We’ve been busy! We recently finished photographing home interiors for a local developer, Maplewood Development. The company just finished doing work in a brand new lake front community in West Knoxville called Jefferson Park (on Fort Loudoun Lake).

The two new homes are spectacular. The interiors share an Old World motif. The buttery walls are complemented by dark hardwoods and wrought iron fixtures. The homes have exquisite stone exteriors, and each house is surrounded by beautiful landscaping. The homes have just been purchased, and the owners should be moving in soon. (Lucky!)

Check out some of the photos below. Or go to our new Flickr set: Real Estate. We have more photo shoots planned with Maplewood Development as they complete more residential construction around Knoxville!

We had a fun engagement photo session this morning with Christina and Chris at the UT Gardens! They’re a great couple. And they’re hilarious (Chris is a ham)!

Check out the gallery and our Flickr page for more photos from the engagement session. We can’t wait to photograph the wedding this September!

Thank you to Morgan and Andrew for inviting us to be a part of their beautiful wedding on Saturday, May 31, at Maryville College!

[Posted on Lia’s website: www.thinklia.com]

Lia received a juror citation at the Dogwood Arts Fine Art Show! One of four winners out of more than 300+ entries from regional artists? Not bad, huh?

Below is the article from the Knox Alliance website. To learn more about the Dogwood Arts Festival, click here.

April 2008

The Dogwood Arts Festival 2008 Fine Arts Show Winners Announced
Four awards have been presented to local artists as part of the Dogwood Arts Festival 2008 Fine Arts Show with thanks to ORNL Federal Credit Union. An awards ceremony and public reception will take place on Friday, April 4, from 5-9pm at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville as part of First Friday activities and will feature complimentary hors d’oeuvres catered by The Lunchbox. The 2008 Fine Arts Show, a collaboration between the Dogwood Arts Festival, the Arts & Culture Alliance, and Three Flights Up Gallery, features works in the areas of acrylic, charcoal, clay, colored pencil, digital and film photography, drawing, handwoven works, mixed media, oil, pastel, watercolor, wood, and more by 67 local artists. It will be on exhibit April 4-18.

All 102 pieces in the exhibit, including the award winners, were chosen by juror Neely Hyde, Director of Exhibits for the Association for Visual Arts in Chattanooga. Hyde viewed 324 submissions from 130 artists in 34 cities to select the show. “I’m incredibly impressed by the talent exhibited in all of the entries. This show was extremely difficult to jury. The Dogwood Arts Festival should take great pride in offering local artists the opportunity to compare their work to that of others throughout the region,” she said.

The brief awards ceremony will start at 6pm with an introduction by Eddie Mannis of the Dogwood Arts Festival.

The Best of Show award of $500 was awarded to Melynda Moore Whetsel of Knoxville for her piece, “Trust” (Collage / Mixed Media).

A Juror’s Citation of $150 was awarded to Lia Ballentine of Knoxville for her piece, “Monte Carlo Fun House” (Cross-Processed Digital Photograph glazed on Wood).

A Juror’s Citation of $150 was awarded to T. Michael Martin of Clinton for his piece, “Molecular Shift” (Mixed Media on Wood Panel).

A Juror’s Citation of $150 was awarded to Marion Randolph of Oak Ridge for his Scarlet Oak bowl.

Cupid’s arrows are out! It’s February and that means heart-shaped candies, flowers, chocolate, and wedding planning!!! That’s right! It’s a few months until wedding season begins, and couples everywhere are probably in the midst of the countdown to wedding bells this spring and summer. It’s time to fret about invitations, the dresses, the tuxes, the venue, the flowers, the food, and of course, the photography!

Okay, while we can’t help you calm down your soon-to-be in-laws, we can help you with figuring out how to handle the wedding photography. It’s simple: we’ll handle it for you.

As experienced wedding photographers (and newlyweds), we know what it’s like to plan and have a wedding. If you’re looking for friendly photographers to capture your day with style, photographers who actually make you feel less stressed out, then we’re the ones for you.

As a husband and wife team, we’ve got a game plan when it comes to photographing your special day. Every wedding photography package comes with the two of us (at your service!), and that means the bride and the groom each have their own photographer. We’re your personal paparazzi! There aren’t many photo duos around, but when you book FinestraPhoto for your wedding, you’re getting two artists/photojournalists dedicated to your day.

If you’re interested in our wedding photography services, just visit our “Wedding” page for details on the packages and add-ons. To book an appointment, contact us today (use the link above). We’re happy to set up a time for a consultation to help you figure out what you’re looking for in wedding photography. Oh, and if you need folks to help you pick out wedding cake, we’re good at taste testing, too!

