Amy Rich Photography in Lebanon is conducting a model search!
Amy often gets calls for commercial work, and she is also currently working in conjunction with local artist Terri Patton on a nursery rhyme picture book. Drop into Amy's studio at 706 West Main Street on Saturday, Sept. 4 from noon until 3 p.m. to have your photo taken. There is no charge. Amy plans to take one quick photo for her model book. The book is for Amy's clients to peruse when they are in search of a model for advertisement or commercial purposes. These models may or may not be compensated by the client but will receive the session and a photograph from that session.
Amy Rich is an award-winning photographer who specializes in children's portraiture. Please contact Amy at 335-5529 for more information.
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Ask photographer Amy Rich about her favorite subject to capture with her camera, and without hesitation, she'll simply reply, "Children."
"I love children. I love working with them and have always loved working with them," she said with a smile during a recent interview at her Lebanon studio. " ... I'll pose them, but then I'll wait for those moments between poses, when they're really themselves. Children are so dynamic and fluid. I love watching them."
Mother to five children, Rich describes herself as a "former hockey mom" who has always enjoyed creative activities and once worked in a daycare. A conversation with Rich reveals her love for her family and families in general.
Often times, she says, her work allows her to become a "guest member" of the families she photographs.
"It's an incredible blessing. I'll photograph someone's wedding, and later on, they'll ask me to take their pregnancy photos. Before you know it, I'm photographing their newborn baby," she said. "By the time the second baby comes around, I get invited to the baby shower. I love it."
While photography runs in Rich's blood - her great-grandfather was a photographer - she said she hadn't always planned to enter the field. Pictures had always played an important role in her life and, she added, the provide an important link to the past. Her children's memories of their grandfather can often be tied to old tin photographs of him.
"They'll say something about remembering their grandfather, and I'll think of the photograph they're talking about ... it's been so long since he passed that I'm sure many of their 'memories' are tied to those pictures," Rich, who inherited her father's camera after his death, remarked.
Rich's venture into the world of professional photography came as a result of her love for photographs and from another creative endeavor she'd always enjoyed: scrapbooking. She'd enjoyed the design elements of scrapbooking and had seen her work published, but she explained that the best scrapbookers spent much of their time focusing on the quality of their photographs.
Eventually, she gained the confidence to enter some of her photographs in the Wilson County Fair's annual photography contest. She won 'Best of Show,' and her journey toward becoming a professional photographer slowly began to take shape. She began taking classes to hone her skills behind the camera and credits much of her knowledge to dedicated mentors, including Al Ashworth of Lebanon's Custom Color.
At the request of those who had seen her work at the Wilson County Fair, Rich began taking on assignments here and there before setting up a studio in her garage. Not too long after, in August of 2009, she opened Amy Rich Photography at 706 West Main Street in Lebanon.
"I'd seen this house, and I loved this house," she said of the Lebanon home that became her studio. "It was a big decision, but it just seemed like the right time."
Since setting up shop in the studio, Rich has photographed countless brides, mothers-to-be, families and, of course, children. In October of 2009, she opened her doors to the community by taking free photographs of children in their Halloween costumes. In one day, she photographed nearly 150 little ghosts and goblins and enjoyed every minute of it.
"It was so much fun," she grinned. "It was just a fun, fun thing to do, and I'm planning to make that a yearly tradition."
And, when she's not behind the camera, Rich is either focused on learning more about her craft or working with a cause she holds close to her heart.
"I work with an organization called the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation. It's a group of photographers who work with families who have lost their babies. We work with them for free to create and edit portraits and slideshows. Those memories are deeply important to them, and we know and understand the importance of a photograph," Rich said.
By BRIAN HARVILLE
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Natural beauty and man-made artistry will be combined and celebrated at the 21st Annual Nashville Lawn & Garden Show on Thursday, March 4, through Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. Staged to the them Artistic by Nature, the show will feature an acre of live gardens, 26 free lectures, a floral design gallery and more than 250 exhibit booths filled with plants, products, services, equipment and information offered by horticultural experts and vendors from 15 states.
"During the past 20 years, gardeners and garden lovers have made the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show the most popular horticultural event in Tennessee. We are very proud that the 21st anniversary show has been named a Top 20 Event by the South East Tourism Society of the USA," said Randall Lantz, co-manager of the event, which is produced by the Horticultural Association of Tennessee.
Gardens are the show's centerpiece. Created by Middle Tennessee professional landscape designers and horticultural groups, the gardens at the 2010 show will focus on the artistry of combining thousands of varied, colorful plants and flowers with man-made features such as stonework, gazebos, fountains, ponds, sculpture and fire pits. The show's Artistic by Nature theme is reflected in garden names such as Artful Inspirations; A Stroke of Color - A Splash of Thyme; Mother Nature's Paintbrush; and Artistry in Motion.
