Chacon Favors Authenticity, Fergusons Focus on SCORE

Bluebird Photography

Owners: Lindsey Chacon

Address: 641 W. Dickson Street, Fayetteville

Phone: 479-966-5171

E-mail: [email protected]

Hours: By appointment

Web site: www.photosbybluebird.com

Startup date: Feb. 1, 2010

When Lindsey Chacon left Arkansas for Northern Arizona University six years ago, it was to attend graduate school and study psychology.

Instead, she ended up immersed in a photography program. Now she’s opened her own venture, which she describes as a “photojournalistic photography company.”

In other words, think candid rather than posed, and you have the idea behind Bluebird Photography. The roughly 1,300-SF space contains a lighting studio if a client opts for something more traditional, but Chacon prefers the authenticity of natural light.

She also likes to shoot on and around Dickson Street, incorporating local architecture into her work. She eschews standard style at weddings, too, which along with portraiture and maternity sessions, are her current focus.

“I’m not going to get all the groomsmen and stand them in a line,” Chacon said. “I’m going to go around very silently and document your wedding as it happens.”

Wedding prices range from $1,400 to $2,400, and Chacon uses a second photographer for them. Portrait packages are $200 and $300, though Chacon currently is not charging a sitting fee for children. She’s also distributed promotional materials that include discounted offers.

Bluebird has a client viewing area, which features examples of Chacon’s work in a comfortable, relaxed setting. Chacon said her startup costs were less than $4,000, partly due to the fact she did all the painting and electrical work.

“I’ve been waiting for a space on Dickson Street for over a year-and-a-half,” she said, smiling, “and I finally got my hands on one.”

SCORE Short On Volunteers

SCORE needs you.

Northwest Arkansas’ chapter of the long-running small-business mentoring agency is down to about 10 fully active counselors. It ideally operates with 16 or 17, chapter chair Steve Ferguson said.

SCORE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation and growth of small businesses.

“SCORE’s goal is to increase the odds of success for new and small businesses,” Ferguson said. “What we have to advertise is honesty. We’re not getting paid.”

Without business-experienced volunteers, though, the local chapter can’t function effectively. While Ferguson and his wife, Kristin, devote about 25 hours each week to SCORE’s efforts, they ask other volunteers for just 10 hours per month.

That’s not too much to ask, Kristin Ferguson said, for those who want to help others succeed and thus foster the local economy.

“We try to give back to the community in an economic manner,” she said.

There is an application process, based on experience and area of interest, for counselors. For more information, contact the Fergusons at 479-725-1809.