics when she starts showing next month!

Tam

[QUOTE]That's not to say that I'm anti-PC (which I am most definitely not), just very pro-Apple.

DITTO:-) Been a Mac user since 86.

Someday I'll figure out the little quote box:-)

QUOTE (asmilie @ April 26 2005, 05:17 AM)

Someday I'll figure out the little quote box:-)

Alan,

You're so cute! If you want to quote someone, just go to their response and click on the "quote post" link on the upper right corner.

Once your reply window opens up, write you response and edit their quote located below.

QUOTE (tamalyn @ April 26 2005, 09:49 AM)

QUOTE (asmilie @ April 26 2005, 05:17 AM) Someday I'll figure out the little quote box:-) Alan, just go to their response and click on the "quote post" link on the upper right corner.

So that's how that work! Wooohoo:-)

I think I've had too much coffee today:-)

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Just love your dog! He has the most soulful eyes...

She's an absolute sweetheart (her name's Nadine)! We rescued her from the pound in 2001 and can't imagine our lives without her. It's amazing what giving her a quick hug can do for your mood...

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I am so sorry to hear that you and Meg lost your first baby..and so thrilled to hear that she is now pregnant again! What a blessing!! We want to see some pregnant pics when she starts showing next month!

We are very happy that she is pregnant again too! The first time around was a doozy -- I think I checked out for a month or two emotionally, and I know it was very hard for Megan too. The experience ultimately brought us a lot closer in our relationship, and also forced us to really take a hard look at life, priorities, purpose, etc. Despite how difficult it was, we are confident that God had a reason for it and feel so blessed that we are now going to have a baby boy!

She's already showing -- she has a super cute belly and can't squeeze through tight spaces anymore! We haven't taken any photos yet, but hope to soon.

Peter,

Hope all goes well with your current baby, I bet he's going to fill a special place in your heart & bring much joy to you both.

My wife Roeana & I are expecting our fourth child in about another 7 months. We are hoping to be able to have the whole event photographed by a close family friend. She does awesome work & hope she is available when the time comes.

Thing is I still have'nt approached her about it. Have you thought about having someone else document the birth for you?

Cheers,

QUOTE (asmilie @ April 26 2005, 06:16 AM)

I think I've had too much coffee today:-)

I think I had too little! I suddenly got really tired and zonked out for a nap and the nap turned into this 4 hour marathon! I had no dinner made when Chris came home - bad wife!! I'm so glad he's so easy going -- he heated up leftovers for us. It's hard trying to be Martha all the time...

So I guess most everyone has probably heard me make some reference to our baby and moving, but here's the official dig on our "news":

We're expecting a baby boy (Caleb Vincent Begley) on or around August 12th. Everything is progressing well, and we are planning on coming back to SB the first week of August so we can have the baby here (see next item...).

On July 1st we'll be moving up to San Luis Obispo where I'll be attempting to complete 2 years of MBA curriculum at Cal Poly in 10 short months. I'm crossing my fingers that I don't go crazy and that I actually learn something. If all goes as planned, I should finish school in mid-June of next year.

Between now and the end of July we have a lot of packing to do, but are also having to deal with realtors as we'll be selling our condo (we own it jointly with my parents). We've met with three so far (I think we've settled on one) and the process has been...interesting. I'm hopeful that I will be able to look back on the experience in a few months with a lot of fondness.

Due to my course-load, I won't be booking any more clients beyond what I have already committed to. Megan will probably cut back a bit too as she wants to spend as much time with Caleb as possible (me too!!! ). I'm hoping I can still pop in here every day -- if I learn anything useful I'll be sure to pass it on.

Awww....you better pop in here! And tell Meg to start coming on here to and post!
It wouldn't be the same without you!

KK

I'm going to forward her this post. I think if we all gang up on her, she might just take the dive...

Okay, I have bigger news... Someone just spent the last 30 minutes reading the forum with me. I had to bribe her with a backrub, but I think she's warming up..........

Yea!

So we're in the process of packing up our house for the big move, and today was the day I switched out our meeting area desk. The big empty space in the photo previously had a 5' x 3' metal desk (which I dropped on the top of my foot today...). I replaced it with a little teensy telephone desk so we could use this computer for the next few days. I thought it looked incredibly funny and thought I'd share a photo...

Megan and I (and Nadine and wee soon-to-be-born Caleb) are now up in San Luis Obispo and have finally carted up the last of our stuff from Santa Barbara. For the record, if you think the 14' truck is big enough, you're probably wrong... (like five more car loads and a ton of stuff to the Salvation Army wrong ).

...and today we had our initial appointment with our new dentist up here (one of my least favorite things in the world) and not only was the view from the office awesome (it overlooks the hills) but I apparently have 4 cavities. Sweet. And I just love having metal scrape against my teeth, so a whining, high-pitched drill of death should be a walk in the park .

When they tell you to floss, do it! Don't say "yea, yea, yea" for 10 years and wait until you'd be stupid not to.

On the positive side, we get to meet Cameron in an hour and go to Muzio's (only the best sandwich shop in SLO ). I'm going to floss with a clothesline when I'm done...

I've been a little out of touch lately but I wanted to pop in quickly and let everyone know that Megan is in labor! I won't be back here for a few days, of course, but when I come back, I hope to bring photos and great news!

Please pray for a smooth labor and delivery!

WOW! Let us know as soon as you can. We'll be praying for everything and everyone involved.

Congrat Peter and Megan!!!
Welcome baby Caleb!!

Caleb Vincent Begley has arrived! Here's a quick photo (we posted a bunch on our photography blog if you want to see more!):

[attachmentid=924]

He's beautiful, congratulations to both of you.

Congratulations! It's an awesome journey and it's just begun! Seeing that happen is sooo amazing. Hope your wife has a speedy recovery.

Yeah Peter and Megan!!! WooHoo!!! I am so excited for you both!!!!!

CONGRATS!!!!

awwwww THAT'S AWESOME

Happy BIrthday CALEB!!!

He's beautiful! Congratulations, what an exciting time for you both. Your pictures are fantastic, and really relay the feeling of the whole event. Thanks for sharing them with us! I'll be praying for Megan's speedy recovery (and way to go without any pain meds)!!

Thank you everyone!

We're back from the hospital finally and hope to now get some quality sleep! Somehow I've managed to grab a few hours more than Megan (yes, the guilt is heavy) but I figure now that she's home and away from interruptions every 30 minutes, she might be able to relax. Caleb's doing well and had his first monumental bowel movement . Funny, they're all manageable while you're at the hospital...

Don't expect any photos of that event.

Hi everyone! We're a little less sleep-deprived now and were able to post new photos of Caleb on our blog. Thank you to everyone who has sent us their support and kind comments—we really appreciate it! Here are the new photos:

lumiereimaging.com/blog/

Aww...precious. I love the one with the pacifier. And the yawner!! so cute!!

Here are more photos of our son! Man, he is growing waayyyy too fast. He turned 10 weeks old today.