TNG Photography Blog

It seems that wherever I go and whomever I speak to, the conversation somehow turns itself into the topic of my son-to-be. Even on this blog, you might have noticed, I talk about him constantly! Am I turning into a sappy parent before I’m even a parent yet? It feels like it. Here are three of my favorite portraits from a fun session I had with an 11 month old boy. All I could think was, “I’m gonna have one of those in January!” The very thought of it is so terrifyingly exciting it makes me want to cry, catch the tears into a jar, mail the jar to the Bureau of Land Management with a note saying, “Take these tears and plant a strong tree in my name…”

Seriously though, I am so excited and nervous for this kid that’s about to be my responsibility to feed, clothe and tell lies to just for my own amusement. I can see it now! My boy walks with me in the zoo and pointing to an animal, he asks, “Daddy? What is that?”

I reply,”What is that? Well, that’s called a stewtinsky! Stewtinskies  breathe fire, poop gold and live under your bed in the summertime.”

Wait! Wait! I’m foreseeing something else! Yes…it’s coming to me! Ah-hah! I see…I see my wife…mad at me for telling the boy lies…weeks of sleeping on a couch…maybe I shouldn’t mess with this kid? 🙂

Our top names at the moment are: Owen, Hayden, Corbin. LEAVE A COMMENT AND TELL ME WHICH YOU THINK IS BEST OF THOSE 3.

TNGphoto.com <- Main Las Vegas Photographer Website

TNGseniors.com <- Las Vegas High School Senior Photos. Seniors, go here!

Zion National Park is one of my favorite places around, especially in the fall. It’s a perfect getaway from the city hustle and bustle. Zion is also much less visited in the fall times so it’s very serene and relaxing. We will be in Zion National Park on October 29th and will be accepting only 5 families to join us for family portrait sessions. Call us now to schedule your “Portrait in the Leaves.” 🙂

(702)809-9763

Nate

TNGphoto.com <- Main Las Vegas Photographer Website

TNGseniors.com <- Las Vegas High School Senior Photos. Seniors, go here!

***OUR FAMILY PORTRAIT SPECIAL YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR IS AT THE END OF THIS POST ENJOY!***

The summer is over before it began it seems like. This summer I think our main activity for fun was seeing movies…lots and lots of movies. So, just for fun, here are a few of my thoughts on what we saw over the passed few months.

1) FRIGHT NIGHT

I’m not gonna lie, I enjoyed the heck outta this movie for some reason. Maybe it’s because I genuinely enjoy horror movies or maybe it’s because the 1985 original Fright Night holds a special place in my subconscious or maybe it’s because I have a secret man-crush on Colin Farrell (don’t tell my wife…meh! Go ahead and tell her. She loves the man more than me anyway. 🙂 ). I just can’t put my finger on it. The more I think about it, the more I think it’s because the movie had a good atmosphere due to the music. I actually love movie soundtracks and I really love when a movie has good music with an actual theme to it. Over the past few years, movies seem to have gotten lazy with their music and the majority of them just have filler music that is just noise in the background, never meant to be enjoyed on its own. Ominous tones, bass and lack of unique style from the composer is all movies have offered lately. Fright Night, however, had an enjoyable theme that built up tension. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

2) CONAN THE BARBARIAN

Wow, two remakes in a row! I went and saw this one having the intention of laughing at every dumb line, cheesy battle scene and ridiculous special effect the show could throw at me. I ended up surprised at how much I was entertained. Was it the best movie ever? Absolutely not! What it did do was show a lot of fighting and a lot of action. Why else would anyone go see it? It could have done without the nudity and sex scene and this gem of a line: “I live. I love. I slay. And I am content.”  Really? That is easily the dumbest line I’ve heard in a movie this year but my wife and I both agreed that we could take the idea and run with it by selling new craft decorations for home. At long last, the “LIVE. LOVE. LAUGH.” crafts that adorn every home we visit now have some friendly competition. Just look how Kendra and I have changed up our own home! 🙂

3) Rise of the Planet of the Apes

One might think that the apes taking over the world idea would be old by now but then again, vampire movies are still around so what is wrong with an old idea? This movie was well done. Good acting. Good effects. The only thing I can never get passed with the “apes” movies is that no matter how smart those apes could possibly be, humans have weapons and lots of them. POW POW POW, the apes are dead and mankind keeps eating chimp burgers. Total movie time: 10 minutes. Good movie though. 🙂

4) We also saw X-Men, Captain America, Cowboys and Aliens, Horrible Bosses, Bridesmaids, and a few others. The end… oh what?! Like you were gonna read all these reviews! 🙂 

Ok, now to the good stuff! Our early bird family portrait special1 See below! Give us a call! (702)809-9763.

