Holiday Inn- Forest Park/ Tom Paule Photography

Tom Paule Photography recently photographed the Holiday Inn in Forest Park as the new logo for the building exterior and lobby were installed.

A great hotel in a great St. Louis location!

The Space Between

It's that time of year, in the space between Christmas and New Years when things always get a little crazy. While those around us continue celebrating, playing with new toys (for the big and little kids) and eat a little more candy----

Here at Tom Paule Photography, the name of the game is to get ready for 2012. We have so many clients we're carrying forward from past years in the corporate world that we appreciate, many new clients both corporate and sports---- and of course we're getting ready for a busy January of teams and tournaments.

Hope your 'space between' is filled with fun!

Merry Christmas from Tom Paule Photography

Everyone at Tom Paule Photography sends wishes for a 

very Merry Christmas----

and I send wishes from myself and my family especially!

We hope your Christmas is absolutely wonderful!

Chrismas Program

One of the best things about being a parent during the Christmas season is the joy that comes from watching the kids in Christmas programs--- it's the best!

My kids Emily and Evan did a great job and had a wonderful time with their friends and classmates.

They're waiting for Santa none too patiently!

It is always a blessing to be reminded what this season is all about!

Santa? We're ready for you!

Holiday Magic at Children's Hospital with the Blues

We love to give back all the time but this time of year, well it is more magical in so many ways.

Recently we had the opportunity to photograph kids and their families at Children's Hospital and some of the St. Louis Blues stopped by to spend some time with the kids.

The kids were GREAT, we enjoyed them all! It was also fun to hang out with Alex Steen, Ian Cole, Barrett Jackman and T.J. Oshie! Thanks to the Blues for helping us make a difference for some kids in need.

The Year is Winding Down

Around Tom Paule Photography the year is winding down, we have lots to deliver to clients for the holidays and are enjoying the many vendors and clients stopping by the studio to say hello and bring by holiday goodies!

The most exciting thing is looking forward to 2012 and knowing there are so many great things happening! January will be a full on sports month and we're looking forward to seeing your team then, and in the coming year.

We do have a few slots open in the schedule for sports teams and tournaments so please give us a call soon to schedule your team!

Weddings have wrapped for the year and as we look back, it has been so nice to share the beginnings of some wonderful couples!

Let the countdown to the holidays take off full steam!

Charitable Opportunities for the Holidays

There are SO MANY great opportunities within St. Louis to offer your time, talents and funds for charitable causes during the holidays. Everyone at Tom Paule Photography urges you to choose your favorite and GIVE BIG!


Ronald McDonald House is a can't miss choice!
Catholic Charities Christmas Appeal 
Children's Charity of St. Louis
Missouri Baptist Children's Home
Salvation Army St. Louis

We know that our clients are all generous beyond words and that you have your own personal charities you turn to each year. You've told us that you haven't cut back your giving and that you try to do more!

Each one reach one, no hungry bellies or cold bodies for Christmas!

The 12th

So if it is the 12th of December, does that mean it is the 12th Day in the 12 Days of Christmas? Just wondering!

With only 12 days until Christmas arrives, how is your preparation going? Have you started making the rounds of holiday parties (and are you tired yet???)

Are you ready to hit STL running and get the rest of it finished?

From some local vendors (buy local!) we give our suggestions for delicious holiday treats. Order now and enjoy for the big day!

• Outstanding Coffee: Park Avenue Coffee (take home a bag of Evelyn's blend!)
• Gooey Butter Cake: Again, Park Avenue Coffee--- their seasonal favorites right now will make you smile!
• Best Pies EVER: Sugaree Baking Company, no bad choices here!
• Cocktailin': Randalls of course! Fabulous selection, great prices!
• Quiche: Can't miss the Spinach & Gruyere from The London Tea Room, yum!
• Cake: How about the Red Velvet from The Blue Owl? Now that they're an Oprah discovery it's hard to get in the door but worth the time and effort!
• High Quality Tea Deliciousness: Traveling Tea..... it is ALL good but try the Autumn Afternoon
• Chocolate?? Of course! We love Kakao..... truffles, need we say more?

Hungry yet? All of our picks have local hours and mail ordering is available. Get to it!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Santa arrived at St. Joes via the West County EMS--- ho ho ho!

