Friday, September 24, 2010

Pricing of Photo Books

Hello All,

Check out the Buy Now button at the bottom of the page.  This is where you click to purchase coffee table books.  The pricing has been reduced!  I'm also running a promotion at the moment, but it is a limited time offer so get your purchase in today!  If you order one of my coffee table books via my Blog (the Buy Now PayPal button at the bottom), I'll receive the order and process it, and send you an email to confirm it.  You will then get to choose four 4x6 prints OR two 5x7 prints from my Nature's Footprints gallery on my SmugMug site, and I'll send them to you absolutely free!  All prints are in the metallic finish - I must say that this is my new favorite print finish!  It brings out so much colour and vibrance!  It's a really beautiful, high-gloss, metallic look to the prints.  Stunning!  You will not be disappointed!

Each order, the book and the prints, will arrive separately within 2-4 weeks.

Hurry - this offer is only valid from now until October 5th!!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

My First Published Copy of Nature's Footprints!

Hello all!  Today I received my first published copy of my Nature's Footprints coffee table book!  I must say, I am impressed!  The quality is fantastic, and it looks amazing!  Very pleased! :)  See a preview of it below!

There are 2 types of hard covers available.  One is the imagewrap, where images are wrapped right around the cover; they ARE the cover.  The other is the dust cover, which is the glossy paper-type of thing that loosely wraps the actual hard cover.  These can be nice, but they do tend to get worn out, ripped and tattered over time.  The only difference is that these covers have inside flaps on them, which are not available in the imagewrap covers.  Personally, I love the look and finish of the image wrap - it looks amazing!  The information is available right here on my blog anyway, so you wouldn't be missing anything by deciding on the imagewrap.  I think it looks better!


Remember that by purchasing your very own copy, you're helping to protect plants and animals that inhabit our Earth, and to preserve all the places we live in together.  10% of the proceeds of each and every book will be donated in one lump sum at the end of each calendar year to the Nature Conservancy to help this most worthy cause.  Have you already purchased one of my books?  Then thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a part of the conservation of all things nature!  :)

Please share this page with any friends and family who would like the images in my photo book and/or the galleries available on my Smugmug website (http://www.murchiesphotography.smugmug.com/).

An exciting day for Murchie's Photography!  :)  I have also received images from my Smugmug site in the metalprint and thinwrap format, just so I can inspect for quality.  They both look fantastic in their own way!  The metalprints are really unique - the image is printed right INTO the metal, if that makes sense, and has a high gloss protective finish on it.  The thinwrap is awesome - it has a slight metallic finish to the image and has a satin-like quality to it.  Marvelous!  I am now waiting for my wrapped canvas print to be delivered and will let you know how that turns out - my guess is that it will look super as well!  They are also likely the type I will be selling in the Reading Room Cafe here in Sooke.

Remember that besides the printed images, the coffee table books make excellent gifts!  I almost hate to say it, but Christmas is just around the corner!  Both the prints and the books can be ordered right online, with fast, easy and secure payment, and they are shipped to your doorstep.  Now that's what I call efficient Christmas shopping! ;)

Until next time!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Changes to Coffee Table Books

UPDATE:  September 13th - I now have 8"x10" landscape Coffee Table Books available!  Please scroll down to my "Coffee Table Books" post for more information, and also look to the right!  There is a preview there where you can see the first 15 pages of my book, plus a button you can press to buy it right from there!  So easy.

EARLIER:  September 12th - I don't have time to fully update you all on the changes being made to the Coffee Table Books, but know that they are still available and now have lower prices!  I have decided to go with an alternate supplier who makes photo books of the same high quality, but they offer lower prices!  That's great news!  I will still have the same layout and text, I just have to re-make them in the new software.

More about this later!

Janette

Saturday, September 11, 2010

10% OFF!

Bloggers: if you're following my blog, and you're placing an order for prints and/or merchandise on my Smugmug website, enter the following code upon checkout and receive 10% off your order of $50 or more!

Code: BLOG0910

Offer expires October 31st.  Order your prints and gifts today!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Coffee Table Books

Ok - so now you're all wondering, what exactly IS a coffee table book, and how do I get the right one for me?

Coffee table books are just that - books that you set out on your coffee table (or shelf or mantle, etc.) that contain something that gets people talking.  There are a total of 61 of my most favorite nature images from my collection in my book, so there's bound to be some discussions that start flowing when your guests start looking through it!

"What do they look like?" you might ask.  There are two types of covers that I offer - hard cover with a dust jacket, and imagewrap.  The dust jacket is a slip with flaps that goes over the hard cover, and it has images on the front and back.  Imagewrap is also a hard cover, but the images are right on the hard cover, wrapped around it.  It's pretty eye catching and with the right photo displayed, it can really entice a person to pick it up and start looking through it.

Inside, the reader will find famous quotes that match up splendidly with each photo or group of photos.  Examples of photos are sunrises, ocean landscapes, trees, macro flowers, animals, mountains, waterfalls, and many others.

"Cool!" you say, "How do I get one?"  It's so easy!  There are two ways to do it.  One: Scroll to the bottom of my blog, and on the left-hand side, you'll see a Buy Now button.  Above it is a drop-down menu - click on it to select the type of cover you want.  Prices are listed beside each selection.  Click on the Buy Now button, and voila - it will open a new window outside of my blog in which you will be asked for shipping, billing, and payment information.  You can pay by credit card or if you have a balance in your PayPal account, you can use that.  Using PayPal is easy and secure.  Once you put the order through, I receive it and get cracking on your order!  Note that taxes and shipping are extra.  Please allow about 2-4 weeks for delivery - it will likely be less than that, but I like to allot extra time just in case.  Two: Go to http://www.blurb.com/ and search for Murchie's Photography in the upper-right-hand corner of the website.  My coffee table book will come up.  You can preview it (same as above) and purchase it right from that website!