Nate

TNGphoto.com <- Main Las Vegas Photographer Website

TNGseniors.com <- Las Vegas High School Senior Photos. Seniors, go here!

SOME EXCITING PROMOTIONS ARE COMING UP NEXT MONTH FOR FAMILY PORTRAITS! I WON’T SAY WHAT THEY ARE YET BUT I’LL PUT IT THIS WAY: IT PAYS TO BE EARLY! MORE INFO COMING SOON!

I was thinking about writing out an entire narrative leading up to what I’m about to say. This narrative would have included action, drama, suspense, humor, humour (for my British friends), quirky dialogue and an unbelievable climax to the story but I’ll save all that and just say what I came here to say….

KENDRA’S HAVING A BOY! THE GRANT NAME WILL LIVE ON! 🙂

As I write this, my wife is on the phone telling all her friends and family just how well endowed our 20 week old unborn son is. She’s already becoming a competitive soccer mom. 🙂 I was hoping for a girl but I’m still happy. In fact, I think knowing my son is, well, a son, has raised my excitement level about this baby up several notches. Since I was hoping for a girl, when the ultrasound-tech pointed out that it was a boy this morning, I entertained the thought of running through a wall leaving behind a puff of smoke like in a Bugs Bunny cartoon…

…but that would be ridiculous. Send me some name suggestions!

Has anyone else noticed just how fashionable little kids are these days? It sure makes them adorable but looking back on photos of myself as a child, I was always in ratty t-shirts, sweat pants or shorts that used to be sweat pants. Maybe every time my photo was taken back then I just happened to hop into a puddle of mud or coincidentally had been rolling around in a sandbox. I’m not complaining, I’m simply practicing becoming a grumpy old man who hates everything. 🙂 Thanks for reading everyone! Give us a call anytime! (702)809-9763

Nate

TNGphoto.com <- Main Las Vegas Photographer Website

TNGseniors.com <- Las Vegas High School Senior Photos. Seniors, go here!

I have quite a competitive side to me. I don’t [always] let losing get to me but I do enjoy winning. The funny thing is my family isn’t very competitive so I must have acquired this trait from the friends I’ve been lucky to surround myself with. Kendra is very competitive too so tonight we were in need of something to do. Our other plans didn’t quite pan out so we hopped in the car (Totally unrelated but who came up with this phrase? Hopped into the car? I only know one person who hops anywhere and that’s Tigger but I digress…) and drove down to the Fiesta on Lake Mead and 215. We parked on the top level of the garage, made our way down the elevator, avoided any slot machines and headed to the arcade where the real fun awaited us. Our destination? The air hockey table!

We played six games tonight and I defeated my wife 5 games to 1. I didn’t have my camera with me tonight but here is basically what this all looked like in person:

My confidence was high with victory and we thought our fun was done for the night, when another challenger emerged! A rather unassuming boy, around 9 or 10 years old, named Jesús entered the arena, “I wanna play you,” he said.

I didn’t even care that this battle wouldn’t get to air on pay-per-view and I’d miss out on all of the buy rate commissions, “I am invincible!” I thought to myself. Our match began with a flurry and I found Jesús fighting dirty, hardly waiting for me to take hold of my striker/paddle/mallet/whatever that thing is called before launching his first attack. Our skills were evenly matched throughout and limitless  heart was displayed. Our scores fell on 5-5 when Kendra, my adoring wife, was still wroth with her defeats from earlier.

“Go Jesús!” she cheered!