The man in the red suit arrived in style!

 

The kids had a great time and brought their lists!

 

Emily and Evan on Santa's lap

There were lots of Santa's Helpers as well!

Thanks to all of the families, to the Santa's Helpers

and of course---

to SANTA himself!

Holiday Happenings in St. Louis

SO many great things for families to do in St. Louis this time of year, choosing among them is always difficult!

How about skating at Steinberg Ice Rink in Forest Park? Open daily for skating now and throughout the holidays with skate rental and a cafe for special treats!

FOX Sports Midwest will host the second annual St. Louis Classic at Steinberg Skating Rink in Forest Park on Saturday, Dec. 17. The St. Louis Classic is a giant outdoor viewing party for a St. Louis Blues road game. Hockey fans will watch the Blues road game at Nashville on a 35-foot screen, while skating with Forest Park as the backdrop.

How about skating at the practice home of the St. Louis Blues at the Ice Zone? Check the schedule to see when they're hosting open skates or be lucky enough to find a time when the Blues are practicing.

Maybe a free movie this weekend with benefits for a great cause?The annual Cans Film Festival is Saturday, December 3, 2011. Bring 5 cans of food to any Wehrenberg Theatre and you can see a movie for free before 5 p.m. If you bring an additional 10 cans (15 total), you'll also get a second pass to see a free movie on another day. All of the food collected goes to the Salvation Army food pantries.

Also happening tomorrow is Breakfast with Santa at St. Joe Manchester. It's a great PTO fundraiser so stop by and see Tom and enjoy the holiday fun!

TPP Aerial View: Chaminade Arts Building

The new Chaminade Arts building is completed and beautiful! We recently shot it from the air (above).

From STLToday:

"The 79,000-square-foot center is named for Albert "Skip" Viragh, a 1959 graduate and mutual fund innovator who died in 2003 of pancreatic cancer. After his death, his family acted on his wish to give back to Chaminade - the Catholic boys school off South Lindbergh Boulevard that Viragh's two brothers also attended.

The family asked the Rev. Ralph Siefert, president of the school, about his dreams for the school.
The answer was obvious. An arts center had been Siefert's dream for more than a decade.
Theater performances for years had been inside the middle school gym. Parents watched from metal chairs as students performed in front of a torn blue curtain. Band practices were held in cramped rooms with low ceilings.

Viragh's family gave Siefert money to hire an architect for a new arts center. What followed was more unexpected: $28 million to build and endow the facility. It was the largest single gift to a grade or high school in the region.
 
"It's unspeakable," Siefert said. "I had a dream, but I never thought it would be fulfilled like this."

Mitch Albom in STL

Recently Mitch Albom spent some time with fans here in St. Louis and we had the opportunity to photograph the event.

He was speaking at the invitation of the Young President's Organization and everyone in attendance really enjoyed listening to him.

His movie Have a Little Faith aired on ABC last Sunday night and ABC says they will run it again sometime this season. 

Above, the exterior of The Ethical Society which hosted the event.

Mitch Albom's current book is "Have A Little Faith", if you haven't read it we recommend it very highly!

Happy Thanksgiving from Tom Paule Photography

From all of the staff at Tom Paule Photography and Tom Paule Photography Sports we wish all of our great friends and wonderful clients a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Parkway South Wrestling

Thanks so much to the amazing Parkway South Wrestling Team, their Coach and the great parents we met and had the opportunity to work with recently.

Last weekend we shot Sharks Hockey---- and had a great time with the kids and parents.

We still have some openings for YOUR team, don't miss your opportunity to be photographed by Tom Paule Sports Photography. Email info@TomPaulePhotography.com or call 314.910.2215 to speak to us about your team, tournament or event. We'd LOVE to share some time with you!

Full Swing Fall

The gorgeous colors of fall are for the most part gone but we think that the fall season lasts until Thanksgiving (which is almost upon us!). The gardens are put to bed and the snow melt needs to be purchased!

While the fall family portraits have wrapped, it's time to think about holiday portraits we have a lot of great opportunities for traditional Christmas sets as well as more contemporary portraiture.

And we continue the busy sports of fall as we're happy to be photographing more hockey! (Can there ever be enough hockey? We think not!)

Whatever your fall photography needs Tom Paule Photography can fill the bill, please email or call 314.910.2215 for more information.

