Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Something REALLY Special for Dad this Father's Day...

Looks like summer is finally here in Montana and that means that Father's Day is just around the corner...time to fire up the barbie!

How about a few suggestions for some really beautiful and meaningful Father's Day gifts (and don't forget about Granddad...he's going to love these too!)...

A framed photo from our last session...if you order by June 2nd, I can still produce an 8x10 or 11x14 enlargement framed in "the classic", gift-wrapped and ready for you to present to dad or granddad on Father's Day!

Believe it or not, the Planetjill Photo Jewelry line offers great gifts for dad! Won't he love a paperweight of the kids for his office or how about a pair of sterling silver cufflinks with a photo of the new baby? There is also a variety of keychains to choose from in addition to a beautiful photo money clip.

If it's time for updated family photos, a Susann Saarel, Windows of the Heart, Fine Art Portraiture Gift Certificate is a perfect AND practical gift idea. Each gift certificate is beautifully presented in a pochette folder and secured with a Windows of the Heart embellishment.

Father's Day is an important family celebration. I would be honored to help you make this Father's Day something REALLY special...

Saturday, May 24, 2008

It's raining cats & dogs!!!

OK, so it's been raining cats and dogs for days (not to mention snowing up here at the ranch...yes, this is May in Montana!) so when the twins tell me that the new baby goats we adopted a few days ago are shivering in the barn, what do we do???...We bring them into the house, of course! Igor and Zhivago, only 10 lbs. each have been cozily put up in our laundry room for the past few days. Our 4 dogs, Kiko, Cowboy, Allie & Marbles are wondering what on earth the neat new smell is and what all the baaing is all about.

So why should I be surprised when we decide to stay in out of the rain today and my daughter, Larissa spends time redecorating her dollhouse and creates this masterpiece??...with a total of 29 in our immediate family including mom & dad, a set of 8 year old twins, 4 dogs, 4 horses, 3 goats, a cockatiel and 13 fish...this is our life on the ranch...

Thursday, May 22, 2008

High School Seniors Rock!!!

I may be getting old, but it seems that today's High School Seniors are a lot more grown up, confident and self-assured than I was in my day at Samohi (Santa Monica High School) in 1978! But then again, I was a late bloomer...

The graduating girls AND guys from throughout Montana that I have photographed this past year are just gorgeous, each in his or her own very special way. The talents and dreams of these young adults just boggle my mind...there are musicians & actresses, scientists & political activists, dirt bike riders and horsewomen among you, not to mention, doctors, explorers and adventurers. In fact, I think all 17 and 18 year olds are explorers and adventurers!...as they should be...

It has been my privilege to meet and photograph countless amazing young adults as they embark upon the world and make their mark. So congratulations from Susann Saarel Fine Art Portraiture to the Class of 2008 from Bozeman High School, Livingston's Park High and beyond...

With my ad (above) appearing in the Bozeman High School's Hawk Talk this month and bookings already scheduled for seniors from as far away as California, I am looking forward to meeting and shooting the Class of 2009! You are young, beautiful and talented...YOU ROCK!!!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

To all mothers and grandmothers, especially my own...Happy Mother's Day!


My mother is one of the world's best storytellers. Whether she tells it or writes it, the words have such passion and flourish, you can see the images in your mind, just as though you were right there yourself...in the story. She has often been told she should write a book and maybe someday she will tell the story of her remarkable life and the hardships endured...growing up in Germany during the war, losing her mother to tuberculosis when she was a young girl, being sent away to work as a cook in a big fancy hotel in Hamburg when she was only 16 and all the stories inbetween...like the time she was punished for stealing apples when she was hungry and the time she nearly drowned swimming alone in the Aller River...

This is the only photo we have of my mother's mother, Herta, with my mom, Marion when she was only 2. It was taken in 1941. Herta sure looks fancy with her fox stole, a piece that remarkably endured the years and now hangs in my closet. Look how proudly she is showing off her daughter...and her hands, how much they resemble my mother's...It just goes to show how important photographs are...how cherished this ONE image is...

When my mother and father married in Toronto, she wore a black dress simply because it was the best dress she had. She worked for a family that had 8 children, cooking cleaning and taking care of the kids...until I came along in 1960...

Eventually we made our way to California, arriving in this "old jalopy" as my dad calls it with only $80 to our name. All I remember is that we stayed with a family who had a daughter named Cookie...I just loved that name!...until my dad got settled in a job and we took an apartment in Santa Monica. My sister, Janet was born in 1963 and my mom kept pretty busy sewing matching outfits for us, darning our socks, fixing our hair into such tight buns we had instant face lifts, cooking, cleaning and baking. There were a few stints inbetween as a waitress at Ray's coffee shop where she splashed a glass of water in a rude customer's face and at the German Delicatessen where she worked for Gerda, a woman with boobs bigger than Dolly's...