What betrayal! Could my own wife be turning against me? Here we are, knowing nothing of this boy except his name and here she stands, rooting for a stranger! A few bad strikes and a few mistakes later, the humming of the air holes stopped on the table. 7-5 flashed repeatedly on the air hockey table’s display. Nate Grant was defeated…soundly….to a 10 year old boy. Had the torch just been passed? I smiled, played the adult and smiled and et tu Kendra and I exited the arcade. The competitor within raged, “BEST OF 3! BEST OF 5! STOMP THIS KID 10 TIMES IN A ROW FOR THIS DEFEAT! NO ONE DEFEATS ME!!!”

I kept walking. I kept smiling. I kept hoping to meet Jesús again and avenge my loss and still, I kept walking…

I guess that’s self control.

Here’s something that’s weird about the competitor in me. I always want to find a funnier YouTube video than my friends. This was one I found this week. I hope you enjoy it

Nate

http://www.TNGphoto.com  <- Las Vegas Photography Web Site

http://www.TNGseniors.com <- Las Vegas Senior Photography Web Site

We have a lot of fun specials coming just in time for the fall! Here’s our current promotion for high school senior photos:

The first 11 seniors to call and mention “CODE 84” save 50% on any of our basic or premium sessions! WOW! Check out the sessions here.

But wait! There’s more! Order your Bioflexer today and get a second–oops! Sorry! I thought I was giving an infomercial there. Ahem….oh ya! Seniors also have two print specials:

August Special: 24 free wallets (save $60)

September Special: 16 free wallets (save $45)

(Free wallets are of one pose and require a minimum purchase)

Call or text us if you have any questions. (702)809-9763

Ok, really quick before I let you go, I wanted to share with you all a recent session I had with a beautiful newborn baby. With my wife expecting our first child in January, every time I work with kids now I can’t help but imagine myself as a dad. It’s so exciting and terrifying at the same time! I’m just enjoying the ride and enjoying my full nights of sleep while I can.

This little one was so calm and cooperative and nobody got soaking wet! 🙂 I had a lot of fun creating these and can’t wait to see them again someday.

Have a great week, everyone! I’ll talk to you soon.

Nate

TNGphoto.com

TNGseniors.com

Hello, TNG Photography world! Kendra and I just returned from our vacation in Oahu, Hawaii! We had both never been there before and I have to say that I’ve never seen such vivid greenery in my life. I felt like I had HD vision. It was such a fun experience! My brother lives in Oahu so we also got to spend a ton of time with him which was a lot of fun. I can see why he likes it over there. I wouldn’t mind living there a few months out of the year! 🙂

Here are a few of the things we did while we were there:

