It's nearly 100 degrees out side 6th of May 09 and with that kind of heat you simply can't go sticking your head under a blanket  and hoping it will all go away >
I am of course referring to the ECONOMIC CRISIS...Ok it was really tough for a while there, for those of you  with Jobs and regular paychecks you really won't know the true effects, for those of you who sadly lost your jobs because of all this you know the hardships and go out and find a new job.But if like me you have been self employed for years and not exactly in the spring of youth any more it's a whole different ball game.
When your phone stops ringing , your client list shrinks like a male appendage in a cold sea, and you look around and all you hear is doom and gloom , doom and gloom it's tough to know what to do, misery loves company , I can call many a college and have a pity party but you just feel like burying your head under that blanket a little longer, and that my friends is not good for business.

Now that like the ground hog I  have resurfaced dusted off my cameras and  key board , odd thing business has perked up.
When all this started for me back in Sept 08 I did before even the media press and others could see past the end of their noses , figure that by April  things should look up and sure enough thats exactly what has happened, yes a good few of our clients have dropped out of sight, or gone with less reliable and cheaper photographers in Las Vegas ( you do get what you pay for folks ) but we at Costellophoto have signed new and exciting companies for a variety of photographic projects !
While thing where really awful I decided to do some charity work, pro bono if you will, and i think it has paid off tremendously, we have been spending time with Neon Venus Theater group here in Las Vegas, I shot some of their antics for publicity , a few head shots, and promo  material for plays upcoming, it has been fun and appreciated .
It is nice to get your mind of all the garbage going on in the world, and I believe it is good for business too, my personal mental state is greatly improved, and the product is getting better , not that it was bad, but the creative juices  flow and that helps the whole process.


One thing is rather apparent , corporations  and meeting planners seem to have the notion that rates have dropped like the stock market, well we're happy to negotiate but please don't be so insulting, particularly when your paying top dollar for your Elvis impersonator and plastic giveaways, but when it comes to photography, 'oh well I'll just get one of my interns they have a camera phone'  yes that really happened,  you still get what you pay for , experience, creativity and reliability, and in the end it's you who look good when our guys do their jobs, so please don't insult us by trying to squeeze that last dollar out of your budget, I wouldn't do that to you when I buy your product.


Still digging out of this hell hole some one else made, but now I got me a bigger shovel !
Costellophoto is still here and to all intense and purposes better and more productive, we have weather's the storm so far and have every intention of staying afloat .and to quote Elvis Costello 'Don't bury me I'm not dead Yet '



  

        

With that Attitude we here in Las Vegas might as well roll up the sidewalks and say good night Gracie ...<< MORE >>

Being a rather cramped situation with I think a video crew odd five other camera men/ women was rather a challenge photographically speaking, trying to keep out of other photographers shots was practically impossible, but the record did fall to much cheering and I can say I was there to witness. ...<< MORE >>

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Costellophoto Las Vegas Receives 2008 Best of Las Vegas Award

U.S. Local Business Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

WASHINGTON D.C., December 14, 2008 -- Costellophoto Las Vegas has been selected for the 2008 Best of Las Vegas Award in the Photographers category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA).

The USLBA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2008 USLBA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USLBA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA)

U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USLBA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USLBA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Local Business Association

CONTACT:
U.S. Local Business Association
Email: PublicRelations@USLBA.net
URL: www.USLBA.net

        

Hope fully you have viewed our website www.costellophoto.com and enjoyed some of our images of keynote speakers, award ceremonies, Convention booths and trade show floors, and the industrial side of Costellophoto, the catalog shots,and corporate head shots. Our corporate photography has been published world wide and featured on many a front page and glossy magazine cover. We are proud of our quality and continue to upgrade our equipment and learn new techniques in a process that never ends. << MORE >>

It's election day Nov. 4 th 08, as a photographer I thought it might be fun to hang out with the Obama camp and record their reaction to the results, I figured it was 50/50 so either way I would get some reaction shots.
They say one picture is worth a thousand words here the first chapter.

  Watching and hoping

  6.30 pm high five over Ohio
Joy
It's official Obama 08
The Result. Obama 08  Las Vegas Rio Hotel

        

Halloween being a uniquely American thing getting bigger every year I guess, a time when you're supposed to be horrified and have the whits scared out of you right?
We here at Costellophoto decided to join in the fun photographically, and rented space at a local haunted house,  Monster mayhem .

 


Well now the older we get the less we are scared by silly things like coffins, I remember shooting an Undertakers convention at Ballys Las Vegas  years ago , and getting a little spooked


A huge Three house affair south end of the Las Vegas Strip, in the parking lot of the new  'Towncenter Mall' I15 and Sunset Blvd  should you be in the neighborhood.
So my Idea was to have a tent / Booth with a Coffin ,lit in a spooky (bad) way greens and blues , purple if you're getting adventurous and bingo, a credit card machine and boy you should be in the money ,right?
Well now the older we get the less we are scared by silly things like coffins, I remember shooting an Undertakers convention at Ballys Las Vegas  years ago , and getting a little spooked, sitting through some truly bazaar seminars and realizing these guys make a great living out of our fear of funerals.
So opening day comes I have my tent ,camera connected to computer, connected to printer (sony snap lab) credit card machine connected to table, cash box screwed to table, this whole thing has cost a fortune i don't have but hey how can I fail?
some bright spark decided to try and burn the whole thing down, in broad day light no less.

Las Vegas is a, you would not expect a religious town, used to be more churches than bars, a Mormon strong hold, a large influx of Mexican Catholics,and as locals now number in the Millions , two going on Three so as i sit there imagining a crowd of willing coffin models I find most people are not just afraid, but out right religiously opposed to even think about getting in and having a fun shot for $15.00 and a nice 5x7 I might add, beautifully lit !
Some of the Hispanics actually got out their rosaries!
Caskitaphobia I call it, so the lesson we learn is this , have options, creepy clowns, dead people, and maybe a coffin, we're still two weeks from Halloween, don't bother with the first week, maybe just do the weekends,and lastly take and destroy every camera phone you see!


And an update, though all this rather expensive endeavor  with worries about Fire inspectors with their hands out and whether or not the Fire dept would let them open or not , attendance and just general fears that it's all been a complete waste of time and money, some bright spark decided to try and burn the whole thing down, in broad day light no less.
So we have a hole in our calender till Thursday...any takers?

        

Go to that Expo/ convention in Las Vegas have your Pictures taken by a professional photographer again to show the world you survived!<< MORE >>