A series of 26 free lectures will cover a wide range of topics, many of them exploring the show's theme. Acclaimed Nashville photographer and native plant expert, J. Paul Moore will share his award winning photographs that reveal the artistry of nature on Thursday, March 4, at 3 p.m. during his presentation, The Art of Seeing: A Photographer's Perspective. Patricia Kyritsi Howell, who calls both northern Georgia and the Greek island of Crete her home, will celebrate the art of healing with medicinal herbs on Friday, March 5, at 2 p.m., when she will discuss Mad Dog Skullcap, Puke Weed & Faerie Torches: Medicinal Plants of the South. On Friday evening, she will present a workshop session from 6 until 8 p.m., Our Living Apothecary: Native Medicinal Plants of the South and Their Uses; there is a $20 fee to participate in the workshop. On Saturday, March 6, at noon, Howell's topic is The Sustainable Herbs that Everyone Should Know & Grow. Award-winning artist Sherri Warner Hunter of Bell Buckle, Tenn. will demonstrate and reveal the beauty and versatility of concrete during her lecture on Saturday, March 6 at 3 p.m., Concrete in the Garden: Yard Art, Sculptures and Ornaments.
Another featured speaker will be Harvey Cotten, chief operating officer at the Huntsville Botanical Garden in Huntsville, Ala., a weekly home and garden columnist in the Huntsville Times, and a weekly guest on a Huntsville noonday TV show. Cotten is the co-author of Easy Gardens for the South, the topic of his presentation on Saturday, March 6 at 4 p.m. He will discuss how to create gorgeous gardens with the easiest, colorful, low-water plants the South has to offer. Click here to view the complete schedule for the series of free lectures - many lecturers will sell their books and products after their presentations.
The show's spectacular floral design gallery, featuring the work of more than 25 of the best designers in the mid-south region, delights show attendees of every age. Items offered in the show's 250 exhibit booths range from tractors to tulips and sundials to seeds. If it has to do with gardening and outdoor living, it probably can be found at the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show.
FEATURED NASHVILLE LAWN & GARDEN SHOW PARTICIPANTS FROM WILSON COUNTY (as of Feb. 11, 2010)
Speakers
Jim Garrison, Tennessee Beekeepers Association (The Beekeepers Association is based in Watertown).
Date and Time of Lecture: Thursday, March 4 at 5 p.m.
Lecture Topic: Beekeeping
Gardens
Living Stone, Brush Creek
Garden Title: Tranquil Retreat
Ponds by David, Inc. Aquatic Nursery and Supplies, Mt. Juliet
Garden Title: Artistry in Motion
Roots Outdoor Designs, Mt. Juliet
Garden Title: Where Plants and Art Combine
Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Mt. Juliet
Garden Title: Saving Tomorrow's Wildlife Today
Exhibitors
Eastman Hardscape Construction, Mt. Juliet
Garr's Rental & Feed, Mt. Juliet
Kathy Chester Studio, Mt. Juliet
Lynch Tree Service, Lebanon
Moss Florist & Garden Center, Mt. Juliet
Needhams Nursery, Mt. Juliet
Unique Product Sales Co., Mt. Juliet
Watermelon Moon Farm, Lebanon
Floral Designers
Scott Graham - S.S. Graham, Lebanon
Cary Ann Misamore - Fresh by Carry Ann, Mt. Juliet
Brenda Moss - Moss' Florist, Mt. Juliet
Special Offers & Events: In celebration of the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show's 21st anniversary, anyone who presents a photo driver's license to prove a birthdate in 1989 will receive one (1) free admission to the show. $2 discount coupons for the show are available at participating branch locations of Regions Bank, the show's sponsor. On March 4, 5 and 6, beginning at 5 p.m., all tickets are buy one get one free. In addition, $1 discount coupons for show admission are available on the Nashville Lawn & Garden Show website. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more adults when purchased in a block at the ticket window. Discount coupons and offers cannot be combined.
In celebration of the show's 21st anniversary, there will be a 21st Anniversary Celebration Reception in the gardens on Friday, March 5, and Saturday, March 6, from 5 until 8 p.m. The reception will feature tastings by Barefoot Wines.
Proceeds from the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show are used by the Horticultural Association of Tennessee to fund horticultural projects throughout Tennessee. For more complete information, call the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show office at 615-876-7680 or visit www.nashvillelawnandgardenshow.com.