• Drank lava flows at the Marriot in Ko Olina then sat and watched waves crashing against rocks
• Snorkeled at Hanauma Bay. This was a beautiful place with a lot of big cool fish and sea turtles swimming with you. My actual highlight from this part of our trip was seeing a man secure his gigantic yellow life jacket that was almost as big as he was. I don’t know if any of you have ever swam in Hanauma Bay but it is literally 12 inches deep the majority of the time so he must not be the strongest swimmer … ok, ok, he’s gotta be the weakest swimmer on Earth but I was just trying to be nice! 🙂
• Waikiki Beach was fun (If only everyone would’ve stopped undressing me with their eyes while I was there. I felt so violated! 🙂 ) I really enjoyed swimming and making fun conversations with strangers in the ocean. Everyone’s always happy so you can talk to anyone you want and just assume they’ll be happy to chat. I do this just about everywhere I go anyway but it’s extra fun in the ocean for some reason.
• Waimea Falls. It had been raining the whole trip so the waterfall was heavier than usual so we couldn’t swim in it. We had more fun along the trail hanging from vines and taking goofy pictures of ourselves in the jungle.
• Dole Plantation. Now this is more of a gift shop, and I hate, absolutely HATE gift shops, but their big maze was pretty fun.
• Aloha Stadium. Did I mention I hate gift shops? Well this was more of an outdoor swap meet which was cool to chill at for an hour or two. I debated putting this on my list but I bought some sweet bread from a big Hawaiian dude who reminded me either of Super Mario or the Ghost of Christmas Present. He was cool. 🙂
• Frisbee Golf. I really like playing frisbee golf (frolf) and was excited to play it in Hawaii. I imagined playing it on a huge course surrounded by jungle and eventually onto a secret beach that not even locals knew about and at the end of the course there would be a big treasure chest filled with…err–treasure. We ended up driving to the University of Hawaii looking for this course but couldn’t find it. We checked online again on our phones and it read, “Maui is the only island with a permanent frolf course.” We’re in Oahu………….no frolf this trip. We had a good laugh about it then drove down to the aquarium up the street.
• Pearl Harbor. This was a lot of fun to see the Arizona Memorial and walk around the property looking at torpedoes and periscopes. I’m sure Kendra was bored as heck but I could have spent a lot more time there.
• Shark’s Cove. We got out of our car and started walking down a hill to the cove. I was carrying our video camera and suddenly found myself looking up towards the sky, confused at my new, sudden location. I had slipped and fell down the muddy hill. Embarrassed and my ego suffering a temporary blow, I turned to my wife at the top of the hill to see if she saw me fall (how could she not?). Her uncontrollable laughter confirmed that she did and she proceeded to try to take photos of the mud on my back side. I started rolling the video camera in the middle of her hysterics. When I get a chance, I might post it here. 🙂
• Botanical Gardens. We drove across the island and the gardens were locked up. What luck, right? So we drove a few blocks and played 18 holes of mini golf. It was a competitive battle that I was certain I would come out victorious (giving me ultimate bragging rights for the  day  year) but after a few mistakes and Kendra’s never ending consistency, she crushed me. We came back the next day and played 36 more holes in the rain. She won again…
• Work. Work? Yes, I worked while on vacation. I photographed a great couple in Ko Olina and had a great time! See below for a few photos.

Ok, ok! No more! I can’t say anymore! It’ll make me want to go back! Here are just a few photos from the trip. Have a good one!

-Nate

TNG Photography <- Our main website for Las Vegas photography and portrait needs.

TNG Seniors <– Our Las Vegas senior photography page. Check it out! It’s new!

(702)809-9763

The time was 6:00am. The day was Tuesday. The dream I was having involved being on a beach, staring at the cruise ship out in the distant waters…

“Nate! Nate!” my wife’s familiar voice carried over from our bathroom.

Like the heroic husband I am, I sat up and asked if she was ok.  I wondered what kind of spider it would be that she needed my expertise to eliminate. If it was a daddy-long-leg spider, it would get a face full of shoe. If it was a wolf spider, it would get a face full of shoe. Basically, no matter what the species of spider, the cause of death would be m shoe. It’s been a tactic I’ve used all my life and I wasn’t about to change my strategy now; not at a critical moment like this one!

“Look at this! Make sure I’m reading that right,” she said.

Groggy and my eyes still not fully adjusted to the bathroom’s light, I was handed a white stick. On it were two symbols, the one reading, “+” and the other , “-“.  My right hand held the stick and my left grabbed the stick’s original packaging.  My eyes darted back to the stick then back to the box. Left. Right. Left. Right. Again and again.

“Hmm. You’re pregnant. Congratulations, babe,” I said remarkably calm to my wife, Kendra. I then stammered back to the bed in the other room and began the process of trying to fall back into the dream I was participating in, knowing that it wouldn’t be possible to do so but still thought it was worth a try.

There was no spider to kill, no mysterious sound in the house to check out, just a pregnancy test telling me I’m going to be a dad…A DAD! WHOA! 

Kendra’s pregnant everybody! Come January, we’ll be a family of three!

Nate

TNGphoto.com

TNGseniors.com

Hey everyone, if you know anyone who owns or works at a doctor’s office (any type), dentist or orthodontist office, please leave a comment. We’re looking to get more displays around town and would like to coordinate with other businesses!

Oh ya! A few more senior pics too! 🙂

[Read More…]

By now I’m sure you’ve all check out our new stand-alone high school senior site at www.TNGseniors.com. Please tell me what you think of it! Also, if you’re still needing your senior portraits done and don’t want to look like everyone else, give us a call at 809-9763.

In the meantime, here are a few recent favorites of 2 seniors from a few days ago! Enjoy!

-Nate

http://www.TNGphoto.com

http://www.TNGseniors.com