My mother has always been there for me when I needed her most...throughout my childhood of course, but when our own twins were born, she was with us for 2 months (leaving my father to fend for himself), cooking dinners, cleaning and oh yeah...helping out with the babies. She even took a night shift every night feeding the babies, so Doug and I could get a few hours of sleep. In 2006, my mother was here within 12 hours after learning that I had just received 60 stitches and staples after splitting my forehead open in a horrible car accident. She helped me wash and comb my hair without pulling any staples out and went with me to doctors appointments.

My mother is good at many things, but especially at being a grandmother or Oma, as her 6 grandchildren call her. All the grandkids (my sister's 4 boys, Wesley, York, Rio and Daniel) and our own two, Sam and Larissa just LOVE going to Oma's Beach or Oma's Country as my twins call it. Oma lets them play on the beach all day. She buys them Hot Dogs on a Stick and lemonade. She lets them swim in the pool and play in the jacuzzi until dark. She cooks them noodles and makes delicious salmon sandwiches. For once, she leaves the house a mess and doesn't make the bed, because spending time with the grandchildren is what's most important.

Mammi...I know you don't want or need anything and so I didn't buy anything, but I made something for you... You will find it on my website under "portraits"..."at Oma's beach" is just for you!
Thank you for everything. I love you! We all do! Happy Mother's Day!
Love, Susann

Friday, May 9, 2008

Family & Pet Portrait Session nets $950 at Livingston's Fur Ball!



Congratulations and thanks to Mike Art of Chico Hot Springs who purchased my donation of a family & pet portrait session to include an online gallery and an 8x10 framed portrait for $950 at last night's Fur Ball benefitting the Stafford Animal Shelter of Livingston.

Thanks to Mike's generous bidding, I will soon have the pleasure of photographing his daughter Jackie, her fiance, Ron and their 4 black labradors...

Thank goodness, our family has 4 dogs of our own, so I am used to alot of licks and love and whatever it is that only a pack of dogs can deliver...

Looking forward to our shoot, Jackie & Ron...and thanks again to the entire Art Family...not only have they been just wonderful to us since the day we arrived in Montana, but they are continual supporters of numerous organizations in both Livingston & Bozeman...and in person...always warm, gracious and true of heart...

Thanks also for the good works of the Stafford Animal Shelter of Livingston. We praise the work that you do and we are continually grateful for Kiko and our beloved departed Marbles, both of which we adopted from your shelter.

Words alone cannot explain how our dog family enriches our lives...for each and every day, we are grateful for the love that we share with our animal companions...

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Another Cover for Montana Parent Magazine!

Phil and Maurissa were thrilled to learn last month that one of the images I shot of them and their newborn twins, Ryan and Lauren last November was selected by Montana Parent Magazine for the cover of the May 2008 issue...and just in time for Mother's Day!...What better photo than a mother holding not one, but TWO bundles of joy!

Of course, being a twin mother myself, I LOVE LOVE LOVED doing this shoot which took me eight years back down memory lane. It was amazing and heartwarming to see how Ryan and Lauren were happiest during the shoot when they were all crunched up together...just like when they were in the womb...

Phil and Maurissa still have to get used to seeing themselves on the cover whenever they go to the supermarket and all the various locations where Montana Parent is distributed including the Bozeman Public Library, The Children's Museum of Bozeman, at Lone Mountain Gymnastics, The Bozeman Swim Center and various medical and dental offices, coffee shops and retail outlets.

Don't forget to pick up your free copy of Montana Parent Magazine known as a "trusted parenting resource promoting happy, healthy families since 2002" and CONGRATULATIONS to Phil and Maurissa on their beautiful family and on being this month's cover shot! Happy Mother's Day, Maurissa!



Thursday, May 1, 2008

May Day!

What a beautiful day for the launch of an all new website, web-boutique and blog! You will find lots of new images on the website all presented in a slideshow format put to music.

I am very excited about all the new offerings on my web-boutique, and there will be more to come, so keep checking back! No doubt, you will fall in love with the Planetjill photo jewelry just as I did (as well as Reese Witherspoon, Cher and Hally Barry, just to name a few others...). There is something for everyone in this beautiful collection. The pieces are heirloom quality and waterproof! A perfect gift idea for mom or grandma and just in time for Mother's Day! I am also pleased to have been selected by LA-based designer, Gina Alexander, to carry her line of wildly popular handbags. These handcrafted photo bags are simply gorgeous and a great way to have your little ones with you all the time, even if you travel away on business...

I am also now working together with Georgia Street Framery and Wild Sorbet Frame Co. to assist you with custom framing of the fine art portraits we create. In addition, I am amassing a great collection of vintage window panes for you to choose from so we can create your own "Windows of the Heart."

Enjoy perusing the website...Oh and please...I'd love to know what you think!