"How about those prices... they seem a bit high." you may now say.  Well, not if you consider all the work that goes into preparing them.  Also consider that, instead of purchasing these same photos at a simple 4x6" size for roughly $300, you're getting them all in one wonderful package that's bound in a beautiful, protective hard cover.  Add to that the quotes that go with them, and you have a great conversation piece to put in your living room that was put together with a lot of thought and care.  There's a lot of time spent on the photographs, as well.  I spend the time and effort taking the photographs, and then I spend a lot more time putting the finishing touches on them so that you get only the best in quality.  On top of that, I spend even more time organizing the images, laying them out in the correct order, finding all the quotes that will match up with them, etc.  Not to mention the cost of the supplier!  There's a lot more behind-the-scenes work than is probably realized!

"Sold!" you now say.  Great!  I truly look forward to bringing a piece of nature through my eyes into your home.  Don't forget that they make great gifts, too!

One more thing I'd like to mention is that a portion of the proceeds of each of my Coffee Table Books goes toward a variety of charities that deal with the protection of nature and wildlife.  These collective proceeds will be donated to a different charity at each year end.  For example, at the end of this year, and probably next year also since this year is quickly coming to an end and I've only just begun to offer these photo books, I will be donating to the Nature Conservancy.  They are a worldwide organization, and their motto is "Protecting Nature.  Preserving Life."  If it weren't for organizations like this, there wouldn't necessarily be all the natural, picturesque landscapes and magnificent, graceful animals for people like me to photograph and be able to offer people like you.

If you have any other questions about these books, the photos in them, or about my donations, please feel free to email me.

I hope you enjoy the Coffee Table Book as much as I enjoyed making it!

Cheers!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Custom Orders

Hi Folks!


A couple of new things to tell you about, but first thing's first:  custom orders are available!  This can cover things like:


  • print sizes that you don't see available
  • merchandise items that you don't see listed
  • Coffee Table Books (These are great conversation pieces when you have company over!  More info coming shortly; otherwise email me for more info and photos of examples.  When you have decided which design you would like to purchase, please scroll down to the bottom of this page, make your selection, and click the Buy Now button - it's so easy!  Payments are through PayPal and are secure.  Use your credit card or PayPal account.)
  • a unique experience I call "photo journaling".  This is where you have a life experience - be it happy or rather tragic - and you want to create a photo book that details your journey through the experience.  These photos can be chosen from those in my galleries, or you can request a certain type of image to be captured.  These are completely and utterly unique to each person, because everyone's experiences and how they deal with the emotions of them are different.  It's essentially a way for your emotions to tell a story through photographs. What a fantastic way to showcase your personal journey of strength, perseverance, or pure happiness!
Please visit http://www.murchiesphotography.smugmug.com/ to view photos and available purchasing options.  Then, if you have something in mind that you don't see available there, just send me an email at murchiesphotography@gmail.com to request your idea, and I'll do everything in my power to make that idea become a reality for you!


I'd also like to make sure that everyone out there is aware that any of these photos can be enhanced with certain techniques, like faux bokeh (blurry background, very clear subject in the foreground).  Another option is called "lomo" (probably my favorite technique to use - based on a type of Russian camera and developing film in chemicals other than what it was meant to be developed in), it creates a stunning result, emphasizing otherwise casual photographs.  It can be a blend of over- (or under-) saturated colours, over- (or under-) exposure, blurriness, vignetting, etc.  It's great for candid shots of people, a very popular effect in wedding and engagement photos, and can also be a neat touch on certain landscape photos.  For example, here are two photos; one is the original, and one has the lomo effect added to it:


Other options include colour accenting (chosing one colour or object in a photo, removing most of the colour in the rest of the photo, and leaving that one colour or object as it's original, vibrant colour), sepia, black and white, etc.  The possibilities are really endless - and adding a technique to your purchase, whether it be a subtle one or to the extreme - can make your purchase truly unique!  Email me for quotes on custom orders.

Next item up: showcasing my work in a local business!  I live in beautiful Sooke, BC - currently the source of many of my landscape photos in  my Nature's Footprints line.  If you live or work in the area, or if you happen to be coming through to visit someone or just to tour around, please stop by the Reading Room Cafe.  They have delicious coffees, specialty coffees and teas, and all kinds of healthy, yummy eats!  Watch for some of my photos hanging on the walls - to be showcased and up for sale in the coming weeks/months!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Janette

Thursday, September 2, 2010

More New Photos??

Since  my last post, I have uploaded even more photos to my SmugMug website for your viewing and purchasing pleasure.  All images are touched up so that you receive the best in quality in your prints.  You'll get the most out of the colours and overall tone and clarity.  Some photos I've added are smaller in size; they were taken in Brazil with a camera of much less quality.  However, there are still some great shots so I'm still offering them in smaller print sizes (otherwise they get too grainy when they're printed larger).  They are now in a separate gallery in SmugMug called Smaller Shots.

I hope everyone is enjoying the photos!  I'm going to be doing some photography work coming up pretty quick, and getting the experience I need to expand my business.  I'm really looking forward to it!  It's going to be fun doing these shoots and exciting to see this idea grow into a successful venture!

Ta ta for now...

Janette Murchie