Hockey Season

It is Hockey Season in high gear here at Tom Paule Photography Sports, we're super busy getting team photos processed and delivered.

Lately we've photographed the Rockets Hockey team and had a great time with both the players and their families and their are many more teams to come.

If your team would like to get on our very busy fall sports schedule, please call 314.910.2215 or email us at info@tompaulephotography.com

Holiday Happenings Around Town in November

We love the St. Louis Zoo, it is one of the best in the country and we're so lucky to have it in our backyard! Boo In The Zoo is always a great time and was lots of fun this year. Right around the corner are some of our zoo highlights as well as other St. Louis traditions of the year:

Zootini 2011 presented by Macy's Saturday November 19th

Costume your inner beast at a party filled with creative cocktails, live entertainment by Fat Pocket and DJ Needles, a costume contest, raffle and game room! Attire is upscale hip with an animal flare. Costumes are suggested. Ages 21-and-up only. 

Breakfast (and a dinner date) with Santa are coming up in December with plenty of opportunities for the kids to get up close and personal with the man in the red suit. 

Then we always mark our calendar for the Holiday Lights at the Zoo------ so much fun to grab a cup of hot chocolate and maybe a bite and wander through the zoo during the holiday season.

The  Missouri Botanical Garden begins off its holiday season with its "Gardenland Express" annual flower and train show. The display is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. November 24, 2010 - January 2, 2011

It's definitely time to get out the holiday calendars and start scheduling those can't miss opportunities to enjoy the season with family and friends in St. Louis!!!

Happy Anniversary Tom & Debbie

Happy Anniversary to Tom and Debbie------- Mr. Tom Paule Photography and the Missus. TEN YEARS!

Woo Hoo---------- here's to you, and many more!

Congrats STL Cardinals!

Along with what seemed like everyone in St. Louis, Tom and the family gathered with a zillion of their closest friends to celebrate the Cardinals World Series 2011 Victory!

Is it spring yet? Thankfully there is HOCKEY to enjoy while we wait for baseball!

More Boo:

Emily & Evan, always the stars of the TPP Show----

From Trunk or Treat--- (above)

 Emily as Elizabeth Ann Seton.

I think the kids had an awesome Halloween!

A Scary Good Time

Hope your Halloween was lots of FUN and you were able to enjoy it with friends and family. With luck the candy is still holding out and you got the Good Stuff! ;)

Evan and Emily had a fantastic time this year and did their costumes proud!

Once Halloween is over it seems like the year goes into warp speed with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner. As they say in hockey, "here we gooooooooo............."

Happy Halloween from Tom Paule Photography

From Tom and the Staff at Tom Paule Photography, 

we wish you a great and fun filled Halloween!

Super easy Halloween treat, make it on the fly (pun intended).

Lay a fudge stripe cookie face down and add a puddle or orange frosting. Top with a Hershey's Kiss.

Kids love em, okay, and so do Grownups! And everybody knows there are no calories in Halloween goodies!

Groundbreaking: Three Springs at Shiloh

Three Springs at Shiloh will offer a classic mix of quality residential options, commercial office space and modern retail, all carefully planned in a sustainable environment.

A carefully planned development, unlike any other in Southwestern Illinois, Three Springs at Shiloh will include something for everyone

• More than $5 Million every year in new taxes to reduce the burden on home owners by generating new tax dollars to support schools and local government.
• 10-to-12-Year phase-in to assure the smoothest development and planned growth with minimal disruption for current residents and businesses. Roads and infrasructure provided by the development.
• 3,500 new jobs in landscaped commercial district.
• Owner occupied, flexible living options for tomorrow's needs. Aimed at families with estimated prices ranging from affordable to the elegant at more than $400,000.
• A pedestrian-friendly walking environment with office space, restaurants, neighborhood retail and regional retail services.
• Carefully landscaped and meticulously maintained grounds, clearly separated and buffered from neighboring subdivisions.
• One plan, with one proven developer committed to becoming an active member of the Shiloh community and to guaranteeing a quality development and a self-sustaining Shiloh into the next century.

Jefferson Barracks- Bldg. 51

Recently it was my privilege to photograph Building 51 at Jefferson Barracks, the Mental Health Clinic Expansion.