Photos in the mosaic above:
1. Ferris Wheel (in color), 2. Notre Dame, 3. Lights from the Tower, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. Untitled, 10. Abstraction, 11. Le Penseur, 12. Arches, 13. Vibrant, 14. Bienvenue, 15. Bells, 16. Early Evening in Nice, 17. Passing the Fun House, 18. Big Church, 19. Marching Away from the Palace, 20. Light Show from the Eiffel Tower

* * *

Back in November 2007, Brandon and I took a trip to France (with a mini-trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco)–and “Oui, oui!”–we really had a wonderful time. And of course, when the two of us travel, we pack for a photo adventure.

We first arrived in Nice. Ah, Southern France. C’est bon! We stayed in the French Riviera for several days, exploring the markets, the Mediterranean, the people and food, and more. We visited castle ruins, walked in the footsteps of some of history’s most renowned artists (Matisse, Chagall, …), ate fabulous food, and soaked in the beauty of the Cote d’Azur.

Then we took a short trip to Monte Carlo and gawked at the richness (literally) of Monaco. The cars (Lamborghini), the stores (Chanel), the people–ooh la la! The streets were paved with diamonds. Well, not really, but they could have been. We took a train ride around Monte Carlo and visited the casino, home of the real Monte Carlo games. And we even watched the changing of the guards at the palace (Prince Albert wasn’t around that day). Also, in addition to being the home of the Grand Prix, Monaco also has a cool year-round carnival by the coast with fast rides and good crepes for snacking on.

And then we jetted up north to Paris. Beautiful Paris. The City of Light. Like all tourists, we had to trek to the Eiffel Tower, eat at a sidewalk cafe, tour the Louvre (and snap a hundred pictures of the Mona Lisa), eat more crepes, find the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and wander through the Latin Quarter like Ernest Hemingway. While in Paris, we also toured the streets of Oberkampf to look at the artwork of famous Parisian street artist Jef Aerosol (whom we met through Flickr). There was really too much to do in so little time, but we managed to cover all of Paris (including a boat ride down the Seine)–we just didn’t stop walking.

We’re planning another trip back (later this year), and we’ll be going as the photographers for a foodie tour of France headed up by a chef from Martha’s Vineyard. But until then, we’ve published a coffee table book to preserve those memories of France from the fall. And now you too can take part in our French adventure.

To preview our book, you can visit my Blurb bookstore. Click on the Blurb badge below to get to the store. Flip through a few pages. Daydream. Bon voyage mes amis!

Bon Voyage

A Week in France

By Lia Ballentine

Book Preview

It’s 2008, and FinestraPhoto is kicking off the New Year with a new website, a new blog, a new gallery, and a refreshed outlook on photography. For more than four years, we’ve been providing professional photography services throughout East Tennessee–and this year, we’re ready to make a change. A change for the better!

We’re very passionate about photography. We live it, we love it. We use photos to tell stories, capture memories, and discover new ideas. This year, we’re resolving to do more with our photos. In addition to providing professional photo services to our customers, we want to share our experiences as photographers with all of you. And we want to make sure that you–our customers–can share your pictures with family and friends. That’s why Finestra has created a new blog site and a new gallery system. With our blog, we hope to tell talk about our photos, tell the stories that accompany the images, teach others what about photography, and more. Also, our new gallery will enable customers to send e-cards, download contact sheets and even small images–for free!

In addition to the new blog and gallery, we’re also unveiling our new website design very soon! In the past few years, we’ve grown as photographers. We’ve developed distinct photojournalistic styles, and we wanted to make sure that our new site reflected that funky, fresh attitude we have towards art. Our new site, like our blog, uses vibrant, bright colors–and best of all, it’s simple and easy to use. Navigation is a breeze, so that everything you want to know about Finestra is right at your fingertips (just a mouse-click away!) Let’s say you’re interested in our wedding photography services… All you have to do is use the navigation in the upper right, click on “Weddings,” and ta-da! You can check out all our packages, prices, and contact us easily. (And you can come to the blog to read up on our latest adventures in wedding photography. Did we ever mention the time we were photographing a wedding at which the venue caught fire? Or the one wedding that came to a screeching halt when the power went out, at night, in the middle of the Electric Slide?)

This year, we’ve also teamed up with Flickr to share our photos with people all over the world, and people all over the world can follow Finestra on Twitter. You can watch our every move (well, most moves) and find out about our latest photo projects, our travel photography destinations, and other photography adventures. We’re always up to something!

At FinestraPhoto, we think outside the frame. And it’s obvious that we’re not your typical, traditional photography company. We’re excited to start off 2008 with new products and services, and we hope that everyone can see that our enthusiasm and love for photography is what makes us and our artwork stand out from the crowd!

- Brandon and Lia