lizmorrisey.com

Take a journey through the Upstate and see our local Presbyterian churches. See their beauty and hear their stories from long ago. Firm Foundations: A Tour of Upstate Presbyterian Churches includes more than 30 churches from the local area that were established in the 1700s and 1800s. The book will include pictures from the past and present and the history of each church.

Upstate areas that are included in the book are: Anderson, Clemson, Belton, Easley, Greenville, Greer, Honea Path, Pickens, Spartanburg, Seneca, Walhalla, Westminster, Pelzer, Iva, Moore, Gaffney, Williamston, Wellford, Sandy Springs, Fountain Inn and more.

A pre-sale is currently being held and those who purchase the coffee table book ahead of time can receive it for just $20 versus the store retail of $24.99. The book is due to be released in April by Ambassador International. To pre-order a copy please contact the publisher at 864-235-2434 or email sales@emeraldhouse.com. Or just shoot me a message that you would like to purchase one.

Trying to find a steady job is exhausting. Like so many others who are unemployed I am constantly looking for work from part-time to full-time. I do get some money from unemployment but that won’t last forever. Recently, I applied for several jobs and was very frustrated when I didn’t hear back at all. Not even a “we aren’t interested in hiring you.” I’m waiting to hear back from a couple right now.

Good thing is I so have some money coming in from my gigs with Metromix and Out of Debt Christian. I am lucky. Many people don’t have anything right now. I’ll just keep working at it and hope something comes along that I would enjoy.

I’ve been busy getting everything ready for Christmas. We leave for Florida tomorrow to visit family. We’re very excited. Check out Out of Debt Christian for gift ideas and other information that might be helpful to you. I recently wrote a blog about Microsoft Hohm, a new way to save energy on your home. The owners enjoyed my blog and asked my boss if I could write something for them. However, I never heard back. I would love to help out if they need it. Any extra blogs I can get the better.

I’m still doing work with Metromix. Check out the site regularly to see my photography. Recently met another local photographer, Libby Wright, whom I had a lot in common with. She mainly focuses on portraits and weddings. I turned in the photos of the wedding that I shot in November to the bride. She seemed to really like them. I will post some photos for my portfolio.

Happy Holidays!

I am finally close to finishing up my book “Firm Foundations: A Tour of Upstate Presbyterian Churches”. It’s my first book! It will be strange to see it on the shelves of book stores and in the hands of friends. I am hoping to get several pre-sales at a discounted rate. I have sent all of the churches the information about the book.

It’s a great showcase of local churches with their histories and a variety of photographs. Getting that initial interest and excitement is the tricky part. All of the pastors are excited about it, but they need to work on getting the congregations excited. Even if just 10 percent of each church’s congregation purchases a book that will be great!

Stay tuned for more info!

Just went to a wedding in Richmond, Va. this weekend. I realized that when I arrived at the wedding I forgot my camera; however, it was actually nice to just enjoy the ceremony and not be distracted.

Richmond was pretty cool. We went to The Tobacco Company - a famous restaurant downtown. It is 200 years old with a dark ambiance, old elevator and great food. The 12 oz. filet my husband ordered was fit for a king and cooked just right. It came with mashed potatoes. I ordered a salad and it was so big I couldn’t finish it. It was a nice date night on a weekend away. The restaurant was romantic and had lots of character to it.

It’s so nice to get away for awhile and forget our troubles or whatever we are dealing with.

Just got my assignments for MetroMix. Only have one for the weekend, but I am finally getting paid for all of my work for the last month.

I shot my first concert this week. It was so cool being that close to the performers. I would love to do more of them! I took pictures of Creed and Staind in concert at Clemson. I was nervous at first to make sure I got the right shots. Lighting at concerts is tricky, but I succeeded and got several great shots.

Check out MetroMix to see them! Getting close to them and seeing their passion and emotions with each song was awesome. I need to play around with more settings on my Nikon D90. I am so glad I made the investment because now I am actually shooting photos more than I am writing. It’s definitely a switch.

The Nikon D90 photos are such better quality than the Nikon D50. The D50 is still a great camera but I can’t see going back to it now for professional shots.

Finding more freelance gigs can be challenging. I’ve been working hard ever since I lost my job in October 2008 (wow about a year now!)  Jobs I’ve had since losing my job:

A story and photo for Everyday Christian, modeling photos for Halos & Harlots, a few stories for Greenville Magazine, photos and a story for Greer Now magazine and I found some odd jobs on Craigs List. Right now my main sources of income are from MetroMix where I am a “Party Crasher” and take photos at events around town and Out of Debt Christian where I blog about finances. I am hoping to still get more work from Everyday Christian and Greer Now.

As for the future, I have a wedding photo shoot coming up in November and one of the most exciting things for me right now is working on a couple of Christian books. (More details on those to come later.)

I continue to search for more opportunities and hope that some of my regular jobs will lead to others. I met with a friend of mine who shoots weddings the other day and she gave me some advice. It’s always great to talk to other photographers. You can see her work at Christine Mason Photography.

As I write this I am thinking about an interesting MetroMix assignment that I have tonight. You ready for this? It’s Zombie Prom at Ground Zero in Spartanburg. My neighbor, with Haughton Lab, and my husband Kevin, who works for SynTerra, are going with me. Should be an interesting night.

Hackers….Well after thinking that I was completely safe, a hacker attacked my Facebook account. I’ve learned a lot about it now and have changed passwords etc. This guy made rude comments on my wall and really embarassed me, so make sure you are changing your passwords regularly. I’m lucky that it was only Facebook that he was after! I’ve changed all of my passwords now.

On to photography…. I’ve have been picking up more work which is wonderful. I am now shooting photos for MetroMix Greenville. My husband and I attended PlayDate Upstate. It was a lot of fun and they had a great turnout.

Greer Now continues to hire me and some other contacts that I’ve made may work out. I’m also shooting an upcoming event on Thursday Sept. 10 at the Lazy Goat that benefits the Miracle Hill’s Boys Shelter. It’s called Twestival and they are happening around the world.

Life…. Things are good right now. We still have a roof over our heads, food on the table and great friends and family. Money is still coming in and work is beginning to pick up. I will also have an opportunity to tutor local children in October.

I just wrote my first blog for www.outofdebtchristian.com and hope that you’ll check it out! It will be posted July 30! The blog discusses tithing and the importance of it. It’s been a challenge for us due to the economy, but God has blessed us and we continue to tithe.  I continue to look for more avenues to work on my writing skills and photography skills. Writing blogs, stories and taking photos is still my dream job and I hope to find more work.

I am also working on some very special projects that will really reach a lot of people! But more on that later!

I’m going to be leaving for Florida Thursday to spend two weeks in the Sunshine State! My husband’s family has rented a house on Anna Maria Island and then I’ll spend the second week in Melbourne with my folks. I plan to bring my Nikon to capture pictures of the family and to get pictures of the beach etc. However, I struggle sometimes when I’m on vacation when it comes to shooting pictures. As you can probably tell I love photography, but I often just want to sit back, relax and not necessarily take photos.  I seem to have my camera with me everyday for magazine shoots, modeling shoots etc. and sometimes it’s nice to just set it aside for awhile. Now, when I go on a vacation that is a once in a lifetime trip, I take tons of pictures. For example, I went to Ireland in 2006 and took 1,000 pictures! But heading to the beach isn’t really anything new. There are times that I have left the camera at home and come across something that would have been a great photo. I’m always looking for the next great shot. I do want to bring it with me  next week to get some pictures of the family. Both my sisters-in-law now have babies, so taking pictures of them is important. I can always hand the camera over to my husband