Can you say - ROAD TRIP??  Girls…let’s celebrate a job well done….buying pencils, getting school clothes, having all the haircuts - you know all the MOM stuff! (Getting the kids ready to go back to school)  You deserve some time away and I have the perfect excuse for you to recharge!  For those of you who are regular blog readers - you read about me going camping with some of our clients in their Airstream camper a few weeks ago.  Lot’s of you wrote in and told me that you agree with my idea of camping.  With this in mind I am making this year’s “Girls Night Out” a camping trip to Atlanta.  The camp I have selected is my favorite sleepaWay camp.

No Counselors. No Curfew.  Sneak away for W Hotels SleepaWay Camp.

Sneak away for a summer night or two in the city, SleepaWay Camp style. Your exclusive W Hotels experience includes:

A two room W Suite - complete with a Heavenly Bed and a Heavenly Bath!

• Sophisticated s’mores treat delivered to your room.
• In-room campfire DVD for that cozy camp feeling.
• W Postcards to tell your loved ones that you never want to leave!
• Two Bug Juice Cocktails for a good bug- we mean buzz.
• A super summer-camp room you’ll love!

We will travel to Atlanta of Friday, August 24th and on Saturday, August 25th we will visit the Annie Leibovitz photography exhibit at High Museum of Art.  Annie is a world class photographer who’s client list is in my opinion, the undisputed “Best of the Universe.”  John Lennon, presidents, movie stars and recently the Queen of England have all been in front of the lens of her camera.  She has inspired me throughout my career.  You have seen her images - but probably had no idea she took them.  (other examples: Covers on Rolling Stone, Vogue, Vanity Fair and even Demi Moore’s preggie portrait)

Enjoy viewing inspiring photography in one of the most incredible museums in the world, check out some great shopping, have a great meal or two and stay at my favorite hotel without bedtimes and the normal night-time drills we all have to do.  Just the girls….celebrating, enjoying other mommy company and taking a much needed break!

You will come home inspired, refreshed and relaxed.  Don’t miss this unique opportunity!

I have reserved five of the W Hotel’s best suites for the weekend.  This Dutch treat event will be loosely scheduled to give you as much down time as you wish.  We plan to leave Statesboro around lunch on Friday, August 24 and car pool to the W Hotel which is located in the Perimeter Mall area on the north side of Atlanta.  On Saturday we will tour the Leibovitz exhibit at the High Museum.  After the High we will check out some boutique shops and then enjoy dinner as a group.  Sunday will be your day to sleep as long as you want and enjoy the hotel.

We want this to be a fun weekend get away for you.  With this in mind, you can stay two nights or just one.  The Hotel for two nights with the suite and sleepaWay package and a ticket to the High will be around $500. (single occupancy)  You can downgrade the room and choose to stay one night - if you wish.  Or you can grab a girl friend to share the cost and enjoy a great - fun weekend away.

This trip is available to current or past Lori Grice clients.  However, if you have a friend that wants to come along with you and is not currently a client - then they are welcome as your guest!

If you are a professional photographer, aspire to be a professional photographer or simply want to scope me out for Uncle Bob who is about to give up his profession as a brain surgeon to begin a lucrative and fruitful career in photography - this is GREAT!  We have a special day designed just for you on Friday, August 23.  We will tour the Leibovitz exhibit together and then have a late lunch where we will discuss the images in the exhibit in more technical detail. No matter whether you are a client, friend or have never heard of me - this day is designed for you - if you have an interest in photography at a professional level.

Deadline:  August 17

Contact DeWayne at info@lorigrice.com or call 912-764-7274 for more details or to reserve your space.  This is a limited offer - available on a first come basis.

I look forward to spending the weekend with you in Atlanta!

By: Carolyn Lynch - Vienna, Virginia

We visit our cousins in Savannah every Labor Day weekend and in 2005 we decided that we wanted some special pictures of our 9 month old son Shane. We live in Northern Virginia and this would be our son?s first professional photo shoot.

We got your name from our cousins who live in Savannah and they recommended you because you photographed some other family members of theirs on Tybee beach and they loved your work.

Our relationship with Lori began on the phone in July of 2005. One of the unique things that I found with Lori is that she wanted to set up a phone session to find out about us and what we were looking for in our photographs. We have used professional photographers before and we were never asked ahead of time what we were looking for.

Lori took the time to get to know us and find out what we were looking for. One of the things I said to Lori was that I wanted to get some great shots of my son on the beach. He was not yet walking and I knew this would be the last time I could get away with taking photographs of Shane without having to chase him everywhere?.and take the sand out of his mouth.

Lori suggested that the morning time was better, but warned me that she had no control over the weather and we might have to have a backup plan.

We flew into Savannah on Thursday and our pictures were scheduled for the Saturday of Labor day weekend at around 6:00am. That would mean that we would have to be up at 4:00am to get ready for the pictures?.yes 4am with a 9 month old. I turned my cell phone on at 3:30 am to find a message from Lori telling me that a big storm had blown into Tybee and it was way to windy to take pictures on the beach. I was so upset because we were only in town for one more day and I knew that my beach pictures would not happen.

Lori assured me we could do the photo shoot somewhere else, but she knew I had my heart set on the beach.

Later on that day we met Lori at Forsyth Park and decided we would take the majority of the pictures there. We thought we were finished with the session until Lori suggested that we take a ride to the beach and see how the weather was doing at the point. It was around 5:00 pm now.

We drove to the beach and it was still really windy but we managed to set up a beach chair at the top of the stairs and my son sat in it for three photos until the wind picked up again. Lori didn?t think she got any great shots but it was time to go home.

We had a unique situation in that we lived out of state and we were going home the next day so we couldn?t view our photos in the studio. DeWayne was so wonderful. He helped us go online and walk through every photo together. He helped us select photos and really made our experience special. We now have one collage in our entrance way and there are three pictures in a row?all of Shane at the beach. The only three pictures Lori took came out great after all.

I would have to say the most wonderful memory I have of my photo experience with Lori Grice back in 2005 was that I was 7 weeks pregnant at the time of our photo shoot in Savannah and I had just started getting a little belly. Little did I know that my photo shoot was not only with my son and my husband but my daughter was in the picture too? We are getting ready for photo shoot number two this coming Labor Day. My son is now 2